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Can a convicted felon get a real estate license in Florida? You may still apply for a real estate license in Florida if you have a criminal history. Rather than restricting those with certain convictions from applying, the Florida Real Estate Commission considers each applicant on their own merits. It is important, however, that you disclose your prior arrests and convictions when making your initial application for a real estate sales associate license. On the application, you will be asked to answer a series of background questions. You must disclose whether you have ever been convicted, found guilty of or entered a plea of no contest to a crime, or if you are currently under investigation for a crime. Any criminal violation at the municipal, county, state or national level, including felonies, misdemeanors and traffic offenses (other than parking, speeding, inspection or traffic signal violations) must be disclosed. This information should be disclosed even if you were put on probation, were withheld judgement, were paroled or pardoned. You will need to include a copy of the arrest report, copies of the disposition or final order(s), and documentation proving all sanctions have been served and satisfied. This documentation is necessary for each incident. If you are unable to supply the required documentation, you will need to get a certified statement from the clerk of court for the relevant jurisdiction, stating the status of your records. If you are still on probation, you will need to include a letter from your probation officer, on official letterhead, stating the status of your probation. In addition to your criminal history, you will need to disclose whether you’ve had any judgement or court decree entered against you in any state or jurisdiction related to the practice and profession of real estate, including any pending cases or investigations. You will need to provide a copy of the judgment or decree. You must also supply documentation proving all sanctions have been served and satisfied, or if not, stating the current status of any proceedings. In addition, you will need to disclose if you have ever had an application for licensure denied in Florida or elsewhere. Again, this includes pending proceedings and investigations. If you have, you will need to supply copies of documentation explaining the denial or pending action. Finally, you will need to document if you have ever had any license, registration or permit to practice any regulated profession, occupation, vocation or business revoked, annulled, suspended, relinquished, surrendered or otherwise disciplined in Florida or elsewhere, including pending proceedings and investigations. You will need to provide copies of the order(s) showing the disciplinary action taken against the license, or documentation showing the status of the pending action. For criminal convictions, you will need to complete information on the offense, location of the crime, the penalty or disposition for the crime, the date of the offense and a description of the offense when making your application. For judgements or actions against you regarding a professional license, you will need to disclose the location, license number or application type, and an explanation of the incident. All applicants are fingerprinted for a criminal background check by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The results will be forwarded to the Florida Real Estate Commission. You can expect the Commission to check the answers on your application against local, state and federal records. Your application may be denied if you fail to answer truthfully. Applicants must disclose: • The details of convictions. • Any pleas of nolo contendere. • Real estate license applicants do not need to include any expunged crimes or minor traffic violations. In addition to DUIs, petty theft, and underage drinking, Florida real estate license applicants must include any other misdemeanor or felony charges. It is important that the applicant document each incident fully. An applicant must include any criminal history that may have happened outside Florida’s borders. A criminal history does not automatically disqualify an applicant from licensure in Florida. An application may be reviewed by the FREC and take upwards of 90 days to process. (Florida Statute 475.17). The FREC may refuse to certify any candidate who has violated any of the provisions of Florida Statute 475.42 or who is subject to discipline under Florida Statute 475.25. The application process may be unaffected by any criminal activity disclosed by an applicant. The impact of criminal history generally depends on the length of time since the offense happened, and the nature of the offense. The more information that an applicant provides on the application, the less opportunity there is for a rejection of the real estate license application. An applicant must disclose if they have: • Been convicted of any crime, regardless of adjudication. • Been found guilty of any crime, regardless of adjudication. • Pled nolo contendere to any crime, regardless of adjudication. This information will be discovered in the background check, and an applicant’s failure to disclose this information upfront, on the application, may result in a denial of the application. Applicants are advised to attach a full disclosure, including the outcome of any arrest to the real estate application. A real estate applicant must disclose all information on the application and include documentation to support all facts. Nondisclosure of any criminal history or background will likely lead to a license denial.

Do you need high school diploma for real estate license in Florida? Yes, one of the requirements for applying for a sales associate license is to provide proof of a high school diploma or equivalent.

To become a Florida real estate broker, an applicant must have been registered as an active sales associate for at least 24 months during the preceding 5 years, complete a 72-hour pre-licensing course based on the FREC II syllabus, and pass the state broker exam with a score of at least 75 out of 100 points. The broker application fee is $91.75, and applicants must submit fingerprints through an FDLE-registered Livescan provider. A 4-year degree or higher in real estate exempts the applicant from the pre-licensing education requirement, and the course completion is valid for 2 years from the date of completion.

