Your Easy Guide To Become A Real Estate Agent
Becoming a real estate agent is a great opportunity to become your own boss and create unlimited earning potential. Agents earn a commission-based income, which means you have the potential to earn high percentages of income every time you close a deal on a property. The more deals you close, the more money you earn. Plus, with a real estate license, you have a variety of ways to earn money.
Once you get your license, you can sell or rent single family homes or apartments, sell or lease office buildings, sell retail buildings, factories, storage facilities, and more! The possibilities are endless. Read on as we tell you step by step how to earn your license in 9 different states.
How To Become A Real Estate Agent - Your REU Guide
Find your state and learn about all the steps it takes to become a real estate agent when you use REU to help guide you.
New York
Here’s how to get your real estate license in the state of New York in four easy steps:
Step #1:
The first step is completing the 75-hour New York State real estate salesperson course. The course must be approved by the NY Department of State and it must follow a specific curriculum. You’ll get everything you need with RealEstateU’s course.
Step #2:
The next step is you’ll need to pass the school’s proctored final exam at a state approved location.
Step #3
After that, you’ll need to pass the State’s proctored exam. This means creating a free online account with eAccessNY. This is the NYS Department of State’s online platform that is used to schedule your State exam and apply for your license. The State exam is 75 multiple-choice questions, and you'll have to answer 70% of those correctly in order to pass.
Step #4
The last step to become a real estate agent in New York is to apply for your RE license through your eAccessNY account, which you can do with the help of your sponsoring broker.
Further requirements are that you must be at least 18 years old and have no felony convictions.
Pennsylvania
For the state of Pennsylvania, there are also four steps you’ll need to go through to get your real estate license:
Step #1
The first step is completing two courses (they total up to 75 hours). They must be approved by the Pennsylvania Real Estate Commission. The two courses are Real Estate Fundamentals, and Real Estate Practice. You must also pass the proctored final exam at the end of the courses.
Step #2
After that, you’ll schedule and pass the state licensing exam. This must be completed at the PSI Testing Center. The experts at RealEstateU suggest downloading and carefully reading the PSI Candidate Information Bulletin. This bulletin will explain how to schedule your exam, which requires that you submit the Examination Registration Form to PSI, along with your two Certificates of Completion, and pay the $49 exam fee. As soon as your exam application is approved, you will be mailed an eligibility notice which is what you need to be able to set up a date and location for your state exam.
There are two parts to the exam, the National portion and the State portion. You must answer at least 60 out of the 80 questions correctly during the National portion and at least 23 out of the 30 questions correctly on the State portion if you want to pass.
Step #3
The next step is that you must submit a criminal record check, which you can get through the state police’s PATCH website. It must not be older than 90 days from the date you submit your license application.
Step #4
The last step is submit your Salesperson License Application online. Once you complete the application and upload all the necessary documents, your sponsoring broker must log in as well and complete their portion of the application.
As soon as the Real Estate Commission approves your application, you’ll get your license in the mail within 7-10 business days.
You must also be at least 18 years old and have a GED or high school diploma.
California
Here’s how to become a real estate agent in the state of California:
Step #1
Before you can apply for the California State real estate exam, you must first complete 135 hours of approved education, which RealEstateU has broken down into 3 courses that are 45 hours each.
The courses are:
Real Estate Principles – 45 hours (required)
Real Estate Practice – 45 hours (required)
One elective course – 45 hours
Each course includes a final exam. After you pass each exam, you’ll receive a certificate that you’ll need to submit for the State exam later.
Step #2
The next step is easy, you must apply for the exam date, time, and location before you can schedule your State exam for real. Once you do that, there are two steps before you can move to step three.
First, complete the Salesperson Examination Application or the Salesperson Exam/License Application. Once your Exam Application is received and processed, you will receive an Examination Schedule Notice from the DRE, which includes the location, date and time of your exam. You have up to 2 years to take the State exam from the date the Exam Application is filed.
Step #3
The next step is that you must pass the California Real Estate Salesperson Exam. You have three hours to answer 150 multiple choice questions, and you pass with a 70% or above.
Step #4
The last step is the Salesperson License Application (if you did not previously submit the Combined Examination/License Application) and get fingerprinted. You’ll receive your Salesperson License Application when you pass the State exam. You will have one year to complete the application and mail it back to the State.
Once you pay the $245 application fee and your application is received and approved, your license will be sent to your broker.
