TREC, Explained for Licensed Texas Agents
TREC is the Texas Real Estate Commission – the state agency in Austin that issued your license, sets the rules for keeping it, and takes your renewal fee every two years. If you hold a Texas real estate license, TREC is not optional. Understanding how it actually works will save you time, money, and at least one panicked phone call.
First, the disclosure that matters: we are Texas Real Estate Academy, a TREC-approved continuing education provider (#10010-CEP). We are not TREC, and no CE provider is. TREC regulates us the same way it regulates you. This page is the guide we wish the Commission published itself.
Need your 18 hours? Start tonight – $75
What TREC does (and does not do)
TREC’s actual job list:
- Issues and renews sales agent, broker, and inspector licenses
- Sets the CE and SAE education requirements for keeping a license active
- Approves every education provider and every course (each TREA course carries its own TREC approval number)
- Maintains the public license records anyone can search
- Enforces the Real Estate License Act – complaints, discipline, fines
What TREC does not do:
- Teach courses. Education comes from approved providers like us.
- Chase you about your CE hours. A renewal notice may land in your inbox, but knowing your date and finishing the hours on time is entirely on you.
- Post your CE hours. Your PROVIDER reports your hours to TREC – and TREC gives providers 7 to 10 days to do it. Who you choose decides whether your credit shows up in days or in seconds.
TREC once approved instructors directly – read how David Offutt became Instructor #1597, one of the last.
Who owns what: TREC vs. your CE provider
| Your question | Who owns it |
|---|---|
| My license record, expiration date, status | TREC |
| The renewal application and the renewal fee | TREC |
| The CE hour requirements (what counts, how many) | TREC sets them |
| Teaching the CE courses | Your provider |
| Reporting your finished hours to TREC | Your provider |
| How fast those hours appear on your record | Your provider’s system |
That last row is the one that bites people. TREC allows providers 7-10 days to report completed hours. Most large providers upload on their own schedule. TREA posts your credit in about 3 seconds – and if TREC’s system is down, our posting retries every 5 minutes until it lands. Built that way on purpose, because TREC’s system does go down and your expiration date does not move.
Your TREC license record: how to check it
Every Texas license is public record. You can look up your own license – or any agent’s – by name or license number. Check your expiration date, your CE status, and whether your hours have posted.
How to look up a Texas real estate license
TREC and your renewal
The renewal itself happens in your TREC Online Services account: confirm your CE hours are showing, submit, pay. The part that takes actual time – the 18 CE hours – happens before you ever log in.
- The complete renewal walkthrough
- The 18-hour CE requirements in detail
- Broker renewal (different hours, different fee)
When TREC’s systems fight you
We say this with respect and receipts: TREC makes things hard sometimes. The Commission migrated its provider systems to a new platform called REALM in early 2026 – and was offline for nine weeks doing it. Providers could not file applications. Courses sat in limbo. Agents kept renewing anyway, because deadlines do not pause for migrations.
That experience is why TREA built its posting infrastructure the way it did: automatic, instant, and self-retrying. TREC makes things hard. We built around it.
Want the details on REALM itself? What is TREC’s REALM portal?
Contacting TREC
- Website: trec.texas.gov
- Phone: 512.936.3000
- Mail: P.O. Box 12188, Austin, TX 78711-2188
Fair warning from experience: TREC is a regulator, not a help desk. For license-record questions, the online lookup answers faster than the phone line. For CE questions, your provider usually knows the answer cold.
FAQ
What does TREC stand for?
The Texas Real Estate Commission – the state agency that licenses and regulates real estate agents, brokers, and inspectors in Texas, and approves every CE provider and course.
Is TREC the same as the Texas Real Estate Board?
Texas does not have a “Real Estate Board” – the regulator is the Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC). If you moved from another state, TREC is the equivalent of your old state’s real estate board or division.
Is Texas Real Estate Academy part of TREC?
No. No school is part of TREC. TREA is a TREC-approved CE provider (#10010-CEP) – approved and regulated by the Commission, not affiliated with it.
How do I check my CE hours with TREC?
Look up your license record on TREC’s website – it shows your CE status and expiration date. If you finished a course and it is not showing, ask your provider when they reported it; TREC allows them 7-10 days.
How often does TREC require license renewal?
Every 2 years. Standard renewals require 18 CE hours completed before your expiration date. First-time renewals are different: they require 98 SAE hours, which TREA does not offer.
What happens if TREC’s system is down when my provider posts hours?
The provider has to retry. TREA’s posting system retries automatically every 5 minutes until TREC confirms the credit – you do not have to do anything.