To become a Florida real estate sales associate, you must be at least 18 years old, hold a high school diploma or equivalent, and have a U.S. Social Security number. You must complete a 63-hour pre-licensing course approved by the Florida Real Estate Commission and pass the course final exam with at least 70%. After submitting an application to the Florida DBPR with the required fee and completing electronic fingerprinting through a Livescan provider registered with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, you must pass the 100-question state licensing exam administered by Pearson VUE with a score of at least 75 out of 100 points. Your license is issued in inactive status and becomes active when a sponsoring broker submits the DBPR RE 11 form on your behalf.

To become a REALTOR®, a licensed real estate agent must join a local REALTOR® association, which enrolls them in a three-way agreement with the local association, the state association (Florida REALTORS®), and the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR). NAR national dues are $156 per member for 2027, plus a $45 special assessment for the Consumer Advertising Campaign, and members must also pay local and state association dues. Members must adhere to NAR's Code of Ethics and complete ethics training every three-year cycle.

After obtaining a sales associate license and affiliating with a sponsoring broker, new agents should join a local REALTOR® association to gain MLS access, standard contracts, and public record databases. The first sale can take four to six months or more, and agents with two years or less experience earn a median of $8,100 annually according to the NAR Member Profile, compared to $78,900 for those with 16 or more years. Compensation in Florida is fully negotiable and collected through the broker, with common commission splits ranging from 60/40 to 90/10. Building a client base through prospecting, referrals, and lead generation is essential, as most agents work on a commission-only basis without a salary.

How to get a copy of my real estate license in Florida? Visit the Florida DBPR website and enter your details on the Licensee Search portal. After locating your license record in the DBPR database, you can print a physical copy of your certificate.

A Florida sales associate applicant must be at least 18 years old, hold a high school diploma or equivalent, and have a U.S. Social Security number. The applicant must complete a 63-hour pre-licensing course based on the Florida Real Estate Commission (FREC) Course I syllabus and pass the end-of-course exam with a score of at least 70%. The applicant must also submit fingerprints through a Livescan Service Provider registered with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and pass the state licensing exam, administered by Pearson VUE, with a score of at least 75 out of 100 points. A 4-year degree or higher in real estate exempts the applicant from the pre-licensing education requirement, and Florida Bar members are also exempt.

Where to get fingerprints for Florida real estate license? You may use any Florida Department of Law Enforcement-approved Livescan Service Provider to submit your fingerprints to the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. You will need to provide the Originating Agency Identification (ORI) number to the provider when you submit your fingerprints. The ORI number for Florida Real Estate Sales Associates is FL920010Z. If you do not include the ORI number or mistype the number, the Department will not receive your background check results. You can set up your fingerprinting reservation online. You will receive an email or confirmation number once you have successfully scheduled it. The Department of Business and Professional Regulation encourages candidates to obtain fingerprints through an approved Livescan Service Provider at least five days prior to submitting an application for a real estate license. This gives enough time for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and FBI to process your fingerprints and submit the results to the Department. If the results are not received by the DBPR at the time the application is processed, the application will be marked incomplete. The Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) requires fingerprints from each sales associate applicant in order to perform a background check as part of the approval process. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the FBI will use the fingerprints to conduct background checks. The results of those background checks will be reported back to the Florida Real Estate Commission. You will need to have your electronic fingerprint process complete when you submit your initial license application. The Commission recommends getting fingerprinted at least five days before you submit your licensure application to enable time for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to process your fingerprints and submit the results to the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR). Your fingerprints will also be used by the FBI to conduct a background check. You will have to have your fingerprints take by a Florida-approved Livescan service provider. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement keeps the criminal results from each applicant’s fingerprints for six months, starting from the date the fingerprints were collected. You are encouraged to submit your initial license application to the Department of Business and Professional Regulation about five days after you have submitted your fingerprints. This will allow enough time to resolve any application deficiencies prior to the expiration of the criminal history results. The DBPR keeps the results of your fingerprints for one year from the date the digital fingerprints were electronically received by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement retains the applicant’s fingerprints for only 180 days. If a candidate’s fingerprints have expired at the time the licensing application is submitted to the DBPR, they will be required to submit fingerprints again. Read more in Section 11 of the FL Real Estate Commission website.

To get a Florida real estate sales associate license, an applicant must be at least 18 years old, hold a high school diploma or equivalent, and have a U.S. Social Security number. The process involves completing a 63-hour pre-licensing course based on the FREC Course I syllabus and passing the end-of-course exam with at least 70%, submitting an application to the DBPR with electronic fingerprints through an FDLE-registered Livescan provider, and passing the state licensing exam administered by Pearson VUE with a score of at least 75 out of 100 points. The license is issued in inactive status and becomes active once the licensee affiliates with a sponsoring broker, who activates it using the DBPR RE 11 form.