Salesperson vs Broker License: What Each Can Do, and Why Some States License Only Brokers

The working difference: who answers to whom

The two licenses split responsibility. A salesperson performs real estate services on behalf of a broker; the broker is responsible for that work and for the money that moves through it. The checked states put it plainly:

• California: a salesperson license is required for licensed activities "under the supervision of a licensed broker," and a salesperson without a responsible broker "may not perform acts requiring a real estate license."
• Pennsylvania: a salesperson is a person employed by a licensed broker to perform brokerage duties, and you can't apply for a salesperson license until a Pennsylvania broker certifies that it will supervise and train you.
• Iowa: a new salesperson's license application needs a sponsoring broker's signature, and an original application can't be filed as inactive.

A broker, by contrast, can run a brokerage, hold trust funds and supervise other licensees. North Carolina's licensing booklet describes a full broker who can work either under a broker-in-charge or independently, and the broker-in-charge who supervises provisional brokers, keeps the trust account and retains transaction records.

What it takes to move up to broker

Every state in the table asks for licensed experience, or an approved equivalent, and more education before the broker exam. These are the requirements as stated on October 28, 2026:

Texas isn't listed because TREC's site couldn't be reached on October 28, 2026 to confirm its broker requirements.

States that license new agents as brokers

Some states don't issue a salesperson license at all. The label changes, but each keeps a supervised entry level:

• North Carolina calls itself a "broker-only" state. New licensees start as provisional brokers, must be supervised by a broker-in-charge to be active, and remove the provisional status by completing 90 hours of postlicensing education within 18 months.
• Colorado issues a broker license from the start, after 168 hours of education. Its application page describes associate, independent and employing levels, and ties the independent and employing levels to two years of active broker experience (since January 1, 2026, salesperson or sales agent experience doesn't count), with a 24-hour brokerage administration course for the employing level.
• Washington licenses brokers who act on behalf of a firm under the supervision of a managing broker. DOL describes two levels: Broker and Managing Broker.
• Tennessee uses the term affiliate broker for its entry license, with 60 hours before the exam and the 30-hour Course for New Affiliates before the license issues; the broker license above is the next level.

If your state is one of these, the "broker exam" you hear about may be the entry-level exam. Colorado's Division told education providers in 2023 that, in PSI's job analysis, Colorado's results are reflected in the "Salesperson" examination and not the "Broker" examination, which indicates that its entry-level broker exam draws on PSI's salesperson-level national content. North Carolina's National section is likewise the 80-item entry-level exam. Prep planned for launch at the salesperson level of the national outlines fits that entry exam, not a later upgrade exam.

How the broker exam differs from the salesperson exam

Broker exams are longer, cut higher or tilt toward judgment calls:

• California: 200 questions in 4 hours at 75%, against 150 in 3 hours at 70%.
• Virginia: broker cutoffs of 60 on the national portion and 38 on the state portion, against 56 and 30 for salespersons.
• New Jersey and New Hampshire: PSI's national broker exams include items scored up to two points, so 115 questions carry 120 points in New Jersey and 75 national items carry 80 points in New Hampshire.
• Texas: the broker state exam has 50 scored items, including 10 case studies that use narrative cases and TREC-promulgated contracts.
• Pearson VUE's national broker outline: still 80 scored items, but with more Real Estate Practice (12 items against 10) and more applied questions: by Passy's sum of the outline's counts, 59 of the 80 are application or analysis items, against 42 for salespersons. Its valuation area, for example, has 2 knowledge, 4 application and 4 analysis items for brokers, against 6, 3 and 2 for salespersons.

Some topics appear only at the broker level. PSI's outline, for example, marks supervisory responsibilities, property management contracts and property management reports and disbursements as broker-only.

Which license to aim for first

In the states checked, the usual path is the entry-level license first and the broker license once you have the experience the state requires; California also accepts equivalent experience or a four-year degree with a real estate major or minor. Plan for the entry exam now, and treat the broker requirements as a second project a few years out. The licensing steps guide covers the entry license, and the guide to what comes after passing covers the first two years, when post-licensing and first-renewal rules apply.

Agency and contracts are the largest area at both levels on Pearson VUE's outline, 16 items for salespersons and 15 for brokers. Flashcards planned for launch on agency duties and contract terms cover the relationships and terms that both exams lean on.

If you are licensed elsewhere and wondering whether your experience counts toward a new state's license, the guide for out-of-state licensees compares the routes.

For a first exam several months away, a 90-day access period planned for launch, the middle of the three options, is sized to follow a full study plan. The free practice questions work today.