Key reports, issues, and decisions of interest to licensees and/or the public are reported here from the most recent Commission meeting:
Commission Meeting of June 18, 2025
Pending Cases: The Commission entered into consent agreements to suspend 4 licenses, ordered hearings in 9 cases involving licensees, left 1 case pending, authorized injunctive relief involving 1 licensee, and accepted the issuance of 1 license.
License Applications Involving Character Issues: License applicants who have character issues such as prior criminal convictions or disciplinary actions by another licensing board are separately considered by the Commission. Decisions are based upon criminal background checks, information supplied by the applicant, and in-person interviews.
Total candidates considered: 11; total approved: 2; approved with conditions: 4; continued: 3; deferred: 2.
License Examination Results: If you are interested in reviewing the most recent statistics and pass rates regarding the North Carolina broker license examination, click here License Examination Results.
Allan R. Dameron Legal Internship Award: The Commission presented the Allan R. Dameron Legal Internship Award to Elliott S. Madden – Campbell University School of Law, and Elizabeth R. Allred – Elon University School of Law.
Renewals: The Director of Education and Licensing reported that 94,250 licensees (74%) have renewed their licenses, and the renewal rate is on pace with prior years. Regarding CE, 75,763 brokers have completed the required courses; 5,326 licensees are CE deficient. The Director of Education and Licensing noted that the renewal process is well-organized and methodical, involving personnel in IT, License Services, Education (including publications), and Administration. This year AI instructions were incorporated in the renewal campaign. The Director of Education and Licensing reported that calls to License Services have been cut in half with the streamlining of the renewal process. Mr. Lindsey noted that there has been a rash of abuse toward Commission staff during the renewal process. The Commission will not tolerate this and reminds licensees that the staff should be treated with kindness and respect. He commended the staff for handling the challenges of the renewal process.
South Carolina CE Agreement: The Director of Education and Licensing reported that the South Carolina Real Estate Commission reached out seeking an updated agreement regarding CE reciprocity whereby North Carolina would exempt South Carolina brokers licensed in North Carolina from North Carolina CE if South Carolina exempts North Carolina brokers licensed in South Carolina from South Carolina CE. Upon a motion from Mr. Black, the Commission declined South Carolina’s request for a new CE reciprocity agreement.
Update Course Development: The Director of Education and Licensing provided a brief report on the Update course development, reporting that the 2025-2026 Update course is complete. The Director of Education and Licensing indicated that the first Update Instructor Seminar (UIS) was delivered eight hours after the 2025 CE deadline had passed. The Director of Education and Licensing noted that they received good feedback from the instructors who attended. Commission Chair Lindsey invited comments from the educators in attendance. Ms. Melea Lemon stated that the Update was lovely, and she believes that all the material can be covered in four hours. Mr. Bill Gallagher stated that the course is exciting and features “bells and whistles” along with great content.
Training Room Studio: The Director of Education and Licensing reported that he is working with the Chief Technology Officer to plan the retrofitting of the current Training Room into a recording studio. He noted that the Commission had previously approved a budget of $100,000 to update the training room. They have received two bids for the conversion, and staff plans to proceed with the lower bid.
License Exam Performance: The Director of Education and Licensing reported that the public now has access to real-time reporting and data concerning Education Provider pass rates on the Commission’s website. The Director of Education and Licensing commended the Chief Technology Officer and the Software Engineer on the creation of this function. The team will continue to work on real-time pass rate data for the instructors.
Financial Report: The Commission received and reviewed the monthly Financial Report presented by the Chief Financial Officer for the period ending May 31, 2025. Commission Chair Lindsey noted that the Finance Committee has met and is discussing the budget for FY2025-26.
Renewal Fee Increase: The Executive Director asked the Commission to consider rulemaking to increase the license renewal fee by $5.00. The Executive Director noted that based on the financials, this year the Commission’s expenditures may exceed its income, and while it has reserves to cover any shortfall this year and, in the future, it is time to consider revenue enhancement strategies. The Executive Director reminded the Commission that she brought this proposal to the Commission at the September meeting last year, and the Commission voted 7-2 not to pursue it. Commission member Ramseur noted that the Finance Committee is in support of the Executive Director’s request to consider the increase and wanted to hear what the rest of the Commission thought about it. After a brief discussion, upon a motion from Mr. Alston, the Commission decided to begin rulemaking to consider increasing the license renewal fee by $5.00.
