(1) (a) All persons
desiring to become real estate brokers shall apply to the commission for a license
under the provisions of this part 2. Application for a license as a real estate broker
shall be made to the commission upon forms or in a manner prescribed by the
commission.
(b) (I) Prior to submitting an application for a license pursuant to subsection
(1)(a) of this section, each applicant shall submit a set of fingerprints to the
Colorado bureau of investigation for the purpose of conducting a state and national
fingerprint-based criminal history record check utilizing records of the Colorado
bureau of investigation and the federal bureau of investigation. The applicant shall
pay the fee established by the Colorado bureau of investigation for conducting the
fingerprint-based criminal history record check to the bureau. Upon completion of
the fingerprint-based criminal history record check, the bureau shall forward the
results to the commission. The commission shall acquire a name-based judicial
record check, as defined in section 22-2-119.3 (6)(d), for an applicant who has a
record of arrest without a disposition. The applicant shall pay the costs associated
with a name-based judicial record check.
(II) For purposes of this subsection (1)(b), applicant means an individual, or
any person designated to act as broker for any partnership, limited liability
company, or corporation pursuant to subsection (6) of this section.
(2) Every real estate broker licensed under this part 2 shall maintain a place
of business within this state, except as provided in section 12-10-208. In case a real
estate broker maintains more than one place of business within the state, the
broker shall be responsible for supervising all licensed activities originating in the
offices.
(3) The commission is authorized by this section to require and procure any
such proof as is necessary in reference to the truthfulness, honesty, and good
moral character of any applicant for a real estate broker's license or, if the
applicant is a partnership, limited liability company, or corporation, of any partner,
manager, director, officer, member, or stockholder if the person has, either directly
or indirectly, a substantial interest in the applicant prior to the issuance of the
license.
(4) (a) An applicant for a broker's license shall be at least eighteen years of
age. The applicant must furnish proof satisfactory to the commission that the
applicant has either received a degree from an accredited degree-granting college
or university with a major course of study in real estate or has successfully
completed courses of study, approved by the commission, at any accredited college
or university or any private occupational school that has a certificate of approval
from the private occupational school division in accordance with the provisions of
article 64 of title 23 or that has been approved by the commission or licensed by an
official state agency of any other state as follows:
(I) Forty-eight hours of classroom instruction or equivalent correspondent
hours in real estate law and real estate practice; and
(II) Forty-eight hours of classroom instruction or equivalent correspondent
hours in understanding and preparation of Colorado real estate contracts; and
(III) A total of seventy-two hours of instruction or equivalent correspondence
hours from the following areas of study:
(A) Trust accounts and record keeping;
(B) Real estate closings;
(C) Current legal issues; and
(D) Practical applications.
(b) An applicant for a broker's license who has been licensed as a real estate
broker in another jurisdiction shall be required to complete only the course of study
comprising the subject matter areas described in subsections (4)(a)(II) and
(4)(a)(III)(B) of this section.
(c) An applicant for a broker's license who has been licensed as a real estate
salesperson in another jurisdiction shall be required to complete only the course of
study required in subsections (4)(a)(II) and (4)(a)(III) of this section.
(5) (a) The applicant for a broker's license shall submit to and pass an
examination designated to determine the competency of the applicant and
prepared by or under the supervision of the commission or its designated
contractor. The commission may contract with an independent testing service to
develop, administer, or grade examinations or to administer licensee records. The
contract may allow the testing service to recover the costs of the examination and
the costs of administering exam and license records from the applicant. The
commission may contract separately for these functions and allow recovered costs
to be collected and retained by a single contractor for distribution to other
contractors. The commission shall have the authority to set the minimum passing
score that an applicant must receive on the examination, and the score shall reflect
the minimum level of competency required to be a broker. The examination shall be
given at such times and places as the commission prescribes. The examination shall
include, but not be limited to, ethics, reading, spelling, basic mathematics,
principles of land economics, appraisal, financing, a knowledge of the statutes and
law of this state relating to deeds, trust deeds, mortgages, listing contracts,
contracts of sale, bills of sale, leases, agency, brokerage, trust accounts, closings,
securities, the provisions of this part 2, and the rules of the commission. The
examination for a broker's license shall also include the preparation of a real estate
closing statement.
