Every state runs its own licensing process, but the shape is the same everywhere: take the required hours, get fingerprinted, pass a two-part exam, and hang your licence with a broker. What changes state to state is the hour count, the fee schedule, the commission that issues the licence, and a handful of rules that catch new agents out. This guide covers the eleven states we get asked about most, with the numbers side by side so you can see where yours sits.
The short version
Hours range from 40 (Michigan) to 180 (Texas) | All-in cost runs about $310 to $2,225 | Every state needs a sponsoring broker to activate the licence | Only Ohio makes you find that broker before the exam
Jump to your state
California · Colorado · Florida · Georgia · Illinois · Indiana · Michigan · Missouri · Ohio · Oklahoma · Texas
The Five Steps, In Every State
This part does not change. Only the numbers attached to it do.
- Meet the basic requirements. You need to be 18 (Georgia lets you sit the exam at 17, but you activate at 18), hold a Social Security number or ITIN, and clear a background check. No state on this list requires a college degree, and a criminal record is reviewed case by case rather than being an automatic bar. Disclose it. Failing to disclose is treated far more harshly than the record itself.
- Complete the pre-licensing hours. Between 40 and 180 clock hours from a school the state commission has approved. Online self-paced is the usual choice. Price tracks hours: roughly $200 in Michigan, $1,000 or more in Ohio and Colorado.
- Get fingerprinted. Nearly every state on this list runs prints through IdentoGO, IDEMIA, or a state-run equivalent, at $38 to $90. Do it early. The background check runs in parallel with your application, so it costs you nothing to start it sooner.
- Pass the exam. A national portion and a state portion, sat in one session, usually 100 to 155 questions in three to four and a half hours. You have to pass both parts, and the state portion is where almost everyone who fails, fails. National real estate law is generic; state law is not.
- Activate with a broker. A passed exam is not a working licence anywhere. It becomes one when a sponsoring broker signs off. In Ohio that broker has to be lined up before you can even apply for the exam.
Where people lose time
Not the coursework. It is the state portion of the exam and the post-licence requirement most people do not know exists until they are already licensed. Six of the eleven states here make you complete another 20 to 45 hours in your first year or two, and in Florida, Georgia and Ohio missing it can inactivate or suspend the licence you just paid for.
Requirements By State At A Glance
Fees are the state’s own charges and do not include your school. The all-in range adds a typical coursework price to the state fees.
| State | Pre-licence hours | Exam | To pass | Exam fee | Application fee | All-in | Licensing body |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | 135 (3 courses) | 150 q, 3 hr | 70% | $100 | $350 licence ($450 combined) | $670 – $1,050 | Department of Real Estate (DRE) |
| Colorado | 168 (6 courses) | 154 q, ~4 hr | 75% national, ~72% state | ~$49 | $485 | $1,184 – $1,789 | Division of Real Estate (DORA) |
| Florida | 63 | 100 q, 3.5 hr | 75% | $36.75 | ~$84 – $89 | $310 – $620 | DBPR / FREC |
| Georgia | 75 | 152 q, 4 hr | 75% each part | $175 | $170 (doubles after 3 months) | $630 – $1,030 | Georgia Real Estate Commission (GREC) |
| Illinois | 75 | 140 q, 4 hr | 70% national, 75% state | $58 | $150 | $560 – $985 | IDFPR |
| Indiana | 90 (3 modules) | 145 q, 4 hr | ~75% | $55 | $60 | $603 – $803 | Indiana Real Estate Commission (IPLA) |
| Michigan | 40 | 115 q, 3 hr | 70% | $79 | $88 | $420 – $530 | LARA |
| Missouri | 72 (2 courses) | 140 q, 4.5 hr | 70% national, 75% state | ~$62 | $100 | $503 – $803 | Missouri Real Estate Commission (MREC) |
| Ohio | 100 (4 courses) | 120 q, 3 hr | 70% | ~$63 | $81 | $1,193 – $2,225 | Division of Real Estate and Professional Licensing |
| Oklahoma | 90 | 135 q, 4 hr | 70% | $75 | $35 | $470 – $770 | Oklahoma Real Estate Commission (OREC) |
| Texas | 180 (6 courses) | 125 q, 4 hr | 56 of 85 national, 21 of 40 state | $43 | $185 | $770 – $1,270 | Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) |
What Each State Does Differently
California
The 135 hours are three separate 45-hour courses: Real Estate Principles, Real Estate Practice, and one elective such as Finance, Appraisal, Property Management or Legal Aspects. Since 2024 the Practice course has to include implicit bias training and a fair housing module with interactive role-play.
