Think about the last time you renewed your license. You probably logged into DPOR, paid your fee, uploaded your continuing education, and moved on. Simple enough.

But have you ever wondered who decided what CE you needed to take? Or what qualifies as an approved course? Or what happens when a licensee gets a complaint filed against them?

That is the Virginia Real Estate Board.

DPOR and the Real Estate Board: What’s the Difference?

DPOR is the agency. It handles licensing applications, renewals, and the administrative side of keeping your license current. The Real Estate Board operates within DPOR as the governing board specifically for real estate licensees. Its members are appointed by the Governor and include both licensed real estate professionals and citizens representing the public.

The General Assembly sets the statutory framework: how many CE hours are required, what categories must be covered, the broad requirements for getting and keeping a license. The Board works within that framework to determine the specifics. Which courses qualify. What curriculum looks like. Which education providers get approved. How the requirements actually function in practice.

In other words, the General Assembly decides the what. The Board decides the how.

What the Board Actually Controls

The Board’s authority goes well beyond education requirements. It sets the regulations governing how licensees conduct business in Virginia. Advertising standards, identity verification requirements, conduct rules, disclosure obligations: these are Board-level decisions that land on every licensee’s desk as new requirements, often with no General Assembly vote attached and far less public visibility than legislation.

The Board also has enforcement authority. When a complaint is filed against a licensee, the Board investigates. It conducts hearings. It has the authority to discipline, suspend, or revoke a license. For anyone holding a Virginia real estate license, that is not a small thing.

The Board meets throughout the year, and its decisions can change how you practice without a single bill ever being introduced.

Why Virginia REALTORS^® Is There

Virginia REALTORS^® engages with the Real Estate Board year-round as a recognized stakeholder. When the Board takes up questions about education standards, advertising rules, conduct requirements, or any of the regulations governing how licensees operate, Virginia REALTORS^® is in those meetings.

Virginia REALTORS^® has been part of those important conversations for a long time. The regulations shaping how you practice, the education standards you meet, and the rules your brokerage operates under reflect years of engagement at a level most members never need to think about.