Real Estate Agent: How to Get Started
The license, the hours, the sponsoring broker and the commission split — what the path looks like from no experience to your first closing.
By Yuki Tanaka-ReevesOct 28, 2026 · 10 min read
Becoming a real estate agent starts with a state license, not a degree. Every state requires brokers and sales agents to be licensed, and the usual minimums are being at least 18, holding a high school diploma, completing prelicensing courses and passing an exam (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025).
How long that takes depends mostly on your state's required class hours, which run from 40 hours in Michigan to 180 hours in Texas; most people finish in four to six months and a focused candidate can finish in eight to ten weeks (Opendoor). Pay is a separate question from licensing: agents earn most of their income from commissions that are split among the buying agent, selling agent, brokers and firms (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025).
What a Real Estate Agent Actually Does
Most of the week is spent on three things: finding clients, pricing property, and pushing transactions through to closing.
Pricing work means running a comparative market analysis — comparing a property with similar recently sold properties to set a competitive asking or offer price (O*NET OnLine). You pull those comparables from your local multiple listing service, which you can only access through a sponsoring broker or a REALTOR association membership. Expect to walk the property, photograph it, measure rooms, and explain to a seller why the number you reached is lower than the one they had in mind.
Marketing work means writing and uploading listings, scheduling and staffing open houses, and placing advertisements (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025). Open houses also serve a second purpose: they are where many new agents meet unrepresented buyers.
Transaction work is the part people underestimate. You prepare documents including representation contracts, purchase agreements, closing statements, deeds and leases (ONET OnLine), present offers and counteroffers, and then confer with escrow companies, lenders, home inspectors and pest control operators to make sure the terms of the purchase agreement are met before closing (ONET OnLine). A single inspection finding can mean a week of renegotiation.
Alongside that you advise clients on prices, mortgages and market conditions (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025). Evenings and weekends are normal, because that is when buyers can view houses.
Is This Career a Fit for You
- Comfortable earning nothing for your first few months. Income comes mostly from commissions, which arrive only at closing and are divided among the buying agent, selling agent, brokers and firms (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025).
- Willing to work evenings and weekends. Showings and open houses happen when clients are not at work, so your calendar bends around theirs.
- Tolerant of document detail. You prepare purchase agreements, closing statements, deeds and leases (O*NET OnLine), and a wrong date or missing signature can delay a closing.
- Able to deliver unwelcome news. Telling a seller that recently sold comparables do not support their price is a routine conversation, not an exception.
- Self-directed without a manager assigning you work. A sponsoring broker provides supervision and the MLS connection, but client-finding is yours.
- Steady under repeated rejection. Soliciting clients is a core duty (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025), and most approaches lead nowhere.
- Organised enough to coordinate other people. Escrow companies, lenders, inspectors and pest control operators all work to their own timelines, and you are the one chasing them (O*NET OnLine).
- Prepared to keep studying. State licenses typically renew every two to four years and usually require continuing education (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025).
Steps to Break In
- Check your state's minimums — one afternoon. Nationally, the baseline is age 18 or over, a high school diploma, prelicensing courses and a passing exam score (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025). Your state real estate commission publishes the exact rules; in Texas that is the Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC).
- Enrol in state-approved prelicensing education — 8 to 10 weeks if focused, 4 to 6 months at a normal pace (Opendoor). The hour count is set by your state: 75 hours in Pennsylvania (Colibri Real Estate), 90 hours in Louisiana (Colibri Real Estate), 135 hours in California (OnlineEd), and 180 hours across six 30-hour courses in Texas (TREC-approved provider content). Only courses from your state's approved-provider list count.
- Submit the application and background check — 2 to 6 weeks of processing. Louisiana requires a criminal background check as part of licensure (Colibri Real Estate). Start this while you are still finishing coursework where your state allows it.
- Sit the licensing exam — schedule within a few weeks of finishing classes. Pennsylvania and Louisiana both require a score of 75% or higher on the salesperson exam (Colibri Real Estate). Use your provider's practice exams; the national portion covers agency, contracts and fair housing, the state portion covers your commission's rules.
- Get a sponsoring broker — start interviewing a month before you pass. Pennsylvania and Louisiana both require broker sponsorship to activate a license (Colibri Real Estate). Find brokerages through your state commission's licensee lookup and your local REALTOR association's member events, and ask each one about commission split, desk fees, training and whether they pay for your MLS access.
- Activate the license and complete any post-license requirement. Pennsylvania requires a 14-hour post-license course (Colibri Real Estate); Louisiana requires proof of errors and omissions insurance (Colibri Real Estate). To use the REALTOR title you join a local REALTOR association, which also enrols you in your state association and the National Association of REALTORS and commits you to the NAR Code of Ethics (National Association of REALTORS).
- Work your first 90 days deliberately. Take floor duty, host other agents' open houses, and write practice comparative market analyses on every property in your area that sells, so your pricing advice is credible before your first listing appointment.
