Living or moving out of California? Here’s all an out-of-state licensee needs to know to obtain or maintain your California real estate license.

A BRE license is required

So you’re currently a licensed real estate agent in another state, and you want to provide real estate services when in California. The first step is to obtain a license from the California Bureau of Real Estate (BRE).

The California BRE does not have reciprocity agreements with other states. This means a real estate license issued by another state does not qualify a broker or agent to practice real estate in California. Additionally, California does not waive any education or experience requirements for out-of-state applicants who hold a real estate license in another state.

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Interstate real estate brokerage

The two-tier license structure

For prospective licensees living out of state, we’ll go over the California BRE licensing basics. In California, you may obtain a real estate license as:

  • a real estate broker; or
  • a real estate sales agent. [Calif. Business and Professions Code §10130]

With a California broker license, you qualify to perform the following activities which require a license when rendered in exchange for a broker fee:

  • negotiate the sale, purchase, option or exchange of real estate, leases or business opportunities;
  • solicit listings, buyers or sellers;
  • lease or rent, or offer to lease or rent, property on behalf of an owner or tenant;
  • collect rent from real estate or business opportunities;
  • assist in the purchase or lease of property owned by the state or federal government;
  • negotiate real property sales contracts or carryback notes and trust deeds;
  • arrange loans to be secured directly or collaterally by real estate or business opportunities on behalf of lenders or borrowers; and
  • negotiate the sale or purchase of a mobilehome. [Bus & P C §10131]

With a California sales agent license, you are required to be employed by a California real estate broker in order to provide real estate-related services to the public. As the agent of your broker, you may perform licensed activities under your employing broker’s supervision. [Bus & P C §10132]

Whether you obtain a broker license or a sales agent license, you will need to renew your license every four years to continue to practice real estate in California.

California broker license education and experience

Obtaining your California broker license is more than merely signing a form or passing an exam. The BRE imposes specific education and experience requirements. You are eligible to obtain your California broker license if you have:

  • completed eight statutory courses approved by the California BRE;
  • two years of full-time real estate experience within the last five years;
  • passed the California state broker licensing exam; and
  • submitted the required documents and fees to apply for your license. [Bus & P C §§10150, 10150.2 and 10150.6]

Education

The education needed before you may take the California state broker licensing exam includes the completion of eight statutory courses. Members of the California State Bar are exempt from the BRE’s education requirements for a broker license. [Bus & P C §10153.2]

Unless exempt, here is a list of the courses you need to take:

  • Real Estate Practice;
  • Legal Aspects of Real Estate;
  • Real Estate Finance;
  • Real Estate Appraisal;
  • Real Estate Economics or Accounting; and
  • three of the following electives:
    • Real Estate Principles;
    • Business Law;
    • Property Management;
    • Escrow;
    • Real Estate Office Administration;
    • Mortgage Loan Brokering and Lending;
    • Advanced Legal Aspects of  Real Estate;
    • Advanced Real Estate Finance;
    • Advanced Real Estate Appraisal;
    • Computer Applications in Real Estate; or
    • Common Interest Developments.

If you have been licensed as a real estate broker or agent in another state, you may have already completed some real estate courses that fulfill your California education requirements. However, courses completed in another state fulfill California’s education requirements only if:

  • the course was previously approved by the California BRE; or
  • the course was offered by a school accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. [Bus. & P C §10153.5]

To prove your completion of equivalent courses in another state, you are required to submit copies of your transcripts to the California BRE with your exam application.

Related article:

California Bureau of Real Estate: Requirements to Apply for a Real Estate Salesperson License

Courses completed in a foreign country are subject to approval by the BRE’s foreign credential evaluation service. In order to obtain the BRE’s approval of courses completed in a foreign country, you will submit a translated copy of your transcripts to the BRE. A number of private institutions provide this service for a fee.

Transcript translations take anywhere from 10-15 business days unless you request a rush order. The BRE provides a list of organizations which translate and evaluate foreign transcripts on their form, RE 223: Examination Applicant Foreign Education Information. You are not required to submit RE 223 to obtain your broker license; it simply functions as a guide to submitting transcripts from foreign institutions to the California BRE.

Experience

A real estate broker becomes responsible for supervising agents if they employ others to work for them. This is not an entry-level position in the real estate industry. Therefore, the BRE requires you to fulfill an experience requirement to qualify for a California broker license. You meet this requirement if you possess two years’ full time real estate experience within the last five years. Experience gained in California or out of state is valid. [Bus. & P C §10150.6]

To verify your experience, your employer completes one of two BRE forms. After your employer completes this form, you will submit it to the BRE with the rest of your application for the broker licensing exam. Which form you submit depends on the type of real estate experience you have.

