(a) In order to qualify for a community association manager's license, an applicant must:

(1) Have attained the age of 18 years;

(2) Be a resident of the State of Georgia, unless that person has fully complied with the provisions of Code Section 43-40-9;

(3) Be a high school graduate or the holder of a certificate of equivalency;

(4) Furnish evidence of completion of at least 25 in-class hours in a community association manager's course or courses of study approved by the commission; and

(5) Stand and pass a real estate examination administered by or approved by the commission covering generally the matters confronting real estate brokers who provide community association management services and community association managers after completing the requirements of paragraph (4) of this subsection.

(b) In order to qualify for a salesperson's license, an applicant must:

(1) Have attained the age of 18 years;

(2) Be a resident of the State of Georgia, unless that person has fully complied with the provisions of Code Section 43-40-9;

(3) Be a high school graduate or the holder of a certificate of equivalency;

(4) Furnish evidence of completion of at least 75 in-class hours in a salesperson's course or courses of study approved by the commission; and

(5) Stand and pass a real estate examination administered by or approved by the commission covering generally the matters confronting real estate brokers and salespersons after completing the requirements of paragraph (4) of this subsection.

Failure to meet any of these requirements shall be grounds for denial of license without a hearing.

(c) In order to qualify for a broker or associate broker's license, an applicant must:

(1) Have attained the age of 21 years;

(2) Be a resident of the State of Georgia, unless that person has fully complied with the provisions of Code Section 43-40-9;

(3) Be a high school graduate or the holder of a certificate of equivalency;

(4) Have served actively for three years as a licensee;

(5) Furnish evidence of completion of 60 in-class hours in a broker's course of study approved by the commission, provided that if licensed as a community association manager, the applicant must furnish evidence of completion of an additional 75 in-class hours in courses or a course of study approved by the commission; and

(6) Stand and pass a real estate examination administered by or approved by the commission covering generally the matters confronting real estate brokers after completing the requirements of paragraph (5) of this subsection and after serving at least two years of active licensure.

Failure to meet any of these requirements shall be grounds for denial of license without a hearing.

(d) Upon being issued an original salesperson's license, each salesperson shall be required to furnish the commission, within one year of the issuance of a license, evidence of satisfactory completion of a course of study of at least 25 in-class hours approved by the commission. As a part of satisfactory completion of this course, the licensee must stand and pass an examination covering the subject matter contained in the course. The commission, in its discretion, may approve an examination prepared by and administered by the school offering the course or may prepare and administer an examination itself. The license of any salesperson who fails to complete satisfactorily in a timely manner the course provided for in this subsection shall lapse, and the salesperson's wall certificate of licensure and pocket card shall immediately be surrendered to the commission. Any salesperson whose license lapses for failure to complete satisfactorily this course may reinstate the license in the following manner:

(1) Any salesperson who has enrolled in the course within one year of the issuance of an original license, has paid all required fees for the course, and:

(A) Has not completed all in-class sessions, required exercises, or examinations;

(B) Produces a medical doctor's certification of incapacitation which caused the licensee to be unable to complete all in-class sessions and the examination; or

(C) Has not completed the course or the examination due to cancellation of the course by the approved school

may reinstate the license by completing the course within six months of the lapsing of the license.

(2) Any salesperson who fails to reinstate a lapsed license as provided in paragraph (1) of this subsection must qualify as an original applicant by passing a new examination as required in subsection (b) of this Code section and must complete 25 in-class hours of instruction approved by the commission before making application to reinstate such license.

(e) Except those individuals actively licensed on January 1, 1980, each applicant for renewal of an active license must furnish to the commission before renewing a license evidence of satisfactorily completing a continuing education course or courses approved by the commission. The length of the course or courses taken by licensees to meet this requirement of continuing education must total at least six hours for each year of the renewal period established by the commission. The commission shall not require the passing of an examination to meet this requirement. Continuing education courses will be provided by all educational or duly authorized instructional organizations teaching real estate licensing courses. No licensee whose license has been placed on inactive status shall be allowed to reactivate unless the provisions of this subsection and subsection (g) of Code Section 43-40-12 are met.

(f) Instructors in all of the approved courses must be approved by the commission and, where the commission deems necessary, receive any special instruction the commission may require.

(g) Failure to complete any of the educational requirements as provided in this Code section shall be grounds for denial of a license or denial of renewal of a license without further hearing. No fees or portion of fees paid shall be refunded if a licensee fails to meet the continuing education provisions of this chapter.

(h) The commission may prepare and distribute to licensees under this chapter educational material deemed of assistance in the conduct of their business.

(i) The commission, through its rules and regulations, shall establish standards for the approval of schools to offer the education courses required by this chapter. The commission, through its rules and regulations, shall establish standards for the offering of the prelicense education courses required by this chapter by methods of instruction, which it deems to be educationally sound, other than in-class instruction. The commission, through its rules and regulations, may establish standards for the offering of continuing education courses required by this chapter by methods of instruction, which it deems to be educationally sound, other than in-class instruction.