Build a DRE-approved online real estate course in California

To the DRE, any course that is not live is a correspondence course, online and app courses included, and it needs its own approval. The rules control pace, who handles the final, and how long a student must spend before the exam opens. Vaylo Studios builds that platform for your school, on your own site.

Get a quote for your courseRead the DRE rules

What DRE requires of an online course

California Department of Real Estate (DRE). Summarized from the rule text, with the citation for each so you can check it yourself.

  1. 01

    Online means correspondence, approved separately

    DRE Course Provider Handbook

    All courses not presented live are correspondence courses, including online and mobile app courses. A course is approved as live or as correspondence, so the online version needs its own approval.

  2. 02

    Pre-license structure and the proctor

    DRE Course Provider Handbook

    A correspondence pre-license course has at least 15 separate lesson assignments and an instructor available even when self-guided. A proctor designated by the school administers the final and handles the exam materials. Students never receive or send in the final themselves.

  3. 03

    Pacing limits for pre-license

    RE 313

    No single correspondence course may be completed in less than two and a half weeks, and no more than two courses in five weeks, across all schools. Courses are completed within one year of registration, with one retake on a different final.

  4. 04

    Photo ID before the final

    RE 313

    Before a correspondence, internet or app final, the student presents a current California driver license or ID card, or a government or real estate trade organization photo ID issued within five years.

  5. 05

    CE navigation control and a signed statement

    DRE Course Provider Handbook; RE 312

    CE correspondence courses protect exam integrity, collect a statement signed under penalty of perjury that the enrollee is the person completing the course, and control navigation so the course cannot be finished faster than its credit hours. Each unit ends in an assessment with remediation.

  6. 06

    CE final exam controls

    10 CCR 3007.3

    Online finals are one-time access, not printable or downloadable, and time out at the limit, with at most one minute per question. The exam opens only after the required hours in the content, finals are capped at 15 credit hours in any 24 hours, and passing is 70% with one retake on different questions.

  7. 07

    Two logins for the DRE

    DRE Course Provider Handbook

    Online and app courses give the DRE a student login and a regulator login. The regulator account works like a student account but can see all content and exams.

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.

Pacing enforced per student

The platform tracks each student from course access to passing the final and blocks a completion that would beat two and a half weeks, or a third course inside five weeks.

Proctor workflow with an ID step

Exam materials route to the designated proctor, never to the student. The proctor checks an accepted photo ID before the exam starts and the result goes back from the proctor.

CE content that cannot be rushed

Navigation is locked to the approved credit hours, each unit closes with an assessment and remediation, and the penalty-of-perjury statement is signed in the flow before credit.

A 3007.3 exam engine

Question counts follow the credit-hour table, true or false stays at or under 10%, quiz overlap stays at or under 10%, and the exam is one-time, non-printable and timed out at one minute per question. The 15 credit-hour daily cap is enforced per student.

Regulator access, certificates and records

The DRE gets its regulator login. Certificates carry the DRE course approval number and issue within the 15-day window, Practice certificates carry the SB 1495 line, and records are held five years.

The path to DRE approval

  1. 1

    Hold a DRE sponsor ID for statutory courses, CE courses, or both.

  2. 2

    Submit each online course for correspondence approval, separate from any live approval of the same course.

  3. 3

    Provide a student login and a regulator login for each online or app course so the DRE can review all content and exams.

  4. 4

    For CE, include a written narrative outline of at least 3 pages per credit hour and show the required DRE disclaimer before the course starts.

  5. 5

    Once approved, the course appears in the DRE statutory or CE course search under your sponsor.

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

Is an online real estate course a correspondence course in California?

Yes. The DRE treats every course not presented live as correspondence, online and app courses included, and approves it separately from a live version.

How fast can a student finish a California pre-license course online?

No faster than two and a half weeks for one course, and no more than two courses in five weeks, counted across every school the student uses.

Can the CE final exam be taken online?

Yes, if access is one-time, the exam cannot be printed or downloaded, and it times out at the limit. The student must first spend the required hours in the content and assessments.

What has to be in the Real Estate Practice course now?

Since SB 1495, Practice includes implicit bias and fair housing components, and the fair housing component includes an interactive participatory role-play. The platform has to deliver that role-play online.

How do you bill for a California course?

One flat fee per course. The final payment is due when the DRE approves it, with no per-student fees, and your school owns the platform and the code. We are building one right now for a state-approved online school in Virginia, in English and Spanish, on the same terms.

Price your DRE 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

Read from the sources above on October 15, 2026. Rules change, so confirm the current text with DRE before you apply. This page is not legal advice.

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