How to Get a Real Estate License
In my previous blog, How to Become a Real Estate Agent, I talked briefly about how to get a real estate license. If you want to check it out, click HERE. To make sure there is no confusion, I wanted to expand on it a little further so you know exactly what you need to do when you are ready.
Pre-licensing
The first thing you need to know about getting a real estate license is going through your pre-licensing classes. These classes are typically done online, either live or at your own pace. Before you start thinking about all of the amazing information you will get about how to succeed in real estate, let me squash that thought right now. Pre-licensing classes are not designed to help you learn how to build a real estate business. They are primarily designed to teach you what you need to pass the state and national exams. The succeeding part, you are kind of on your own to figure out.
Each state has its own requirements for the number of hours you need to take. If you want to know what your state requires, you can click HERE and check out my New Agent Resources page. When you do, you will see a map like the one below, broken up into regions. Click on your region and find your state to get more information. In case you were trying to guess about how many hours of classes it takes, on average, you will be required to complete 80 hours of pre-licensing classes before you can sit for your state and national exams.
State and National Exams
After finishing your required hours, the next step will be signing up for your state and national exams (these are taken at the same time in one comprehensive test). The exams are usually held at a testing center and average about 120 questions.
NOTE: You can find the nearest one by looking up the nearest PSI Services examination center and signing up for a time that is convenient for you.
Each state sets its own passing score, but typically, you will need to get a 70% or 75% to pass (to find out more about what your stats exam requirements are, click HERE to check out my New Agent Resources page, which has the number of questions on the exams and the minimum score you need to pass).
Each state also sets its own time limit for taking the exams, so make sure you know this before you take the exam, so you can practice. All exam rooms are different, but from my experience and speaking to agents around the country, you are likely going to have to put all personal belongings into a secure location (like a locker). Then once you are ready, you’ll sit down at a computer with three walls around you, and have a camera watching you as you take the exam (to make sure you don’t cheat, of course). Once you finish, you should find out before you leave the exam center whether you passed or not. If not, you are able to take the exams again. The number of times you can take the exams is determined by each state and can change. For example, when I took mine in 2009, I only had three chances to pass both state and national portions. Since then, it has been increased to four chances. Also, another thing to keep in mind is that if you pass one of the sections, you only have to take the one you failed the next time you try. This happened to me, where I passed the state portion on my first try, but it took me three tries to pass the national portion.
NOTE: If you do not pass both portions of the exams, you may be required to retake the pre-licensing course again.
Don’t get discouraged if you do not pass on the first attempts. Many people don’t pass and need to retake the pre-licensing classes. If you believe in your heart that being a real estate agent is what you want to do, just look at it as your first of many hurdles you will overcome to build the business and life of your dreams! Your perseverance will determine your fate!
I hope this makes sense. If not, leave me a comment so I can explain it more clearly for you!
“We have two lives, and the second begins when we realize we only have one.” – Confucius
P.S. IF you are serious about becoming a real estate agent and want to learn how you can avoid the mistakes 87% of new agents make, I encourage you to check out the coaching program I have developed to help agents before they enter the industry. The program is designed to help you avoid the frustrations I and so many other agents felt when entering the industry, struggling to survive while clinging to the belief we will succeed. It is completely based on proven results from my experience as a top-producing agent, owning a brokerage for almost a decade (where I helped agents average 2x4 times the amount of sales and income), and from spending over 25,000 hours learning from history’s most legendary people! If this sounds like something that would benefit you, please click HERE to set up a FREE 30 Minute Virtual Call to learn more about how I can help you.