Apply through the DRE’s eLicensing portal or by post on the RE 435 form. Exam and licence together are $450; you can split them ($100 exam, $350 licence) but most people pay once. Fingerprinting is LiveScan on the RE 237 form: a $49 DRE fee plus a $20 to $50 rolling fee at the provider. The exam is sat at five DRE centres – Fresno, La Palma, Oakland, Sacramento and San Diego – with results the same day. There is no residency requirement.
The licence runs four years. Renewal is $350 and 45 hours of continuing education covering ethics, agency, trust fund handling, fair housing and implicit bias. Schools: best online real estate schools in California.
Colorado
The heaviest classroom load outside Texas: 168 hours across six courses. The 48-hour Contracts and Regulations course feeds the state exam almost directly, so treat it as exam prep rather than a box to tick. The exam is 154 questions in two timed halves – 80 national in two hours, 74 state in 110 minutes.
The $485 application fee is the highest on this list and is what pushes Colorado’s all-in cost past $1,100 even with a cheap school. Fingerprints run through CBI and the FBI at $50 to $55. Apply through DORA’s eLicense portal. Renewal is every three years at $387 with 24 hours of continuing education, including three 4-hour Annual Commission Update courses. Schools: best online real estate schools in Colorado.
Florida
The cheapest state on this list to start: 63 hours, a $36.75 exam, and coursework from $140. The exam is 100 questions in 3.5 hours at Pearson VUE, 75% to pass, weighted heavily toward Chapter 475 of the Florida Statutes and FREC rules. DBPR issues the licence and FREC reviews any convictions. Apply through the DBPR online portal.
The step that catches Florida agents out is post-licence education: 45 hours before your first renewal, on top of the 63 you already did. It is waived only if you hold a four-year degree in real estate. Miss it and the licence goes involuntarily inactive. After that first renewal, continuing education drops to 14 hours every two years and renewal costs $64. Schools: best online real estate schools in Florida.
Georgia
Georgia is the only state here where you can sit the exam before you turn 18; you just cannot activate the licence until you do. The 75-hour GREC-approved course covers licence law, agency law under BRRETA, contracts, financing, closings and disclosures, and you have to pass its final at 75% before you can sit the state exam. The exam itself is 152 questions in four hours through PSI, 75% on each part, $175 an attempt.
Apply through the GREC Online Portal within 12 months of passing. Timing matters: $170 if you apply within three months, $340 after that. Then 25 hours of post-licence education in your first year, passed at 70%, or the licence lapses – nine of those hours count toward your first renewal. Continuing education after that is 36 hours every four years, the longest renewal cycle in this set. Schools: best online real estate schools in Georgia.
Illinois
75 hours, a 140-question exam through PSI at $58, and a $150 application through the IDFPR. Illinois has a 45-day working provision that lets you start under a Managing Broker while the paperwork clears, which is why a full-time candidate with a broker lined up can be earning in four to six weeks.
Full walkthrough: how to get a real estate license in Illinois. Schools: best online real estate schools in Illinois.
Indiana
90 hours split into three modules, then 145 questions in four hours at roughly 75%, $55 an attempt. State fees are among the lowest here: $60 to apply and $38.20 for IdentoGO fingerprinting, about $153 all told. Apply through the IPLA Online Services Portal.
Indiana licenses you as a broker, not a salesperson, and you cannot practise independently: a managing broker has to hold your licence. You owe 30 hours of post-licence education in your first two years, then 12 hours of continuing education a year on a three-year renewal cycle. Schools: best online real estate schools in Indiana.
Michigan
The shortest runway in the country at 40 hours, and coursework to match at $200 to $300. The exam is 115 questions in three hours at 70%. Apply through MiPLUS; LARA reviews convictions; IdentoGO handles prints at $50 to $65.
