Checked 15 Nov 2026 by the team. Sources are listed at the end of the page.
Texas real estate broker license requirements under 22 TAC 535.56: four years of active licensed experience (720 points), 270 hours of qualifying real estate courses and 630 hours of related education. Related hours can include college courses in accounting, business, finance, law, management or marketing. A bachelor's degree also counts toward the related hours. TREC decides.
Under 22 TAC 535.56, a Texas broker applicant needs 270 hours of qualifying real estate courses plus 630 classroom hours of related education, which may include courses taken for credit from an accredited college or university in accounting, advertising, architecture, business or management, construction, finance, investments, law, marketing or real estate.
The rule asks for 900 hours: 270 qualifying + 630 related (including the 6-hour Broker Responsibility Course). The legal source is 22 TAC 535.56.
| Requirement | What TREC asks for | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Experience | 4 years' active licensed experience, 720 points. | [1] |
| Qualifying hours | 270 hours of TREC-approved real estate courses, incl. 7 mandatory 30-hour courses. | [1] |
| Related hours | 630 hours, incl. the 6-hour Broker Responsibility Course. | [1] |
| College courses | Courses for academic credit in listed topics: accounting, business, finance, law, management, marketing and more. | [1] |
| Bachelor's degree | TREC's page: up to 300 related hours. The rule text: deemed to satisfy the related requirement. | [2] |
| Extra experience points | Two points above 720 = one related hour, up to 300 hours. | [1] |
Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) decides how this rule applies to you. We read its published rule and the pages below; each was checked on 15 Nov 2026.
Each course below is ACE-recommended or NCCRS-recommended for college credit. Whether it counts here is the decision of the college and of Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC).
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Law topics such as business law and legal environment are on TREC's related list.
Self-paced online Business Law course (Business 250). ACE and NCCRS recommend 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →
Finance is a related area in the rule.
Self-paced online Principles of Finance course (Finance 201). ACE and NCCRS recommend 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →
Marketing principles are on TREC's related list.
Self-paced online Principles of Marketing course (Marketing 102). ACE and NCCRS recommend 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →
Managerial accounting is on TREC's related list.
Self-paced online Managerial Accounting course (Accounting 210). ACE and NCCRS recommend 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →
Management principles are on TREC's related list.
Self-paced online Principles of Management course (Business 101). NCCRS recommends 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →
Business communications is on TREC's related list.
Self-paced online Business Communication course (Business 210). NCCRS recommends 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →TESU, UoPeople and Newlane are partner colleges that consider ACE-recommended or NCCRS-recommended credit; start with their own transfer pages, then any other college you already attend.
ACE and NCCRS have over 2,100 cooperating colleges that will consider accepting credits; the final decision is with the universities.
| Option | Price | For this rule | Price checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| UPI Study PRO | $99 a month, every course | $99 for each month you are subscribed; take as many courses as you finish in that time | 15 Nov 2026 |
| Austin Community College (in-district) | $85 per credit hour with fees, 2026-27 | College business courses at about $255 per 3-credit course in-district | 15 Nov 2026 |
| Sophia Learning | $99 a month (or $299 per 4 months) | Monthly plan; check which business courses it offers | 15 Nov 2026 |
| StraighterLine | $99 a month plus $79 or more per course | Monthly fee plus a per-course fee | 15 Nov 2026 |
Prices checked 15 Nov 2026 on each provider's own page. TREC's own application fee is on its fee schedule and is not shown here. The college that posts outside credit may charge fees too.
UPI Study is not a college and is not accredited. ACE and NCCRS review our courses and recommend credit; a college decides whether to give that credit and records it on its own transcript.
Ask TREC in writing whether a college course in a listed topic, posted on a college transcript after outside study, will count toward your related hours and how many hours it is worth, before you enrol.
TREC's broker page and 22 TAC 535.56 split the education into two blocks. The first is 270 hours of qualifying real estate courses, including seven mandatory 30-hour courses: Principles I and II, Law of Agency, Law of Contracts, Promulgated Contract Forms, Real Estate Finance and Real Estate Brokerage. The Brokerage course must be taken no more than two years before you apply.
The second block is 630 hours of related education, which must include the six-hour Broker Responsibility Course. The rest can come from TREC-approved elective real estate courses, from college courses in listed subjects, from a degree, or from extra experience points. You also need four years of active experience as a licensed agent or broker, with at least 720 experience points.
TREC's page lists course topics acceptable for related credit when completed for academic credit through a college or university. The rule names the areas: accounting, advertising, architecture, business or management, construction, finance, investments, law, marketing and real estate. Within those, TREC lists topics such as principles of accounting and managerial accounting, business communications and business ethics, business and corporate finance and entrepreneurship, business law and legal environment, principles of management, and principles of marketing.
Many agents already have some of these from an unfinished degree. Pull your old transcripts first: a few business courses from years ago may cover part of the 630 hours.
Here the two official texts read differently. TREC's broker page says a bachelor's degree or higher from an accredited college satisfies up to 300 hours of the related education. The rule text, as amended in October 2023, says an applicant with a bachelor's or higher is deemed to have satisfied the related education requirement. Ask TREC in writing which applies to your application before you plan any extra courses.
Either way, a degree helps a great deal. If you are close to finishing one, completing it may be a better use of time than collecting separate related courses.
UPI Study offers courses in several of TREC's listed topics, including business law, principles of finance, principles of marketing, managerial accounting, principles of management and business communication, with ACE-recommended or NCCRS-recommended credit. They count for anything only once a college reviews them and posts them via a college transcript, and then TREC decides whether that transcript course meets the related education rule.
UPI Study is not a TREC-approved provider, so none of this touches the 270 qualifying hours. Ask TREC in writing first.
900 classroom hours: 270 hours of qualifying real estate courses and 630 hours of related education, including the six-hour Broker Responsibility Course. You also need four years of active licensed experience with at least 720 experience points, under 22 TAC 535.56.
College courses in listed subjects, completed for academic credit through a college or university, can count toward the 630 related hours. TREC lists topics in accounting, business, finance, law, management, marketing and more. TREC reviews each application.
Yes, toward the related education. TREC's page says a bachelor's or higher from an accredited college satisfies up to 300 related hours; the rule text says a degree is deemed to satisfy the related requirement. Ask TREC which applies to you.
Partly. TREC gives one related classroom hour for every two experience points above the 720 minimum, and experience points can substitute for up to 300 of the 630 related hours.
Principles of Real Estate I and II, Law of Agency, Law of Contracts, Promulgated Contract Forms, Real Estate Finance and Real Estate Brokerage, 30 hours each, plus the six-hour Broker Responsibility Course in the related hours.
TREC's list refers to courses completed for academic credit through a college or university. Whether an online course, or credit posted from outside study, counts is TREC's call. Ask TREC in writing before you enrol.
Business, finance, law and marketing courses in one plan.