Build an ADRE-approved distance learning real estate course in Arizona
Arizona lets the 90 hour salesperson and broker courses run as distance learning, but the final exam still happens in person and under a proctor. ADRE spells out what the course itself must do, from fifty minute credit hours and timed modules to an inactivity logout and an IP log. Vaylo Studios writes that software for your school, and you keep the code.
What ADRE requires of an online course
Arizona Department of Real Estate (ADRE). Summarized from the rule text, with the citation for each so you can check it yourself.
- 01
A school certificate, then a certificate for each course
A.R.S. 32-2135(A) and (G)
A school needs a certificate of approval from the commissioner, and each course it offers needs its own certificate of course approval. Prelicensure and continuing education, live and distance, are all subject to approval. A distance learning prelicensure course is filed at least ninety days before it runs, with an outline broken into estimated fifty minute segments, and approval lasts at least four years while the content stays current.
- 02
Reading or watching alone does not count
A.A.C. R4-28-101
ADRE defines a distance learning course as computer-based interactive instruction completed in the credit hours specified. A course in which students only read text, listen to audio or view video, with no participation, feedback and remedial instruction, is not a distance learning course. A credit hour is fifty minutes of instruction.
- 03
Modules, objectives, a diagnostic check and remediation
A.A.C. R4-28-402(D)
Distance learning must be built from individual modules, each with at least one learning objective, a structured learning method and a diagnostic assessment. Remediation means the student repeats the module until they understand it. An approved instructor or the school director grades, and completion is certified only after every module is done, any required live hours or testing are attended and a final examination is passed. The application also includes a plan for hardware and software failure.
- 04
Identity beyond a username and password
ADRE S.P.S. 2025.01
The provider must identify and authenticate the learner, and ADRE states that a simple username and password, or a student attestation, is not sufficient. After fifteen minutes of inactivity the student is logged out, returns to the start of the unit and verifies identity again. The course tracks engaged time, stops the clock when the student is not interacting and records login and logout timestamps, IP addresses and the completion date and time.
- 05
Timed modules and a 75 percent quiz gate
ADRE S.P.S. 2025.01
Modules run from a quarter of a credit hour to one full credit hour, and a student cannot move on until the minimum time for that module has passed. Each module carries scenario-based interactivity, and quizzes require at least 75 percent before the student proceeds. Seat time is 50 minutes per credit hour.
- 06
A proctored prelicensing final on a locked browser
A.R.S. 32-2124(B) and (C); ADRE S.P.S. 2025.01
The statute requires the applicant to complete a proctored examination in person. The policy statement calls for a comprehensive final on a lockdown browser, drawn from a question bank at least twice the size of the exam, scored at 75 percent or better and kept outside course time. It is taken at the school or with an independent proctor the school selects, the proctor checks photo ID, and the exam may not run on a device the student provides.
- 07
Day caps and five years of records
A.A.C. R4-28-401(E), R4-28-402(C) and R4-28-404(D)
ADRE grants no credit for more than 10 hours of prelicensure education per day or more than nine hours of continuing education per day. Schools keep each student record for five years, including dates of attendance, course title and number, credit hours and the final grade in each prelicensure course.
Would your course pass ADRE today?
7 questions, one per rule above, about how you deliver the course now. You see the result right away.
A.R.S. 32-2135(A) and (G)
A school certificate, then a certificate for each course
A school needs a certificate of approval from the commissioner, and each course it offers needs its own certificate of course approval. Prelicensure and continuing education, live and distance, are all subject to approval. A distance learning prelicensure course is filed at least ninety days before it runs, with an outline broken into estimated fifty minute segments, and approval lasts at least four years while the content stays current.
Does your current setup do this?
How the platform is built to it
Your course, on your site, under your name. Every requirement above is a feature, not a promise in the application.
Module engine with enforced minimum times
Every module carries its objective, its minimum time and its diagnostic check. The next module stays locked until the clock and the 75 percent quiz are both satisfied, and a failed check sends the student back through the material.
