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Florida House Bill 607 (CS/HB 607), sponsored by Rep. Michael Yarkosky and filed in late 2025, proposed abolishing the Florida Real Estate Commission (FREC) and the Florida Real Estate Appraisal Board, eliminating the 45-hour post-licensure course, eliminating the 14-hour continuing education requirement, and replacing both with "an email from DBPR summarizing the year's legislative changes." It cleared its first committee 9 to 6 in December 2025. It died in the Senate when the 2026 regular session closed on March 13, 2026 without a companion bill. As of May 2026, every existing Florida real estate licensing rule remains in effect.
Most Florida real estate licensees have never heard of HB 607. They came within a few committee votes of having to find out.
This post walks the specific provisions of CS/HB 607, the coalition that blocked it, what would have changed for current licensees and new candidates if it had passed, the 2025 attempt and the political context driving these bills, and what to watch for in the 2027 legislative session. By the end you should understand exactly what the bill proposed, why it matters that it didn't pass, and what signals to monitor over the next 18 months.
If you're studying for the Florida real estate exam right now, the practical answer is short: nothing changed in 2026. The 63-hour pre-license course requirement under F.S. 475.17 is unchanged. The 100-question Pearson VUE exam is unchanged. The 75% passing threshold is unchanged. The Pass Florida question bank, the math topics, and the 19-topic content outline are all current. Keep studying.
If you're a current licensee, an educator, a brokerage owner, or someone considering the path who wants the full picture of where the legislative wind is blowing, read on.
What HB 607 actually proposed
CS/HB 607 was not solely a real estate bill. It was a broad deregulatory measure titled "Industries and Professional Activities" that proposed eliminating or restructuring more than a dozen professional licensing boards under both the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) and the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (DACS). The real estate provisions were one section among many.
For Florida real estate licensees specifically, the bill proposed six material changes:
| Status quo (current Florida law) | Under HB 607 (if it had passed) |
|---|---|
| FREC sets standards, conducts discipline, adopts rules under F.S. 475 | All powers transferred to DBPR; FREC eliminated |
| Florida Real Estate Appraisal Board operates as separate body | Board eliminated; powers transferred to DBPR |
| 45-hour post-licensure course required before first renewal | Requirement eliminated |
| 14-hour CE every 2 years (3 core law + 3 ethics + 8 specialty) | Requirement eliminated |
| CE coursework as the compliance mechanism | Replaced with "an email from DBPR summarizing the year's legislative changes" |
| Mutual recognition with 9 states (AL, AR, CT, GA, IL, KY, MS, NE, RI) | Each agreement would need renegotiation; program could collapse during transition |
The bill's stated effective date was July 1, 2026, if signed into law.
The fifth provision (the DBPR email replacement) drew the most opposition from the industry. Rather than mandatory coursework, licensees would have received a department-generated summary email and that would have constituted compliance.
The sixth provision was implicit rather than written into the bill: HB 607 would have compromised Florida's mutual recognition program, the agreement that allows licensees from nine other states to obtain a Florida license through a shorter 40-question state-law-only exam. Mutual recognition agreements are built around comparable regulatory frameworks. Eliminating FREC would have required renegotiating each agreement individually, and Florida Realtors argued the program could have collapsed during the transition.
How close it came to passing
HB 607 cleared its first committee 9 to 6. It died in the Senate without a companion bill. The vote could have gone the other way.
CS/HB 607 was filed by Rep. Yarkosky in December 2025. The bill was referred to three House committees: Industries and Professional Activities, State Administration Budget, and Commerce.
The Industries and Professional Activities Committee took up the bill first and approved it on a 9 to 6 vote as a Committee Substitute (CS). That CS designation meant the committee had amended the original bill and reported out a revised version. The bill then moved through the remaining House committee process during the 60-day regular session that ran January through March 2026.
The bill never received a parallel Senate companion. Florida bills typically need both a House and a Senate version moving in tandem to reach final passage, and HB 607 lacked Senate sponsorship throughout the session.
On March 13, 2026, the 2026 regular legislative session closed without a state budget and without HB 607 passing. Lawmakers held a special session April 28 through May 1 to address budget allocation, but that special session did not take up HB 607. The bill is now effectively dead for the 2026 cycle.
Florida Realtors, the state's largest real estate industry organization with roughly 235,000 members, led the opposition coalition. Their February 2026 advocacy materials asked lawmakers to "vote NO on HB 607, by Rep. Michael Yarkosky," arguing the bill would "do irreparable harm to Florida's real estate industry and remove longstanding consumer protections." The organization's April 1, 2026 legislative final report cited blocking HB 607 as its top consumer-protection win of the session.
