How to Be a Real Estate Instructor in West Virginia

West Virginia does not generally issue a separate “real estate instructor license.” Instead, instructors must obtain approval from the West Virginia Real Estate Commission before advertising or teaching Commission-approved real estate courses. Approval applies to both the instructor and the course, and education providers must also be approved and registered.

Understand the Two Main Instruction Categories

Most opportunities fall into one of two categories:

Pre-licensing instruction: Courses that satisfy the education requirements for West Virginia salesperson, associate broker, or broker applicants.
Continuing education instruction: Courses taken by active West Virginia licensees to satisfy annual continuing-education requirements.

The approval process and supporting documentation may vary depending on the course type, delivery method, and subject matter.

Meet an Instructor Qualification Path

West Virginia’s rules identify several ways an instructor may qualify. An applicant generally must satisfy at least one of these pathways in the subject area the applicant proposes to teach:

Be an attorney with at least five years of active legal practice in the relevant area.
Hold a real estate degree from an accredited college or university.
Be a licensed West Virginia broker, associate broker, or salesperson with at least five years of experience in the relevant subject area.
Hold a degree from an accredited college or university, have at least two years of teaching experience, and have completed at least 200 classroom hours in the subject area.
Have at least five years of professional or teaching experience in the subject area.

Meeting one of these experience or education standards does not by itself authorize instruction. The instructor and the proposed course must still receive Commission approval before the course is advertised or offered.

Complete Required Instructor Development

Approved pre-licensing and continuing-education instructors must complete annual instructor-development workshops when offered by the Commission, unless the Commission waives the requirement. Certain out-of-state instructors may qualify for an exception if they are approved by the National Association of Realtors or hold the Distinguished Real Estate Instructor designation.

Applicants should also expect to provide evidence of an instructor-development workshop or other credential required by the current application system. The Commission’s application guidance and CE Broker instructions reference instructor-development documentation, a résumé, and—in some cases—additional instructor certifications.

Meet Distance-Education Requirements

Instructors who teach distance-education courses must obtain Distance Education Instructor Certification from the International Distance Education Certification Center before applying for West Virginia approval and must submit verification of that certification.

Distance courses also require appropriate course approval and, according to the Commission, must have ARELLO certification and comply with the Commission’s approved remote-delivery standards.

Work Through an Approved Education Provider

Instructors typically apply through the education provider sponsoring the course rather than applying independently. The provider must use the Commission’s prescribed application process and submit the required approval fee.

The provider or sponsoring school generally coordinates submission of:

Instructor résumé or professional biography.
Proof of qualifying education, licensure, experience, or teaching history.
Instructor-development documentation.
Distance-education certification, if applicable.
Course title, description, objectives, and timed outline.
Textbooks, handouts, presentations, videos, or other course materials.
Attendance-monitoring and record-retention procedures.
Evaluation forms and, for asynchronous courses, the final examination and answer key.

The precise document list can change, so applicants should rely on the current CE Broker application prompts and WVREC instructions rather than an old paper checklist.

Apply Through CE Broker

The Commission directs providers and instructors to use CE Broker for applications and renewals involving West Virginia-approved courses and instructors. For pre-licensing instruction, the instructor is generally added within the provider’s course application. Continuing-education instructors are likewise added through the provider account during the course-approval process.

A practical application sequence is:

Identify whether the proposed teaching is pre-licensing or continuing education.
Select an approved West Virginia education provider or school willing to sponsor the course.
Confirm that the instructor satisfies at least one Commission qualification pathway.
Assemble a résumé, experience records, education documents, licenses, certifications, and instructor-development evidence.
Obtain distance-education certification if the course will be delivered remotely.
Prepare the course materials and timed outline with the provider.
Submit the instructor and course applications through the current CE Broker process.
Pay the applicable approval fees.
Wait for Commission approval before advertising or offering the course.

West Virginia law expressly requires prior Commission approval for each provider, instructor, and course before advertising or offering qualifying continuing-education instruction.

Keep Approval Current

Instructor approval is not necessarily a one-time event. Approved instructors may need to renew approval, complete annual instructor-development workshops, and maintain any required certifications. Providers must also keep course and attendance records according to Commission requirements.

If the instructor changes the course content, delivery method, provider, or subject matter, the provider should confirm whether a new or amended approval is required.

Confirm Current Rules Before Applying

The controlling source is the West Virginia Real Estate Commission, particularly its current rules for real estate courses, course providers, and instructors. The Commission identifies the relevant legislative rule as Series 3, effective April 10, 2024.

Because application procedures, fees, forms, and CE Broker requirements may change, confirm the following directly with WVREC before submitting an application:

Whether the intended course is classified as pre-licensing or continuing education.
Which qualification pathway applies.
Whether an instructor-development workshop or certification is required.
Whether the course requires ARELLO or other distance-education approval.
Current fees and supporting documents.
Whether the sponsoring provider is currently approved.
Whether the proposed course materials meet current Commission standards.

For questions that are not answered by the posted materials, contact the West Virginia Real Estate Commission using the contact information on its official website.

Authoritative Sources