If you have gained two years of real estate experience as a licensed sales agent, practicing under a licensed broker, you will submit RE 226: Employment Verification. Although you are responsible for submitting this form to the BRE, your broker is the one who fills it out. This form verifies:

  • the identity of your broker;
  • a description of the type of real estate you practiced;
  • the dates of your employment;
  • whether you were employed full time or part time;
  • an estimate of your hours worked;
  • the number of transactions you completed; and
  • your earnings as a sales agent.

However, if your real estate experience was not gained as a licensed sales agent, but in another role such as an escrow officer, title officer, contractor, or other real estate professional, you will not submit RE 226.

Instead, your employer will complete RE 227: Equivalent Experience, and you will submit this completed form with the rest of your broker licensing exam application. This form is very similar to RE 226. It verifies the facts of your employment — employer, dates, type of real estate practices, etc. However, it is specific to unlicensed real estate professionals and allows for an unlicensed employer to verify your experience in the field.

In some cases, circumstances make it impossible for you to obtain even a signature from your current or former employer. If this is the case, the process for verifying your real estate experience is slightly different. Fill out the appropriate form for your type of real estate experience – RE 226 for licensed experience or RE 227 for unlicensed experience. In the space designated for your employer’s signature, you will write the reason they are unable to sign the form.

When your employment verification form lacks your employer’s signature, you will submit an additional form, RE 228: Employment Certification. RE 228 replicates the information provided on RE 226 and RE 227, but allows a substitute signature. Instead of your former employer, you may ask a former coworker or other person professionally affiliated with you to sign this form.

Exam

If you have completed the eight prerequisite statutory courses and met the BRE’s experience requirement, you are ready to apply to take the broker licensing exam. You are required to pass California’s broker licensing exam to obtain your broker license. You are not exempt from the exam if you hold a real estate license in another state.

Even if you live out-of-state, you are required to take the California broker licensing exam in the state of California at one of the BRE’s designated test sites. The BRE has test sites in:

  • Fresno;
  • La Palma;
  • Oakland;
  • San Diego; and
  • Sacramento.

Although you must take the exam in-person at one of these test sites, the exams are offered in digital format. The only exception to this is the Sacramento location, which offers paper-and-pencil exams.

To apply to take the broker licensing exam, you will submit the following to the BRE:

License application

You are not automatically issued a broker license after passing the broker licensing exam. After passing the broker licensing exam, the BRE will mail you an application for your broker license. You need to submit the application along with a licensing fee and documents verifying your identity and your eligibility for a broker license.

To establish your eligibility, the BRE requires you to be fingerprinted. Fingerprinting for California residents is different from that for out-of-state license applicants. California residents may submit their fingerprints through Live Scan. Live Scan is an electronic fingerprinting service conducted by law enforcement agencies and private companies.

However, as an out-of-state applicant, you will not use the Live Scan process to fulfill the BRE’s fingerprinting requirements. Instead, you need to use a fingerprint card. The BRE will send you a blank fingerprint card with your broker license application after you pass the broker licensing exam. It is your responsibility to take this card to your local law enforcement agency for completion.

After you have prepared your broker license application and completed the fingerprint card you received from the BRE, you will submit the following to obtain your broker license:

  • RE 200: Broker License Application;
  • a fingerprint card, completed by a local law enforcement agency;
  • RE 234: Consent to Service of Process;
  • RE 205: State Public Benefits Statement with proof of legal presence in the United States;
  • a cashier’s check, check or money order for a $49 fingerprinting fee payable to the California BRE; and
  • a cashier’s check, check or money order for the $300 licensing fee payable to the California BRE.

To be an active California broker, you are required to maintain a physical California business address even if you do not reside in the state. RE 234: Consent to Service of Process verifies you are an out-of-state licensee or out-of-state applicant for a California broker or sales agent license. With this form, you will provide your California business address to the BRE.

If you do not have a California business address and will not be active, you will use this form to verify your inactive status. RE 234 permits the California BRE to receive documents on your behalf, relating to an action filed against you in California, if you cannot be located.

California sales agent license

An alternative to holding a California broker license is to obtain a California sales agent license. BRE sales agents work under the supervision of an employing BRE-licensed broker. Thus, the qualifications for obtaining a sales agent license in California are less demanding than those required to obtain a broker license. A sales agent license functions as an entry-level real estate license.