Why the bill was proposed in the first place
HB 607 fits a broader pattern in Florida and several other states over the past three legislative sessions: deregulatory efforts framed as reducing "barriers to entry" and "regulatory burden." The bill's House staff analysis from December 15, 2025 stated its purpose was to "promote economic growth in Florida by removing regulatory barriers for businesses and professions."
The case for the bill, as articulated by its supporters, broke into three arguments.
Education requirements were treated as a cost without a clear outcome benefit. The 14-hour CE requirement costs Florida licensees roughly $75 to $200 every two years depending on provider, plus time. Across 320,000 active licensees, that's somewhere between $24 million and $64 million per renewal cycle flowing to CE providers. Supporters argued that licensees should be able to maintain competence through self-directed learning and that the mandatory hours did not measurably improve consumer outcomes.
Boards were treated as a layer of administrative cost. FREC operates with appointed members, staff support, public meeting requirements, and a formal disciplinary process. Supporters argued that DBPR could perform the same regulatory functions at lower administrative cost without the separate commission structure.
Mutual recognition was treated as a workaround rather than a feature. The current 9-state mutual recognition program requires Florida to maintain certain regulatory parity with partner states. Some legislators viewed this as constraining Florida's flexibility on its own licensing rules.
KEY INSIGHT · THE ARGUMENT THAT WORKED
The opposition, led by Florida Realtors but joined by appraisal industry organizations and consumer advocacy voices, did not engage these arguments on cost grounds. They engaged them on consumer-protection grounds. A license with weaker ongoing standards is a weaker consumer signal, regardless of administrative efficiency. The Florida real estate license has value to consumers precisely because licensees meet ongoing education and conduct standards enforced by an independent commission. Eliminate the commission and the education, and the license becomes a one-time credential rather than a maintained professional standing. That argument carried in the 2026 session as it had carried in the 2025 session, but only by margins close enough that the bill cleared its first committee.
CURRENT RULES STILL APPLY · STUDY ACCORDINGLY
Nothing on the exam changed. The 19-topic outline is current.
HB 607 died. F.S. 475 is in effect. The Pass Florida question bank reflects current statute (HB 913 condo law, SB 2-A insurance, August 2024 NAR settlement). 1,002 Florida-specific questions, $39.99 once, lifetime access on iOS and Android.
What would have changed for current licensees if HB 607 had passed
If HB 607 had become law on July 1, 2026, the practical effects on the more than 320,000 active Florida real estate licensees would have arrived in three waves.
Immediate effect: no more CE requirement at next renewal. Florida real estate licenses renew on a two-year cycle. Licensees due to renew between July 1, 2026 and June 30, 2028 would have been the first cohort affected. Under current rules they would need to complete 14 hours of continuing education before renewal. Under HB 607 they would have received the DBPR email instead.
Immediate effect: no more post-license course for newer agents. Sales associates who passed the state exam after July 1, 2026 would not have needed to complete the 45-hour post-license course before their first renewal. This is the most material education change for new agents, because the 45-hour course is the most expensive and time-intensive single educational requirement after the 63-hour pre-license course itself.
Six to twelve months out: disciplinary process restructuring. FREC currently handles license discipline through formal probable cause panels and a defined process for complaints, hearings, sanctions, and license revocation. Under HB 607 those functions would have moved to DBPR's administrative process. The transition would have created uncertainty for pending complaints, ongoing investigations, and the predictability of disciplinary outcomes. Licensees facing complaints in the transition period would have faced a different procedural environment than the one they entered the profession under.
Twelve to eighteen months out: mutual recognition renegotiation. The 9-state mutual recognition program would have required renegotiation under a different regulatory authority. Some agreements might have continued under DBPR oversight; others might have lapsed or been suspended pending review. Licensees holding Florida licenses who wanted to practice in mutual recognition states, or licensees from those nine states moving to Florida, would have faced an uncertain transition period.
For experienced agents with established books of business, the changes would have been largely cost-positive (lower ongoing education spend, lower renewal friction). For newer agents and candidates, the changes would have been mixed (lower required spend, but a less clear path to building a reputation backed by a recognized professional credential).
What would have changed for new candidates and current students
For anyone currently in the licensing pipeline, the practical effects of HB 607 would have been narrower than the headlines suggested.
The 63-hour pre-license education requirement under F.S. 475.17 would have been preserved. HB 607 did not propose changing the pre-license education threshold; it focused on post-license education and continuing education. Aspiring licensees would still have needed to complete the 63-hour course at an FREC-approved provider before sitting the state exam.
The state exam itself would have continued. The 100-question, 75%-to-pass, Pearson VUE-administered Florida Real Estate Sales Associate exam exists under F.S. 475 and the testing contract. HB 607 did not eliminate the exam.
The DBPR application fee ($83.75) and Livescan fingerprinting requirements would have continued. These are administrative requirements at the department level, not commission-level rules.
