54.1-2105 - General powers of Real Estate Board; regulations; educational and experience requirements for licensure.
§ 54.1-2105. General powers of Real Estate Board; regulations; educationaland experience requirements for licensure.
A. The Board may do all things necessary and convenient for carrying intoeffect the provisions of this chapter and may promulgate necessaryregulations.
B. The Board shall adopt regulations establishing minimum educationalrequirements as conditions for licensure. Board regulations relating toinitial licensure shall include the following requirements:
1. Every applicant for an initial license as a real estate salesperson shallhave:
a. At a minimum, a high school diploma or its equivalent; and
b. Completed a course in the principles of real estate that carried anacademic credit of at least four semester hours, but not less than 60 hoursof classroom, correspondence, or other distance learning instruction, offeredby an accredited university, college, community college, high school offeringadult distributive education courses, or other school or educationalinstitution offering an equivalent course.
2. Every applicant for an initial license as a real estate broker shall have:
a. At a minimum, a high school diploma or its equivalent; and
b. Completed not less than 12 semester hours of classroom or correspondenceor other distance learning instruction in real estate courses offered by anaccredited university, college, community college, or other school oreducational institution offering equivalent courses.
3. Every applicant for a license by reciprocity as a real estate salespersonor real estate broker shall have:
a. Completed a course in the principles of real estate that is comparable incontent and duration and scope to that required in subdivision B 1 or 12semester hours of classroom or correspondence or other distance learninginstruction in real estate courses that are comparable in content andduration and scope to that required in subdivision B 2; and
b. If currently licensed by another state as a real estate salesperson orbroker, passed Virginia's examination.
C. The Board may waive any requirement under the regulations relating toeducation or experience when the broker or salesperson is found to haveeducation or experience equivalent to that required. No regulation imposingeducational requirements for initial licensure beyond those specified by lawshall apply to any person who was licensed prior to July 1, 1975, and who hasbeen continuously licensed since that time, except that licensure as asalesperson prior to such time shall not exempt a salesperson who seeks to belicensed as a broker from the educational requirements established forbrokers.
D. The Board shall establish criteria to ensure that prelicensure and brokerlicensure courses meet the standards of quality deemed by the Board to benecessary to protect the public interests. For correspondence and otherdistance learning instruction offered by an approved provider, such criteriamay include appropriate testing procedures. The Board may establishprocedures to ensure the quality of the courses.
Noncollegiate institutions shall not be authorized to grant collegiatesemester hours for academic credit.
The specific content of the real estate courses shall be in real estatebrokerage, real estate finance, real estate appraisal, real estate law, andsuch related subjects as are approved by the Board.
(Code 1950, § 54-740; 1974, c. 663; 1977, c. 3; 1980, c. 571; 1981, c. 117;1984, cc. 201, 283; 1985, c. 116; 1988, cc. 9, 765; 1989, c. 244; 1991, c.576; 1992, cc. 65, 446, 624, 717; 1995, c. 125; 1996, cc. 890, 903; 1997, c.389; 1998, c. 268; 2000, c. 759; 2003, cc. 998, 1027; 2006, cc. 61, 627;2007, c. 809; 2010, cc. 373, 637.)