North Carolina Licensing Law and Rules
This domain tests the North Carolina Real Estate License Law and Commission rules: licensing, supervision, trust accounts, advertising, and discipline. Questions often turn on what a provisional broker may do without the broker-in-charge.
Core rules
- The North Carolina Real Estate Commission licenses brokers. A provisional broker must work under a broker-in-charge and is supervised until postlicensing is complete.
- Prelicensing is 75 hours. Postlicensing is 90 hours in three 30-hour courses within 18 months of initial licensure. Continuing education is 8 hours per year, including the 4-hour Update.
- Licenses renew by June 30. Late fees and inactive status apply. The broker-in-charge is responsible for office supervision, trust accounts, advertising, and records.
- Trust funds such as earnest money, security deposits, and rents must be deposited in a trust account; commingling with operating funds is prohibited. Written property management agreements and records are required.
- Advertising must include the firm name and be under broker-in-charge supervision. Unlicensed assistants may not perform licensed activities.
Worked example
A provisional broker lists a home and advertises it without the broker-in-charge's firm name. The provisional broker has violated supervision and advertising rules; the broker-in-charge is also accountable for failing to supervise. The fix is firm-name advertising, broker-in-charge review, and a written office policy.
Traps that cost marks
Thinking a provisional broker can operate independently; missing the postlicensing deadline; putting earnest money in the operating account; using an unlicensed assistant to quote commissions; and forgetting that continuing education includes the Update course.