What would have changed for candidates: the 45-hour post-license course requirement (between getting licensed and your first renewal) would have disappeared. That's a meaningful cost and time savings for new agents but also a meaningful gap in the standardized onboarding that current new licensees receive.
Mutual recognition candidates from the 9 partner states would have faced the most uncertainty. The shorter 40-question state-law-only exam path for mutual recognition licensees is built on the assumption of comparable regulatory frameworks. With FREC abolished, the comparability calculation would have needed to be redone with each partner state, and there was no transition framework specified in the bill.
The Pass Florida 1,002-question bank, the 19-topic content outline, and the math topics tested on the exam would have remained current. The exam content does not change just because the regulatory body governing licensure changes.
The 2025 attempt and what to expect in 2027
HB 607 was not a one-off. The bill or substantially similar legislation was attempted in the 2025 Florida legislative session and also failed. Florida Realtors' April 2026 report explicitly noted the 2026 effort was "the second year in a row" the organization successfully prevented passage.
Bills that fail in two consecutive sessions sometimes disappear. They sometimes return for a third try with modifications that address the opposition's concerns. They sometimes return unchanged when the political environment shifts. Three patterns are worth watching over the next 18 months.
Pattern 1: Senate companion bill. HB 607's structural weakness in both 2025 and 2026 was the lack of a Senate companion. If a 2027 version arrives with a Senate sponsor lined up before the session starts, the procedural path to passage is materially shorter. Watch the Florida Senate's pre-filing window in November and December 2026 for matching legislation.
Pattern 2: Narrowed scope. CS/HB 607 was a broad deregulatory bill that affected more than a dozen professional licensing boards. A narrower bill that focused only on real estate (or only on a few specific provisions like CE elimination, while keeping FREC) would be a different political proposition. Watch for bill text that targets specific provisions rather than the full board structure.
Pattern 3: Companion deregulatory bills. Florida's 2026 session also saw eight different property tax relief bills (only HB 203 cleared the House, and it failed at the Senate level). The legislative environment that produced HB 607 is the same environment producing deregulatory and tax-reduction proposals. A special session for property tax reform is possible in summer 2026. Real estate licensing deregulation may come back as part of a broader package rather than standalone.
For the immediate next 12 months, the practical reality is stable: F.S. Chapter 475 is in effect, FREC continues to operate, all education requirements continue to apply, and the exam process is unchanged. Anyone studying for the exam should plan against current rules.
What this means for Pass Florida candidates studying right now
Short version: study the same way you would have studied a month ago.
The 19-topic DBPR exam content outline is current. The 100-question, 75%-to-pass format is unchanged. The HB 913 condo law content, the SB 2-A property insurance content, the 2024 NAR settlement buyer brokerage content: all still on the exam, all still statute-current. Pass Florida's question bank reflects this.
If HB 607 returns in 2027 and passes, the exam itself will likely remain in place because the exam exists to verify minimum knowledge for licensure, which is a function neither FREC nor DBPR has proposed eliminating. The structure governing what comes after the exam (CE, post-licensing, discipline) may change. The exam itself is the most stable part of the licensure process.
If you're studying for the Florida real estate sales associate exam in the next 6 months, our LTV calculation post, our millage rate post, and the 19-topic content outline reflect current rules. Our city-specific licensing guides walk the standard path under current F.S. 475 requirements.
The Pass Florida Math Coach, the 19-topic question coverage, and the statute-grounded explanations are all built against the current regulatory framework. No content updates are required as a result of HB 607's failure. The framework that produced the content is the same framework that's still governing the exam in May 2026.
Ready to study under current rules?
The 50% first-time pass rate on the Florida sales associate exam is the gap between candidates who study by reading and candidates who study by retrieval against the question patterns the exam actually uses. That gap is unaffected by the regulatory debate. Pass Florida was built for that gap: 1,002 Florida-specific questions weighted to the DBPR 19-topic outline, statute-current through HB 913, SB 2-A, and the 2024 NAR settlement changes, with an Interactive Math Coach covering all 14 exam math topics. $39.99 once. Lifetime access on iOS and Android. No subscription, no upsells, no fake reviews.
FAQ
Did HB 607 pass in Florida?
No. CS/HB 607 cleared its first House committee 9 to 6 in December 2025 but never received a parallel Senate companion bill. It died when the 2026 regular legislative session closed on March 13, 2026 without further action. The April 28 to May 1 special session focused on budget allocation and did not revisit HB 607. As of May 2026, every existing Florida real estate licensing rule under F.S. Chapter 475 remains in effect.
Does HB 607 affect Florida real estate license requirements right now?
No. Because the bill did not pass, no Florida real estate license requirement changed in 2026. The 63-hour pre-license course, the DBPR application, the Pearson VUE exam (100 questions, 75% to pass), the 45-hour post-license course, the 14-hour CE every two years, and the mutual recognition program all continue under current law. Anyone studying for the exam or renewing a license should plan against current rules.
