From the moment a new license is issued, the clock begin to ticks. You have 1 year from that date to take and complete the Postlicense course.

What happens if you don’t take the course within your first year?

Your license lapses. This means you can’t work. Not at all. If you’re in the middle of a transaction, by law, your Broker will have remove you and assign your transaction to another licensee at the Firm. Even if the client is your own mother.

Pretty harsh, huh?

This requirement for Postlicense applies to even seasoned agents who are issued a reciprocal license in Georgia from another state!

Why? It’s just the way the system works. GREC’s system attaches the education requirement to ALL new licenses issued and cannot differentiate between new licensees and reciprocal licensees!

So be warned and don’t let your license lapse!

*In the past, we have heard that if you can prove you took an equivilent postlicense course equal to or more than 25 hours in your home state, GREC may waive this requirement. Contact GREC and work this out with them. If you do nothing, youre license WILL LAPSE!

If your license lapses due to Postlicense issues, don’t worry. While it may impact your ability to work and get paid, it’s fairly easy to unlapse your license if you do it quickly.

There’s typically one of 4 reasons why you lapsed:

1. You took the course but since you procrastinated, you didn’t complete it before your 1 year mark.
2. You completely forgot to the take the course. Oops. Yes, we know, it happens.
3. You took lots of CE classes that totaled more than 25 hours and thought you were good to go… see below for more on this
4. You got your license issued but went immediately inactive. After 3 months, you activated your license when you affiliated with a Broker. You thought the clock started ticking when you ‘activated’ your license and BOOM! you missed the deadline because the clock began ticking when your license was ISSUED not when you went active and began working.

OK. Don’t panic. Since you’re lapsed and unable to work – now is the perfect time to hit the books and take or finish the course!

Once you’ve completed the course (short final exam is required but it’s never that difficult), the school will issue you a ‘Certificate of Completion’. Fill out the GREC form called ‘Postlicense Course Reinstatement’ and send it to GREC along with the Certificate.

Now, the next part depends on WHY you lapsed:

1. If you signed up for the course PRIOR to your license lapsing, you will not have to pay the fine. Just submit the two forms and you should be unlapsed pretty quickly.
2. If you simply never signed up for the course, you will also have to pay a fine of $100 PLUS $25 for each month you remain lapsed beyond the first 4 months.

The course is officially referred to as the 25-hour Postlicense Course. We like to remove the 25 from the title because it’s confusing to a lot of people.

Yes, the course requires a minimum of 25 hours much like the Prelicense course requires a minimum of 75 hours. If you read up on Prelicense or have already taken the course, you know it takes a lot longer than 75 hours to complete!

The common mistake is this: Some new licensees think they are required to take 25 hours of CE courses and that’s it.

Nope. GREC classifies Postlicense in its own category, just as we do here on this site.

For CE course, if you take a 3 hour CE course, you receive 3 hours of CE credit. 6 hours course, you get 6 hours credit.

As a first year licensee, when you successfully complete the Postlicense course, you will not receive 25 hours of CE.

Nope.

You will actually receive 9 hours of CE. Why? It’s all part of the mysteries of universe… and government agencies.