How to Get Your Real Estate License in Florida

So you want to get involved in Florida real estate. A career helping people buy or sell homes can be a rewarding and lucrative one — but you can’t just jump straight in. The Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation (DBPR) has a pretty specific set of requirements and to-dos. You’ll need to meet their eligibility parameters and take a handful of steps before they’ll issue you a real estate license.

Fortunately, if you’re wondering what that licensing process entails, you’ve come to the right place. Here’s your step-by-step guide explaining how to get a real estate license in Florida.

Florida real estate eligibility requirements

In order to be a real estate agent in the state of Florida, you need to meet three requirements. You need to:

Be at least 18.
Have a high school diploma or equivalent.
Have a U.S. Social Security number.

Assuming you can put a check by each one of those items, you’re ready to start taking steps toward your Florida real estate license.

Step one: Complete the pre-license education

The DBPR has specific pre-license education requirements. Think of it like college or a trade school, but with a significantly lower time commitment.

Long story short, you need to complete 63 hours of pre-license education from a DBPR-approved education provider. The good news? You can get all 63 hours you need online.

If you choose a DBPR-approved online education provider, you can knock out your pre-license hours whenever you have time. And you can take your hours from any computer, tablet, or smartphone, too.

Quick note: if you have a four-year degree in real estate, you might be exempt from the Florida real estate pre-license education requirement. To find out if you are, mail your transcript and application (more on that in step five) to:

Division of Real Estate

Attention: Education Section

400 West Robinson Street, Suite N801

Orlando, Florida 32801

Step two: Pass the exam

Don’t panic. You should have learned everything you need to know to get a passing grade during your pre-license education hours.

Pearson VUE proctors the exam for the DBPR and you can schedule your exam on their website. Both the DBPR and Pearson VUE issue candidate bulletins that tell you what to expect during the exam.

You only need a 75% to pass and if you fail, don’t worry. You can schedule an appointment to retake the exam as soon as 24 hours after you fail.

Step three: Pay the fee

Unless you get a veteran exemption, it costs $83.75. You’ll send this fee in with your application (see step five).

Step four: Get fingerprinted

The DBPR runs a background check on real estate license applicants and they use your fingerprints to do so. Here’s their guide to fingerprinting, which includes a link to locations where you can get fingerprinted (i.e., livescan service providers).

Step five: Send in your application

You can submit your application online (you’ll need to make a profile first, but you’ll need to do that eventually for things like renewing your license) or fill out and mail in a paper version.

This is basically a document where you verify that you’ve completed all of the above steps. It also has a space to explain anything questionable that will show up in your background check, should that apply.

Once the DBPR approves your license, they’ll issue you a license number.

Step six: Find a broker

In Florida (and pretty much all other states), real estate agents need to work under a broker, who will supervise their work. Before your license can get activated, you need to find a broker to take you on. This is a lot like finding a company to hire you.

Once you find a broker, you can activate your license by submitting this form or having your broker use their online account to do so.

Getting a Florida real estate license takes some time and effort, but it can result in a fulfilling career.