Will my 14-hour continuing education still be required for the next renewal?
Yes. CE remains required for every Florida real estate license renewal: 3 hours of core law, 3 hours of ethics, and 8 hours of specialty electives every two years. HB 607 would have eliminated this requirement; the bill's failure means CE rules continue unchanged.
Will the 45-hour post-license course still be required for new sales associates?
Yes. Sales associates who pass the state exam are still required to complete the 45-hour FREC-approved post-license course before their first license renewal (which lands two years after initial activation). HB 607 would have eliminated this requirement; the bill's failure means the post-license course continues to apply to all new licensees.
Could HB 607 come back in 2027?
Yes, and Florida Realtors expects it. The same legislation was attempted in 2025 and 2026 and failed both times. Bills that fail in consecutive sessions sometimes return for a third try, often with narrower scope or a different procedural strategy (such as a Senate companion bill lined up before session opens). The Florida Senate's pre-filing window in November and December 2026 is the earliest signal to watch for a 2027 attempt.
Does Pass Florida need to update its content because of HB 607?
No. The Florida real estate sales associate exam content is unchanged. The 19-topic DBPR content outline, the math topics, the HB 913 condo law content, the SB 2-A insurance content, and the August 2024 NAR settlement buyer brokerage content are all still on the exam and still statute-current. Pass Florida's 1,002-question bank reflects current Florida statute as of May 2026.
Methodology
What this post covers. CS/HB 607 (2026), the Florida House bill sponsored by Rep. Michael Yarkosky that proposed abolishing the Florida Real Estate Commission and the Florida Real Estate Appraisal Board, eliminating post-licensure and continuing education requirements for Florida real estate licensees, and transferring rule-making authority to DBPR. Coverage includes the specific provisions of the bill, the committee history, the opposition coalition led by Florida Realtors, what the bill would have meant for current licensees and new candidates if passed, the 2025 predecessor attempt, and signals to watch for the 2027 legislative session. Current as of May 20, 2026.
Why this post takes no political position on the bill's merits. HB 607 was a contested piece of legislation with substantive arguments on both sides regarding regulatory cost, consumer protection, and the value of professional licensing. Pass Florida is an exam-prep tool, not an industry lobbying organization. Our job is to describe what the bill proposed, what happened to it, and what it would mean for our candidates if a similar bill passes in the future. Pass Florida supports candidates' ability to make informed decisions about their licensure path under whatever regulatory framework Florida adopts.
Why this post does not predict what happens in 2027. Legislative outcomes depend on factors that are not knowable in advance: which legislators sponsor which bills, which committee chairs schedule hearings, how the political environment shifts, and whether the opposition coalition holds together. The three patterns described in the "what to watch for" section are the most predictable signals, but actual outcomes are not.
Data sources. Florida House CS/HB 607 bill text and staff analysis (December 11, 2025; storage name h0607a.IPA), the Florida Senate bill history page for HB 607 (2026), Florida Realtors 2026 Legislative Priorities (February 4, 2026), Florida Realtors 2026 Legislative Final Report (April 1, 2026), the Florida Realtors news article "Realtor Advocacy Triumphs During 2026 Session" (March 13, 2026), the Florida Realtors article "Florida Budget Talks Continue, No Session Set" (April 2026), Florida Statutes Chapter 475 (current real estate license law), Florida Administrative Code Rule 61J2 (current commission rules), and Florida DBPR Division of Real Estate licensee count data (approximately 320,000 active licensees as of late 2025 reporting).
Mutual recognition list note. The current 9-state mutual recognition list (Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Mississippi, Nebraska, Rhode Island) reflects DBPR's current agreements. Mutual recognition arrangements have changed historically and may change again. Confirm against the DBPR's current published list before relying on the program for license transfer purposes.
Sources
- Florida House CS/HB 607 bill text and committee analysis (Storage name h0607a.IPA, December 11, 2025)
- The Florida Senate, HB 607 (2026) bill history page
- Florida Realtors, "2026 Legislative Priorities" (February 4, 2026)
- Florida Realtors, "Realtor Advocacy Triumphs During 2026 Session" (March 13, 2026)
- Florida Realtors, "2026 Legislative Final Report" (April 1, 2026)
- Florida Realtors, "Florida Budget Talks Continue, No Session Set" (April 2026)
- Florida Statutes Chapter 475 (real estate license law)
- Florida Administrative Code, Rule 61J2 (real estate commission rules)
- Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, Division of Real Estate (licensee count, current rules)
- BAM (BusinessAndMarketing), "Florida Real Estate Commission Could Be Dissolved Under New Bill" (December 10, 2025)
All information verified May 20, 2026.