How To Get Your Real Estate License In Texas: What You Need To Know
Do you feel that it is worth your time and effort to know how to get a real estate license in Texas? Is it rewarding enough? What is the investment required to get a real estate license in Texas? How much time will it take to complete the process?
This post will elaborate on how to obtain real estate license in Texas. At the end of it, all your doubts should be cleared.
Texas Real Estate Market
Before going further, let us explore the current state of the Texas real estate market. It will help you arrive at a decision on whether you should know about how to get your Texas real estate license.
Inventory of homes for sale in Texas is on the rise, a growth of almost 30.7%. Hence, buyers have more units to choose from to get their dream homes. In Q1 of 2025, home inventory reached 4.8 months of supply compared to 3.7 months in Q1 of 2024.
Home buyers are in for a bonanza as the market slowly creeps towards a six-month supply. This means that the market will move towards a stable and calmer growth. In fact, the rise in Texas home prices has been only 0.3% year-on-year since 2024.
Do all these figures confuse you? Will it influence your decision to learn more about how to get your real estate license in Texas?
For more clarity, let us first understand the mode of earnings of real estate agents in Texas.
The income of real estate agents is commission-based and not fixed salaries. Whenever you close a deal, the commission earned is 6% of the sale price. This is divided equally between the seller’s agent and the buyer’s agent. With median home prices in Texas being around $330,000, the commission works out to approximately $9900.
A deal per month will get you past the exclusive six-figure annual income. This cannot be said for most other professions.
All these points to one direction only; the Texas housing market is flush with inventory, a boon for homeowners. If you enter the market now as a real estate agent, you will not be short of business and income. So, let us now go into details about how to become a real estate agent Texas.
How To Get Your Real Estate License In Texas
The real estate sector in Texas is controlled by the Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC). It is the state agency that governs real estate practices in Texas. Its responsibilities include issuing and renewing real estate licenses and enforcing real estate laws and regulations. It also oversees all the steps in how to get the real estate license in Texas.
TREC mandates that you must have a real estate license to practice the trade. The law states that any person earning commission from third parties for selling, buying, leasing, or renting properties on their behalf must have a license to do so.
Let us now go through the process of how to get a real estate license in Texas.
Meet Basic Norms
Before you can start working towards obtaining a license, you must fulfill certain preliminary eligibility norms.
First, make sure that you are at least 18 years old on the date you apply for a license. You can, though, complete other license eligibility norms before that. The point is that you must be at least 18 to send a license application to TREC.
Next, requirement is that you must be a citizen of the USA with a Social Security number. Migrants with working rights in the USA can also apply for a real estate license in Texas.
Finally, on the educational aspect, you should have a high school diploma to be a real estate agent in Texas. An equivalent qualification, such as a GED, is also admissible as a basic qualification.
Get down now to the actual process of how to get your real estate license in Texas.
Complete pre-licensing coursework
Going through the pre-licensing coursework is a critical component of how to become a real estate agent Texas. There are two reasons for this, one official and the other personal.
The critical requirement to appear for the licensing exam is to complete the pre-licensing course. This is because it prepares you well for providing high-quality services to your clients in the future.
One of the requirements to appear for the licensing exam is to complete the pre-licensing exam. This is strictly ruled by TREC.
Mastering the pre-licensing coursework prepares you well for providing high-quality services to your clients in the future. Since real estate rules are being updated constantly, understanding them is essential to making a success of your career.
Course content
The Texas pre-licensing coursework is 180 hours in duration and consists of two parts. The national section covers topics related to the rules common to all states in the USA. The other is the state-specific section that covers principles and best practices of real estate exclusive to Texas.
The 180-hour course has six modules of 30 hours each. Aspiring candidates can go through them in any order at their convenience. The modules are as follows:
· Principles of Real Estate 1 (30 hours)
· Principles of Real Estate 2 (30hours)
· Law of Contracts (30 hours)
· Promulgated Contract Forms (30 hours)
· Law of Agency (30 hours)
· Real Estate Finance (30 hours)
Once you complete the coursework, the provider will send the certificate to TREC for their records. Alternately, you can take it from them and submit it to TREC along with your application for a real estate license in Texas.
