3006. Criteria for Approval of Offerings.
In acting on an application for approval of a continuing education offering, the Commissioner shall apply, but shall not
be limited to the application of the following criteria in determining that the appropriate hours of continuing education
credit will be given to licensees who have successfully completed the course within the time period specified by Section
10170.5 of the Business and Professions Code:
(a) The offering shall have at least one successive clock hour of instruction which is based on 50 minute increments of
actual instruction.
(b) For other than a correspondence course offering, participants shall be physically present for at least 90% of the
offering time exclusive of the time allocated to the administering of a final examination.

(c) For all continuing education offerings, a sponsor shall provide each participant at least a written course outline that
is a narrative outline consisting of not less than three (3) pages per credit-hour. Each page shall contain an average of
200 words.
(d) A continuing education offering shall have an appropriate form of final examination as set forth in Section 3007.3.

(e) Instructors, conference leaders, lecturers, and others who present a continuing education offering shall meet at least
one of the following qualifications:
(1) A bachelor's degree in a related field to that in which the person is to teach, from a school listed as an institution
of higher learning by the U.S. Department of Education, or from a comparable school of a foreign country.
(2) A valid teaching credential or certificate issued by the Board of Governors of the California Community
Colleges or by a comparable California teacher-credentialing agency authorizing the holder to teach in the field of
knowledge covered in the offering.

(3) Three years full-time experience in the applicable field.
(4) Any combination of at least three years of full-time experience and college level education in the applicable
field.



(5) The Commissioner may approve instructors who in his or her judgment meet the criteria for approval or who
otherwise evidence their teaching qualifications by education or experience or a combination of the two.
(f) An instructor shall not be qualified if the instructor:
(1) Does not satisfy the criteria in subdivision (e);

(2) Has engaged in any violation of Article 25 (commencing with Section 3005) of these regulations or has engaged
in conduct which would have warranted the denial of an application for approval or withdrawal of approval of a
continuing education offering;
(3) As a real estate licensee has had that license suspended, revoked or restricted as a result of disciplinary action;
or
(4) Acted or conducted himself or herself in a manner which would have warranted the denial of his or her
application for a real estate license.
(g) A correspondence course shall consist of adequate study materials to assure that the course cannot be completed in
less time than the number of hours for which it is approved.
(h) Every sponsor shall maintain on file with the Commissioner a current address.
(i) The sponsor shall notify each participant that an evaluation form is available on the Bureau's internet website for on-
line evaluation of courses and instructors.
(j) The sponsor shall comply with the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act in the offering of approved
courses.
(k) A sponsor that is a corporation, company or partnership shall maintain good legal standing with the State of
California Office of the Secretary of State during any term of course approval.
(l) Prior to the start of the course, the sponsor shall provide participants with the following disclaimer statement: “This
course is approved for continuing education credit by the California Bureau of Real Estate. However, this approval does
not constitute an endorsement of the views or opinions which are expressed by the course sponsor, instructors, authors
or lecturers.”
(m) All offerings shall require completion within one year from the date of registration.
(n) Every participant who successfully completes the course shall be provided with a course completion certificate
within 15 days from date of completion.
(o) A correspondence course offered via the internet in one or more aspects of the course offering must have a method
of control in place to protect the integrity of the exam, ensure by written statement signed under penalty of perjury that
the participant enrolled is the person completing the course and ensure the course cannot be completed in less time than
the approved credit hours by controlling the participant's navigation through the course content.
(p) Incremental assessments shall be required that are designed to properly measure a participant's mastery of the course
content after each logical unit of instruction or chapter within a correspondence course, i.e. case studies, quizzes or
other form of exercises. Remediation to the participant shall be provided after each assessment has been completed.

(q) A sponsor or course instructor is prohibited from marketing, selling or displaying any product or service during a
continuing education offering including during breaks between instructional periods. The foregoing shall not prohibit
marketing activities conducted outside of the instruction room before or after the course of instruction, or outside of the
instruction room during breaks in the course of instruction.