Education and Certification Options
Prelicensing tuition is set by each approved provider, not by the state, so compare prices on your commission's approved-provider list before enrolling. Note the trade-off with the fastest route: a 40-hour state minimum gets you licensed sooner but leaves you learning contracts and pricing on live transactions, where mistakes cost a client money.
| Path | Time to Complete | Approximate Cost | Where Required |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prelicensing course, 75 hours | About 4 weeks at 20 hours a week | Provider-set tuition plus state exam and application fees — check the commission's provider list | Pennsylvania, before the salesperson exam (Colibri Real Estate) |
| Prelicensing course, 90 hours | About 5 weeks at 20 hours a week | Provider-set tuition, plus a criminal background check and errors and omissions insurance | Louisiana (Colibri Real Estate) |
| Prelicensing course, 135 hours | About 7 weeks at 20 hours a week | Provider-set tuition plus state fees | California salesperson license; California offers no reciprocity to out-of-state agents (OnlineEd) |
| Prelicensing course, 180 hours in six 30-hour courses | About 9 weeks at 20 hours a week | Provider-set tuition, charged per course or as a package | Texas, from a TREC-approved provider |
| Post-license course, 14 hours | 2 days | Provider-set tuition | Pennsylvania, after initial licensure (Colibri Real Estate) |
| REALTOR association membership | Application plus Code of Ethics training | NAR national dues were $156 in 2024 plus a $45 special assessment, on top of local and state association dues (National Association of REALTORS, 2024) | Required to use the REALTOR title and, at many brokerages, for MLS access (National Association of REALTORS) |
| Continuing education for renewal | Set by your state, every renewal cycle | Provider-set tuition | Licenses typically renew every 2 to 4 years, usually with continuing education (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025) |
| Broker's license | At least 2 years as a licensed sales agent in most states, plus additional coursework and an exam | Provider-set tuition plus state fees | Most state licensing boards (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025) |
How Long It Takes
The total is four to six months for most people, or eight to ten weeks for someone studying full time with no other job (Opendoor). The variable is your state's hour requirement.
- Week 0 — decision and enrolment. You confirm the age and diploma minimums (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025), pick a provider from your state's approved list, and pay for the course.
- Weeks 4 to 12 (cumulative: 1 to 3 months) — coursework finished. Four weeks covers Pennsylvania's 75 hours at a steady 20 hours a week; Texas's 180 hours takes about nine weeks at the same pace, longer if you are working full time.
- Weeks 6 to 16 (cumulative: 1.5 to 4 months) — application, background check and exam passed. Processing takes a few weeks, and Pennsylvania and Louisiana require 75% or better to pass (Colibri Real Estate). Budget a second attempt and a retake fee in case.
- Weeks 8 to 20 (cumulative: 2 to 5 months) — sponsoring broker signed, license active. Interviews run in parallel with exam prep. Sponsorship is a licensing condition in states including Pennsylvania and Louisiana (Colibri Real Estate).
- Months 4 to 6 — first commission possible. Once you have MLS access and association membership (National Association of REALTORS), a first transaction can close within weeks, but it often takes longer, which is why the cash buffer in the fit section matters.
Frequently asked questions
Can I keep my current job while getting licensed?
Yes. Prelicensing hours are commonly delivered online and self-paced, which is how most people stretch the four-to-six-month timeline around full-time work (Opendoor). The harder part comes after licensure: showings and open houses happen in evenings and weekends, and a sponsoring broker will expect availability. Many new agents keep part-time income during the first months because commissions only arrive at closing (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025).
Does my license transfer if I move to another state?
Not automatically. Licensing is state by state, and some states grant no reciprocity at all — California does not offer reciprocity to out-of-state agents (OnlineEd). Others have partial agreements or require only the state-law portion of the exam. Check the real estate commission in the state you are moving to before assuming your hours and exam will count, and ask whether your existing license shortens the coursework.
What happens if I fail the licensing exam?
You retake it. States set the passing score — Pennsylvania and Louisiana both require 75% or higher (Colibri Real Estate) — and publish their own retake waiting periods, fees and attempt limits. If you failed one portion only, many states let you retake just that portion. Work through your provider's practice questions on agency, contracts and fair housing before rebooking, since those topics carry the most weight.
Do I need to become a REALTOR, or is a license enough?
The license is what lets you practise legally; REALTOR is a membership title. You become one by joining a local REALTOR association, which enrols you in your state association and the National Association of REALTORS and binds you to the NAR Code of Ethics (National Association of REALTORS). National dues were $156 in 2024 plus a $45 special assessment (NAR, 2024). Many brokerages require it because of how MLS access is arranged.
How do I judge whether a brokerage is worth joining?
Ask what the commission split is, whether there are monthly desk or technology fees, who pays for MLS access and errors and omissions insurance, how many transactions the average first-year agent closes there, and what training exists beyond a welcome packet. Verify the broker's license status through your state commission's licensee lookup. A higher split at a brokerage with no training can cost you more than it pays.
Is the field growing?
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes a 2025-35 employment projection and an annual job-openings figure for real estate brokers and sales agents; look them up in the Occupational Outlook Handbook entry for the occupation, along with current median wage data. Local conditions matter more than the national number, because transaction volume in your metro drives how many agents a brokerage can support.
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Real Estate Brokers and Sales Agents : Occupational Outlook Handbook (2025)
- O*NET OnLine — 41-9022.00 - Real Estate Sales Agents
Your coach for this guide
Yuki covers early-career life, internships, and the strange first years of figuring out what work is for. She writes with the fresh impatience of someone still sorting out her own path.
