Florida Real Estate License Reciprocity

Florida is a great place to be a real estate agent. This state has had one of the hottest real estate markets since the 2008 recession. People from all over the country — and the world — relocate to Florida. If you’re a licensed real estate professional in a nearby state, you might have wondered about getting into the market in the Sunshine State.

Doing exactly that might be easier than you thought. The Florida Real Estate Commission (FREC) has a mutual recognition agreement, or reciprocity, with a handful of states. That means some out-of-state agents can get an equivalent-type license in Florida, and Florida agents can get a license to sell in those states with minimal extra work.

So you can learn the ins and outs of Florida real estate license reciprocity — including the states it includes — read on.

What is real estate license reciprocity?

In this case, reciprocity means your state’s real estate authority has a reciprocal agreement with another state’s real estate authority. Specifically, this mutual recognition agreement means that a real estate license granted in one state certifies that individual to handle real estate transactions in the state with the reciprocity agreement.

There might be some caveats there, though. The Florida real estate license reciprocity agreement, for example, comes with a requirement that real estate pros from other states have to pass a 40-question exam before they can help with buying and selling in Florida. (Don’t worry. You only need to get 30 questions right to pass and you can prep for the exam online with this course here.)

If you’re a Florida real estate agent, you can get an equivalent-type license in the states where there’s a Florida Real Estate Commission reciprocity agreement. Some states might require a little extra work from you, but the rules vary from state to state.

What states does the Florida Real Estate Commission reciprocity include?

Florida real estate license reciprocity agreements exist for the following states:

Alabama
Arkansas
Connecticut
Georgia
Illinois
Mississippi
Nebraska
Rhode Island

That means you can essentially have multiple licenses, holding your real estate license in Florida and one or more of the above states.

If you’re in one of the above states, you can get a Florida license provided you pass the 40-question exam.

If you’re a Florida real estate professional and you want to work in real estate in any of the above states, the specific rules around that real estate reciprocity agreement vary. So you can get your real estate license in multiple states, we recommend looking at the specific rules for the state(s) in which you’re interested.

Here are two resources you can check to understand the details:

The Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR)’s FAQ page has links to the actual mutual recognition agreement with each state. Click the underlined link of the state on this page to pull that up so you can read it through.
More info about Florida Real Estate Commission reciprocity is available here. Drop down the state you’re interested in to learn more about the details, including differences for sales associates and brokers.

Florida real estate license reciprocity can help you expand your territory and make more money — so why not check it out?