Texas
To become a real estate agent in Texas, you must complete these five steps:
Step #1
First, you must complete 6 courses that are 30 hours each (180 hours in total) that are approved by the Texas Real Estate Commission. There is a proctored final exam required at the end of each course.
A benefit that comes with taking these courses online with RealEstateU is that you can also take the final exams online, and you won’t have to drive to a proctoring location.
Step #2
The next step is submitting your sales agent license application with the Texas Real Estate Commission. As soon as this is approved, you will be eligible to sit for the State exam.
Step #3
Step three is getting fingerprinted and then filing those prints with the Texas Department of Public Safety. They will be used to perform a background check.
Step #4
The next step is completing the State Exam. It is proctored through PearsonVUE, a testing service company. There are two parts to this exam, a national section that is 85 questions, and a state section that is 40 questions.
You must answer at least 56 questions correctly on the national portion and 21 questions correctly on the state portion in order to pass the overall exam. You will have one year to pass the State exam once you submit your application.
Step #5
As soon as you’ve passed the state exam, the last step is to apply for an active real estate license - and for this you’ll need the help of your sponsoring broker.
Virginia
Ready to become a real estate agent in Virginia? Here’s how:
Step #1
The first step is completing the 60-hour pre-licensing course. There is a proctored exam you’ll have to take to earn your Certificate of Completion for the course. The school will notify the PSI testing center that you’ve successfully completed the course.
Step #2
The next step is scheduling and passing the State exam. It must be taken at one of the State approved PSI testing centers.
The State exam consists of two portions: (1) National portion and (2) State portion. The National portion consists of 80 questions with a time-limit of 105 minutes. You must answer 56 out of 80 questions correctly (70%) in order to pass. The State portion consists of 40 questions with a time-limit of 45 minutes. You must answer 30 out of 40 questions correctly (75%) correctly in order to pass.
You will be able to register and schedule your state exam online through PSI's website. Your exam scores are only valid for one year, which means you’ll have one year to apply for your license.
Step #3
After you pass, the next step is getting your fingerprints taken - these will be used to conduct a background check. It is required that you get your fingerprints taken at a PSI testing location - which you can get done right after completing the state exam.
Your fingerprints are valid for 45 days from the day the Real Estate Board receives your background check to the day they receive your license application.
Step #4
The last step is to complete and submit your Virginia real estate license application.If you have a sponsoring broker you can apply for an active Virginia real estate license. If you don't have a sponsoring broker, you can still obtain an inactive license. Your license will be mailed to your sponsoring broker once approved.
Additional requirements include being at least 18 years of age and you must have a high school diploma or its equivalent.
Georgia
There are four steps to getting your license in the state of Georgia.
Step #1:
Complete the 75-hour Georgia Real Estate Salespersons Course that is approved by the Georgia Real Estate Commission. There is a proctored exam at the end.
Step #2:
The next step before taking your state exam is to obtain a Georgia Crime Information Center (GCIC) report of your criminal history. You can receive this report from any local sheriff’s office or police department. You must bring this to the AMP testing center prior to receiving a license.
Step #3:
Step three is scheduling and passing the Georgia State Licensing Exam. The state exam must be taken through Applied Measurement Professionals, Inc. (AMP). You can schedule your state exam online using AMP's REAL system.
The exam is 152 multiple choice questions that consists of both national questions and state specific questions. You’ll receive your exam score right after you complete the exam.
Your exam scores are valid for one year, meaning you must apply for your license within one year of your initial examination date.
Step #4:
The final step is submitting your license application. You can apply for it at the AMP testing center immediately after you pass the state exam. There is a fee of $170, but if you wait more than 3 months to apply, the fee jumps to $340.
You must also submit the following documents with your license application:
1) A valid ID and Certificate of Accuracy Statement.
2) A completed Sponsoring Broker Statement Form (if you are applying for an active real estate license).
3) A copy of your Georgia Crime Information Report.
4) A signed and notarized Lawful Presence Affidavit.
Once your license application is approved, your license will be sent to your broker's office.
Michigan
Here are 4 steps to become a real estate agent in the state of Michigan:
Step #1:
The first step is completing the 40 hour Michigan pre-licensing course that is approved by the Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA). Once you pass the final exam at the end of the course, you’ll receive a certificate and the school will notify the State of Michigan that you have completed the course.
Step #2:
The next step involved setting up your free iCOLA account through the Michigan.gov website where you’ll be able to apply for your license and pay the license application fee. Once your application is submitted you can take the final exam.
