1.3 License Maintenance and Renewal

Maintaining a Maine license means renewing on time and completing the correct continuing education (CE). Remember the threshold distinction from Section 1.2: only the renewable tiers — Associate Broker and Designated Broker — renew. The Sales Agent license is non-renewable, so it carries no CE obligation of its own.

License Term and Renewal Fees

Because expiration tracks each licensee's own issuance anniversary, two licensees in the same office can have different deadlines — a common scenario-question setup.

Continuing Education (CE)

Active associate brokers, brokers, and designated brokers must complete 21 clock hours of MREC-approved CE each two-year cycle as a prerequisite to renewal. Within that 21 hours, 3 hours must be the mandatory core course for the current cycle.

Core-course content rotates and typically covers law updates, agency, fair housing, trust accounts, and disclosure changes. Both classroom and online approved courses count, but the provider and each course must be MREC-approved — credits from an unapproved course or from a different profession do not satisfy the requirement.

A few CE mechanics the exam likes to probe: the 21 hours attach to the two-year cycle ending on your renewal (issuance-anniversary) date, so plan to finish before the deadline rather than the day of; carry-over of excess hours into the next cycle is generally not permitted, so banking extra credits early does not reduce a future cycle; and the 3-hour core counts toward the 21, it is not an additional 3 hours on top of 21. Keep your completion certificates, because the Commission can audit CE compliance after renewal.

Exam trap: Do not attach a CE requirement to a sales agent — that license does not renew, so it has no CE. CE belongs to the renewable broker tiers, and the 3-hour core course is mandatory inside the 21.

Renewal Steps

1. Complete 21 CE hours (including the 3-hour core) before your expiration date.
2. Log in to the Maine Professional Licensing portal.
3. Submit the renewal application and attest to CE completion.
4. Pay the renewal fee.
5. Receive the renewed two-year license.

MREC sends renewal notices roughly 60–90 days out, but the duty to renew is the licensee's regardless of whether a notice arrives.

Late Renewal and Lapsed Licenses

Maine gives a finite grace period. Memorize the 90-day line — it is one of the most-tested numbers in this chapter.

The critical rule on both rows: you may not practice while the license is expired, even within the 90-day window. Conducting brokerage on an expired license is unlicensed activity and itself a disciplinary violation.

Worked example: Pat's associate-broker license expired June 10 (its two-year issuance anniversary). On July 5 (day 25) Pat finishes the 3-hour core plus the remaining CE, then pays the renewal fee plus the $50 late fee — valid renewal, but any deals Pat "worked" before that date were illegal. If Pat had instead waited until September 20 (over 90 days), Pat would have to pass the Maine Law exam and reapply from scratch.

License Status Types

Inactive Status

A license becomes inactive when the licensee is not affiliated with a designated broker (e.g., the broker terminates the affiliation, or the licensee elects inactive status). To reactivate, affiliate with a designated broker and ensure CE is current. An inactive license is still a live, renewable credential for the broker tiers — it has simply been parked — which is different from an expired license that has lapsed for nonrenewal.

Confusing "inactive" with "expired" is a classic distractor: an inactive associate broker can return to active practice by affiliating, while an expired licensee must renew (or, past 90 days, re-test and reapply) before doing anything.

Suspension vs. Revocation

Both bar practice, but they differ in permanence. A suspension is time-limited or condition-based discipline; the license can be restored when the term ends or conditions are met. A revocation terminates the license, and the former licensee generally must reapply from scratch — and may be barred for a period set by the Commission. Treat revocation as the most severe sanction in the status table.

Affiliation, Supervision, and 10-Day Notices

Every non-designated licensee must work under a designated broker who supervises activity, maintains the trust account, and reports affiliations to MREC.

Licensees must notify MREC within 10 days of any:

• Change of business or mailing address
• Change of legal name
• Change of designated-broker affiliation

Report changes through the licensing portal. The 10-day window and the 90-day late line are favorite "which number" distractor pairs — keep them straight.

Common traps: (1) CE is 21 hours including a 3-hour core, not a flat 21 with no core; (2) Sales agents have no CE because their license is non-renewable; (3) The late grace period is 90 days with a $50 fee; beyond it you re-test on Maine Law and reapply; (4) Notify MREC of changes within 10 days.