State Portion: North Carolina License Law and Commission Rules
The statute and the rules
The North Carolina Real Estate Commission administers the Real Estate License Law (G.S. Chapter 93A) and its rules (21 NCAC 58). Know the licensing ladder: 75 hours of prelicensing education, age 18, high school diploma or equivalent, criminal record check, examination, and a sponsoring broker-in-charge before you may actively broker. Every new licensee starts as a provisional broker and must complete 90 hours of postlicensing education (three 30-hour courses) within three years to remove provisional status. Continuing education is 8 hours every license year, including the 4-hour Update course, by June 30; the license year runs July 1 to June 30. A broker-in-charge must be experienced and must supervise provisional brokers and firm trust accounts.
State-specific practice points
NC uses a deed of trust with a trustee power of sale, so foreclosure is nonjudicial through the clerk of superior court, with a 10-day upset bid period after the sale. Closings are attorney-conducted. Residential resales require the Residential Property and Owners' Association Disclosure Statement and the Mineral, Oil and Gas Rights disclosure; the Working with Real Estate Agents Disclosure must be given at first substantial contact, and agency agreements must be in writing. Trust funds go in a trust account, never commingled, with records kept three years.
Traps
Assuming a new licensee is a full broker; confusing the June 30 CE deadline with December 31; treating the due diligence fee as refundable earnest money (it generally is not, absent contract terms); and believing the Commission can award damages - it licenses and disciplines, it does not decide who owes whom money.
Rule of thumb
75 + 90 = 165 hours to full broker status; note your initial licensure date and count three years forward for postlicensing.