The trade-off is real. Forty hours does not teach you the job, so in Michigan your broker’s onboarding matters more than almost anywhere else on this list. Ask what the first ninety days actually look like before you sign. Renewal is every three years at $78 with 18 hours of continuing education, including fair housing every year. Schools: best online real estate schools in Michigan.
Missouri
72 hours across two courses, the second-lowest hour count here. The exam is 140 questions in 4.5 hours with split pass marks: 70% on the national portion, 75% on the state portion. Schedule it at goAMP. Fingerprints go through MACHS and IDEMIA at about $41 – register with MREC number 0004 or the result will not reach the commission.
The application is $100 through the MOPRO portal. Renewal is every two years with 12 hours of continuing education, at least three of them CORE; fair housing is the CORE topic for the 2026 to 2028 cycle. Missouri is the fastest state here to get through, typically four to eight weeks. Schools: best online real estate schools in Missouri.
Ohio
Ohio is the one state on this list that reorders the process: you need a sponsoring broker before you can apply for the exam, and that broker signs your application. Start talking to brokerages while you are still in coursework, not after.
100 hours across four courses, then 120 questions in three hours at 70% through PSI. Apply through the eLicense LPI portal, which replaced the old system in November 2025; the fee is $81. Prints run through WebCheck to the Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the FBI at $50 to $80. Ohio’s coursework is the most expensive here at $999 to $2,000 or more, which is what puts its all-in range at the top of the table. You then owe a 20-hour post-licence course within 12 months or the licence can be suspended, followed by 30 hours of continuing education every three years and a $182 renewal. Schools: best online real estate schools in Ohio.
Oklahoma
The lowest application fee in the country at $35, and one of only a handful of states that lets you sit the licensing exam from home. Since April 2024 the exam has run through Pearson VUE – 135 questions in four hours at 70% – and your first three attempts can be taken online with OnVUE remote proctoring. After three, you go to a centre.
90 clock hours from an OREC-approved school, finished within six months of enrolling, and the certificate stays valid for three years – longer than most states. Fingerprinting is IdentoGO at $60 (service code 2B7NR3). New licensees start as Provisional Sales Associates and need a 45-hour post-licence course to upgrade to a full Sales Associate. Continuing education rose to 30 hours per renewal cycle in June 2025. Schools: best online real estate schools in Oklahoma.
Texas
The heaviest requirement in the country: 180 hours across six TREC-approved courses, a $185 application through the REALM portal, and a 125-question exam scored as raw correct answers rather than a percentage – 56 of 85 on the national portion and 21 of 40 on the state portion, both in one sitting.
Full walkthrough: how to get a real estate license in Texas. Schools: best online real estate schools in Texas.
How Long It Takes
Two to four months is the normal range across every state here, and the coursework is rarely the bottleneck. Fingerprint processing, application review and exam scheduling each add days you cannot compress, and they run one after another rather than in parallel unless you start the background check early.
Missouri is the quickest, at four to eight weeks, on the strength of 72 hours and a streamlined process. California is the slowest, at three to six months, mostly waiting on the DRE. Illinois and Oklahoma can both be done in four to six weeks if you go full time and have a broker ready. Colorado and Texas are limited by their 168 and 180 hour requirements more than by anything the state does.
Choosing The Broker Who Activates Your Licence
This is the decision that outlives the exam, and in Ohio you have to make it first. Three things are worth more than the headline commission split:
- Training you will actually get. Especially in Michigan (40 hours), Missouri (72) and Florida (63), where the state does not teach you the job. Ask what the first ninety days look like, in detail.
- The total annual cost, not the split. A 70/30 with no monthly fees can beat an 80/20 that carries $500 a month in desk and technology charges. Ask for split, cap, transaction fees, monthly fees and errors-and-omissions insurance together.
- Whether post-licence education is built in. Six of these states make you do another 20 to 45 hours in your first year or two. Some brokerages fold it into onboarding, and some leave you to buy it yourself.
If you are weighing models, our brokerage comparisons break down splits, caps, fees, technology and training side by side.