Identity verification that survives a timeout
Identity checks run at enrollment and again whenever the fifteen minute inactivity logout fires. The student resumes at the start of the unit, as the policy statement describes, never mid page.
An activity log ADRE can read
Login and logout timestamps, IP addresses, engaged time per module and the completion date and time are stored per student. The two ADRE review logins the course application asks for are built in, one with the student view and one free of time limits, and neither expires while the course is active.
Final exam delivery for a proctored room
A comprehensive final drawn from a bank at least twice the exam length, with reused quiz questions reordered and a lockdown browser session. The exam only opens on a school device once a proctor has checked in the student.
Certificates and five year records
Completion certificates carry the fields the policy statement lists, from school certification number and course number to credit hours and categories. Student records are kept for the five years R4-28-404 requires.
The path to ADRE approval
- 1
Hold a Certificate of School Approval from ADRE, or qualify for the accredited college exemption (A.A.C. R4-28-404(A)).
- 2
Have instructors approved by the Department before they teach or grade (A.A.C. R4-28-404(C)).
- 3
File the course application at least ninety days before a distance learning prelicensure course runs, with the outline in estimated fifty minute segments and the hardware and software failure plan.
- 4
Answer the distance-only questions on the application: how identity is verified for the course and the exam, the student help contact, and the two ADRE review logins.
- 5
Get Commissioner approval before changing course content or length once approved (A.A.C. R4-28-404(H)).
The terms
We are building one right now for a state-approved online school in Virginia, in English and Spanish, on the same terms.
- One flat fee
- Quoted per course before any work starts. No hourly billing and no surprise line items.
- Final payment on approval
- The last payment is due when the regulator approves the course, so the platform has to pass review before it is paid for in full.
- No per-student fees
- You keep what every enrollment pays. Nothing is skimmed per seat, per certificate or per month of traffic.
- You own it
- The platform, the code and the student records are yours outright, on your site and under your brand.
Questions schools ask
Can the Arizona 90 hour prelicensing course be fully online?
The instruction can. Arizona statute lets the salesperson and broker courses be taken as a live classroom course or a distance learning course. The proctored examination at the end still has to be completed in person, so the platform delivers the course and the school runs the proctored final.
Why is a password not enough for ADRE?
Substantive Policy Statement 2025.01 says so directly: a simple username and password, or a student attestation, is not sufficient to authenticate the learner. The course application also asks the school to explain how it confirms the person completing the course and exam is the person it certifies, including any identity software or procedures.
Does ADRE require ARELLO or IDECC certification?
Not in the statutes, rules, policy statement or application form we read. ADRE sets its own distance learning standards in R4-28-402(D) and S.P.S. 2025.01, and the course application asks the school to attest that it follows them.
Do we own the platform?
Yes. You own the code and the student data, and the course runs on your domain. There are no per-student fees. Pricing is a fixed fee for each course, with the last payment held until ADRE approves the course. Monthly upkeep for hosting and rule changes is optional. We are building one right now for a state-approved online school in Virginia, in English and Spanish, on the same terms.
What happens if a student walks away mid module?
After fifteen minutes of inactivity the student is logged out. The policy statement then returns them to the start of the unit and requires identity verification again, and course time stops counting while they are not interacting.
Price your ADRE course
Tell us the course and how you teach it now. You get a flat price back by email, and a list of what the application will ask about the platform.
Or email [email protected]
Sources
- A.R.S. 32-2124, licensure education
- A.R.S. 32-2135, school and course approval
- A.R.S. 32-2101, definitions
- A.A.C. R4-28-101, definitions
- A.A.C. R4-28-401, prelicensure education
- A.A.C. R4-28-402, continuing education and distance learning
- A.A.C. R4-28-404, school, course and instructor approval
- ADRE Substantive Policy Statement 2025.01
- ADRE Course Application Form, Pre-Licensing
Read from the sources above on October 17, 2026. Rules change, so confirm the current text with ADRE before you apply. This page is not legal advice.