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Understanding Your License Status

March 2026

"I just need to know how to reactivate my license."

We hear this a lot at the Oregon Real Estate Agency. Depending on the situation, it might not be as simple as reactivating.

The confusion usually comes down to not knowing the difference between Active, Inactive, Expired, and Lapsed license statuses. Here's what each one means and what you need to do.

Quick Reference

STATUS CAN YOU PRACTICE? RENEWAL? NEXT STEPS
Active✅ YesEvery 2 yearsKeep CE Current
Inactive🚫 NoEvery 2 years1. Complete CE
2. Reactivate in eLicense
3. Get added to RBN
Expired🚫 NoWithin 1 year1. Complete CE
2. Renew late in eLicense with late fee
3. Get added to RBN
Lapsed❌ NoN/A -- Start Over1. Reapply
2. Re-educate
3. Re-test

Active License

You must have an active license to legally practice real estate in Oregon, such as showing properties, writing offers, managing rentals, receiving referrals, and other professional activities defined in Oregon Revised Statute 696.010.

To keep a license active, you must:

  • Keep up with your continuing education.
  • Renew your license within your renewal month and pay the $300 active renewal fee in eLicense every two years. (Your first renewal period will most likely be shorter than two years, as it is determined by your birth month.)
  • Maintain your association with your managing principal broker or supervising property manager.

⚠️ Practicing real estate without an active license is engaging in unlicensed activity and can result in administrative action and civil fines.

💡Pro Tip: If you do not have enough time to complete your continuing education before your license expires, you may wish to renew inactive. You cannot practice real estate while you are inactive, but you will give yourself extra time to complete your continuing education and avoid the late renewal fee.

Inactive License

Your license may be inactive for a few reasons:

  • You chose to renew in inactive status because you weren't practicing for a period of time.
  • You voluntarily inactivated your license.
  • Your managing principal broker or property manager removed you from their business.

With an inactive license, you can jump back into practicing real estate without retaking the pre-license education and license exam.

To maintain an inactive license, you must renew your license on-time and pay the $150 inactive renewal fee in eLicense every two-year license period. Continuing education is not required to renew an inactive license.

When you decide you want to activate your license:

  1. Complete the required continuing education if needed.
  2. Pass the reactivation exam if you have been inactive for two years or more. (Skip this step if you have been inactive for less than two years.)
  3. Reactivate in eLicense and pay the activation fee.
  4. Have your license transferred to a registered business name (RBN) by a managing principal broker or property manager. (If you are a principal broker or a property manager, you can choose to register your own RBN.)

🔔Remember: Inactive means inactive. You cannot conduct any professional real estate activities, including referrals, while your license is in this status.

Expired License

If you miss your renewal deadline, your license becomes expired and your license is disassociated from your managing principal broker or supervising property manager. You cannot conduct professional real estate activity while your license is expired.

You have a one-year grace period to renew late without having to restart the licensing process.

To renew late, log in to your eLicense account and complete the license renewal, including paying a late fee. Your managing principal broker or supervising property manager must then add your license back to the registered business in eLicense BEFORE you can engage in professional real estate activity again.

💡Pro tip: Set a calendar reminder before your renewal date to allow enough time to complete continuing education as needed. You can take continuing education anytime between license renewals.

Lapsed License

If your license stays expired for a full year, it becomes lapsed. At that point, you are no longer licensed.

To engage in professional real estate activity again, you will need to start over from scratch:

  1. Apply for a license
  2. Complete current pre-license education requirements (taken in 2013 or after)
  3. Pass the license exam
  4. Find a managing principal broker or property manager to associate with

💡Pro tip: This process can take several months and cost significantly more than simply renewing late. If you're in your one-year grace period, renewing, even with a late fee, is almost always the better option.

Your License Status

You can always check your license status by logging in to your eLicense account or using the Agency’s Licensee Lookup.

Stay in the Know

As a courtesy, the Agency sends email alerts when your license is approaching renewal, when it expires, and when it lapses. (We also email your managing principal broker or supervising property manager on expiration.) You are responsible for renewing your license on time even if you do not receive an email.

Administrative rule requires you to maintain your correct email address in eLicense. You can confirm and update your email address in eLicense.

If you're unsure about your status or next steps, the Agency can help. Contact us at (503) 378-4170 or orea.info@rea.oregon.gov.