Florida Post-Licensing vs. Continuing Education: What’s the Difference?
These are two different requirements, and buying the wrong one won’t satisfy your renewal. If it’s your first renewal, you need post-licensing, not CE. Here’s how to tell which one applies to you, and how to complete the right one online.
By Scott Schubiner
Licensed Florida Real Estate Broker & Instructor · Published August 30, 2026
Post-licensing vs. continuing education, at a glance
| Post-Licensing | Continuing Education | |
|---|---|---|
| Who it’s for | Every newly licensed sales associate and broker | Every licensee, from their second renewal onward |
| When it’s due | One time, before your first renewal | Every renewal after your first, each biennium |
| Hours | 45 (sales associate) or 60 (broker) | 14 — same for every license class |
| What’s covered | Practice-building topics specific to your license class | 3 hrs Core Law, 3 hrs Ethics, 8 hrs specialty electives |
| Consequence of missing it | License becomes null and void | License becomes involuntary inactive |
Post-licensing is one-time and license-class specific (FAC 61J2-3.020(1); Fla. Stat. § 475.17(3)(a) and (4)(a)). Continuing education is 14 hours every biennium after that, identical for sales associates, broker associates, and brokers (Fla. Stat. § 475.182; FAC 61J2-3.009) — and the statute is explicit that the 14 hours are not owed before the first renewal (Fla. Stat. § 475.17(5)(b)).
The two “miss it” outcomes are not equally recoverable. A missed renewal reverts a license to involuntarily inactive status, which is reactivated with education and fees for up to two years. A missed post-licensing deadline makes the license null and void outright. One narrow route stays open to a broker only: § 475.17(4)(c) lets a broker whose license goes void be issued a sales associate license on proof of the 14-hour continuing education course within the 6 months following expiration.
How to know which one you need
Ask yourself: has this license ever been renewed before?
- If this is your first renewal — you passed the state exam, got licensed, and this upcoming renewal is the first one you’ve faced — you need post-licensing: 45 hours if you’re a sales associate, 60 if you’re a broker.
- If you have renewed before, or you’ve already completed a post-licensing course since you were first licensed, your requirement now is continuing education: 14 hours, every renewal.
- Not sure? Your license status and renewal history are on MyFloridaLicense.com. If you’ve never taken a post-licensing course, your upcoming renewal is almost certainly your first — and CE alone will not satisfy it.
Taking the wrong course does not satisfy your renewal. Buying 14 hours of CE when your first renewal actually requires post-licensing will not keep your license active. Confirm which renewal you’re facing before you buy.
All applicants for licensure who pass a broker or sales associate licensure examination must satisfactorily complete a Commission-prescribed post-licensing course prior to the first renewal following initial licensure. The course totals at least 45 classroom hours for a sales associate and at least 60 for a broker (Fla. Stat. § 475.17(3)(a), (4)(a)).Read the full text
All persons holding active or inactive licenses as brokers or sales associates must satisfactorily complete a minimum of 14 hours of instruction of 50 minutes each … during each license renewal period excluding the first renewal period of their current license. … The specialty course hours must total at least 8 hours.Read the full text
Complete the right one with Comet CE
Both are 100% online and self-paced — no live sessions, no proctoring — with your completed hours filed to the DBPR on your behalf and your certificate issued the moment you finish.
Each purchase carries a 6-month access window from your purchase date, shown at checkout; when it closes, access to the course ends whether or not it was finished.