The Alabama Real Estate Commission met in Montgomery last Thursday for their monthly meeting. Three commissioners were out on expected absences. The meeting followed a typical agenda with commission business first followed by hearings. Recently passed license law legislation was a topic of conversation with commissioners voting to approve the filing of two rules resulting from HB 382. Continue reading for some highlights from the meeting.

REALTOR® supported HB 382 passed last week, as reported in Capitol News and Notes. Effective October 1, 2025, the recently signed bill makes changes to several areas of license law, including narrowing dual agency to one agent representing both sides of a transaction, advertising parameters for teams, and changing the term “transaction broker” to “transaction facilitator”. 

Commissioners voted to approve the filing of two rule amendments related to the new law. While the rule amendments have not been released for viewing, the amendments were explained to be updating existing rules to match the newly passed law, such as updating terms and deleting unnecessary language. 

You can read more about HB 382 in AAR’s 2025 Legislative Recap published here.

HB 225, the new law dealing with licensure requirements and education, was also briefly discussed. With an effective date of October 2028, the implementation strategy is currently being developed and will be determined later. 

You can read more about HB 225 here.

Commissioners briefly discussed exam passage rates and the reasons for decline during and immediately after COVID-19. AREC staff indicated that a change in the exam provider and the higher use of virtual education are the presumed reasons, but that passage rates have increased in the last several years. AREC publishes the passage rates by school on its website here, which is a great resource for those looking to become a salesperson or a broker. 

Commissioners heard only one formal complaint where a broker did not pay a fine in a 2024 case. The broker explained that a certified letter marked as delivered with the recipient’s description had not been delivered to her. Commissioners found the broker guilty and fined the broker and brokerage $2500 each.

AREC’s next meeting will be on Thursday, June 26 in Montgomery, when commissioners will decide whether to hold a meeting in July – a usual break month.