3006.1. Expiration of Approval.
If an offering had approval at the time of registration by a licensee, credit for the offering shall be given to the licensee
at the time of license renewal notwithstanding the fact that approval had expired and had not been renewed or reinstated
at the time that the applicant successfully completed the offering.

3007. Application for Offering Approval.
An application for approval of a continuing education offering shall be made on a RE 315 (Rev. 2/06) “C.E. Offering
Approval Application” form, herein incorporated by reference, not less than 90 days before the proposed
commencement date of the offering. The completed application shall be accompanied by the fee and include at least the
following supporting documents when applicable:



(a) Upon initial application and as updates to the information specified in this subsection occur, a Sponsor is required
to submit the following:
(1) If sponsoring entity is a corporation, company, or partnership:
(A) From a Domestic Corporation - the filed Articles of Incorporation endorsed by the California Secretary of
State.
(B) From a Foreign Corporation - a Certificate of Qualification executed by the California Secretary of State.
(C) From a Company or Partnership (whether Domestic or Foreign) - one of the following documents, issued
by the California Secretary of State: Certificate of Qualification, Certificate of Registration, or Certificate of
Good Standing.
(2) If the Sponsor is operating under a “doing business as” ( “DBA”) name, include a Fictitious Business Name
Statement that has been filed with the county recorder in the county where the Sponsor maintains their principal
place of business or in Sacramento County if the Sponsor does not maintain a place of business in California.

(b) A copyright authorization from the copyright holder specifying the material that may be used and to whom the
authorization has been granted if copyrighted material will be used in a manner that would be in violation of the
copyright laws.
(c) A RE 304 (Rev. 3/09) “Consent to Service of Process” form, herein incorporated by reference, if the applicant is a
non-resident of California.

(d) A RE 335 (Rev. 5/05) “C.E. Instructor Certification” form, herein incorporated by reference, must be submitted for
each live course offering.

(e) All instruction materials, student materials, textbooks, CDs, DVDs, audio/video cassettes, case studies, sample
forms, incremental assessments, etc., to be used as part of the offering.

(1) If CDs are utilized during the course of instruction the following shall be submitted with a copy of each CD:
(A) A Table of Contents for each CD.
(B) If the CD contains a textbook, copies of the text cover, publication page and table of contents.

(2) If DVDs or audio/visual cassettes are utilized during the course of instruction, provide a course outline as defined
in Section 3006(c) that has been keyed to the elapsed time for each topic and subtopic.

(f) A General Information Page that will be provided to the participant prior to registration for the course that sets forth
all requirements and policies that affect the participant's enrollment and completion of the course, i.e., fees, cancellation,
refund; attendance and dismissal; final exam criteria, etc.
(g) A Course Outline as defined in Section 3006(c) with each topic and subtopic annotated with its allocated time in
minutes.
(h) Detailed statement(s) addressing and/or copies of the following if applicable for a correspondence course offering:
(1) Method of control to protect the integrity of an exam administered via the internet.

(2) When the course is delivered via the internet, procedures controlling the participant's navigation through the
course content to ensure the completion time is appropriate for the number of clock hours for which the course is
approved.
(3) A copy of the incremental assessments to be utilized and a statement detailing the method of providing
remediation to the participant.
(4) A copy of the signed written statement, required by Section 3006(o), to be executed by the participant.
(5) Final Exam Instructions provided to the participant and the proctor.

(6) A Certification to be executed by the proctor in accordance with Section 3007.3(h).
(i) The Final Exam or bank of questions with answer key that has been keyed to the course material. If re-examinations
are allowed for participants that fail the initial examination two final examinations must be submitted or the item bank
must contain a sufficient number of questions to compile two separate examinations.



(j) A Sample Course Completion Certificate containing at least:
(1) The name and license number of participant;

(2) A statement regarding meeting attendance and/or examination criteria;
(3) The name of the offering as approved by the Bureau;
(4) The number of credit hours;

(5) The date of registration if a correspondence course;
(6) The date of successful completion;
(7) The category of the offering;

(8) The eight-digit CalBRE approval number;
(9) The name, address and telephone number of the sponsor; and
(10) The printed name, signature and telephone number of the individual verifying the participant's completion of
the course.
(k) If a course is a live educational seminar, conference or symposium that will not be offered more than annually in
two (2) locations covering subject material dealing with new or changing trends, concepts or innovations in areas
relevant to the real estate industry, a cover letter shall be submitted identifying the course as a one-time offering and the
first date it is to be offered.

