How to get a Real Estate Sales Agent license in Texas

Texas real estate agent licenses

Texas issues 3 real estate agent credentials. Each has its own section below; the table shows what each one covers and its headline requirements.

Applies to every license level

These rules are the same for several of the Texas real estate agent licenses on this page, so they are shown once here, with the licenses they apply to. Each license's own section lists only what differs.

1. Every license level (all 3)

Fees

Each line is a separate charge as the board lists it. The board does not publish a combined total, so none is shown here.

Renewal

How often

Every 2 years⁴⁸⁹

2. Every license level except Business Entity Real Estate Broker

Requirements

Minimum age

18 years old⁵⁶

Background check

Background check required¹
Fingerprints required¹⁰
TREC must be satisfied of the applicant's honesty, trustworthiness and integrity; listed criminal offenses, unpaid judgments, discipline on another license and unlicensed activity count against an applicant.²
You can ask the board to review your record before you apply¹¹

Residency or citizenship

U.S. citizen or lawfully admitted alien²

Fees

Some lines are combined figures, or parts of one; do not add the lines up.

How to apply

Apply online

trec.texas.gov⁵⁶

Processing time

TREC reports processing delays caused by REALM Portal integration with the exam vendor and DPS fingerprinting; no processing time in days is published.¹²

Renewal

Continuing education

At least 18 hours each renewal period²⁸

Renew online

trec.texas.gov⁴⁸

From another state

3. Every license level except Real Estate Sales Agent

Fees

Renewal

Renewal fee

$218³

Who needs a Real Estate Sales Agent license

Acts for a sponsoring broker and the broker's clients; may not practice without a sponsoring broker.⁵

Other rules on who may do this work:

• Licensed Texas attorneys¹
• An attorney-in-fact under a power of attorney, for not more than three transactions a year¹
• An owner, or the owner's employee, leasing the owner's own real estate¹
• An on-site manager of an apartment complex¹
• A licensed auctioneer selling real estate by auction who performs no other broker act¹

Requirements for a Real Estate Sales Agent license

More rules for this license are shared with other levels: group 1 and group 2 under Applies to every license level.

Education or training

At least 180 classroom hours²
Qualifying real estate courses: Principles of Real Estate I and II, Law of Agency, Law of Contracts, Promulgated Contract Forms, Real Estate Finance (30 hours each)⁵
Who may teach it: TREC-approved qualifying education provider, or the same courses taken for academic credit at an accredited college⁵
Alternative: Education waived for anyone licensed in Texas as a broker or sales agent within the previous six months¹

Exam

Texas real estate sales agent licensing examination (national and state parts)²
Given by: Pearson VUE⁵
Passing score: At least 70% on each part²
When you can take it: After TREC has received proof of all required education (and experience)²
National part²
State part²
Retakes: After three consecutive failures the applicant must complete 30 more qualifying hours per failed part (60 hours if both failed) before retesting.²
Time limit: Each part is valid for one year after it is passed²
Exam waived: Exam waived if licensed in Texas as a broker or sales agent within the previous two years; the national part may be waived for an active equivalent out-of-state licensee who passed a comparable national exam.²

Also required

Sponsorship by a licensed broker is needed to move from inactive to active status⁵

Also required

All requirements must be met within one year of filing the application⁵

How much a Real Estate Sales Agent license costs

Each line is a separate charge as the board lists it. The board does not publish a combined total, so none is shown here.

How to apply

1. Optional: if you have a criminal record or past license discipline, ask TREC for a Fitness Determination before you start.⁵
2. Create a REALM Portal account to get a pre-license education application number and give it to your TREC-approved school.⁵
3. Finish all 180 hours of qualifying courses.⁵
4. File the Sales Agent Application and fee in the REALM Portal and upload your course certificates. You then have one year to meet every requirement.⁵
5. When the application moves to "In Review", book fingerprints (IdentoGO by IDEMIA) for the DPS/FBI background check.⁵
6. After TREC approves your education, schedule and pass the national and state exams with Pearson VUE.⁵
7. TREC issues an inactive license; have a licensed broker sponsor you in the REALM Portal to become active.⁵

Renewal and continuing education

When it expires

Two-year license; TREC sends a renewal notice about 90 days before expiration⁴

Renewal fee

$110³

Required topics

8 hours TREC Legal Update I and II⁴
3 hours contract-related coursework⁴
7 hours elective CE⁴
6-hour Broker Responsibility Course if the agent is a delegated supervisor⁴
First renewal only (Sales Agent Apprentice Education): 30-hour Real Estate Brokerage course, two more 30-hour qualifying courses (60 hours), and 8 hours of Legal Update I and II; these hours cannot be deferred.⁴

Approved courses

Courses must be TREC-approved; credit posts when the provider reports completion²

Exemptions

Inactive renewal needs no CE (CE required before returning to active)⁴

Late renewal

Late Renewal < 90 Days (Total Fee): $143³
Late Renewal > 90 Days (Total Fee): $176³ (more than 90 days but less than six months after expiration)

If it expires

Late renewal is possible up to six months after expiration (renewed on inactive status); from six months to two years the license can be reinstated; after two years the person must reapply and pass the exam.⁴

Moving to Texas with a license from another state

These are the routes TREC publishes for the Real Estate Sales Agent license. The other real estate agent licenses have their own routes in their sections below.