Selecting the best course provider
Knowing about how to invest in the best course provider is beneficial. It will help you to pass the licensing exam on the first try. So how do you choose one?
TREC-approved courses: Select a course provider that is on the TREC-approved list, as it is a guarantee of excellence. Any unapproved course will not qualify as having completed the 180-hour study norm to appear for the licensing exam. Visit the TREC portal to check the list of approved course providers before investing in one.
Online or physical courses: When you explore the market for the best real estate license courses you will find a variety of them. They are typically either online courses or classroom-based ones.
What you ultimately choose to complete the 180-hour pre-licensing coursework depends entirely on your preferred learning style. If you prefer face-to-face interaction with your instructors and prefer hard copies of textbooks, a real estate school is ideal for you.
On the other hand, download online courses onto any Internet-enabled device. You can save the coursework in your system and browse e-textbooks.
Before you invest in a coursework, carefully consider the two. Online courses can be studied at any time from any location without upsetting your daily routines. This is especially useful if you are already in a job and planning to switch your career after getting a real estate license.
Further, save a lot of time in commuting to regular classes. Use this time fruitfully by going through online courses. Financially, too, online courses are cheaper than classroom-based learning. Choosing online courses is thus a win-win situation for aspiring real estate agents in Texas.
Among the leading TREC-approved and online course providers in Texas is RealEstateU. Their courses are designed by some of the top real estate professionals and instructors in this field. Since they know more about how to get a real estate license in Texas, the study materials are crafted accordingly. Most importantly, if you compare prices, RealEstateU courses are among the lowest-priced in this niche.
Background verification
Real estate agents must have high moral standards and financial integrity. One of the ways to meet this benchmark is to have a clean past without any past criminal record or a felony. This aspect can be verified through a fingerprint check of the real estate agent applicant.
Fingerprint check is a one-time process, and the result remains valid throughout your career as a real estate agent. The fingerprint collection task has been entrusted to IndentoGO, a service provider authorized by TREC.
The process is quite simple.
To schedule your fingerprinting appointment, visit the TREC portal and get your unique ID. Visit the IndentoGO portal to find an outlet near you to book an appointment. On the fixed date, go to the designated IndentoGO location, pay the required fee, and submit your fingerprint. Submit the fingerprints to TREC for checking of any criminal records by federal agencies.
TREC reserves the right to end the process of how to get your Texas real estate license in the case of an adverse report.
Schedule your licensing exam
After completing the pre-licensing coursework and fingerprint verification, you have to schedule the licensing exam. Here, too, the process is simple and can be done online.
Visit the portal of Pearson Vue, the third-party service provider and proctor authorized by TREC. Create a web account, and register for the licensing exam. Now, schedule a licensing exam at a designated center per your convenience by paying a fee of $43.
Even though the exam is held online, you must visit a center physically to appear for it.
Appear for the licensing exam
On the appointed date, visit the exam center and appear for the licensing exam. The test consists of 110 questions to be completed in 240 minutes. The result in a pass/fail mode is announced soon after the test is completed. A detailed report is mailed to candidates by TREC within two to three weeks of completing the test.
Apply for a real estate license
You must now visit the TREC portal and apply for a real estate license in Texas, paying a fee of $150. Upload necessary documents, such as completing the 180-hour pre-licensing coursework and the fingerprint clearance certificate. Once these are verified, you will be issued a provisional real estate license. You cannot start your practice with it, and must first go through the last step to activate it.
Find a broker for sponsorship
The last step in how to get the real estate license in Texas is to find a licensed broker to sponsor you. The brokerage will guide you and provide referrals to get your career rolling.
Inform TREC about your service status to have your provisional license activated. The license is issued in the broker’s name. If you switch brokerages later, the license is updated accordingly.
These are the steps to cross for how to get your real estate license in Texas.