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DOS Live Broadcast Rules and Regulations

The Division of Licensing Services will continue to allow educational providers to offer courses in a Live Distance Education delivery method for real estate qualifying and continuing education courses. If you are offering these courses in this manner currently and would like to continue, or if you would like to submit a new course, please follow the below instructions.

Live Distance Education is the use of live webinar technology to offer courses originally designed to be presented by an instructor in a traditional classroom setting. A live distance education program must meet the following requirements:

  • Have available devices with video and/or microphone for required participation and verification
  • Be available to DOS for active live audit, see 19 NYCRR § 177.21.
  • Have an instructor who is teaching the course and monitoring attendance that is approved pursuant to the existing rules governing qualifying and continuing education
  • Ensure that the instructor maintains an attendance roster, which includes verifying classroom and remote attendance. An example would include taking attendance at various established times during the course
  • Program contains a time-default mechanism for inactivity (e.g., instructor provides codes throughout the course that student is required to provide back to the school with their certification)
  • Obtain from each student a signed and dated statement that he or she personally completed each module of the learning program 19 NYCRR §§ 176.23; 177.22
  • Please note that qualifying courses must include a proctored final examination which must be held at a location within New York State approved by the Department

Educational providers who wish to offer Live Distance Education for a new course will need to submit an original application. Educational providers who wish to offer Live Distance Education for a course already approved for a traditional classroom setting can submit new application indicating a change in the procedures for taking attendance along with the existing course code number. A description of the educational providers proposed method for live distance education would need to accompany the applications. There will be no additional fee for educational providers adding a type of delivery method.

Notice to educational providers granted temporary approval to offer Live Distance Education courses for delivery through the COVID-19 restriction period: Once your area has met the requirements to reopen, the “temporary” approval you received is no longer in effect. You will need to revert back to your classroom approval and apply for Live Distance Education approval to continue offering your course(es) in this manner. If you have any questions about this requirement, you may contact the Bureau of Educational Standards at [email protected].

Downloadable forms:

In response to the inquiries we have received regarding reopening guidance, please refer to the NYForward website (https://forward.ny.gov/). You will find the look-up tool to assist with whether you are permitted to reopen and, if so, the reopening standards.

  1. From the NY Forward homepage, you should click on the box for “Essential Businesses” (https://esd.ny.gov/guidance-executive-order-2026). At the bottom of the page is a link to the “Business Reopening Lookup Tool”
  2. After you click on the box for the lookup tool, you will click “Get Started”
  3. The website will prompt you to enter relevant information. You will need to:
    • Select the County where your business is located
    • Click “Next”
    • Select “Filter by Category”
    • Enter the following information into the pop-up box
    • Industry Sector: Educational Services
    • Subsector: Educational Services
    • Industry: Technical and Trade Schools
    • Industry Classification: technical and trade schools
  • Click “Next”
  • The tool will then let you know if you are permitted to operate. If so, reopening guidance can be downloaded and printed.