To obtain your California sales agent license, you first complete three statutory courses approved by the California BRE, then pass the sales agent licensing exam and submit the required documents and fees to apply for your license.

Education

To qualify to take the sales agent licensing exam, the California BRE requires you to complete three courses, including:

  • Real Estate Principles;
  • Real Estate Practice; and
  • one elective course, such as
    • Real Estate Appraisal;
    • Property Management;
    • Real Estate Finance;
    • Real Estate Economics;
    • Legal Aspects of Real Estate;
    • Real Estate Office Administration;
    • General Accounting;
    • Business Law;
    • Escrows;
    • Mortgage Loan Brokering and Lending;
    • Computer Applications in Real Estate; or
    • Common Interest Developments.

Editor’s note – first tuesday offers California-specific licensing courses for both brokers and sales agents.

Exam

No experience requirement exists to obtain a sales agent license in California. After completing the three required statutory courses, you are qualified to take California’s sales agent licensing exam.

To apply to take the sales agent licensing exam, you will submit to the BRE:

  • the original certificates of completion or transcripts for each of your three required courses;
  • RE 400A – Application for Salesperson Exam; and
  • a cashier’s check, check or money order for $60 exam fee payable to the California BRE.

As with the broker licensing exam, the sales agent licensing exam is only offered in California at the BRE’s designated test sites.

License application

The application process for a sales agent license is similar to that for a California broker license. To obtain your sales agent license, you will submit a licensing fee and additional documents verifying your identity and compliance with the BRE’s sales agent licensing requirements.

After passing the sales agent licensing exam, the BRE will mail you an application for your sales agent license and fingerprint card. You need to submit the application along with a licensing fee and documents verifying your identity and your eligibility for a broker license.

After you have prepared your sales agent license application and completed the fingerprint card you received from the BRE, you will submit the following to obtain your sales agent license:

  • RE 202: Salesperson License Application;
  • a fingerprint card, completed by a local law enforcement agency;
  • RE 234: Consent to Service of Process;
  • RE 205: State Public Benefits Statement with proof of legal presence in the United States;
  • a cashier’s check, check or money order for a $49 fingerprinting fee payable to the California BRE; and
  • a cashier’s check, check or money order for the $245 licensing fee payable to the California BRE.

As a California sales agent, you are required to work under a broker licensed in California. If you have an employing broker in California, you will use RE 234: Consent to Service of Process to provide your California broker’s business address. If you do not yet have an employing broker in California, you will instead indicate your inactive status on this form.

Transitions in and out of state

If you were previously a California resident, licensed with the California BRE as a broker or sales agent, but have since relocated, you are still able to practice real estate in California. However, you need to submit a few forms to the BRE when relocating out-of-state. These forms notify the BRE of your change of address and new status as an out-of-state licensee.

As a California broker relocating to another state, you will submit:

If you actively practice real estate in California, you need to maintain a business address in California. If you no longer have a California business address, but simply wish to retain your license for the future, you will indicate your inactive status on RE 234.

As a California sales agent relocating to another state, you will submit:

If you are a sales agent relocating outside of California but will continue to practice real estate in California, you need to be employed by a California broker.

Using your California license

As a real estate agent living in a neighboring state, you will sometimes find it necessary to cross state borders in your practice. For example, having licenses in both Nevada and California serves you well if you are a broker working in a region such as Lake Tahoe, which straddles California and Nevada. However, if you are a broker moving to, say, New York, you may have very little need for a California real estate license.

When considering obtaining or retaining your California real estate license as an out-of-state licensee, consider how crucial it is to your practice and how many deals you will transact in California. Ask your colleagues whether their California license is a boon or an unnecessary hassle. Considering your own practice and asking brokers with interstate experience will help you determine the value of being licensed to practice real estate in California.

Since you do not live in California, you do not have the advantage of observing first-hand any changes in our market. To stay in tune with the California real estate market as an out-of-state licensee, be proactive in educating yourself on our market.

first tuesday offers an arsenal of tools for you to use to keep abreast of changes in real estate law and practices, including:

  • first tuesday’s Realtipedia, a 15-book reference library for brokers and agents;
  • the first tuesday journal online;
  • over 350 real estate forms; and
  • FARM letter templates and copy. 

These resources will equip you with the knowledge and tools to successfully practice real estate in California.