Colorado Brokers: Your Annual Commission Update Just Got a New Deadline (And a Time Crunch Warning)

If you're a Colorado real estate broker, you already know the Annual Commission Update (ACU) course is a fact of life. Every year, the Colorado Real Estate Commission develops a brand-new 4-hour mandatory course covering updated laws, revised contracts, and practice changes — and you need to complete it to keep your license active. What you might *not* know is that a significant deadline change is on the horizon, and there's a 2026 ACU dynamic worth understanding right now.

The New Rule: Starting in 2027, the ACU Deadline Moves to July 1

For decades, Colorado brokers have had until December 31 to complete the Annual Commission Update. It's created a classic end-of-year scramble — DORA regularly sees a surge of brokers rushing to complete the ACU in the final days of December, sometimes running up against hard system cutoffs.

That's changing. Beginning in 2027, the ACU must be completed by July 1 of each calendar year rather than December 31. The shift is designed to get brokers up to speed on new regulations earlier in the year, when the information is actually most actionable — not six weeks before the deadline in December when everyone is also renewing and finishing other elective hours.

The practical impact: the 2026 ACU is the last one with the December 31 deadline. The 2027 ACU will need to be done by July 1, 2027. That's a six-month compression from the old timeline, and it's something to build into your planning now.

The 2025-2026 Renewal Cycle: What You Need

Colorado licenses operate on a 3-year cycle, with the current cycle running January 1, 2025 through December 31, 2027. Over that entire 3-year window, you need 24 total CE hours:

12 hours: Three different ACU versions (one from each calendar year — 2025, 2026, and 2027). These cannot be repeated or stacked — you need a different year's ACU each time.

12 hours: DORA-approved elective courses — your choice of topics from the approved list.

Miss one year's ACU and you cannot "make it up" in a later year. That version is gone once the calendar year ends. If you miss an ACU, DORA offers a path forward through either completing a 24-hour Broker Reactivation Course (allowed once every other license cycle) or passing the State portion of the Colorado Broker's Exam. Neither is fun. Take the ACU each year.

What the 2025 ACU Covers

Each year's ACU curriculum is produced by DORA's Colorado Real Estate Commission and covers the most important regulatory changes and practice issues from that year. The 2025 ACU, available throughout the calendar year, covers:

Updated contract forms — changes to the standard Colorado contracts and what they mean for practice

New state laws and rule changes that went into effect in 2025

General practice issues — common compliance pitfalls and practical guidance for day-to-day brokerage

The ACU is explicitly designed to be taken early in the year so that brokers can immediately implement new practices. Taking it in November or December means operating under outdated knowledge for most of the year. DORA's guidance is consistent: take the ACU as early as possible.

The "Colorado Water" of CE — Why This Course Actually Matters

Colorado's real estate market is genuinely complex — from water rights to HOA requirements to the state's unique contract forms — and the ACU is one of the few places where you get current, DORA-curated updates on all of it in a single 4-hour block. It's not a checkbox exercise. The brokers who take it in January rather than December tend to be better prepared for the year ahead. That's the whole point.

ADRE's New Broker Supervision Rules (December 2025 Update)

On December 13, 2025, a significant set of DORA-adjacent rule changes took effect that deserve attention. The ADRE revised its supervision and compliance rules for designated brokers and branch managers, including:

Branch managers are now personally responsible for supervisory duties delegated to them — not just the designated broker. If a branch manager is authorized to carry out specific duties and fails to do so competently, they share accountability.

Brokers must now review and manage all transactions by their licensees — not just transactions requiring a license. Previously, a licensee selling their own home FSBO fell outside broker review requirements. That exception is gone.

These changes reinforce Colorado's direction: brokers at every level are expected to be actively engaged in supervision and compliance, not passively overseeing from a distance.

Complete the 2026 ACU Early

The 2026 ACU will be available starting January 1, 2026. Given the approaching July 1, 2027 deadline for the 2027 ACU, this is a good time to build the habit of taking the ACU in the first quarter of the year. Don't wait for December.

Click2CE offers the DORA-approved ACU on demand, with video-based delivery you can complete on your schedule — including from your car via Drive Mode audio. No classroom required. We also offer real estate exam prep for all 50 states if you're helping new agents in your brokerage prepare for licensing.

Take the ACU now. Don't wait for December.

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*Always confirm current requirements directly with the Colorado Division of Real Estate at dre.colorado.gov. Deadlines and curricula change annually.*