New Jersey real estate CE requirements for the 2025-2027 renewal cycle

New Jersey real estate licensees must complete 12 continuing education credit hours every two-year licensing term and pay a renewal fee to keep their licenses active. The current licensing cycle runs from July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2027, and all CE credits must be finished by April 30, 2027 to avoid a $200 late fee. The New Jersey Real Estate Commission (NJREC), housed within the Department of Banking and Insurance (DOBI), administers these requirements under N.J.A.C. 11:5-12.4^[1].

New Jersey real estate CE: the basics

The NJREC sets the curriculum, approves providers, and contracts with PSI to track course completions for real estate continuing education. The requirement applies to brokers, broker-salespersons, and salespersons across each two-year licensing term.

Courses cover core topics such as agency, ethics, fair housing, and legal issues, plus elective topics like property management and commercial real estate. Each course must be taken from a Commission-approved provider to count toward renewal.

CE credit requirements for the 2025-2027 renewal cycle

The NJREC Continuing Education Applications page^[2] breaks down the required hours by category for the current cycle:

The 1-hour Agency requirement is a separately mandated topic for the 2025-2027 cycle, confirmed on the NJREC licensing menu page^[3]. In prior cycles, agency was subsumed within a broader core allocation. Ethics, Fair Housing, and Agency hours can substitute for core or elective topics, but core and elective hours cannot substitute for the mandatory Ethics, Fair Housing, or Agency requirements.

When are the CE and license renewal deadlines for the 2025-2027 cycle?

All 12 CE credit hours must be completed by April 30, 2027 to avoid a $200 late fee, and license renewal must be submitted by June 30, 2027. The CE completion deadline and the license renewal deadline are separate dates with different consequences:

CE completed between May 1 and June 30, 2027 will still be accepted, but the $200 late fee applies on top of the standard renewal fee. If a licensee does not complete CE and renew by June 30, 2027, the license expires and the individual cannot legally transact real estate business, according to the NJREC renewal instructions^[4].

The New Jersey real estate license renewal process

The renewal deadline is June 30, 2027.

Each licensee must submit their own individual Qualifying Questionnaire online; no paper questionnaires are accepted. If the questionnaire is not submitted, the Broker of Record cannot submit the license for renewal, and the license will expire.

Broker licensees follow the same renewal process, with a higher renewal fee.

Fees for renewing and reinstating a New Jersey real estate license

The renewal fee is $100 for salespersons and $200 for brokers, broker-salespersons, and sole proprietor brokers, according to the NJ DOBI fee schedule^[5].

CE coursework costs vary by provider and format. The NJ REALTORS® association^[6] offers most online CE courses at $10.50 each, with four free online courses available through its education platform.

Where to take continuing education courses in New Jersey

CE courses in New Jersey are offered in multiple formats by Commission-approved providers. Only courses from NJREC-approved providers count toward the requirement; courses from local Boards of REALTORS® that have not been submitted for state approval do not count.

Providers report course completions to PSI, and it takes approximately 10 business days for completion confirmation to transfer from the provider to PSI to the Commission, according to the NJREC CE Licensing page^[1]. Licensees should plan to finish coursework well before the April 30 deadline to account for this reporting delay.

Tracking your CE credits through the PSI system

PSI administers the online CE tracking system for the NJREC. Completions may take up to 10 business days to appear after a course is finished, so recently completed coursework may not yet be reflected.

Licensees should keep their own course completion certificates as backup records, since reporting delays can cause a gap between finishing a course and seeing it reflected in the PSI system.

Who is exempt from New Jersey continuing education?

Several categories of licensees are exempt from CE for the current renewal cycle. Salespersons initially licensed in the second year of the license term, after June 30, 2026, are not required to complete CE to renew, per the NJREC CE Licensing page^[1]. Referral agents (salespersons licensed with a real estate referral company) are exempt from CE to maintain referral status, but must complete all required CE in core topic areas to change their license type to salesperson, broker-salesperson, or broker. Brokers with 40 or more years of licensure may apply for a CE waiver.

NAR members have a separate Code of Ethics training requirement that runs on a three-year cycle, independent of the state CE mandate.

The NJREC may grant CE waivers for incapacitating illness, active military duty, emergency, or other substantial and unavoidable hardship. Financial hardship, business conflicts, and personal obligations do not qualify. Waived core course credits must be made up in the next license term, in addition to all credits required for that term. Waived elective courses do not need to be made up. Active-duty military waivers are exempt from the makeup requirement.

What happens if your New Jersey real estate license expires?

If a licensee does not renew by June 30, 2027, the license expires and the individual cannot legally conduct real estate transactions, list properties, or earn commissions. New Jersey allows a two-year reinstatement window: a license that expired on June 30, 2025 can be reinstated through June 30, 2027, according to the NJREC CE Applications page^[2].

Reinstatement fees are $150 for salespersons and $250 for brokers, per the NJ DOBI fee schedule^[5]. To reinstate, a licensee must complete any outstanding CE, submit the Qualifying Questionnaire, and pay the reinstatement fee.

If a license has been inactive for more than two years, reinstatement is no longer an option. The individual must repeat the entire licensing process, including completing pre-licensing education and passing the state exam.

Special rules for New Jersey CE credits

Several rules govern how CE credits can be applied and transferred. CE credits do not roll over to the next licensing term; any unused credits at the end of the cycle are lost. A licensee cannot receive credit for the same course twice within a single licensing term. There are no time extensions to complete CE during a renewal cycle, according to the NJREC CE FAQs^[7].

Completing a New Jersey broker pre-licensing course within the two-year license term fulfills the CE requirement for that term, whether the licensee completes one or more of the broker course components.

CE courses from other states are transferable only if the course was approved by the other state's licensing authority, submitted and approved for New Jersey CE credit, assigned a New Jersey CE course approval number, and falls within an elective topic area. Core-topic courses from other states cannot be transferred.

Plan ahead to avoid the late CE processing fee. With the 10-business-day reporting delay and no extensions granted, licensees who wait until late April risk missing the April 30 CE deadline. Complete all CE hours by early April to leave a buffer for provider reporting, then submit the Qualifying Questionnaire and renewal payment well before June 30, 2027.