3007.05. Forms of Identification Accepted.
A participant shall present one of the following forms of identification immediately before admittance to a live
presentation of an offering or, immediately before the administration of the final examination for a correspondence
offering.
(a) A current California driver license.

(b) A current identification card described in Section 13000 of the California Vehicle Code.
(c) Any identification of the participant issued by a governmental agency or a recognized real estate related trade
organization within the immediately preceding five years which bears a photograph, signature and identification number
of the participant.

3007.2. Material Change in Course Offering.
(a) Any proposed change to an approved course offering that is a significant deviation, in one or more aspects, from the
offering as approved by the Department including a change in curriculum, course length, method of presentation,
workbooks, texts, or syllabi, or changes reflecting the revised education requirements of Business and Professions Code
Section 10170.5 effective January 1, 2023, but not including changes designed exclusively to reflect recent changes in
other statutes, regulations or decisional law, shall be deemed to be material and shall be submitted by the sponsor to the
Department for consideration and approval prior to use.
(b) A material change shall require a new application and fee.

(c) The fee for submittal and review of existing courses impacted by the revised education requirements of Business
and Professions Code Section 10170.5 effective January 1, 2023, shall be charged for submissions received after January
1, 2023.

3007.3. Final Examination Rules.
A final examination is required for all continuing education courses. Sponsors shall establish the following final
examination rules for approved offerings that are to be observed by all offering participants:

(a) The final examination shall provide the means by which a sponsor determines whether a participant has successfully
completed the offering. The sponsor shall take steps to protect the integrity of the examination by controlling access to
the exam by the participant and to prevent cheating in an examination.
(b) The examination shall not be taken by participants until completion of the instructional portion of the offering to
which the examination applies.



(c) Participants taking a correspondence offering or package of offerings shall be limited to completion of final
examinations for a maximum of fifteen (15) credit hours during any one 24 hour period. A participant shall not be
granted access to additional segments of the final examination for offerings or a package of offerings that exceed fifteen
(15) credit hours until the appropriate 24-hour period has lapsed.
(d) The minimum number of questions required on a final examination consisting only of multiple choice, true/false
and/or fill-in the blank questions shall be:
(1) 1 credit hour - 5 questions
(2) 2 credit hours - 10 questions

(3) 3-5 credit hours - 15 questions
(4) 6-8 credit hours - 20 questions
(5) 9-11 credit hours - 25 questions

(6) 12-14 credit hours - 30 questions
(7) 15-18 credit hours - 40 questions
(8) 19-23 credit hours - 50 questions

(9) 24-27 credit hours - 60 questions
(10) 28-31 credit hours - 70 questions
(11) 32-35 credit hours - 80 questions

(12) 36-39 credit hours - 90 questions
(13) 40 credit hours and over - 100 questions
(e) A final examination consisting only of multiple choice, true/false and/or fill-in the blank questions shall be limited
to a maximum of 10% true/false questions.
(f) Time calculations for a final examination consisting of multiple choice, true/false and/or fill-in the blank questions
will be allowed a maximum amount of one (1) minute per each such question.
(g) Final examinations may be administered as open or closed book but must be consistent for all participants. If open
book examinations are administered, the participant may only refer to the instructional material approved for the course.
(h) Final examinations for a correspondence course may be administered by a proctor designated by the Sponsor who
is not related by blood, marriage, domestic partnership, or any other relationship, i.e. future responsible broker, to the
participant taking the examination which might reasonably influence them from properly administering the exam. The
proctor must certify in writing that they have complied with all examination rules during the administration of the
examination.

