The Texas Real Estate Commission on Tuesday previewed a demo of the Realm portal, a new online system intended to handle licensing, renewals, complaints and payments.

Commission staff emphasized that users will need to create accounts to apply for or renew licenses, file complaints and track case status. "I'm Denise Sample, the director of licensing, we put this together to kind of just show an overview of what will be the first step as someone engages with the system," Denise Sample said during the demonstration.

The portal demo showed an account-creation flow that branches to different application types (individual, applicant, organization), a save-and-resume feature for in-progress applications, and a final review and automated payment screen. Staff said the system will produce an application number and an email confirmation immediately after submission so applicants and staff can track processing status.

A built-in skip-logic step was described for military applicants so qualifying service members, spouses and veterans can have fees waived and be routed into a fast-track review queue. Staff explained the waiver will be validated during the back-end review process against documentation required by statute and rules; if an applicant is incorrectly routed, staff can invoice later.

For complaints, staff said complainants will also have to create accounts to file through the portal. The complaint intake includes an option to look up a licensee by name or license number, add witnesses, provide transaction details and upload supporting documents (photos, videos, PDFs). Staff said consumers may still submit paper complaints if they prefer; the online option is intended to improve document handling and communications.

Staff described routing logic behind complaint intake: complaint answers and uploaded files will allow staff to triage and route complaints to the appropriate enforcement team (for example, advertising compliance). Complainants will receive a complaint number and periodic status notifications; the portal will display a high-level processing status but will not disclose confidential investigative steps.

Presenters said existing accounts from the old system will not transfer automatically; users will be asked to create new accounts after launch. Staff also noted a public-facing license-holder search will remain available separately to look up license numbers and limited public information.

Staff cautioned that the demo shown focused on functionality and back-end integration rather than final visual design. They said data conversion and final language for disclaimers and application text are still being completed, and launch messaging will encourage early account creation ahead of renewal deadlines.

What happens next: staff said they will continue configuration and testing, collect feedback from internal reviewers and external stakeholders, and finalize roll‑out communications and training before going live.