1.3 License Maintenance and Renewal

The Two-Year Cycle and Fixed Expiration Dates

Missouri real estate licenses are biennial — they last two years and expire on fixed calendar dates tied to even-numbered years, not on the anniversary of original licensure. This is a favorite exam point because the two license types expire on different dates.

Current cycle: Broker licenses expire June 30, 2026; salesperson licenses expire September 30, 2026. The next cycle then runs through 2028.

Because dates are fixed, a salesperson licensed in, say, March 2025 still expires September 30, 2026 — the first cycle may be shorter than a full two years. Plan continuing education around the fixed date, not your start date.

Continuing Education — 12 Hours, Core + Electives

Every renewal requires 12 hours of continuing education from MREC-approved providers:

The Core Topic Rotates

MREC selects a mandatory Core subject for each renewal period and must post it on its website no later than March 31 of each even-numbered year for the period that follows. For the 2024-2026 and 2026-2028 cycles, the Core topic is Fair Housing.

Rule to memorize: If a licensee takes only one 3-hour Core course this cycle, it must be the Fair Housing Core. Extra Core hours can count toward the elective 9, but the mandated Core topic cannot be skipped.

CE Logistics

• Complete all 12 hours before the expiration date.
• Approved providers report completion directly to MREC, but keep your own certificates.
• CE taken after expiration generally does not count toward an on-time renewal.

Worked example: A salesperson renewing for 2026 takes a 3-hour Fair Housing Core, a 3-hour contracts elective, a 3-hour agency elective, and a 3-hour ethics elective — 12 total. Valid. If instead all 12 hours were electives with no Fair Housing Core, the renewal is deficient.

License Status Types

Knowing which statuses permit practice is high-yield. Only active status allows you to perform licensed acts.

Inactive vs. Expired — Don't Confuse Them

A license goes inactive when a salesperson has no sponsoring broker (the broker terminated affiliation, or the licensee chose inactive status). The license is still valid but cannot be used until the licensee affiliates with a new broker and clears any outstanding CE. An expired license is one that was not renewed on time — a deadline problem, not an affiliation problem.

Late Renewal and Long-Expired Licenses

Warning: You cannot legally practice while your license is inactive, expired, suspended, or revoked. Closing a deal during a lapse can itself be grounds for discipline.

Reporting Changes Through MOPro

Licensees must keep their record current. Through the MOPro portal, report:

• Change of business address or mailing address
• Change of legal name
• Change of sponsoring broker (salespersons)

Broker Duties When Affiliation Ends

When a salesperson leaves a brokerage, the broker has obligations: notify MREC of the termination, handle the salesperson's license records, and recognize that the salesperson's license becomes inactive until re-affiliated. The salesperson cannot perform licensed acts in the gap between brokers.

Common trap: Candidates assume a salesperson can keep showing homes for a few weeks while switching brokers. Wrong — once affiliation ends the license is inactive, and licensed activity must stop until a new broker is in place and the change is recorded in MOPro.

Reactivating an Inactive License

To move from inactive back to active, a salesperson must:

1. Secure a new sponsoring broker willing to hold the license.
2. Submit the affiliation/transfer through MOPro.
3. Complete any outstanding continuing education if a renewal deadline passed while inactive.

Reactivation is administrative, not a new application, as long as the license has not lapsed past the statutory expired window. The longer a license sits inactive across renewal cycles, the more likely the licensee owes back CE before MREC will restore active status.

Putting Renewal on a Calendar

Because expiration dates are fixed, build a simple two-year plan and you will never miss a deadline:

Discipline link: Renewal failures and practicing on a lapsed or inactive license are not just administrative slips — they are grounds MREC can pursue under Chapter 339, RSMo. Keeping status active and CE current is the cheapest form of risk management a licensee has.

Final High-Yield Checklist

• 12 CE hours per two-year cycle; 3 must be the mandated Core (Fair Housing now).
• Broker expires June 30, salesperson September 30, of even years.
• Only active status permits licensed acts.
• Report address, name, and broker changes through MOPro.
• Brokers must notify MREC when a salesperson departs.