Successful completion of six Land University courses which are divided into three categories. LANDU^® Courses are offered in a live in-person format or online through virtual instructor-led training (VILT). All courses, except for Land Investment Analysis, are two-day courses when offered in-person or four online live webinars when offered virtually.

Most applicants begin the ALC process by taking LANDU education courses. Through the education, applicants gain the knowledge needed to complete the volume requirements needed for the ALC portfolio.

Core Courses (Must take all three)

• Land 101: Fundamentals of Land Brokerage
• Land Investment Analysis (3 day course/5 webinars)
• Transitional Land Real Estate

Specialty Courses (Pick two courses)

• Agricultural Land Brokerage & Marketing
• Subdivision Land Development
• Land Real Estate Site Selection
• Recreational Land Real Estate
• Tax Deferred 1031 Exchanges

Elective Courses (Pick one or pick another Specialty Course)

• Real Estate Mapping Technologies & Techniques
• Timberland Real Estate
• Valuation and Transactions of Energy & Environmental Assets
• any other LANDU course offering (except for the prep course for the ALC Comprehensive Exam)

Approval for course equivalency:

Individuals who have successfully completed land-related courses provided by educational institutions or other professional organizations may apply for in-kind, or “equivalency” credit. Approval of course equivalency is determined by the ALC Designation Committee.

• Each request for equivalency credit is reviewed on an individual basis.
• Course outline(s)/syllabus, proof of completion, and related documents must be submitted for consideration.
• Each equivalency submission requires a $25 review fee. If approved, there is an additional $100 processing fee.
• Candidates may request no more than two course equivalencies.
• Course equivalencies are not accepted in lieu of required courses.

ALC Final Exam

All ALC applicants must successfully complete a comprehensive online final ALC Exam that covers the core components of the LANDU curriculum. All candidates have two opportunities within a six-month period to pass the exam with at least a 70% score or higher. The exam fee is $100 and covers both attempts. If, after the second attempt, the candidate does not successfully pass the exam they will be able to retake the exam after successfully completing the ALC Exam Prep Review.

To register for the ALC Exam, please click the spring green link below to purchase the ALC Comprehensive Final Exam.

ALC Exam Review Prep Course

The ALC Exam Prep Course is a self-paced, interactive review of the content for the below core courses that students are tested on during the ALC Comprehensive Final exam. The prep course is not required. The fee is $99.

• Land 101: Fundamentals of Land Brokerage
• Transitional Land Real Estate
• Land Investment Analysis

To purchase the online prep course for the ALC Exam, please click to spring green link below for the ALC Comprehensive Final Exam Prep Course.

Applicants must have attended a National Land Conference within the five-year period prior to submitting their ALC application.

Applicants must submit a portfolio that substantiates specific levels of volume achieved in land sales or in providing real estate services related to land.

Volume Criteria

Definition of Land Transaction: The value of the land, including improvements that are agricultural in nature, must account for at least 51% of the total sale of the transaction in order for the transaction to be eligible. Agricultural improvements include, but are not limited to, barns, livestock operations, equine facilities, etc. All transactions submitted in a portfolio, including residential transactions, must meet the land definition criteria.

Volume Calculations: For volume calculations in the Sales, Auctioneer, and Broker Management categories, the buyer side is equal to the full sales volume, the seller side is equal to the full sales volume, and if one agent represents both sides, you may double the volume of the transaction for the purpose of fulfilling the volume requirements. If one side is unrepresented, you must clearly explain how you assisted both sides in order to claim double the volume of the transaction. For example, if John Doe is the listing agent on a $1 million-dollar sale, count $1 million; for the buyer side, count $1 million for the seller side; and if one agent represents both sides (or clearly explains how they assisted both sides if one side is unrepresented), count $2 million for the purpose of fulfilling the transaction requirement.

Timeline for Transactions: Transactions must have been completed no more than five years prior to the submission of the ALC portfolio, unless otherwise noted in specific specialty categories below.

Limitations

Residential Definition: For the purpose of the ALC portfolio, a residential transaction is defined as a single-family parcel with at least five acres. The 51% rule on land value still applies.

Limitation on Personal and Family Dealings: No more than 20% of the transactions submitted in an ALC portfolio may be personal or immediate family dealings (meaning any transaction that requires disclosure in the state in which the transaction occurred.)

Lease Transactions: No more than 25% of the minimum volume requirements (currently $3.75M) may come from lease transactions. If submitting 25 separate transactions, no more than six separate lease transactions are allowed (multi-year leases only count once).

• All lease transactions should be listed separately on the Volume Requirements Spreadsheet.
• Lease transactions must have been within the five-year period prior to submitting an ALC application and portfolio and can only be included in the years the agent was paid a commission as part of the lease agreement. If the agent represented both sides of the lease agreement, the lease volume may be counted twice (for each side).
• Lease options do not count towards the ALC until the lease options are executed, exercised, and closed.
• Documentation for Lease Transactions:
• Lease Transaction Narrative Form
• Volume Requirements Spreadsheet with Lease Transactions

Documentation

Transaction Supporting Documentation: Applicants must verify their participation in each transaction by either submitting a title/closing company verification as outlined in the Transaction Narrative Form or two forms of supporting documentation per transaction, which may include, but is not limited to:

• A redacted HUD-1 closing statement with buyer’s/seller’s proprietary information removed
• Proof of commission payment or verification of commission paid
• MLS closing statement
• Copy of executed contract or lease with all proprietary information redacted
• Recorded and signed deeds

Variance Request Form: Land is different all across the country. As such, it is difficult to create hard rules that apply to all. The Request for Variance from ALC Designation Criteria form is to be used BEFORE an ALC application is submitted to request a variance in the ALC Designation rules and criteria stated below.

