An inactive real estate license in Virginia keeps your credential on the books without allowing you to practice: you cannot list, show, negotiate, manage transactions, or give real estate advice for pay, but you also do not have to complete continuing education or affiliate with a broker while the license sits inactive. You still owe a renewal fee every two years, and if you miss it the license expires and the path back gets much harder.
What You Can and Cannot Do on Inactive Status
While inactive, you are not affiliated with a brokerage and cannot legally engage in any activity that requires a real estate license. That includes listing or showing property, negotiating sales or leases, managing transactions for clients, and providing professional real estate advice for compensation. Even an informal deal for a friend can cross the line into unlicensed practice.
The Virginia Real Estate Board still treats you as a licensee, so keep your mailing address and contact information current with the board. Stale contact information is a common reason people miss a renewal notice and let the license expire by accident.
Renewing an Inactive License
Inactive licenses renew every two years, by the last day of your birth month. The important structural difference from an active license: inactive licensees are not required to complete continuing education as a condition of renewal.1Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Administrative Code 18VAC135-20-101 – Qualification for Renewal; Continuing Education The CE obligation only returns when you decide to reactivate.
Renewal fees on the inactive side are lower than active fees because you are not carrying Errors and Omissions insurance or paying brokerage costs. Miss the renewal window and the license expires; reinstatement fees jump to $155 for salespersons and $180 for brokers, and reinstatement is only available for one year after expiration. After that, the license is gone and you have to apply as a brand-new applicant under current education and examination rules.2Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Administrative Code 18VAC135-20-140 – Failure to Renew; Reinstatement Required
Reactivating Your License
How you get back to active practice depends on how long the license has been inactive.
Inactive Three Years or Less
Reactivation is relatively straightforward. Complete the continuing education hours that active licensees have to satisfy, since you were exempt while inactive. Affiliate with a supervising broker, unless you already hold a broker’s license yourself, because Virginia requires every active salesperson to operate under a licensed broker.3Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 54.1-2106.1 – Licenses Required Then submit a reactivation application through DPOR’s online system with your education documentation and broker affiliation details.
Inactive More Than Three Years
Virginia law requires the board to impose remedial education on any salesperson or broker who has been inactive for more than three years. You must meet the educational requirements in effect at the time you reactivate, not the ones from when you first got licensed.4Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 54.1-2105.04 – Education Requirements; Reactivation of Licenses; Waiver In practice, that can mean a significant number of pre-licensing hours on top of standard CE.
The board can waive the remedial requirement in two situations: if you spent the inactive period working in a field where you maintained real estate knowledge, or if you are a military spouse who was permanently stationed outside Virginia during part of the inactive period and stayed current in the field.4Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 54.1-2105.04 – Education Requirements; Reactivation of Licenses; Waiver If either applies, you can petition the board with documentation showing how you kept your knowledge current.
If Your License Expires
An expired license is a worse position than an inactive one. Reinstatement requires the higher fees ($155 salesperson, $180 broker) and is only available during the first year after expiration. If you want to come back to active status rather than inactive, you also have to complete the continuing education requirements before the board will process the application.2Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Administrative Code 18VAC135-20-140 – Failure to Renew; Reinstatement Required
Once more than a year has passed after expiration, the license cannot be reinstated at all. You would start over: complete current pre-licensing education, pass the state exam again, and apply as a first-time applicant.2Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Administrative Code 18VAC135-20-140 – Failure to Renew; Reinstatement Required For someone who spent years building a career before going inactive, missing the biennial renewal and then missing the one-year reinstatement window is an expensive outcome that a calendar reminder prevents.
Penalties for Practicing While Inactive
Doing real estate work without an active license is treated as unlicensed practice. Under Virginia Code § 54.1-111, willfully engaging in unlicensed professional activity is a Class 1 misdemeanor, punishable by up to 12 months in jail, a fine of up to $2,500, or both. A third or subsequent conviction within a 36-month period escalates to a Class 6 felony.5Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code Title 54.1 Subtitle I – General Provisions
DPOR can also pursue civil enforcement outside the criminal process. Civil penalties run from $200 to $5,000 per violation, each unlawful act counts as a separate violation, and the total against any one person or entity is capped at $25,000 per year.5Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code Title 54.1 Subtitle I – General Provisions The department can seek a court injunction to stop the activity, and courts may order restitution to anyone harmed.
The same rules apply if your license has expired and you keep working. Every transaction during a gap between expiration and reinstatement can be treated as a separate violation.2Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Administrative Code 18VAC135-20-140 – Failure to Renew; Reinstatement Required
REALTOR® Membership Is Separate
Placing your state license on inactive status does not automatically pause any REALTOR® membership you hold through the National Association of Realtors or a local association. NAR requires every member to complete Code of Ethics training once every three years, and failure to do so is a membership violation regardless of your state license status. Before going inactive, check with your local association about suspending or resigning your membership so you are not paying dues and meeting training requirements for a designation you are not using.