Individual Real Estate Broker

Provides real estate services for a commission and may sponsor and supervise sales agents.⁶

Requirements

Education or training

At least 270 classroom hours⁶
270 hours of qualifying real estate courses, including the seven 30-hour core courses; the Real Estate Brokerage course must be no more than two years old at application⁶
Who may teach it: TREC-approved qualifying courses, or the same courses taken for academic credit²

Education or training

At least 630 classroom hours⁶
630 additional classroom hours of related qualifying courses, approved CE or college courses in listed fields, including the 6-hour Broker Responsibility Course⁶
Alternative: A bachelor's degree or higher covers up to 300 of the related hours⁶
Alternative: Experience points above 720 earn 1 related-education hour per 2 points, up to 300 hours²

Experience

At least 4 years¹
Four years of active licensed experience as a sales agent or broker in the 60 months before applying, with at least one transaction per year in four of the five years and 720 experience points⁶
Supervision: Active, sponsored license time only; inactive periods do not count²
License you must hold first: Licensed sales agent or broker (Texas, or another state)²
Substitute: Points: closed residential sale 30, commercial sale 50, residential lease 5²

Exam

Texas real estate broker licensing examination (national and state parts)²
Given by: Pearson VUE⁵
Passing score: At least 75% on each part²
When you can take it: After TREC has received proof of all required education (and experience)²
Retakes: After three consecutive failures the applicant must complete 30 more qualifying hours per failed part (60 hours if both failed) before retesting.²
Time limit: Each part is valid for one year after it is passed²
Exam waived: Exam waived for anyone licensed as a broker in Texas within the previous two years; national part may be waived for an active equivalent out-of-state licensee.²

Fees

Each line is a separate charge, except the line “Out of State (Total Fee)”, which is the board’s own combined figure for other charges; do not add it to the other lines.

How to apply

1. Sales agents already licensed by TREC give their license number to the school; others create a REALM Portal account for a pre-license education number.⁶
2. Complete 270 qualifying hours plus 630 related hours (including the 6-hour Broker Responsibility Course).⁶
3. Prepare the experience report with a transaction identification list for each transaction claimed (720 points).⁶
4. File the Individual Broker Application and fee in the REALM Portal with your education uploaded.⁶
5. Get fingerprinted for the DPS/FBI background check.⁶
6. Pass the broker exam with Pearson VUE.⁶

Renewal

Required topics

8 hours TREC Legal Update I and II⁸
6-hour Broker Responsibility Course⁸
3 hours contract-related coursework⁸
1 hour elective CE⁸

Exemptions

Inactive renewal needs no CE⁸

Late renewal

Late Renewal < 90 Days (Total Fee): $254³
Late Renewal > 90 Days (Total Fee): $290³

If it expires

Late renewal up to six months; reinstatement from six months to two years; after two years reapply and pass the exam.⁸

From another state

More rules for this license are shared with other levels: group 1, group 2 and group 3 under Applies to every license level.

Business Entity Real Estate Broker

A business entity (corporation, LLC, partnership) acting as a broker through a designated individual broker⁷

Requirements

Insurance

Errors and omissions insurance of at least $1 million per occurrence if the designated broker owns less than 10% of the entity⁷

Business requirements

Must be authorized to transact business in Texas (Comptroller Franchise Tax Account Status page issued within 21 days)⁷

Business requirements

Must designate an active Texas individual broker in good standing who is a managing officer⁷

Business requirements

Foreign entities must be licensed as a broker in another state (or lawfully brokering in a state that does not license entities)⁷

Fees

How to apply

1. Make sure the entity can transact business in Texas and pick an active individual broker who is a managing officer to be the designated broker.⁷
2. In the REALM Portal choose Create a New Application > TREC Licenses > Real Estate – Business Broker Application.⁷
3. Upload the Franchise Tax Account Status page (within 21 days), proof of managing authority, and proof of 10% ownership or $1 million E&O insurance.⁷

Renewal

When it expires

Business entity renewals must be filed with documents by the 10th business day before expiration to be timely²

Late renewal

Late Renewal < 90 Days (Total Fee): $254³
Late Renewal > 90 days (Total Fee): $290³

If it expires

If the license expires, late fees apply and all sponsored sales agents become inactive⁹

From another state

More rules for this license are shared with other levels: group 1 and group 3 under Applies to every license level.

Check a license or report a problem

Before you hire a real estate agent in Texas, you can confirm the license is current on the board's own search. Every board we cover in Texas is on the Texas license lookup page.

Look up a license

trec.texas.gov⁵

File a complaint

trec.texas.gov¹³

Laws and rules

The requirements above come from these laws and board rules.

• Tex. Occ. Code ch. 1101 (Real Estate License Act)
• 22 TAC ch. 535, subchapters E, I, J, L
• 22 TAC 535.101; TREC Fee Schedule Effective September 1, 2026

Rule changes since January 2024

• September 1, 2026: TREC fee schedule effective September 1, 2026 (sales agent original application total $206; renewal total $110).³

Common questions

Real estate agent licenses in other states

• Alabama
• Alaska
• Arkansas
• California
• Colorado
• Connecticut
• Delaware
• District of Columbia
• Florida
• Hawaii
• Idaho
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Iowa
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Maine
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• Missouri
• Nebraska
• Nevada
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• New Mexico
• North Carolina
• North Dakota
• Oklahoma
• Pennsylvania
• Rhode Island
• South Carolina
• South Dakota
• Vermont
• Virginia
• Washington
• West Virginia
• Wisconsin
• Wyoming