How many CE hours do I need to reactivate?

If your license went involuntarily inactive, the education depends on how long it has been: 14 hours of continuing education for a lapse of 12 months or less, and a 28-hour reactivation course for more than 12 months but fewer than 24 (Fla. Stat. § 475.183(2); FAC 61J2-3.010). After 2 years involuntarily inactive the license expires and becomes null and void. A voluntarily inactive license has no separate reactivation course: you renew it under Fla. Stat. § 475.182; FAC 61J2-3.009(1)(a) with the same 14 hours of continuing education Florida requires of active and inactive licensees alike. Confirm your own status and the current fees with the DBPR before you buy.

What happens after 2 years of involuntary inactivity?

Once a Florida real estate license has been involuntarily inactive for 2 years it expires automatically and becomes null and void, and no reactivation course will bring it back (Fla. Stat. § 475.183(2); FAC 61J2-3.010). Act well before that mark. Confirm your own status and the current fees with the DBPR before you buy.

How do I check my license status?

Log in to MyFloridaLicense.com to see whether your license is voluntarily inactive, involuntarily inactive, or null and void, and how long it has been in that status.

Can I reactivate an expired license?

Only within the allowed window. As long as the license has not become null and void, you can reactivate it by completing the required education and paying any fees and late fees. After it is null and void, you must re-license from scratch — the pre-license course and state exam again. Confirm current requirements with DBPR.

Does Comet CE offer the reactivation courses?

Comet CE offers the 14-hour continuing education course, which is what reactivates a license that has been involuntarily inactive for 12 months or less, and what a voluntarily inactive licensee renews with. Comet CE does not currently offer the 28-hour reactivation course. Confirm your own status and the current fees with the DBPR before you buy.

How to Reactivate an Inactive or Expired Florida Real Estate License

If your Florida real estate license has gone inactive, the path back depends on how long it's been inactive and why. Here's how reactivation works — and where the deadlines can close the door for good.

By Scott Schubiner

Licensed Florida Real Estate Broker & Instructor · Published September 1, 2026

A Florida real estate agent reviewing license paperwork to reactivate an inactive license

Reactivating a Florida real estate license is not one process — it's several, and which one applies to you turns on two questions: how you became inactive (by choice or by missing a renewal) and how long ago. The hour requirements and deadlines below are the general framework; always confirm the current requirements for your specific situation with the Florida DBPR before you rely on them.

Voluntary inactive (you chose to go inactive)

If you deliberately placed your license on voluntary inactive status — for example, while stepping away from the business — there is no separate reactivation course. You renew the license under Fla. Stat. § 475.182; FAC 61J2-3.009(1)(a) with the same 14 hours of continuing education Florida requires of active and inactive licensees alike, then have a broker activate it.

The 28-hour reactivation course described below is not a voluntary-inactive requirement. It belongs to a license that went involuntarily inactive, and it is keyed on 12 months, not on two years. Confirm your own status and the current fees with the DBPR before you buy.

Involuntary inactive (you missed a renewal / didn't complete CE)

If you let a renewal lapse — you didn’t renew on time or didn’t complete your continuing education — the license goes involuntarily inactive. You then have up to 2 years to reactivate, and how much education you owe depends on how long the lapse has run:

12 months or less: complete 14 hours of continuing education.
More than 12 months but fewer than 24: complete the 28-hour reactivation education course instead.

Either way you also pay the applicable fees and late fees. Confirm your own status and the current fees with the DBPR before you buy.

After 2 years involuntarily inactive — "null and void"

This is the hard deadline. Once a license has been involuntarily inactive for 2 years it expires by operation of law and becomes null and void, and cannot be reactivated at all. At that point there is no reactivation course that will bring it back — you would have to re-qualify from the start: retake the pre-license course and pass the Florida state exam again. If your license is involuntarily inactive, act well before the 2-year mark. Confirm your exact status and remaining time with DBPR.

Florida law — Fla. Stat. § 475.183(2)

A licensee may reactivate a license that has been involuntarily inactive for 12 months or less by satisfactorily completing at least 14 hours of a commission-prescribed continuing education course. Notwithstanding the provisions of s. 455.271, a licensee may reactivate a license that has been involuntarily inactive for more than 12 months but fewer than 24 months by satisfactorily completing 28 hours of a commission-prescribed education course. … Any license that has been involuntarily inactive for more than 2 years shall automatically expire. Once a license expires, it becomes null and void without any further action by the commission or department.

Read the full text

The course itself is prescribed by FAC 61J2-3.010, “License Reactivation Education for Brokers and Sales Associates”.

How to reactivate, step by step

1Determine your license status. Log in to MyFloridaLicense.com and check whether your license is voluntarily inactive, involuntarily inactive, or null and void, and how long it has been in that status.
2Complete the required education. If your license went involuntarily inactive, the education depends on how long it has been: 14 hours of continuing education for a lapse of 12 months or less, and a 28-hour reactivation course for more than 12 months but fewer than 24 (Fla. Stat. § 475.183(2); FAC 61J2-3.010). After 2 years involuntarily inactive the license expires and becomes null and void. A voluntarily inactive license has no separate reactivation course: you renew it under Fla. Stat. § 475.182; FAC 61J2-3.009(1)(a) with the same 14 hours of continuing education Florida requires of active and inactive licensees alike. Confirm your own status and the current fees with the DBPR before you buy.
3Submit the reactivation request and pay any fees. File the DBPR reactivation request and pay the applicable fees, including any late fees. Confirm current forms and amounts with DBPR.
4Have a broker activate your license. If you are returning to active practice, a licensed broker must link your license to their brokerage to activate it.

Get your CE done to reactivate

If you need the 14 hours of continuing education, Comet CE's course is 100% online and self-paced. Confirm the exact reactivation requirement for your situation with DBPR.

View the 14-hour CE course