Become a Real Estate Sales Agent
A sales agent is a person who is licensed by the Real Estate Commission to act as an agent on behalf of a real estate broker and their clients. A sales agent must be sponsored by a licensed Broker in order to perform any act of real estate services.
Qualifications
- Citizen of the United States or lawfully admitted alien
- 18 years of age or older
- Meet TREC’s qualifications for honesty, trustworthiness, and integrity
- Consider requesting a Fitness Determination before applying for the license
Requirements
You have one year from the date your application is filed to meet all the license requirements below.
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File Your Application
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Apply Online
Submit your application and fee to become a Sales Agent using the REALM Portal. If you don’t already have a username and password for our REALM Portal, you must create an account first.
- Get Your Fingerprints Taken and Pass Your Background Check
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You are required by law to have fingerprints on file with the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) so a background check can be performed. Fingerprints on file for other agencies will not be accepted.
A license will not issue if the background check has not been passed. Expect a delay if you are notified of an investigation into your background history.
- Submit Your Qualifying Education
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180 classroom hours of the following qualifying real estate courses:
- Principles of Real Estate I (30 classroom hours)
- Principles of Real Estate II (30 classroom hours)
- Law of Agency (30 classroom hours)
- Law of Contracts (30 classroom hours)
- Promulgated Contract Forms (30 classroom hours)
- Real Estate Finance (30 classroom hours)
Find a qualifying education provider. Upload your course completion documents when you apply online using the REALM Portal. After completing your course work, you are welcome to submit a course and instructor evaluation.
If you completed any of the above qualifying real estate courses through an accredited college/university for academic credit, upload a transcript for evaluation.
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Take the Exam
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License exams are administered by PearsonVUE, a testing service company.
You will be sent a notice with instructions for scheduling the exam and obtaining a copy of the exam Candidate Handbook.
If you fail the exam three times, additional education will be necessary.
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Find a Sponsor
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After meeting the above requirements, you will be issued an inactive license. You need to be sponsored by an active Texas licensed broker to work. You can complete a sponsorship request using the REALM Portal. Once the broker has accepted your request, your active license will be issued, and you can work as a Sales Agent!