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first tuesday - Broker Licensing Procedures
 

 

Becoming a broker

Broker Licensing Procedures

To become a broker you must be a legal U.S. resident 18 years or older and meet the minimum education and experience requirements. Attorneys licensed in California automatically qualify to take the broker exam without the education and experience requirements placed on non-attorneys.

Before taking the state broker exam, a sales agent must complete eight college-level courses. The six required courses are Practices, Finance, Legal Aspects, Appraisal, Economics, and Principles. The two remaining course requirements are electives and can be chosen from courses such as Property Management and Escrows. Many college courses such as business law, accounting, or office administration also qualify as alternatives to some of these educational requirements.

A sales agent must have two years of full-time employment within the last five years as an agent of a broker or equivalent part-time employment. Experience in other occupations dealing with title or real estate (escrow, title, owner-builder, lending, etc.) may also qualify as a substitute for experience as a sales agent.

After meeting the education and experience requirements, you must submit a Broker Examination Application (RE400B) to the Department of Real Estate (DRE) and take the Broker Exam. The fee is $95. The time allotted to take the broker exam is five hours – 2 ½ hours in the morning and 2 ½ hours in the afternoon. Exams may be taken in San Diego, Los Angeles, Fresno, Oakland, or Sacramento.

To pass the exam, you must answer 75% of the 200 multiple choice questions correctly. If you do not pass the exam, you may continue to retake the exam until you pass or until two years have run since submitting your application. The fee for each exam re-take is $95.

On passing the exam, the DRE will send you a Broker License Application (RE200). Fill out and send in the application along with the broker licensing fee of $300.

If you wish to apply for the broker licensing exam and the broker license at the same time, submit RE436 to the DRE along with $395.

For more information, please feel free to call us at 800.794.0494 or contact the Department of Real Estate (DRE) at 916.227.0931. You can also visit the DRE online here.