LNCL Workgroup Meeting: The Executive Director reported that the Limited Non-Resident Commercial License (LNCL) Workgroup, comprised of Mr. Aceto, Mr. Bell, and Ms. Sebti, met with staff on May 20 to discuss the LNCL Rules (Subchapter 58A, Section 1800), BIC affiliation, CE requirements, and the LNCL fee structure. Upon a motion from Mr. Alston in conformance with the recommendations of the Workgroup, the Commission voted to initiate rulemaking to require LNCLs to be supervised by a BIC, take North Carolina CE, increase the licensing fee to $200, and change the LNCL name to something less wordy, such as limited commercial broker.
The Director of Education and Licensing reported that due to questions surrounding LNCLs, staff have taken the opportunity to have the summer intern contact all LNCLs to complete a questionnaire. The Director of Education and Licensing will provide a report on the outcome.
Rulemaking Update: The Compliance Manager provided a report on annual rulemaking, noting that all the rules from the Annual rulemaking have been approved by the Rules Review Commission and are effective July 1, 2025. The Compliance Manager also noted that an amendment to Rule 58A. 0112 concerning the inclusion of commission provisions in the offer to purchase will open for public comment on July 1, 2025, and will have a public hearing on Thursday, August 14, 2025.
The Director of Regulatory Affairs provided an in-depth report on the next steps for rulemaking to implement the Commission’s decisions concerning BIC Span of Control. The Director of Regulatory Affairs noted the staff will bring rulemaking language to the full Commission at the September meeting. Upon a motion from Mr. Aceto, the Commission voted to move forward with rulemaking on items 1-4, 6, and 7 in Exhibit 8.
2025-2026 Business and Related Insurance Proposals: The Chief Administrative Officer presented the Insurance Report, including options for carriers, coverage, and costs thereof for the Commission’s business. The Chief Administrative Officer noted that the Finance Committee (Mr. Ramsuer and Mr. Alston) had met to review the coverage in detail and recommended its approval without changes and have asked staff to look into an increase in coverage of Commission hardware. Upon the motion of Commission member Alston, the Commission voted to purchase or renew the insurance policies as more particularly described in the report.
Operational Analysis and Succession Planning Study: Upon the motion of Mr. Aceto, the Commission voted to meet in closed session pursuant to N.C.G.S. § 143-318.11(a)(5) with the Executive Director to consider the bid for the Operational Analysis and Succession Planning Study. Upon a motion from Mr. Aceto, the Commission came out of closed session. Mr. Lindsey announced that the Commission chose not to accept the bid for the Operational Analysis and Succession Planning Study at this time.
2025-2026 Projects: The Executive Director reminded the members that if they had any projects they would like to add to the draft 2025-26 Projects Summaries list for consideration, they should email the Executive Director their ideas, copying the Chair and Vice Chair.
Appearances and Speeches: The Executive Director provided a report on recent speeches and reviewed the upcoming speeches and appearances by Commission members and staff.
Election of Commission Officers for the period August 2025 to July 2026: Commission Vice Chair Bill Aceto was elected to serve as the Commission Chair for the year beginning August 1, 2025, and Commission member Skip Alston was elected to serve as the Commission Vice Chair.
NAR Legislative Meetings: Vice Chair Aceto and the Director of Regulatory Affairs gave a brief report on the NAR Legislative Meetings held in Washington, D.C. earlier in the month.
Report on License Numbers: As of June 1, 2025, there are 128,468 brokers and firms licensed by the Commission, as follows:
Active Full Brokers – 80,954
Active Provisional Brokers – 4,296
Brokers-in-Charge – 17,975
BIC Eligible Brokers – 6,888
Inactive Full Brokers – 17,576
Inactive Provisional Brokers – 7,592
Firms – 17,764
Limited Nonresident Commercial Brokers – 286
Next Commission Meeting: The next Commission meeting will be held at 9:00am, July 16, 2025, at Johnson C. Smith University, Innovation Center of STEM Hall Rm. 322, 100 Beatties Ford Road, Charlotte, NC, 28216 and is open to the public. It can be viewed via Zoom online video.