California Code
ARTICLE 2.5 - Continuing Education
Section 10170.5.

10170.5. (a) Except as otherwise provided in Sections 10153.4 and 10170.8, a real estate license shall not be renewed unless the commissioner finds that the applicant for license renewal has, during the four-year period preceding the renewal application, successfully completed the 45 clock hours of education provided for in Section 10170.4, including all of the following:

(1) A three-hour course in ethics, professional conduct, and legal aspects of real estate, which shall include, but not be limited to, relevant legislation, regulations, articles, reports, studies, court decisions, treatises, and information of current interest.

(2) A three-hour course in agency relationships and duties in a real estate brokerage practice, including instruction in the disclosures to be made and the confidences to be kept in the various agency relationships between licensees and the parties to real estate transactions.

(3) A three-hour course in trust fund accounting and handling.

(4) A three-hour course in fair housing that shall include an interactive participatory component, during which the applicant shall roleplay as both a consumer and real estate professional.

(5) A three-hour course in risk management that shall include, but need not be limited to, principles, practices, and procedures calculated to avoid errors and omissions in the practice of real estate licensed activities.

(6) A two-hour course in implicit bias training that shall include both of the following:

(A) A component regarding the impact of implicit bias, explicit bias, and systemic bias on consumers and the historical and social impacts of those biases.

(B) Actionable steps licensees can take to recognize and address their own implicit biases.

(7) In addition to paragraphs (1) to (6), inclusive, a broker shall complete a three-hour course in the management of real estate offices and supervision of real estate licensed activities that shall include, but need not be limited to, the requirements described in subdivision (a) of Section 10159.7 and Section 10164.

(8) Not less than 18 clock hours of courses or programs related to consumer protection, and designated by the commissioner as satisfying this purpose in the commissioner’s approval of the offering of these courses or programs, which shall include, but not be limited to, forms of real estate financing relevant to serving consumers in the marketplace, land use regulation and control, pertinent consumer disclosures, agency relationships, capital formation for real estate development, fair practices in real estate, appraisal and valuation techniques, landlord-tenant relationships, energy conservation, environmental regulation and consideration, taxation as it relates to consumer decisions in real estate transactions, probate and similar disposition of real property, governmental programs such as revenue bond activities, redevelopment, and related programs, business opportunities, mineral, oil, and gas conveyancing, and California law that relates to managing community associations that own, operate, and maintain property within common interest developments, including, but not limited to, management, maintenance, and financial matters addressed in the Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act (Part 5 (commencing with Section 4000) of Division 4 of the Civil Code).

(9) Other courses and programs that will enable a licensee to achieve a high level of competence in serving the objectives of consumers who may engage the services of licensees to secure the transfer, financing, or similar objectives with respect to real property, including organizational and management techniques, including relevant information to assist a salesperson or broker in understanding how to be effectively supervised by a responsible broker or branch manager, that will significantly contribute to this goal.

(b) Except as otherwise provided in Section 10170.8, a real estate license shall not be renewed for a licensee who already has renewed under subdivision (a), unless the commissioner finds that the applicant for license renewal has, during the four-year period preceding the renewal application, successfully completed the 45 clock hours of education provided for in Section 10170.4, including a nine-hour update survey course that covers the subject areas specified in paragraphs (1) to (7), inclusive, of subdivision (a).

(c) Any denial of a license pursuant to this section shall be subject to Section 10100.

(d) For purposes of this section, “successful completion” of a course described in paragraphs (1) to (7), inclusive, of subdivision (a) means the passing of a final examination.

(e) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2023.

(Repealed (in Sec. 5) and added by Stats. 2021, Ch. 361, Sec. 6. (SB 263) Effective January 1, 2022. Operative January 1, 2023, by its own provisions.)