New York real estate CE requirements and license renewal process

New York real estate licensees must complete 22.5 hours of approved continuing education (CE) and renew their license online through the eAccessNY portal every two years. Real estate CE in New York covers mandatory topics including fair housing, implicit bias, and ethical business practices, and the renewal fee is $65 for salespersons or $185 for brokers. Licenses expire on a staggered schedule set by the Department of State, and there is no grace period to practice after expiration.

The New York real estate license renewal process

New York processes all real estate license renewals online through eAccessNY, and the Department of State no longer distributes paper renewal forms. A salesperson or broker license is valid for two years, with the expiration date printed on the license.

During the online renewal process, you must answer "YES" to the continuing education attestation question. Answering "NO" (even by mistake) triggers an audit and blocks renewal until you submit original CE completion certificates to the Bureau of Educational Standards. Salespersons must have a sponsoring broker on file to be eligible for renewal, per the DOS salesperson renewal page^[1].

The broker renewal follows the same eAccessNY workflow.

New York real estate CE requirements: hours and mandatory topics

New York requires 22.5 hours of approved continuing education per license term, with specific hours allocated to mandatory topics and the remainder completed as electives. The requirement applies to both salespersons and brokers, and CE cannot be carried over to the next renewal cycle.

The mandatory topic breakdown is defined in NY Real Property Law §441(3)(a)^[2]:

One hour of instruction equals 50 minutes, and licensees in classroom courses may not be absent for more than 10% of scheduled time, per 19 NYCRR §§177.7 and 177.8^[2].

The implicit bias and cultural competency requirements were added by legislation signed December 21, 2021, and became effective September 21, 2022. The ethical business practices and recent legal matters topics were added by a separate amendment.

First renewal: different agency hours for new salespersons

Salespersons in their initial licensing term must complete 2 hours of law of agency instruction instead of the standard 1 hour required for subsequent renewals. This increased agency requirement applies only to the first renewal cycle for salespersons.

Brokers renewing for the first time complete the standard 1 hour of agency, with no increased requirement for the initial broker term. New licensees who completed the 75-hour salesperson qualifying course must also complete a 2-hour CE course covering fair housing and/or implicit bias training, per the Department of State^[3]. The total CE obligation does not change between first and subsequent renewals.

Taking New York real estate continuing education online

New York is an audit state for real estate CE: course providers do not report completions to the Department of State, and licensees bear full responsibility for tracking their own records, per the DOS salesperson FAQ^[3].

Some providers administer final exams with their own passing thresholds, but New York does not mandate a passing score for CE courses. Provider-level exam policies are not state requirements.

Where to find approved New York real estate CE providers

The Department of State publishes a searchable list of approved CE schools on its website. Licensees should verify that a provider appears on this list before enrolling, because completions from non-approved schools will not count toward renewal.

CE record-keeping and the audit process

The Department of State does not maintain CE records for individual licensees. You must keep original CE completion certificates for at least two years, and course providers must maintain completion records for three years. If audited, you must provide signed and sealed copies of your CE completion certificates to the Department of State.

What happens if your New York real estate license expires

There is no grace period to practice real estate after your license expires. You have two years from the expiration date to renew, but you cannot conduct any real estate activity requiring a New York license during that time, per the Department of State^[3].

No specific late-renewal penalty fee exists for New York real estate salespersons or brokers. You may renew at the standard renewal fee during this window, according to the NY Real Estate License Law (March 2026), §441-b. The standard renewal fees are established by NY Real Property Law §441-b^[4]:

The surcharges fund the anti-discrimination in housing account for statewide fair housing testing. The $200 penalty fee listed on some DOS renewal pages applies only to real estate appraisers, not to salespersons or brokers.

If you fail to renew within that window, you must requalify for licensure by meeting current education requirements and passing the state written examination. No continuing education is required to repeat the licensing process after the lapse.

CE exemptions: attorneys and the end of the broker exemption

Effective July 1, 2021, all real estate licensees in New York must complete approved continuing education per renewal cycle, with a single exemption for New York State Bar attorneys. No other exemptions exist.

The same amendment eliminated the 15-year broker CE exemption. Brokers who were previously exempted based on 15 or more years of experience must now complete the same CE as all other licensees, per the Department of State's CE update^[5]. New York State Bar attorneys are exempt from CE but must still complete the license renewal process.

CE rules: carry-over, extensions, and broker course credit

Excess CE hours cannot be carried over to the next renewal cycle, and no CE course may be counted more than once within a single cycle, per 19 NYCRR §177.18^[2].

A salesperson who completes a broker qualifying course during their license term receives CE credit for that course, but must also complete the ethical business practices and recent legal matters requirements. The broker qualifying course does not fully satisfy the CE obligation.

The Department of State may grant a CE completion waiver in bona fide hardship cases, per 19 NYCRR §177.6^[2]. The licensee must submit a written request, completed renewal form, fee, and original documentation of the hardship, such as medical records, preferably before the license expiration date.

Licensees who hold both a salesperson and broker license need only complete CE for their initial license.

NAR education requirements separate from state CE

The National Association of REALTORS® imposes its own education requirements on members, separate from New York state CE obligations. NAR requirements do not count toward the hours required by the Department of State.

Designation and certification courses completed through NAR's online platform do not satisfy New York State CE requirements, according to NYSAR's education FAQ^[6].

Next steps

Check your license expiration date on your physical license or in eAccessNY, and begin gathering CE completion certificates well before your renewal window opens. If you need courses, search the Department of State's list of approved continuing education schools to find a provider that matches your preferred format. Complete your required hours before attempting to renew, and answer "YES" to the CE attestation in eAccessNY to avoid an audit.