Step #3:
Once your license application is approved, you’ll be notified by the state of Michigan that you are allowed to register for the State exam. This process typically takes about 2-5 business days. The email you’ll receive from the state will include your exam candidate number known as a MIRE number.
This number allows you to schedule and take your State exam. It must be taken through a PSI testing center.
The State exam consists of 115 questions with a passing grade of 70% (80 out of 115 questions answered correctly) and a time-limit of 180 minutes.
Step #4:
As soon as you pass the State exam, you will be able to get your Michigan real estate license. If you had a sponsoring broker help you complete your initial licensing application through iCOLA, your license will be mailed to your sponsoring broker.
Missouri
There are four steps to getting your Missouri real estate salesperson license.
Step #1:
Step one is simple, take the 72 hour pre-license education courses. The 72-hour pre-license education requirement includes two courses:
1) 48-hour Salesperson Pre-Examination course
2) 24-hour Real Estate Practice course
You must complete the 48-hour Salesperson Pre-Examination course before you can apply to take the state licensing exam. The 24-hour course must be completed before you apply for your Missouri real estate salesperson license.
The final exam consists of 50 multiple-choice questions with a passing grade of 75%. You will receive your Certificate of Completion for the course as soon as you pass the final exam.
Step #2:
The next step is taking the state licensing exam that must be taken at a PSI testing center. It consists of both a national and a state portion. The National portion includes 100 multiple-choice questions. You must answer at least 70 out of the 100 questions correctly in order to pass the National portion. The State portion includes 40 multiple-choice questions. You must answer at least 30 out of the 40 questions correctly in order to pass the State portion. The questions are all mingled together, and you have a four hour time limit to complete it.
You will receive your exam score report at the testing center, immediately after completing the exam.
Step #3:
Before you can apply for your license, you must get fingerprinted with IDEMIA (Indentogo). This step requires you to register with the Missouri Automated Criminal History Site (MACHS). As part of the registration process, you must provide the Missouri Real Estate Commission’s four-digit registration number, 0004. As soon as you register with MACHS, they’ll give you fingerprinting locations to choose from.
Your fingerprints will be used by the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the FBI to run both a state and federal criminal history background check. The results will be sent to the Commission and reviewed as part of your license application.
Step #4:
You must apply for your license within six months of completing the 48-hour Salesperson Pre-Examination course, otherwise, you must retake the pre-license courses and the state exam. Your state exam score report will provide you instructions on how to apply for your license.
The state requires all applications to be in writing and submitted via mail.
Florida
RealEstateU also makes it easy to get your license in Florida. Here’s how it works:
Step #1:
The first step is completing the 63 hour Florida pre-license course. At the end of the course is a closed-book, non-proctored final exam. It’s 100 multiple choice questions, and you need to answer 70 correctly in order to pass. The Florida Real Estate Commission allows up to 2 attempts at the course final exam.
Step #2:
The next step is to apply to the Florida Division of Real Estate (DRE) for authorization to take the state licensing exam. When the DRE approves your application, you’ll receive an Authorization Letter via email that will include your Candidate Identification number. This number will allow you to schedule your state exam. You can schedule your state exam by calling Pearson VUE at (888) 204-6289. You can also schedule your exam online at https://home.pearsonvue.com/fl/realestate.
Step #3:
The state requires you to sit for your state licensing exam within 2 years of completing the 63-hour pre-license course. You must present a copy of your Certificate of Completion from the 63-hour pre-license course when you arrive at the Pearson VUE testing center.
The exam is 100 questions, all multiple choice, and you must pass with a 75% within 3 ½ hours. The great thing about this state exam is that you get your results immediately after taking the exam at the Pearson VUE testing center.
Step #4:
Step 4 requires that you get your fingerprints taken at an approved LiveScan Service Provider prior to applying for your Florida real estate sales associate license.
Your fingerprints will be used by the Florida DBPR to run a background check. When submitting your fingerprints, make sure you include your social security number and the following ORI number: FL920010Z.
Step #5
Once you pass the exam and complete your background check, you’ll be able to print your inactive Florida real estate sales associate license online through the DBPR website. In order to be eligible to receive an active Florida real estate sales associate license, you must have a sponsoring broker.
Get Started Today
At the end of the day, RealEstateU® makes it easy to get your real estate license in your state. They create easy to follow courses to help make sure you pass the test the first time you take it, so that you can start your real estate career right away.