(i) Final examinations for a correspondence course may be administered via the internet provided the integrity of the
final examination is protected by restricting access to one-time, cannot be printable or downloadable, and must time-
out after the maximum amount of time authorized for completion has lapsed.
(j) Participants taking a correspondence course must have access to the course materials for the approved number of
credit hours for that correspondence course prior to completion of the final examination.
(1) For a correspondence course that uses static print or static print delivered in electronic media, such as CD, DVD,
audio/video cassette or internet download when not administered via the internet, a maximum of eight (8) hours
reading time per day shall be utilized in calculating the number of days that must lapse from the time the participant
has had access to the course material until the examination can be accessed.
(2) For a correspondence course administered via the internet, a participant must spend the requisite number of
hours navigating through the content and completing the incremental assessments prior to being granted access to
the final examination.

(k) An offering may include a provision for one retaking of the final examination by a participant who failed the original
examination provided the questions in the re-examination are different questions than those asked in the original final



examination. A participant who fails the re-examination has failed the course and receives no credit from that course.
Such a participant is not barred from re-enrolling and attempting completion of the same course, but must re-complete
the credit hours and pass the final examination to receive credit for the course.

(l) Questions used in a final examination shall not duplicate any more than 10% of questions used in any other quiz or
examination utilized during the presentation of the course.
(m) Participants shall not take possession of the final examination outside of the controlled environment under which
the examination is administered.
(n) A violation of a final examination rule by the sponsor or the sponsor's representative administering the examination
shall constitute grounds for denial or withdrawal of approval of the offering.
(o) To pass the examination, a participant must achieve a percentage score of 70 percent or more.

(p) Time involved in the final examination process may be included in establishing “clock-hours” for the offering.

3007.6. Advertising and Promotional Material.
(a) All advertising and promotional material for a continuing education offering shall:
(1) Not include false or misleading statements or representations.
(2) Classify the offering in accordance with Section 10170.5(a) of the Code.
(3) Contain only the four-digit identification number assigned by the Bureau immediately following the words
“CalBRE Sponsor No.” The full eight (8) digit course approval number shall not be included in any advertisement.

3008. Offerings Not To Be Approved.
The Commissioner shall not approve a proposed continuing education offering that includes any of the following subject
matter or conditions:
(a) Offerings which do not address the subject matter areas set forth in Section 10170.5(a) of the Code.
(b) Sales promotion.
(c) That portion of any offering devoted to the consuming of meals or to transporting participants to and from sites to
be viewed or inspected as part of the offering.
(d) Any offering for which approval has been denied or withdrawn pursuant to Section 3010.

(e) Any offering substantially similar to and offered by the sponsor of an offering for which approval has been denied
or withdrawn pursuant to Section 3010.

3009. Fees.
(a) Approval by the Bureau of a continuing education offering shall be for a term of two years from the date of approval
or from a date specified by the Bureau in granting the approval. The fee for processing the application for approval of
an offering of three or more hours duration shall be $500. The fee for processing the application for approval of an
offering of less than three hours duration shall be $350.
(b) The fee for processing a petition for continuing education credit based upon a claim of equivalency by the petitioner
pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 10170.4 of the Code shall be $60.

3010. Denial or Withdrawal of Approval.
(a) If the Commissioner determines that a previously-approved continuing education offering no longer meets the
prescribed statutory and regulatory standards for approval, or if the Commissioner determines that an instructor or
lecturer for the course is no longer qualified, or that the course sponsor has engaged in activity violating the provisions
of Article 25 (commencing with section 3005) of these regulations or has engaged in conduct which would have
warranted the denial of an application for approval or withdrawal of approval of a continuing education offering, or the
course differs materially from that which was previously approved, the Commissioner shall give written notice of
withdrawal of approval setting forth the reasons for the determination. If the Commissioner determines, following an
application for course approval, that the course will not meet the prescribed statutory and regulatory standards for
approval or if the Commissioner determines that the instructor for the course is unqualified, the Commissioner shall
give written notice of denial of approval setting forth the reasons for the determination. Withdrawal or denial of approval
will be effective 30 days after the notice of withdrawal or denial is received by the sponsor unless the sponsor earlier
files a written request for hearing on the withdrawal or denial action. If the request for hearing is received by the



