Jacqueline Kyo Thomas
Let’s take a quick peek at the calendar. Is it close to your birthday? That may mean it’s time to renew your Massachusetts real estate license. But where do you start?
Start with this guide.
Below, we’re sharing everything you need to know about renewing your MA real estate license.
How often do you need to renew your MA real estate license?
To keep your Massachusetts real estate license active you are required to renew your license every two years. This is mandatory for both real estate salespeople and real estate brokers who wish to operate in the state of Massachusetts.
What steps do you need to take to renew your MA real estate license?
The Massachusetts Board of Registration of Real Estate Brokers and Salespersons is the state's licensing agency for those who practice as real estate agents. The Board is part of the Massachusetts Division of Occupational Licensure (DOL). This governing body has outlined the following requirements:
Whether you're a salesperson or a broker, the state of Massachusetts requires you to take continuing education (or CE) prior to your license renewal. You'll need to take 12 continuing education hours every 24 months.
After completing your CE, you will fill out your renewal appication and pay a renewal fee to renew your license online using the state's licensing web portal, which is called E-Place.
When will your MA real estate license expire?
The state requires that you renew your license every two years. If you do not renew your license or take any action, it will expire automatically.
What day does your license expire? To keep things simple, Massachusetts has set your real estate license to expire every two years on your birthday. Since it’s easy for most of us to remember our birthdays, it’s also easy to remember your real estate license renewal deadline, as long as you also remember to skip a year.
When should you renew your MA real estate license?
It’s tempting to wait until your birthday to take the steps to renew your real estate license, but don’t wait until the last minute! You can and should renew your license before the deadline. This way, when one license card “expires,” you’ll have the new updated card in hand, and can keep practicing real estate without missing a beat.
Does MA have a continuing education requirement?
Yes. Before you can renew your real estate license in the state of Massachusetts, you are required to take 12 hours of real estate continuing education classes.
If you're busy and don't have time to come into an in-person class, that's okay. You can take your continuing education classes online. If you have a PC, Mac, tablet, or smartphone, you can access our board-certified real estate continuing education anytime, anywhere. Class is in session as long as you have an internet connection! This enables you to take your renewal course on the go, whether that's at the gym on the treadmill, during downtime in between appointments, at your desk at work, or whenever you have the time.
Learn more about our MA real estate continuing education courses here.
How much does it cost to take continuing education classes?
The cost for our continuing education courses depends on which classes or packages you choose. Our classes are available for purchase a-la carte so you can take all of your CE hours at once, or pick and choose the classes you need for renewal if you already have completed a few credits.
You can view our available CE classes and pricing information here.
How much does it cost to renew your MA real estate license?
The fee for renewing your Massachusetts real estate license is as follows:
- $142 for a real estate broker license
- $103 for a real estate salesperson license
For a greater breakdown of the fees by other license types, such as attorney broker, corporate, or education waived broker/salesperson, click here.
How do I verify my MA real estate license's status?
You can check the status of any real estate license, including yours, online. Click here to search for a Massachusetts real estate licensee.
Keep in mind that if you're checking for yourself, you'll need to enter either your license number or your name, type of license, and the address you used when applying for your license.
What happens if you miss the deadline to renew your real estate license?
We get it. Life happens. Luckily, there's a process in place to renew your license after your renewal deadline has passed.
If you let your Massachusetts real estate license expire, don't worry. Whether it expired last month or last decade, there's an easy path to reactivating it.
To understand what you need to do, let’s first discuss the different statuses of real estate licenses.
In the State of Massachusetts, there are three basic real estate license statuses:
- Active
- Inactive
- Expired
Active means that your license is up to date and active. You can practice real estate.
Inactive means that your license was up for renewal but you chose to go inactive on your renewal applicaiton, rather than take your CE and renew your license as active. Inactive licenses cannot be used to practice real estate, but you can receive referral fees from other active licensed agents.