Please note: Variance Requests may only be submitted by applicants who have held a real estate license for at least five years. The rationale is that RLI allows applicants to submit transactions within the last five years before the date of their application. Therefore, it does not make sense to request a variance from the rules if the applicant has not given themselves at least five years to achieve the requirements within the existing rules.

• Request for Variance from ALC Designation Criteria

Specific Requirements for Qualifying Categories

Sales, Brokerage, Development, Consulting, Investing

The portfolio must substantiate that the applicant’s participation and material involvement as a broker, agent, consultant, Investor/Developer or employee directly resulted in at least five closed land transactions totaling $15 million, or 25 separate land transactions. For applicants submitting 25 transactions, no more than 20% of transactions submitted may be from one residential development/subdivision/project and if one buyer closes multiple parcels with the same seller on one closing statement on the same day, those transactions are counted as one transaction for the purpose of the ALC portfolio.

• Volume Requirements Spreadsheet
• Transaction Narrative Form

Appraisers

Appraiser applicants must be a licensed state certified general appraiser and submit a portfolio substantiating at least 30 land appraisals/valuations in the previous three-year period totaling at least $15 million. For each appraisal submitted, the appraiser applicant must submit an appraisal narrative form with supporting documentation.

• Appraisal Log Sheet
• Appraisal Narrative

Farm or Forestry Managers

Farm or forestry managers must submit a portfolio that substantiates proof of a minimum of 30 management agreements, timber sales agreements, active leases, or combination thereof, within the five years prior to applying.

Application Fee

All applicants must submit a non-refundable application fee of $350 at the time of application submission. If paid ahead of time, the application, portfolio, and all supporting documents should be submitted no later than six months after the ALC application fee is paid. If applicants choose to submit their application as a printed, hard copy, an additional $50 will be invoiced as an addition to the application fee. Membership in the National Association of REALTORS®, either as a REALTOR®, REALTOR®-Associate, or Institute Affiliates is required to hold the ALC Designation. Applicants must show proof of having an active real estate license or other professional license as appropriate for their qualifying category.

Application & Portfolio

Applications should be submitted electronically to alcapp@rliland.com in two PDFs with all files in the correct order as detailed below. ALCs are known as the most accomplished and most experienced land professionals in the country. One's ALC Portfolio is a professional representation of the applicant. We encourage applicants to answer all questions on the transaction narrative forms as completely as possible and have a trusted advisor review the final portfolio for spelling and grammatical errors before it is submitted.

Part 1. Application_Applicant’s Name

• Application Form
• (If you don't have Microsoft Word or Excel, click here to access the Application, Transaction Narrative form, and Volume Requirements Spreadsheet as Google docs.
• License (see next section for more information)
• Course Certificates (only required for courses completed in 2016 or BEFORE. Courses completed AFTER January 1, 2017 do not need to submit course certificates as those are recorded in our system.)
• ALC Exam Certificate
• Letters of Recommendation (see section below for more information)

Part 2. Portfolio_Applicant’s Name

• Resume (see next section for more information)
• Essay (see next section for more information)
• Volume Requirements Spreadsheet
• Transaction Narrative Form #1
• Supporting Documents for Transaction #1
• Transaction Narrative Form #2
• Supporting Documents for Transaction #2
• Etc. A Transaction Narrative Form is required for every transaction included on the Volume Requirements Spreadsheet.

Applicants must submit a professional resume that demonstrates a minimum of three years of experience in land sales or brokerage or comparable real estate experience in auction, appraisal, leasing, development, farm management, consulting, brokerage management, or related services in land. If the applicant’s profession requires a professional license to practice (like real estate), applicants must provide proof of having a current professional license. Additionally, all applicants must submit a short essay why they would like to become an Accredited Land Consultant.

Applicants must submit at least two (2) letters of recommendation from current Accredited Land Consultants, one of which must be from an ALC within the applicant’s local market.  The letters of recommendation must be sent directly to RLI at alcapp@rliland.com. Letters will be evaluated on a case by case basis.

Committee Review: The ALC Accreditation Committee will consider each application to determine if all requirements have been satisfied. Members of the Committee reserve the right to request additional information or an interview (via phone or in person) with any ALC Designation applicant should there be questions regarding the candidate’s completion of the requirements for the designation. The Chairman of the ALC Accreditation Committee serves as the liaison to all applicants. Applicants who are determined not to have satisfied the requirements will be advised of the reasons for that determination so that they may correct any deficiencies.

Review Timeframe: Applications are accepted on a rolling basis and must be approved by both the ALC Designation Committee and the RLI Board of Directors, which meets monthly.  The timeline for approval depends on how many applications are already in the queue and when the application is approved in relation to the monthly Board of Directors meeting.  Since every application is reviewed by the ALC Designation Committee, which is composed of ALCs who are still actively selling land real estate, please be aware that timing can take anywhere from four weeks to four months or more, for an application to go through the entire process.