Commissioner before 30 days after the date of receipt of notice of withdrawal by the sponsor, the withdrawal or denial
of approval shall not be effective unless and until ordered by the Commissioner pursuant to findings and conclusions
reached after hearing pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the
Government Code. The hearing shall be commenced within 30 days after receipt of the request for hearing unless
continued to a later date by order of the Commissioner or by agreement of the parties. In a hearing on an order of
withdrawal issued by the Commissioner, the burden of proving that the course does not meet the prescribed statutory
and regulatory standards for approval shall be on the Commissioner. In a hearing on an order of denial issued by the
Commissioner, the burden of proving that the course meets the prescribed statutory and regulatory standards for
approval shall be on the applicant.
(b) Petition for Reinstatement.
(1) The sponsor of an offering for which approval has been withdrawn pursuant to subdivision (a) may, after a
period of not less than one year has elapsed from the effective date of the withdrawal of approval, petition the
Commissioner in writing for reinstatement of approval of the offering. The petitioner shall be given the opportunity
to present in writing argument and other evidence, statements or matters in support of the petition. The
Commissioner shall decide the petition and the decision and the decision shall include the reasons therefor.
(2) Upon a showing of good cause, the Commissioner may allow the filing of a petition for reinstatement prior to
the expiration of one year from the effective date of the withdrawal of approval.

3011. Equivalent Activities Criteria.
(a) The primary consideration in determining whether a specific activity qualifies as an acceptable alternative to
attendance at approved continuing education offerings is that it must include either presentation, development,
authorship or research of information and materials designed to contribute directly to assuring that licensees maintain a
reasonable currency of knowledge as a basis for a level of real estate practice as set forth in Business and Professions
Code Section 10170.4.
(b) Equivalent activities may include but not be limited to:
(1) Attendance at courses not approved by the Commissioner.

(2) Instructing others in approved continuing education for real estate license renewal.
(3) Instruction or presentation of real estate related topics if the petitioner can demonstrate that the material
conveyed contained reasonably current information designed to assist real estate licensees in providing a high level
of consumer protection or service.

(4) Authorship of published professional articles, periodicals or books on current real estate procedures and law.
(c) Activities engaged in during the course of a licensee’s normal occupation shall not be acceptable for a claim of
equivalency unless such activities comply with subsections (a) and (b).

(d) Development of real estate education programs shall be given continuing education credit if the program would
otherwise meet the requirements necessary for approval for continuing education credit.

(1) Sole authorship or development of a real estate educational program shall be credited upon an approved petition,
with two hours continuing education credit for each hour of the program entitled to continuing education credit.

(2) Multiple authorship and development of a real estate educational program shall be credited, upon approval of a
petition, based on the percentage each author or developer contributed to the total offering.

3011.1. Petitions for Equivalency for Course Instruction.
(a) To receive continuing education credit for instruction of real estate related courses not approved for continuing
education, the petitioner shall submit a statement under penalty of perjury which includes at least the following
information:

(1) The petitioner's qualifications to teach the course.
(2) The title of the course.
(3) The date(s) and location the instruction took place.

(4) Clock hours of instruction.



(5) Titles and description of instructional materials used including the author(s), date of publication, and a copy of
the Table of Contents, if applicable.
(6) An outline or syllabus for the course.
(7) Any other information useful in determining that the course will contribute to current knowledge as set forth in
Business and Professions Code Section 10170.4.
(8) A statement by the course sponsor or school that the petitioner taught the course.
(b) A sponsor of an approved continuing education course may issue a completion certificate to the instructor of an
approved continuing education course for one presentation of the course during its approval period.

3011.2. Petitions for Equivalency for Authorship of Articles or Books.
(a) To receive continuing education credit equivalency for authorship of articles or books, the applicant shall submit a
petition under penalty of perjury that includes at least the following information:
(1) The date of publication of the article or book.
(2) An explanation of how the material published meets the criteria of Section 3011.
(3) The number of hours the petitioner devoted to authorship of the article or book.

(4) The period during which the article or book was written.
(b) The applicant shall submit a copy of the published article or book.

3011.3. Petitions for Equivalency for Development of Real Estate Programs, Laws, and Research.
(a) If the claim for continuing education credit is based upon development of education programs, submit a statement
under penalty of perjury including at least the following information:
(1) A clear and complete description of the education program.
(2) A description of the role of the petitioner in developing the program.

