Getting Your Texas Real Estate License
At CELI, we’re here to help you every step of the way as you begin your new career as a Real Estate Agent!
Here are the steps you need to take as you start down the path of becoming a Texas licensed Real Estate Agent:
To be eligible to apply for a Texas Real Estate Salesperson License, the individual must be a citizen of the United States or a lawfully admitted alien, eighteen (18) years of age or older and a legal resident of TEXAS.
Determine your educational needs or call C.E.L.I. 1-888-333-3735 for help in determining this. Effective September 1, 2012, each applicant is required to complete a minimum of 180 hours, consisting of: Principles of Real Estate, Law of Agency, Law of Contracts, Promulgated Contracts, and Real Estate Finance.
After you have completed your education, you must file and pay for the Application for Inactive Salesperson License online through the Texas Real Estate Commission’s Website. Evidence of successful completion of your education via credit transcript or certificate should be submitted with your application. DO NOT submit original transcripts or course completion documents. Keep the originals for your personal files and send photocopies to the Commission.
Please apply and pay for your Inactive Salesperson License online. The information requested online is the same as on the paper application. If you are filing online, scan and send your education documents electronically to education@trec.state.tx.us or fax them to 512-465-3989 with a copy of your completed application. If submitting your application by mail or in person, please note that an application received without the appropriate fees will be rejected and your check will be returned to you. The following fees should be submitted in ONE CHECK OR MONEY ORDER payable to the Texas Real Estate Commission.
ALL FEES LISTED BELOW ARE NONREFUNDABLE.
Fees required with Real Estate Salesperson License Application:
Original Application Fee: $205.00 (required for all applicants)
License examinations are administered by Pearson VUE, a testing service company. Once the complete application is received and processed and education is satisfied, the applicant will be notified of eligibility to sit for the examination. The exam eligibility notification will have instructions for contacting the exam administrator and obtaining a copy of the Candidate Handbook to register for the exam. The Candidate Handbook contains information about the examination, study material, and instructions for making an exam reservation. Two forms of current signature identification are required for admission to a testing site. The name on the identification must match the name on the application for a license. The applicant must pass the examination within one year after the date the application is filed with TREC.
The filing of an application authorizes an investigation of the applicant’s background. Information revealed in an investigation may be cause for disapproval of an application even though other requirements for a license are met. If an investigation is necessary, it may not be conducted until the applicant has passed the examination.
State law prohibits the renewal of a license if a licensee has defaulted on a student loan guaranteed by TGTM unless the licensee has entered into a repayment agreement with TG. YOU SHOULD CONTACT TG BEFORE FILING THIS APPLICATION if you have defaulted on a student loan. An application or renewal may be rejected if this agency has received information from TGSLC that the applicant has defaulted on a student loan. The Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corporation can be reached at:
TGTM
P.O. Box 83100
Round Rock, Texas 78683-3100
Telephone: (800) 252-9743
(in Austin, call 219-5700)
Before you can practice as a licensed salesperson you must arrange for a Texas real estate broker holding an active license to sponsor you as a salesperson. Applicants and inactive salespersons are not authorized to act as real estate agents.
While you are not required to have a sponsoring broker to file an application for a license, a Salesperson Sponsorship Form is included with the application materials. If you wish, you may file the sponsorship request along with the application. Once all licensing requirements have been satisfied, TREC will send an active salesperson license to the broker, and you may act for the broker on receipt of the license.
You may also file the application and arrange for sponsorship after TREC notifies you that you have been issued an inactive license. Once a broker holding an active license has mailed a request to TREC to act as your sponsor, you may begin to act for the broker as a salesperson.
You are not authorized to perform any act for which a real estate license is required until an ACTIVE Texas Real Estate Commission license is in the possession of your sponsoring broker.
As noted above in the Filing Your Application section, online applications travel through the system much faster than paper-based applications. The online application process could potentially save you weeks of waiting for a license, due to the delays of regular mail communication and other factors inherent in the paper-based process (such as data entry time and processing of checks).
Please apply and pay for your Inactive Salesperson License online through the Texas Real Estate Commission’s (TREC) website.