How to Get a Real Estate Salesperson License: The Steps, Prelicensing Hours and Deadlines by State

The five steps every state builds on

Each state writes its own licensing rules, but the path has the same skeleton everywhere checked for this guide:

1. Meet the basic eligibility rules. Arizona, California, Colorado, Iowa, North Carolina, Texas and Washington all set 18 as the minimum age for a license, and Pennsylvania and Virginia set it for the exam. Iowa and Colorado let you sit the exam before 18 as long as you are 18 when you apply, and Pennsylvania and Virginia also require a high school diploma or its equivalent. The states checked also review honesty or criminal history, usually through fingerprints.
2. Finish your prelicensing education. The table below gives the hours in the states checked.
3. Become eligible to test. Either your school reports your completion to the testing vendor, or the commission approves an application first. The next section explains both.
4. Pass the exam. In the Pearson VUE and PSI states checked here, that means a national portion and a state portion, usually each with its own passing score. California gives one exam of its own.
5. Apply for the license and join a broker. Fingerprints, a background check, the license fee and a supervising broker come at the end, in an order your state sets.

Prelicensing education in 11 states, checked October 28, 2026

Education rules come from the state commission or the vendor handbook it publishes. Courses must come from a school or college your state accepts, so check its approved list before you pay.

The Texas row comes from TREC's sales agent page as captured by the Internet Archive on October 21, 2026, because TREC's site couldn't be opened directly for this check. Virginia, Florida and New York are not in the table because their commission sites couldn't be opened on October 28, 2026. Their requirements exist, so look them up on Virginia DPOR, Florida DBPR and the New York Department of State before you enroll.

How you become eligible to test: school-reported or commission-approved

The order of the middle steps depends on your state, and it changes what you do after your last class.

• Your school tells the vendor. In New Jersey, Virginia, Tennessee and Washington, the education provider sends your completion to PSI, and PSI lets you register. New Jersey's bulletin adds that this eligibility expires one year to the day after it is issued, and you must pass and apply for your license before then.
• The commission approves you first. In Texas, you finish your education and file an application with TREC, which sends an eligibility letter with the ID you need to book. In North Carolina, you file an application with a $105 fee and receive a Notice of Exam Eligibility valid for 180 calendar days. In Pennsylvania, you submit a separate application for each portion in Pearson's Clarus portal with proof of education, and you are notified by email once you are authorized to test.

Either way, in vendor states you book the appointment and pay the exam fee to the vendor; North Carolina's booklet tells candidates not to send the exam fee to the Commission. California is the exception, because its DRE schedules and charges for its own exam. The cost guide lists those fees by state.

Deadlines that can cancel a passing result

A pass doesn't wait forever. These are the windows printed in each state's handbook or on its commission's page:

Because most of these clocks start at eligibility or at a pass, it helps to book the exam for soon after your course ends. If that's your plan, the 90-day access planned for launch, built around a week-by-week plan, covers the stretch between class and exam.

If you fail a portion, other clocks start. The retake guide covers waits, attempt limits and how long a passed portion counts.

After the exam: background check, license application and a broker

The last step varies most. Arizona requires a Level 1 fingerprint clearance card from the Department of Public Safety when you apply. Texas fingerprints applicants for TREC, and the license isn't issued until TREC receives the criminal history results. Virginia fingerprints applicants at PSI's Virginia sites for $52, and the results are valid for only 90 days, so the application has to follow quickly. Washington asks you to pass the exam first and then submit fingerprints. California applicants who live in the state pay a $49 fingerprint fee to the live scan provider.

To work, you also need a broker. California's DRE says a salesperson without a responsible broker "may not perform acts requiring a real estate license." In Washington, the license you earn lets you work under the supervision of a managing broker, and North Carolina's new provisional brokers must be supervised by a broker-in-charge to be active.

Planning your study around the steps

The free study planner turns a test date into a daily outline. If your state uses Pearson VUE or PSI, 625 national-portion questions planned for launch let you practice the national part while your course covers state law.

To see what the exam itself looks like before you enroll, start with what the salesperson exam is, then check your state's handbook for its state-portion outline.

When your course is done, work the national outline one area at a time. Practice by content area planned for launch, one area at a time or mixed, follows Pearson VUE's eight national areas.