1.1 New Hampshire Real Estate Commission

The Commission Inside the OPLC

The New Hampshire Real Estate Commission is not a standalone agency. Since 2015 it operates within the Office of Professional Licensure and Certification (OPLC), the umbrella body that houses most of New Hampshire's occupational boards. OPLC handles the administrative back office (application intake, fee collection, the online portal at oplc.nh.gov), while the Commission itself sets policy, approves schools and courses, and decides disciplinary cases.

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Why the OPLC distinction matters on the exam

A common trap question asks "who issues your license?" The technically correct answer involves the OPLC processing the paperwork under the Commission's authority. The Commission is the policy and disciplinary body; OPLC is administrative support. Both operate under RSA 331-A.

Commission Membership (RSA 331-A:3)

The Commission is composed of five members appointed by the Governor and Council. Memorize this exact mix, because the exam loves to swap one seat for a wrong number.

The single public member seat exists so that consumer interests are represented; trick options will say "two public members" or "no public member." There is exactly one. Likewise there is exactly one attorney and one salesperson; the broker seats are the only ones that come in a pair.

Commission Powers, Rulemaking, and the License Categories It Oversees

Beyond membership, the exam tests what the Commission may do and the categories of credential it governs under RSA 331-A.

License categories

Statute-beats-rule, applied

The two-layer structure recurs across the state portion: RSA 331-A is the legislative statute; the Rea 100-700 chapters are the Commission's administrative rules adopted under it. A rule can detail and implement the statute but can never contradict it; where they conflict, the statute controls. When an exam item pits a "Commission rule" against an "RSA 331-A" provision, the RSA wins.

Worked authority scenario. A licensee argues a Rea 500 advertising rule is invalid because RSA 331-A does not list that exact requirement. The rule stands as long as it implements the statute's general grant of authority and does not contradict any RSA text; the Commission's rulemaking power under RSA 331-A is exactly what authorizes the operational detail in the Rea chapters. The exam's point: the statute is the ceiling and the source of authority, and the rules fill in the operational floor beneath it.

RSA 331-A vs. the Rea Rules: Statute Beats Rule

New Hampshire real estate regulation comes in two layers, and the exam expects you to tell them apart.

• RSA 331-A (the New Hampshire Real Estate Practice Act) is the statute, enacted by the Legislature. It defines who must be licensed, lists exemptions, sets disciplinary grounds, and authorizes the Commission to exist and to make rules.
• Chapter Rea 100-700 (administrative rules) are the Commission's rules, adopted under the statute's authority. They fill in operational detail: application forms, course approval, advertising standards, escrow procedures, and agency disclosure mechanics.

A rule can never contradict the statute. If a Rea rule conflicts with RSA 331-A, the statute controls. The Rea numbering roughly tracks subject matter:

Who must be licensed

RSA 331-A requires a license for anyone who, for another and for compensation, sells, lists, leases, manages, or negotiates real estate. The "for another and for a fee" test is the heart of it. Exemptions include property owners selling their own property, licensed attorneys performing legal duties, court-appointed persons (executors, trustees, receivers), and certain salaried employees managing property for a single owner.

Common trap: An owner selling their own land needs no license, but the moment they sell for another and accept compensation, the exemption evaporates. Both prongs must hold for the exemption to apply.

Enforcement and Disciplinary Authority

The Commission investigates complaints, audits broker escrow (trust) accounts, holds hearings, and imposes sanctions when RSA 331-A or the Rea rules are violated. It may act on a consumer complaint, a referral, or its own motion.

Disciplinary tools available

Grounds for discipline (high-yield examples)

• Making a substantial misrepresentation or false promise.
• Commingling or converting client/escrow funds with the licensee's own money.
• Acting for more than one party without all parties' informed consent (undisclosed dual agency).
• Failing to account for or remit money belonging to others.
• Conviction of a crime involving dishonesty, fraud, or moral turpitude.
• Practicing on a lapsed, suspended, or revoked license.

Worked scenario

A salesperson deposits an earnest-money check into their personal checking account "just for a few days" before forwarding it to the broker. Even with no loss to the buyer, this is commingling/conversion of escrow funds, an independent disciplinary ground. The defense "the client got the money back" does not erase the violation. Expect the exam to test the act, not the eventual outcome.

Exam tip: Recent updates effective October 1, 2024 added mandatory post-licensing education for first-time licensees (covered in section 1.3). Disciplinary records and license status are publicly searchable through the OPLC Online License Verification system at oplc.nh.gov.