Understand the regulatory structure

North Dakota real estate education is regulated by the North Dakota Real Estate Commission (NDREC) under North Dakota Century Code chapter 43-23 and North Dakota Administrative Code chapter 70-02-02. The rules govern schools offering prelicensing education and require the Commission to approve both the education program and the instructors used to deliver it.

The available rules and Commission materials do not clearly identify a separate personal instructor license with its own published examination or fee. Instead, instructor approval is addressed as part of a school or course’s application. A school applying for approval must submit an instructor application or résumé for each instructor and identify the subject the instructor will teach.

Typical qualifications

A prospective instructor should generally be prepared to demonstrate:

• Subject-matter expertise in the real estate topic to be taught.
• Specialized preparation, training, and experience sufficient to provide competent instruction.
• A current résumé describing real estate practice, education, professional credentials, and teaching experience.
• Familiarity with North Dakota real estate statutes, administrative rules, Commission forms, and approved course content.
• A current North Dakota real estate license when appropriate to the subject matter and the provider’s requirements.

The Commission’s rule does not appear to prescribe one universal combination of years of brokerage experience, academic degrees, or teaching credentials for every instructor. Instead, the school must provide evidence satisfactory to the Commission that each instructor has the preparation, training, and experience necessary for competent classroom instruction.

Because the Commission may evaluate qualifications by subject and course, candidates should obtain written confirmation from the NDREC before relying on a particular résumé, license status, degree, or experience level as sufficient.

Decide what you want to teach

North Dakota real estate instructors may teach different types of education, including:

• Prelicensing courses for prospective salespersons or brokers.
• Commission-approved continuing education.
• Specialized courses covering contracts, agency, finance, property management, ethics, fair housing, or North Dakota law.
• Classroom, synchronous online, or other approved delivery formats.

The approval standards may differ depending on whether the course is prelicensing or continuing education. Online-only asynchronous prelicensing courses, for example, must satisfy additional certification requirements before Commission approval.

Obtain the appropriate professional background

Although a separate instructor license is not clearly identified in the published materials, holding an active North Dakota real estate license can strengthen an application—especially when teaching practical brokerage or licensing subjects. A broker-level license and substantial transaction experience may also make a candidate more competitive with approved schools.

A candidate should build a professional file containing:

• Résumé or curriculum vitae.
• Copy of any North Dakota real estate license.
• Evidence of brokerage or related real estate experience.
• Degrees, certificates, professional designations, or specialized training.
• Prior teaching evaluations, syllabi, or instructional experience.
• A proposed course outline or description of the subject areas the candidate can teach.
• Any disclosures or background information requested by the school or Commission.

Do not assume that a broker license alone automatically authorizes instruction. The school and NDREC must still determine whether the instructor is qualified for the proposed course.

Apply through an approved education provider

The most practical first step is to contact a North Dakota real estate education provider that is already approved—or intends to apply for approval—and ask about its instructor-selection process.

The provider will typically:

1. Review the candidate’s résumé and credentials.
2. Match the candidate’s experience to specific course topics.
3. Prepare or obtain the required course materials and outline.
4. Include the instructor application or résumé in the submission to the Commission.
5. Submit the complete course or school application to the NDREC.
6. Wait for Commission approval before advertising the course as approved education.

For prelicensing courses, the school’s application must be filed at least 45 days before the proposed first offering. The application must include a detailed course outline, instructional hours by subject, textbooks and related materials, instructor applications or résumés, synchronous-course details when applicable, and tuition or other student costs.

This means an individual instructor usually should begin with the provider rather than sending an informal personal request to the Commission.

Meet course-delivery and compliance standards

Approval is not limited to the instructor’s résumé. The provider must operate the course in accordance with Commission requirements, including approved subject matter, instructional hours, examinations where required, attendance or participation procedures, and required student records.

A course hour is defined as 50 minutes under the education rules. Instructors should therefore use the Commission-approved hour calculation rather than treating every 60-minute period as one approved course hour.

Schools must also monitor instructor performance. The rules state that instructors considered inadequate or unable to meet the school’s quality standards should have their services terminated. In practice, instructors should expect to maintain professional teaching standards, update course materials, document attendance, and cooperate with provider audits or Commission inquiries.

Continuing-education instruction

If the goal is to teach continuing education rather than prelicensing, confirm the separate course-approval requirements with the provider and NDREC before teaching. North Dakota licensees must generally receive credit only for courses approved by the Commission or otherwise accepted under the applicable rules.

A North Dakota licensee who teaches a unique approved continuing-education course may request instructional credit for the hours taught, subject to the applicable limitation. The Commission’s current education guidance states that instructor credit may not exceed 50 percent of the licensee’s required continuing-education hours and may not replace any mandatory course requirement.

Teaching a course does not, by itself, make the course approved. The course sponsor must ensure that the course and instructor meet the Commission’s requirements.

Suggested application process

Use this sequence to avoid avoidable delays:

1. Identify the education category. Decide whether the course is prelicensing, continuing education, or another form of professional training.
2. Review current North Dakota rules. Start with Administrative Code chapter 70-02-02 and the NDREC instructor and education-provider pages.
3. Prepare a qualifications package. Include a résumé, license information, experience, education, designations, teaching history, and proposed subject areas.
4. Contact an approved provider. Ask whether it will sponsor the course and submit the instructor materials.
5. Develop the course outline. Map each topic to the required curriculum and identify textbooks or other instructional materials.
6. Submit through the provider. Ensure the application is complete and filed within the required time, including the 45-day prelicensing deadline when applicable.
7. Wait for written approval. Do not represent a course as Commission-approved until the provider receives approval.
8. Maintain ongoing compliance. Keep course materials current, follow attendance and examination procedures, and satisfy any renewal or resubmission requirements.

Confirm current requirements before applying

Rules, forms, fees, approved-course lists, and Commission procedures can change. The controlling sources are the current North Dakota Real Estate Commission materials, North Dakota Administrative Code, and North Dakota Century Code.

Before accepting an instructor assignment, ask the NDREC in writing:

• Whether a separate individual instructor application or license is currently required.
• Whether an active North Dakota real estate license is necessary for the proposed subject.
• What education, experience, or professional credentials are expected for that course.
• Whether the provider or the instructor must submit the application.
• Whether additional standards apply to online, synchronous, or asynchronous instruction.
• What forms, fees, deadlines, and renewal requirements are currently in effect.

The Commission’s published instructor page and education-provider forms should be checked alongside the current administrative rules, because web pages and forms may contain more recent procedural instructions than older summaries or third-party training materials.

Authoritative Sources

• [North Dakota Real Estate Commission — Instructor Information]
• [North Dakota Real Estate Commission — Forms and Course Application Materials]
• [North Dakota Administrative Code, Chapter 70-02-02 — Education and Experience Standards]
• [North Dakota Legislative Branch — Administrative Code Index]
• [North Dakota Real Estate Commission — Education and Continuing-Education Guidance]