Frequently Asked Questions
A few of the questions I'm most often asked are ...
01 I forgot to take CE last year. What do I need to do?
How to Reactivate an Inactive License
The rule concerning license reactivation is uniform and applies regardless of how long the license has been inactive. To return to active status, a licensee must:
1. complete the current year's CE requirement in full, i.e., take the General Update and any 4 hour approved elective; and then
2. take either 1 or 2 approved electives to make up for the number of hours you lacked during the immediately preceding license year; and then
3. send the Commission an activation form (REC 2.08 - available online) asking them to return your license to active status and, if applicable, the name and address of the office where you will be affiliated.
02 What do I need to do to become a BIC?
To qualify to declare yourself a BIC, you must:
1. have an active broker license not on provisional status;
2. have two years full-time brokerage experience (4,000 hours), or equivalent part-time experience, within the preceding five years;
3. send the Commission the Broker-in-Charge Declaration form (REC 2.04); and
4. take the Commission's 12-hour Broker-in-Charge Course within 120 days of declaring unless the broker completed the course within three years prior to declaring.
Taking the Broker-in-Charge Course does not make you a BIC. It may help prepare you to become a BIC and you will be required to take it at some point, but you will never be a BIC until you send the Broker-in-Charge Declaration form (REC 2.04) to the Commission. End of story.
03 What does BIC-eligible mean?
​BIC-eligible refers to a broker who has officially declared him/herself as a BIC with the Commission and who, after stepping down, has maintained his/her eligibility by always renewing his/her license before June 30 and taking the right CE. No broker will ever reach ABIC-eligible@ if s/he never sends the Commission a Broker-in-Charge Declaration Form (REC 2.04). This will be explained shortly.
04 If I lose my BIC or BIC-eligible status how can I get it back?
Once a broker attains BIC-eligibility, s/he will lose that eligibility if s/he ever has a license s/he can't use, i.e., inactive, expired, surrendered, suspended or revoked, or if s/he fails to take the Broker-in-Charge Update as his/her mandatory Update in any license year following the license year in which the broker declared as BIC.
A broker who attains, but later loses, BIC eligibility won't be able to immediately re-declare as BIC. Instead, s/he must take the following steps in the order indicated.
1. Do whatever is necessary to return your license to active status, i.e., pay to reinstate an expired license and complete any CE required to reactivate.
THEN
2. Send the Commission the activation/affiliation form (REC 2.08) requesting that your license be returned to active status,
THEN
3. Complete the Commission's 12 hour Broker-in-Charge Course regardless of when you last took it.
Only after completing Steps 1-3 above may you then send the Commission a BIC Declaration form (REC 2.04) asking to be redesignated as BIC at a particular location.
05 Must I take CE in order to receive a referral fee?
​YES! To lawfully engage in brokerage activity, you must not only have a real estate broker license, but it must be on active status at the time you provide the brokerage services. A person may renew, and thus keep, a broker license for years without it being on active status (but can't engage in brokerage during that period). It is relatively painless to activate an inactive license, even after years of dormancy, but the consequences of failing to renew a license are more dire. It truly is amazing the number of licensees who think that their license is inactive, when in fact it has been expired for months or years.
Current versus Expired:
"Current" means the renewal fee (presently $45) has been paid between May 15-June 30 (each year).
"Expired" means the renewal fee was not paid prior to June 30 and the person or entity no longer has a license.
Reinstating an Expired License: What one must do to regain the license s/he previously had depends on how long the license has been expired. Consult any GenUp or BICUP student manual during the past 8-years or visit www.ncrec.gov