Continuing Education in Washington

Every Washington broker and managing broker must complete continuing education to renew, regardless of years in the business. We use "continuing education" here for brokers who have held a license for more than two years and have already completed their first renewal — after that first renewal, the requirement is 30 hours every two years.

Washington continuing education is 30 clock hours every two-year renewal. The Department of Licensing breaks that into a 3-hour Core course (Current Issues in Washington Residential Real Estate) plus 27 hours of other approved continuing education. The 3-hour Washington Real Estate Fair Housing course counts toward those 27 hours, which leaves 24 hours of true electives you choose. In short: 3 hours Core, 3 hours Fair Housing, and 24 elective hours.

Yes. The 90 hours of education that qualifies you to sit for the managing broker exam is separate from the state mandate to complete 30 hours of continuing education every two years.

Washington requires a one-time 6-hour Washington Real Estate Fair Housing course (the completion deadline for the initial course was June 1, 2023). Once you've completed that initial course, you take the 3-hour Washington Real Estate Fair Housing course at each renewal thereafter.

If you renew within one year of your expiration date, you simply complete your continuing education, pay your renewal fee plus a late penalty, and you're reinstated. If your license has been canceled longer than that, reinstatement is more involved: while you're still within two years of cancellation you can reinstate by completing 60 clock hours of approved education — at least 30 of which must be the Real Estate Law course — completed within the year before you apply, plus a late fee, a reinstatement fee and your back renewal fees. Only after a license has been canceled for more than two years do you have to requalify from scratch by retaking the pre-license education and passing the broker exam again. Our best advice: renew on time — it's far cheaper in money and time.

None. You cannot perform any brokerage activity — buyer or seller representation, talking to clients, even showing houses — while your license isn't active, because that would be operating without a license. If you're late, refer all calls to another broker or managing broker until you've submitted your renewal.

You're considered renewed once you've submitted all required information and fees — either online or postmarked to the Department of Licensing. You don't have to wait to hear back from the DOL, provided you met every requirement and paid your fees.

No. You don't submit certificates at renewal, but you must keep your own records. The Department of Licensing runs random audits and will ask you to prove you completed the required education, so retain your certificates.

Yes. We retain your completion records and you can log in to print your certificates any time, which makes it easy to provide verification to the Department of Licensing. The state still recommends — and requires — that you personally retain your own records as well.

Generally, yes. As always, consult a tax professional about your specific situation.

Some, yes. Washington lets you carry up to 15 unused clock hours forward to your next renewal, as long as those hours were completed within 48 months (4 years) of the renewal you apply them to. As a practical matter, credit is issued per completed course, so you generally can't split a single course's hours across two renewals.