(3) The number of hours the petitioner devoted to development of the program.
(4) The period during which the program was developed.
(5) An explanation of how the development of the program meets the standard of Section 3011.

(b) If the claim involves development of real estate law or research, submit a statement under penalty of perjury that
includes at least:

(1) A detailed description of the law affected or the research performed.
(2) The number of hours devoted to the research or development of law.
(3) An explanation of how the petitioner’s participation meets the standard set forth in Section 3011.

(4) A copy of the research report or of the law developed shall be attached to the petition, if the report or law exists.
If research support data is not available, the Commissioner may request whatever additional information is needed
to support the claim.

3011.4. Petitions for Equivalency for Attendance at Unapproved Programs.
(a) The Commissioner, when acting upon a petition for continuing education credit for completing a course that is not
approved, shall apply the criteria set forth in Sections 3006 and 3007.3.

(b) The applicant shall submit a petition under penalty of perjury including at least the following information:
(1) The name, address, and telephone number of the course sponsor or school.
(2) The title of the course.

(3) The title, publisher, and date of publication of any text or course material used.
(4) The number of clock hours attended.
(5) Any outline or syllabus.

(6) A list of reading assignments with page references.



(7) A final grade report for the final examination.
(8) A completion certificate.

3012. Extension Conditions.
An extension of the time for completing the continuing education requirements may be obtained by submitting with the
regular renewal application evidence showing that applicant was unable to comply with the continuing education
requirements. Such evidence may be (1) health reasons preventing attendance, (2) active duty in the military service
with assignment to a permanent duty station outside of the state during the last 18 months of a license period, or (3)
other compelling cause beyond the control of the applicant while engaged in the real estate business.

The Commissioner may extend an otherwise expired license while investigating such evidence for not to exceed 90
days if he finds applicant can reasonably be expected to be found to meet minimum requirements for renewal under this
Article.

3012.2. Record Keeping.
The sponsor shall maintain a record of attendance or registration and final examination grade of each participant, for a
period of five years, sufficient to allow for the preparation of a duplicate certificate upon request by a participant.

3012.3. "Good Standing" Defined.
The term "good standing" as used in Section 10170.8 of the Code means an active license that has not been suspended,
revoked, or restricted as a result of disciplinary action. A license shall retain good standing if (a) the license was renewed
without expiration, or (b) the license was renewed within a two year late renewal grace period after expiration, without
requalification through an examination. The term of such temporary expiration, prior to renewal within the two year
grace period granted by Section 10201 of the Code, may be included within the years used to calculate the "30
continuous years" specified by Section 10170.8 of the Code.

3013. License Renewal Procedure.
In making application for renewal of a real estate license, the applicant shall provide such information as the Bureau
may require concerning continuing education offerings that the applicant has completed within the four years
immediately preceding expiration of the license or in the case of an application made pursuant to Section 10201 of the
Code within the four years immediately preceding the date that the application is submitted to the Bureau. If requested
by the Bureau, the applicant shall submit certificates of attendance or certified copies thereof from sponsors of approved
offerings to substantiate information provided by the applicant.

3013.1. License Renewal Procedure.
Statutory changes to Business and Professions Code section 10170.5 regarding continuing education requirements shall
apply to:

(a) Licensees whose licenses expire on or after the effective date of the statutory change; and
(b) Licensees who submit an application to renew their license during the two-year grace period set forth in Business
and Professions Code section 10201 and after the effective date of the statutory change.

3015. Interactive Participatory Component.
The term “Interactive participatory component,” as used in Business and Professions Code section 10170.5 means
instruction whereby the instructor actively involves the students in their learning process through instructor-student
interaction and/or through guided student-student interaction.

3017. Fair Housing Course.
The continuing education course on “fair housing” required by Business and Professions Code section 10170.5 shall
include subject matters covering the following:
(a) federal and state fair housing laws relating to the sale and leasing of real property.
(b) federal and state laws concerning civil rights and anti-discrimination requirements that are relevant to real property
transactions and business opportunities.




Article 26. Recovery Account