How to Renew Your Alabama Real Estate License (2026 Guide)

Alabama real estate licenses run on a two-year license period that begins October 1 of an even year and ends September 30 of the next even year. You will need 15 hours of continuing education, and there are two dates that matter, not one: August 31 is the last day to file without a penalty, and September 30 is when your license actually expires.

If you have already missed both, read the expired-license section below before you panic. Alabama is considerably more forgiving than most guides suggest.

Alabama renewal at a glance

When does an Alabama real estate license expire?

Alabama licenses expire at midnight on September 30 of the final year of the license period. The current period runs October 1, 2024 through September 30, 2026; the next begins October 1, 2026.

The August 31 date you see quoted everywhere is not the expiration. It is the deadline to file your renewal without a $150 penalty. File between September 1 and September 30 and you can still renew on time, but you will owe the penalty. Miss September 30 entirely and your license moves to inactive status on October 1.

AREC opens online renewal around mid-June and mails renewal notices before August 1, but do not rely on the notice arriving.

What are Alabama's continuing education requirements?

All licensees complete 15 hours per two-year license period. Hours beyond 15 do not carry forward.

• Salespersons: 3-hour Risk Management course plus 12 hours of approved electives.
• Associate brokers and qualifying brokers: 3-hour Risk Management course, plus the 3-hour Mandatory Broker CE course, plus 9 hours of approved electives.

Note that the broker requirement applies to associate brokers as well as qualifying brokers, which is easy to miss.

Alabama does not require an ethics course. If you take one, it is because your REALTOR association requires it for membership, not because AREC does.

Your CE must be completed and reported to AREC on or before September 30 of the renewal year. All 15 hours can be completed online, including Risk Management and the broker course, provided you use a provider AREC has approved for distance education. One catch worth knowing: CE taken in another state only counts if it was a classroom course, so out-of-state online courses do not transfer.

Our Alabama real estate continuing education courses cover the required courses and electives.

Who is exempt

• Your first renewal, if you have been licensed a year or less. The 30-hour post-license course satisfies the 15 CE hours.
• Anyone who completed the 60-hour Broker Prelicense course, which satisfies all 15 hours for the following license period.
• Reciprocal licensees, who submit a certification of active licensure from their original state between June and September of the even year.
• A narrow age exemption exists, but it is a closed group: only licensees who reached 65 on or before September 30, 2000 and had 10 years of licensure at that point.

How do you renew an Alabama real estate license?

1. Complete your 15 hours and confirm your provider reported them to AREC.
2. Log in to the AREC online portal and complete the renewal application.
3. Pay your fee, $185 salesperson or $205 broker, by August 31 to avoid the penalty.

How much does it cost to renew an Alabama real estate license?

• Salesperson renewal: $185, including a $15 education and research fee
• Broker renewal: $205, including the same $15 fee
• Multiple broker renewal: $190
• Company renewal: $170
• Late penalty: $150

What happens if your Alabama license expires?

This is where most guides get Alabama wrong, so here is the actual four-tier structure:

• On time, by August 31: renewal fee only.
• September 1 to September 30: renewal fee plus the $150 penalty. Your license stays current.
• October 1 through September 30 of the following year: your license is expired but still renewable. You pay the renewal fee plus the $150 penalty, with no re-examination and no new application. Alabama gives you a full 12-month window here. The license returns on inactive status, so you will need your 15 CE hours on record and activation under a qualifying broker before you can practice again.
• After that 12-month window: the license is lapsed, and you are treated as someone who has never been licensed. That means the 60-hour salesperson prelicense course, passing the state exam, and a new application. A former broker must restart as a salesperson, unless they hold an active broker license in another state and can return through reciprocity.

AREC may also allow a later renewal upon a determination of hardship, so it is worth contacting the Commission directly if your circumstances warrant it.

The takeaway

Two dates, in this order: file by August 31 to avoid $150, and understand that your license does not actually expire until September 30. Complete 15 hours, Risk Management plus electives, with the extra broker course if you hold any broker license, and remember that ethics is not required in Alabama. If you have already lapsed, check the calendar before assuming the worst, because you have a full year to renew without touching an exam.

Requirements and fees verified against the Alabama Real Estate Commission and Ala. Code §34-27-35 as of July 2026. AREC's published fee schedule predates 2026, though the amounts match the statute exactly; confirm current figures with AREC before you file.