(b) An applicant for a broker's license who has held a real estate license in
another jurisdiction that administers a real estate broker's examination and who has
been licensed for two or more years prior to applying for a Colorado license may be
issued a broker's license if the applicant establishes that he or she possesses
credentials and qualifications that are substantively equivalent to the requirements
in Colorado for licensure by examination.
(c) In addition to all other applicable requirements, the following provisions
apply to brokers that did not hold a current and valid broker's license on December
31, 1996:
(I) No such broker shall engage in an independent brokerage practice
without first having served actively as a real estate broker for at least two years.
The commission shall adopt rules requiring an employing broker to ensure that a
high level of supervision is exercised over such a broker during the two-year period.
(II) No such broker shall employ another broker without first having
completed twenty-four clock hours of instruction, or the equivalent in
correspondence hours, as approved by the commission, in brokerage administration.
(III) Effective January 1, 2019, a broker shall not act as an employing broker
without first demonstrating, in accordance with rules of the commission, experience
and knowledge sufficient to enable the broker to employ and adequately supervise
other brokers, as appropriate to the broker's area of supervision. The commission's
rules must set forth the method or methods by which the broker may demonstrate
the experience and knowledge, either by documenting a specified number of
transactions that the broker has completed or by other methods.
(6) (a) Real estate brokers' licenses may be granted to individuals,
partnerships, limited liability companies, or corporations. A partnership, limited
liability company, or corporation, in its application for a license, shall designate a
qualified, active broker to be responsible for management and supervision of the
licensed actions of the partnership, limited liability company, or corporation and all
licensees shown in the commission's records as being in the employ of the entity.
The application of the partnership, limited liability company, or corporation and the
application of the broker designated by it shall be filed with the commission.
(b) No license shall be issued to any partnership, limited liability company, or
corporation unless and until the broker so designated by the partnership, limited
liability company, or corporation submits to and passes the examination required by
this part 2 on behalf of the partnership, limited liability company, or corporation.
Upon the broker successfully passing the examination and upon compliance with
all other requirements of law by the partnership, limited liability company, or
corporation, as well as by the designated broker, the commission shall issue a
broker's license to the partnership, limited liability company, or corporation, which
shall bear the name of the designated broker, and thereupon the broker so
designated shall conduct business as a real estate broker only through the
partnership, limited liability company, or corporation and not for the broker's own
account.
(c) If the person so designated is refused a license by the commission or
ceases to be the designated broker of the partnership, limited liability company, or
corporation, the entity may designate another person to make application for a
license. If the person ceases to be the designated broker of the partnership, limited
liability company, or corporation, the director may issue a temporary license to
prevent hardship for a period not to exceed ninety days to the licensed person so
designated. The director may extend a temporary license for one additional period
not to exceed ninety days upon proper application and a showing of good cause; if
the director refuses, no further extension of a temporary license shall be granted
except by the commission. If any broker or employee of any such partnership,
limited liability company, or corporation, other than the one designated as provided
in this section, desires to act as a real estate broker, the broker or employee shall
first obtain a license as a real estate broker as provided in this section and shall pay
the regular fee therefor.
(7) The broker designated to act as broker for any partnership, limited
liability company, or corporation is personally responsible for the handling of any
and all earnest money deposits or escrow or trust funds received or disbursed by
the partnership, limited liability company, or corporation. In the event of any breach
of duty by the partnership, limited liability company, or corporation as a fiduciary,
any person aggrieved or damaged by the breach of fiduciary duty shall have a claim
for relief against the partnership, limited liability company, or corporation, as well
as against the designated broker, and may pursue the claim against the
partnership, limited liability company, or corporation and the designated broker
personally. The broker may be held responsible and liable for damages based upon
the breach of fiduciary duty as may be recoverable against the partnership, limited
liability company, or corporation, and any judgment so obtained may be enforced
jointly or severally against the broker personally and the partnership, limited
liability company, or corporation.
(8) No license for a broker registered as being in the employ of another
broker shall be issued to a partnership, a limited liability company, or a corporation
or under a fictitious name or trade name; except that a married woman may elect to
use her birth name.
(9) No person shall be licensed as a real estate broker under more than one
name, and no person shall conduct or promote a real estate brokerage business
except under the name under which the person is licensed.
(10) A licensed attorney shall take and pass the examination referred to in
this section after having completed twelve hours of classroom instruction or
equivalent correspondent hours in trust accounts, record keeping, and real estate
closings.