Expired means that your license lapsed without a renewal or any action on your part, and is now expired. You cannot practice real estate or receive any fees with an expired license. You can renew your license by taking your CE classes and paying a fee to the Board.
The State of Massachusetts allows you to reactivate your license after attending 12 hours of continuing education at an authorized real estate school. If your license is expired, you'll need to pay a late renewal fee in addition to your regular license renewal fee. The late renewal fee is $57.
If your real estate license is currently active or recently expired you can renew your license online on E-Place. Renewal online should only take a few minutes. Just be sure that you've completed your 12 hours of CE before renewing your license.
If your license is currently inactive you must fill out a license reactivation form to reactivate your license. Make sure that you've completed your 12 hours of continuing education before reactivating your license.
After filling out the reactivation form, attach it to an email to this address: realestateboard@mass.gov. Expect between 4 to 6 weeks for the Board to process your reactivation application.
If your real estate license has been expired for more than 2 years, you must fill out a request for reinstatement application to renew your license.
Note that you should only fill out the reinstatement form after completing 12 hours of your continuing education classes, because the CE certificates must be submitted along with your reinstatement request. After filling out the reinstatement form, attach it to an email to this address: realestateboard@mass.gov. Expect between 4 to 6 weeks for the Board to process your reinstatement application.
For more information about license statuses and renewals, please check out the official Board FAQ.
What happens if you don’t renew your real estate license?
If you don’t renew your MA real estate license it will automatically expire, and you will not be able to legally sell or broker real estate in the state of Massachusetts until you take your CE credits and renew it.
Do continuing education credits roll over for the next renewal cycle?
No. You're only required to accumulate 12 hours of continuing education credit during each renewal cycle. Taking more than 12 hours definitely won't be a bad thing if you're eager to learn, but extra time cannot roll over.
The state of Massachusetts requires that you take 12 hours of real estate CE classes every two years. But don't worry. We've made it very easy for you to accomplish this mandatory requirement online whenever is most convenient for you.
Do you need to take a code of ethics when you renew your real estate license?
No, the ethics class is not required to renew your real estate license with the state. It is required for your REALTOR® membership if you have one. If you are a REALTOR® member, you are required to complete 2 hours and 30 minutes of ethics training every three years. You can fulfill this code of ethics training requirement online by clicking here.
There are two options for satisfying your code of ethics requirement: CE and non-CE. The CE, or continuing education, version is currently $29.95, but the non-CE version is available for free. For agents operating in Massachusetts, choose the non-CE version. The state of Massachusetts does not offer a continuing education credit for the REALTOR® code of ethics training course, so it's better to go with the non-CE version – plus, it's free!
The deadline for the REALTOR® code of ethics' current cycle was December 31, 2021.
Learn more about the REALTOR® code of ethics training here.
Can I take any real estate course to satisfy Massachusetts' real estate license renewal requirements?
No. The state of Massachusetts requires that you take approved continuing education courses from a licensed real estate school. Pre-license classes do not count for CE. OInly state approved CE classes count towards the 12 hour requirement.
Freedom Trail Realty School (that's us!) is authorized by the State of Massachusetts to teach real estate continuing education online, and we're also one of the top-rated schools in MA.
Check out reviews for Freedom Trail Realty School here.
How do you contact the MA Board of Registration of Real Estate Brokers and Salespersons?
Here are 4 ways to contact the Massachusetts Board of Registration of Real Estate Brokers and Salespersons:
1. Physical and Mailing Address:
1000 Washington Street Suite 710 Boston, MA 02118
2. Website Address:
https://www.mass.gov/orgs/board-of-registration-of-real-estate-brokers-and-salespersons
3. Email Address:
4. Phone Number:
(617) 701-8661
Take Massachusetts Real Estate Continuing Education Courses With Us Online
You're already online, so you're halfway there. Click here to take continuing education courses online for your MA real estate license renewal!