The Vermont Office of Professional Regulation (OPR) and Vermont Real Estate Commission (VREC) met online on Thursday, October 22, 2020.

Following is an overview of the meeting:

• Act 152 was signed into law on Sept. 3, 2020. The law requires that individuals who are seeking a real estate license in Vermont through endorsement (licensed in another state), must have three years of practice in good standing to receive an endorsement. All endorsement applicants, whether sales agent or broker, must take the Vermont Real Estate Law Exam.
• In the near future, testing conducted by PSI/AMP will only cover the national portion of the real estate exam. The Vermont State Law portion of the exam will be conducted through OPR at the time the license application is submitted through the OPR online portal. Details will be made available soon on this new procedure.
• Licensees will be required to complete no more than two hours of mandatory education on energy efficiency and awareness in Vermont. Two hours will be translated into two hours of continuing education included in the Mandatory Course or as a stand-alone course.

OPR has been conducting a review of Chapter 57 under “Professions and Occupations.” Chapter 57 regulates a profession or occupation solely for the purpose of protecting the public. Under this review, Dylan Bruce of OPR has been collecting information about licensed professions. A statewide survey about the real estate industry was recently conducted through Front Porch Forum. Results of the survey will provide OPR with more insights into the experiences of clients, customers and fellow licensees. This information will be available in a report upon completion of the Chapter 57 review.