Tennessee House Bill HB0700

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/3/25
• Refer: 2/6/25
• Refer: 3/5/25
• Refer: 3/19/25
• Chaptered: 4/8/25
• Passed: 4/8/25

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 62, Chapter 13, relative to real estate broker licenses.

Summary

HB0700 amends Tennessee’s real estate licensing law for brokers. The bill requires a newly licensed broker to complete 120 classroom hours of additional real estate education within three years of the original license issuance in order to have the license reissued. After that initial education requirement is met, brokers generally must complete 16 classroom hours of approved real estate coursework every two years as a condition of license reissuance. The bill also preserves an existing exemption for certain long-licensed brokers: those originally licensed before January 1, 2005, who do not supervise any affiliate brokers are not subject to the biennial 16-hour continuing education requirement. The act takes effect January 1, 2026, and amends Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 62, Chapter 13, which governs real estate brokers and related licensing standards.

Impact

This legislation tightens and clarifies continuing education requirements for real estate brokers in Tennessee by tying license reissuance to completion of specified classroom hours. It affects broker license holders, approved schools and universities offering real estate instruction, and the Tennessee Real Estate Commission’s administration of broker licensure. The bill updates Section 62-13-303 to establish a staged education requirement for newer brokers while retaining a grandfathered exemption for certain older brokers who do not supervise affiliate brokers.

Sentiment

The bill appears to have received generally favorable support in the legislative process, advancing through the House Business and Utilities Subcommittee and the House Commerce Committee with strong majority votes and only one dissenting vote in each committee. The available record shows no committee transcript debate, but the vote margins suggest broad agreement that the measure is a routine licensing and education update rather than a controversial policy change.

Contention

The main point of potential contention is the continuing education burden placed on brokers, especially the requirement for 120 additional classroom hours within three years of initial licensure and the ongoing 16-hour biennial requirement. Any disagreement likely centers on whether these standards are necessary for consumer protection and professional competency or whether they impose unnecessary compliance costs and time demands on licensees. The exemption for brokers licensed before January 1, 2005, who do not supervise affiliate brokers may also raise fairness questions, but the bill’s committee votes indicate limited opposition overall.