Session Law 2011-217 (House Bill 386) Summary

• Modernizes North Carolina real estate license law by replacing references to "salespersons" with "brokers on provisional status" and updating regulatory terminology throughout the licensing statutes.

• Allows provisional broker licenses to be placed on inactive status rather than cancelled when postlicensing education requirements are not completed within three years, with reinstatement requirements determined by Commission rules.

• Expands the Real Estate Education and Recovery Fund to support educational materials and programs for licensees and the public, while increasing per-transaction liability limits from $25,000 to $50,000 and annual per-licensee limits from $50,000 to $75,000.

• Modifies applicant fitness requirements to include evaluation of "mental and emotional fitness" and designates criminal record reports, credit reports, and fitness-related documents as non-public records.

• Updates trust account requirements by allowing brokers to maintain accounts in any federally insured depository institution and permits the Commission to license brokers from foreign jurisdictions under discretionary rules.