1.2 License Renewal, Continuing Education, and Practice Status

1.2 License Renewal, Continuing Education, and Practice Status

Quick answer: Renewal is annual. An active auctioneer completes six hours of TDLR-approved continuing education during the license term, including two hours on the laws and rules regulating auctioneer conduct. A completion certificate should be kept for one year. A person may not practice while the license is inactive or expired.

Annual Responsibility

A license holder is responsible for knowing the expiration date and filing a complete renewal with the required fee. TDLR may send a reminder, but a missed notice does not extend the credential. The currently listed auctioneer renewal fee is $50, subject to the fee schedule and any fund assessment required by statute.

Status matters on the date of the activity. If a license expires on March 31 and the person calls bids on April 1, a later renewal does not transform the April 1 work into licensed practice. Before accepting a sale, an auctioneer should verify active status in TDLR's public license search and also verify any other credential needed for the property involved.

Six Hours of Continuing Education

Rule 67.25 requires six hours of department-approved continuing education to renew an active license. Within those six hours, two hours must address the laws and rules that regulate auctioneer conduct. The remaining approved hours may cover subject matter relevant to auctioneering.

The exam distinction is simple:

• Total: six approved hours during the license term.
• Required component: two of those hours concern applicable auctioneer laws and rules.
• Proof: the provider reports completion, and the licensee retains the certificate of completion for one year.

Reading a statute independently can be excellent preparation, but it is not automatically approved continuing-education credit. Credit depends on completing an approved course through an approved provider and satisfying the provider's completion standards. A licensee should verify approval before enrolling.

The certificate-retention period should not be confused with other records. Auction records are generally kept for at least two years under Rule 67.70, while sales-tax records commonly have a four-year retention period. Those separate rules explain why an answer of “two years for every record” is unsafe.

Active, Inactive, and Expired Are Different

An active license authorizes the license holder to perform Chapter 1802 auctioneer activities, subject to all other applicable laws.

An inactive license preserves a credential in the status allowed by the department but does not authorize practice. A person in inactive status must complete the reactivation process before conducting auctions. The safe operational rule is to wait until TDLR shows the license as active; submitting paperwork is not the same as receiving authority.

An expired license likewise provides no authority to practice. General TDLR renewal law imposes escalating requirements and fees as a lapse grows. The precise filing path depends on how long the license has been expired and the department's current process. For an exam scenario, the central point is that a late filing does not create retroactive authority.

Practice includes more than chanting on sale day. Soliciting auction engagements, representing oneself as currently licensed, entering agreements that require an active license, and controlling auction proceeds can all create compliance problems while a license is inactive or expired.

A Status-Control Workflow

A compliant auction business can prevent most status errors with a short checklist:

1. Calendar the license expiration well before the sale calendar is booked.
2. Complete approved continuing education early enough to correct reporting problems.
3. Retain the completion certificate for one year and keep the provider information.
4. Submit renewal and fees through the official TDLR channel.
5. Confirm active status in the department's system before performing licensed work.
6. Keep auction records and tax records for their separate, longer periods.

Examples

A license expires on June 30. The auctioneer completed all six CE hours but forgot to renew and conducts a July 6 equipment auction. Completing CE did not keep the license active, and filing a late renewal on July 8 does not cure the unlicensed July 6 activity. The person should stop performing licensed services until TDLR restores active status.

By contrast, an active licensee who completed four general hours and only one hour of the required laws-and-rules instruction has five qualifying hours, not a completed renewal package. The licensee needs one more approved law-and-rules hour and one additional approved hour overall.

Exam Trap

Do not merge the record periods:

• CE certificate: one year;
• auction transaction records: at least two years;
• Texas sales-tax records: generally four years.

Also avoid treating “inactive” as “active but not currently busy.” It is a regulatory status without practice authority.