Texas Auctioneer Law & Rules CE: What the Mandatory Hours Cover

Two mandatory hours cover the statutes and rules every Texas auctioneer must follow

Of the six continuing-education hours Texas auctioneers complete to renew, two are reserved specifically for law and rules. These aren't filler hours — they're the part of your CE that keeps you on the right side of the statute and out of trouble with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR). Here's what those mandatory hours actually cover.

Why Two Hours Are Reserved for Law

Auctioneering touches money, contracts, and consigned property that doesn't belong to you. Because the stakes for sellers and bidders are high, TDLR requires every renewing auctioneer to spend at least two CE hours on the legal framework. It's how the state makes sure licensees stay current as statutes and rules change.

Occupations Code Chapter 1802

Chapter 1802 is the Texas statute that governs the auctioneer profession. The law-and-rules hours walk through the parts you use most:

• Licensing and registration — who needs a license, associate auctioneers, and renewal obligations.
• Advertising requirements — how auctions must be promoted and disclosures that protect consumers.
• The Auctioneer Education and Recovery Fund — what it is, how it protects the public, and your responsibilities toward it.
• Prohibited conduct and penalties — the actions that put a license at risk.

16 TAC Chapter 67 — The TDLR Rules

If Chapter 1802 is the statute, 16 Texas Administrative Code Chapter 67 is the rulebook that puts it into day-to-day practice. These are the TDLR rules that spell out how you actually comply — recordkeeping, escrow and settlement timelines, registration details, and the continuing-education requirement itself. Because rules are updated more often than statutes, this is where staying current matters most.

Consumer-Protection Law: UCC and DTPA

The law hours also connect your work to the broader consumer-protection statutes that apply to sales:

• Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) — how auction sales form binding contracts, including the moment the hammer falls.
• Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA) — the misrepresentation and disclosure rules that can create liability if a sale goes sideways.

What This Means for Your Business

Knowing this material isn't academic. It's what keeps your advertising compliant, your trust account clean, your settlements on time, and your license off TDLR's enforcement radar. The two law hours are the cheapest insurance you'll buy all year.

Where the Law Hours Fit in Your Renewal

You don't take the law hours separately — they're built into our TDLR-approved 6-hour auctioneer course, alongside ethics, contracts, insurance, and business operations. Complete the full course and your two mandatory law hours are covered, with completion reported to TDLR automatically.

The takeaway: two of your six hours must be law and rules, and they cover Chapter 1802, 16 TAC Chapter 67, and the consumer-protection statutes that govern every sale you call.