An Overview for Providers

WHAT TYPES OF INSTRUCTION WILL QUALIFY?

The guidelines require that qualifying instruction shall cover one or more of the following subject areas regarding Section 1031 exchanges from a substantive or procedural perspective:

Exchange Procedures
Third-Party Relationships
Legal, Compliance and Technical Issues
Ethical and Professional Practice Standards for
an Exchange Accommodator

Only that portion of instruction which meets these criteria will be considered as qualifying for continuing education credit.

HOW TO APPLY FOR PRE-APPROVAL OF INSTRUCTION

It is strongly suggested and economically more viable to have course materials reviewed and approved prior to being taken. Pre-approval is not a pre-requisite of acceptable materials. However, a CES^® Designee who takes a course that is not pre-approved takes the responsibility upon him or herself that the course is acceptable under the given standard. If it is determined that the course work does not qualify, those hours will not be credited toward the continuing education requirement.

Note that any hours from an FEA regional or annual meeting accumulated after your examination date will qualify.

PROCEDURES FOR PRIOR COMMITTEE APPROVAL OF MATERIALS FOR PRODUCERS OF A COURSE OR SEMINAR

Course materials, outlines, length of instruction and any written materials that describe the content, and any promotional material issued regarding this material will be submitted to the CEC.

The CEC will have 30 days to review and will issue either a written approval or denial of acceptability, as well as the number of hours approved.

The CEC will keep the materials in the strictest confidence and will only pass upon the materials acceptability for renewal hours under the given standard. A copy of the materials will be retained by the CEC for review against actual course work and will not be used for any other purpose, nor will it be shared with any other party.

Approved courses may advertise that the course reviewed will be honored as qualifying for Continuing Education Credit Hours renewal purposes and permission may be granted by the CEC for the producer to use the CES^® logo on its promotional materials.

The fee for pre-approval and use of approval language is: $50.00 per each renewal (clock) hour sought to be approved.

For example, a three hour course for which three hours of renewal credit are sought shall submit a fee of $150.00 along with the material to be reviewed.

FOR HOURS SUBMITTED FOR RENEWAL BY CES^® DESIGNEE WHICH WERE NOT PRE-APPROVED:

Although pre-approval of course materials is strongly suggested for course providers, there may be situations where Designees have taken classes where pre-approval has not been received by the course provider.

The process for Designees submitting hours where approval has not been previously obtained is as follows:

Within 60 days of receiving the instruction, Designees must submit a copy of all available course material as listed above for a producer of a course, for review by CEC along with the review fee (see below).

The fee for this review is: $25.00 per each course sought to be approved, regardless of length or the total number of hours sought.

Any Continuing Education Credit Hours sought for renewal must meet the standard articulated by the Certification Council as reviewed and approved by the CEC.

Designees must obtain and submit with the material to be reviewed, independent confirmation of their attendance at the course work for which they are seeking credit.

Designees must submit their renewal hours on a form issued by the Continuing Education Committee and sign to indicate their compliance with the requirements in effect at that time.

The CEC may review the renewal hours listing as submitted by the designee and are free to inquire about any course attendance, either for cause or at random, in order to most efficiently assure that continuing education work is in keeping with the articulated standards.

The Designee will receive written notice of any course work that has been disallowed. The Certification Council, at its sole discretion, will allow a reasonable time to make up the missing hours with acceptable courses. During any such grace period, the Designee will be permitted to continue using the CES^® designation.

CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDIT HOURS FOR TEACHING OR COURSE CREATION

Candidates may take credit for course preparation, but such credit is limited to three times the actual presentation length. These candidates will not receive additional credit for the presentation of the material. Where a candidate only presents material created by another, renewal hours are limited to the actual length of the presentation. Credit is given only for courses presented primarily for educational purposes. Presentations that are primarily for marketing purposes are not eligible for credit.

Any hours related to preparation or presentation of any materials are available for credit only one time and are not eligible for renewal during any subsequent renewal period, even if the course is offered again.

CARRYOVER OF CREDIT HOURS

Carryover of Continuing Education Credit Hour in excess of the minimum requirements; no more than two (2) hours in excess of the minimum required will be allowed to be carried over to the next renewal period.

PRE-APPROVAL FOR FEA MEETING AGENDAS

The FEA annual and regional meeting producers may submit the planned presentations to the Committee for pre-approval of acceptable hours at no charge. The Committee will make available to the producer the number of hours available for that set of presentations.

MISCELLANEOUS

Hours will be accountable only in no smaller than one-half (1/2) hour increments. In practice, one hour of credit shall be equivalent to physical presence at the delivery of the program for at least 50 minutes of each hour, which allows for a 10 minute break for each full hour of instruction. One-half hours of credit must be for a full one-half hour of instruction, with no break allowable for the half-hour increment.

The CEC reserves the right to alter the standards for acceptable Continuing Education Credit Hours should circumstances dictate that this change is in the best interests of the profession and of its customers.

TRACKING YOUR CONTINUING EDUCATION HOURS

The required form to track your continuing education can be obtained on the CES^® website.

SIGN-IN SHEETS MAINTAINED BY COURSE PROVIDERS

One of the requirements made upon designation holders is to be able to show attendance at qualifying courses. Providers may provide a sign-in sheet to Designees to be kept as a record of attendance with a copy to the Designee to keep to show attendance.