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Become A Real Estate Agent In Kentucky
Article Summary: This article will help anyone looking for information pertaining to a real estate license in the state of Kentucky or anyone looking to become a real estate agent or realtor in Kentucky. 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 Kentucky Real Estate Commission (KREC),
with offices in Louisville, is responsible for protecting the public interest
regarding all real estate transactions. The Kentucky Statutes updated the real
estate regulations effective April 22, 2005.
The requirements for a real estate salesperson license
in Kentucky include being at least 18 years of age and having a high
school diploma or GED. An exception to the diploma requirement is made for applicants
with at least 28 credit hours from a post-secondary institution. The salesperson
applicant needs to have completed 96 approved classroom hours or have completed
six semester credit hours in real estate courses from an accredited college or
university. In order to take the examination, the applicant must submit to a criminal
background check. Those who currently or have ever held a license in another state
must also include a License Certification from that state. All applicants for
the Kentucky salesperson license must pass the real estate examinations. Once
passed, the applicant must apply for the license within 60 days or forfeit the
examination results. Real estate salespersons are exempt from the continuing education
requirements during the first calendar year in which they are licensed.
The requirements for a real estate broker license in
Kentucky include being at least 18 years of age and actively engaged
as a licensed sales associate for at least 20 hours per week for a two year period
prior to applying for the broker license. Broker applicants need to have completed
336 classroom hours from an approved real estate school, or 21 credit hours, with
at least 12 of them in real estate courses, from an accredited college or university.
All broker applicants must complete a 3 credit hour/48 classroom hour approved
course in brokerage management.
Applicants for the broker license in Kentucky must also submit to a criminal background check in order
to take the real estate exams. Once the exams are passed, the applicant has 60 days to apply for
the license. If not applied for within that time, the examination results are forfeited.
The criminal background process can take 10-12 weeks, and the Real Estate Commission
requires that it not show any felony convictions at any time, misdemeanor convictions
within the past five-year period, or evidence of dishonesty, untruthfulness or
bad reputation. The FBI cost for the investigation is $18.
Six hours of approved continuing
education courses are required every calendar year for all Kentucky agents.
The Kentucky Core Course, a 6-hour class designed to keep licensees updated on
all aspects of real estate law, is required to be taken once every four years.
The Core Course can replace the other 6-hours required, but the other 6-hours
cannot replace the Core Course requirement.
Some approved courses from some other states are accepted for continuing education.
Courses from certain other states are not accepted. Classes less than 3-hour duration are not accepted,
nor are foreign language courses or computer courses. Failure to meet the
Kentucky continuing education requirement can result in a $200 penalty and losing your license.
Additional penalties may also be imposed, including appearing before the Commission and an
additional penalty of $500.
Kentucky license fees
are $55 for the initial licensure, and $55 for a reciprocal salesperson or broker
license. When a broker upgrades from a Kentucky Salesperson license the fee is
$25. Renewal license fees are $55 for a broker license and $50 for a salesperson
license.
Kentucky has reciprocity agreements with 18 other states. The
agent must be actively engaged in real estate in order to qualify. Those holding
a real estate salesperson or broker associate license in the other state do not
qualify for reciprocity unless their employing broker also has a Kentucky non-resident
reciprocity license. The reciprocal licensing fee is $55. Some applicants are
required to take a 48-hour Kentucky real estate law class prior to applying for
their license.
The examination fees are $75 for either a broker or salesperson. Effective
July 5, 2005, the real estate license exams are administered electronically by
Applied Measurement Professionals (AMP)
in Kansas.
All licenses expire on March 31st of each year. The late renewal penalty is $100
if paid between April 1 and May 15. If paid after May 15, the late renewal penalty
is $200.
Real estate careers are enhanced by membership in the many organizations
that provide services for the professional agent. Those holding a real estate
license usually join organizations like the Kentucky
Association of Realtors, the National Association of Real Estate Brokers (http://www.nareb.com)
(NAREB), and the Association of Real Estate License Law Officials (http://www.arello.org)
(ARELLO). The National Association of Realtors (http://www.realtor.org)
(NAR), the world’s largest professional association, assists many in locating
real estate jobs within the industry. These organizations are also excellent resources
of real estate education.
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.
