What is a TREC Pre-Licensing Education Application Number?
It's a number TREC emails you when you create a free account in its REALM Portal. Since October 1, 2026, your real estate school needs it to report your completed pre-licensing courses to TREC. It ends in "-QEdu."
Key takeaways
- New as of October 1, 2026. Schools now report your pre-licensing courses to TREC under this number.
- Free. You get it by creating a REALM account; there's no fee and no application to file.
- Who needs it: sales agent applicants and out-of-state broker applicants. Texas agents upgrading to broker use their license number instead.
- Keep it until you're licensed, as TREC's email advises.
How to get your number
- 1Create a free REALM account. TREC's online licensing portal. It takes a couple of minutes and costs nothing.
- 2Find TREC's email. It comes from no-reply@notices.trec.texas.gov with the subject "Pre-Licensing Education Notification" (check spam). Your number ends in "-QEdu."
- 3Give the number to your school. School Estate asks for it when you launch your first pre-license course, then reports each course you finish to TREC under that number.
What TREC's email looks like
Here's the part that matters, so you know what to look for. Your email also lists your REALM username and links for other license types; you can ignore those.
Real estate sales agent and out-of-state broker license applicants must complete qualifying education as part of their application requirements. Education providers report completed education to TREC and will need this unique Pre-Licensing Education Application Number: 1234567890-QEdu. Please retain this number until you have obtained your license. If you are upgrading from a sales agent to a broker license and already have a TREC license number, give that to your provider.
Creating an account isn't applying for your license
The REALM account only gets you the number. Your sales agent application is a separate step in REALM: about 15 minutes and a $206 fee. You can file it any time, even before your first course, which gets your fingerprinting started early. See Step 2 of the Texas licensing steps for the click-by-click version.
If your school doesn't have your number
Your completed courses can't be reported to TREC, and TREC won't authorize your state exam until all six are reported. At School Estate you can keep studying in the meantime, but we can't issue your final course completion certificates until the number is on your profile.
Can't find the email? Search your inbox and spam folder for "Pre-Licensing Education Notification" from no-reply@notices.trec.texas.gov, using the address you registered with. Still missing? Contact TREC at 512-936-3000, or call your School Estate mentor instructor at 512-697-9111 and we'll walk you through it.
Pre-Licensing Education Application Number questions
What is a TREC Pre-Licensing Education Application Number?
It's a unique number TREC emails you when you create a free account in its REALM Portal. Since October 1, 2026, real estate schools report your completed pre-licensing courses to TREC under this number, so your school needs it before your course completions can be reported.
How do I get my Pre-Licensing Education Application Number?
Create a free account in TREC's REALM Portal. TREC then emails you the number from no-reply@notices.trec.texas.gov in a message titled "Pre-Licensing Education Notification." Creating the account takes a couple of minutes and costs nothing.
What does a Pre-Licensing Education Application Number look like?
It's a string of digits ending in "-QEdu", for example 1234567890-QEdu. That's why some people call it a QEdu number.
Who needs a Pre-Licensing Education Application Number?
Real estate sales agent applicants and out-of-state broker applicants who are completing qualifying education for a Texas license. If you're upgrading from a Texas sales agent license to a broker license, TREC says to give your school your existing license number instead.
Is creating a REALM account the same as applying for my license?
No. Creating the account only gets you the number. Your sales agent application is a separate step in REALM with a $206 fee. You can file it any time, even before your first course, but creating the account doesn't file it for you.
What happens if my school doesn't have my number?
Your school can't report your completed courses to TREC, and TREC won't authorize your exam until all six courses are reported. At School Estate you can keep studying, but we can't issue your final course completion certificates until the number is on your profile.
I can't find the email with my number. What should I do?
Search your inbox and spam folder for "Pre-Licensing Education Notification" or the sender no-reply@notices.trec.texas.gov, using the email address you registered with in REALM. If it still isn't there, contact TREC at 512-936-3000. School Estate students can also call their mentor instructor for help.
When did TREC start requiring the Pre-Licensing Education Application Number?
October 1, 2026. Because of it, you now create your REALM account at the start of the licensing process, before your first course, instead of when you apply.
Starting from scratch? See the six steps to a Texas real estate license, how long TREC takes to approve your application, or our 180-hour Texas real estate license courses.