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Become A Real Estate Agent In California
Article Summary: This article will help anyone looking for information pertaining to a real estate license in the state of California or anyone looking to become a real estate agent or realtor in California. Contents of this article may include information on real estate education, schools, training courses, continuing education, tests and exams, laws, license requirements, renewal information, forms and more.
The State of California Department
of Real Estate supervises all aspects of the real estate industry in California.
Their main mission is to protect the public, and they have five district offices:
Sacramento, Fresno, Los Angeles, Oakland and San Diego. There are over 127,000
people holding a real estate broker license in California, and over 321,900 people
holding a real estate salesperson license. This means close to a half-million
people with California real estate licenses are employed in real estate careers,
with hundreds of thousands more in related real estate jobs.
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The requirements to become a real estate agent in California include being
at least 18 years of age. The applicants for a real estate salesperson license
must provide proof that they are a legal resident of the United States, and proof
that they are honest and truthful. Conviction of a crime can result in the denial
of a license. Fingerprints and a $56 fingerprinting fee are part of the application
for the real estate exam. No experience is required for applying for
a real estate salesperson license; however, the following educational
requirements need to be met.
Three real estate courses, as specified by the Department of Real Estate,
must be completed either before taking the examination or within 18 months afterwards.
The California real estate education prelicensure requirements may be met by three
semester-units or four quarter-units at college level from an accredited school
or college, or from a private real estate school approved by the Department of
Real Estate.
The applicant for a real estate broker license in California must also
be at least 18 years of age and provide proof of legal residence. Residency in
California is not required in order to hold a California real estate license.
However, California does not have a reciprocity agreement with any other state
to allow a waiver of any of the requirements. Out-of-state residents must file
a Consent to Service
of Process (RE 234) with the Department of Real Estate, and also provide fingerprints
and the $56 fingerprint fee.
Applicants for the real estate broker license need a minimum of two full years,
full time, during the last five years as a real estate salesperson. Applicant
eligibility
includes equivalent experience in many cases.
Eight approved college-level courses are required for those applying for a broker license in California.
Continuing education courses do not satisfy this particular requirement. The courses must reflect a
minimum of three semester-units or four quarter-units, and they must be completed prior to scheduling
the real estate exam.
The examination application for the real estate salesperson license may be filed
online. The examination
fee for the real estate salesperson license is $25 and the license fee is
$120, if all real estate education courses have been taken. The license fee is
$145 if all the courses have not yet been taken. The examination fee and license
fee may be paid together, and may also be paid by credit card online.
The examination application for the broker license may be filed online.
The examination fee is $50 and the license fee is $165. Examinations are scheduled
at least six weeks into the future from the time the examination application is
filed.
Those holding a California real estate broker license must maintain a California
business address if engaging in business in California. It they are not engaging
in business in California they must file an Out-of-State Broker Acknowledgement
(RE 235).
This portion of our website has been created for information purposes
only. It is our belief that all information presented here is accurate
as of today, however each state is constantly striving to protect
the public and provide more quality service to those using the services
of a Real Estate Agent. Change in Real Estate laws and regulations
is inevitable. The information presented here should be considered
a starting point and we encourage everyone to fully research any
information you are seeking.
To further assist you, we have included links to each state's
real estate licensing office, and also to the state's local Association
of Realtors site that provides current information on proposed real
estate license regulations in that area.
If you do find an error or have updated information, please contact
us and we will update our information accordingly.
