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The licensing roadmap
The universal structure. Your state's candidate handbook fills in the numbers, and every row below tells you which number to look up.
The path
| Step | What | Look up in your state |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Find your real estate commission | Its website and the current candidate handbook |
| 02 | Pre-licensing education, approved provider | Required hours; the approved-provider list |
| 03 | The exam: national + state-law portions | Testing vendor, question counts, passing scores, fees |
| 04 | Sponsoring broker | Whether required for activation; transfer rules |
| 05 | Activate the license | Application, background/fingerprint requirements, fees |
| 06 | Renewal by continuing education | CE hours and cycle; broker-tier requirements for later |
Exam prep priorities
| Portion | The trap |
|---|---|
| National | Principles, practices and math concepts. Learnable from any national prep source. |
| State law | Where candidates who studied only national material fail. Give it its own study block from a state-specific source. |
Ten questions for any brokerage interview
| 1 | What does training actually consist of, week by week, for a new agent? |
| 2 | Who answers my questions on my first transactions, and how available are they? |
| 3 | What do agents pay: splits, fees, desk costs, technology charges? |
| 4 | What lead sources exist here, and who gets them? |
| 5 | Team or solo: what would you recommend for me, and why? |
| 6 | How many agents joined in the last year, and how many left? |
| 7 | What does a successful first year look like here, concretely? |
| 8 | What happens to my listings and pipeline if I leave? |
| 9 | What marketing is provided vs paid for by the agent? |
| 10 | Can I speak with two agents who started here in the last two years? |