Alabama Real Estate Broker License requirements

Follow these steps in order. Deadlines and affiliation requirements can make a passed exam unusable if they are missed.

1. 1

   Confirm 24 of 36 months with AREC if your history is complicated

   Do this before paying for the broker 60 hours. AREC needs a written certification, not a verbal confirmation. Experience from any state counts if the months were active within the window.

2. 2

   Complete the 60-hour broker prelicense at 70 percent

   FREC II, GREC's 60 hours, a CE package, and the salesperson 60 hours do not count.

3. 3

   Pass Pearson VUE ($73)

   Scaled 70 overall. Reciprocal candidates take the $53 state-only exam after six Alabama hours.

4. 4

   Complete Fieldprint and file within 90 days of passing

   If licensees will be held under you, qualifying broker company paperwork is a separate AREC filing. An Assistance Visit is available for companies less than one year old.

5. 5

   Plan for both required broker CE courses and September 30

   Brokers need two mandatory three-hour courses, not one, plus 9 electives. An unrenewed license goes inactive October 1.

Minimum age

19 years old

Identification

A Social Security number is required. An ITIN is not confirmed as a substitute.

Residency and identification

The same handbook residency rule applies as for salesperson applicants. Your experience may come from any state if it is active licensure for 24 of the preceding 36 months. Reciprocal brokers need six Alabama hours + the $53 state exam + a certification from the state where they passed their original full exam.

Qualifying education

A separate approved 60-hour broker prelicense course with a 70 percent course grade. The salesperson 60 hours do not substitute. You have six months from completion to pass Pearson VUE. Reciprocal brokers instead take six hours of Alabama coursework plus the state-only exam. Broker CE, as listed on the AREC home page, is a separate 15-hour requirement (two named 3-hour courses + 9 electives), not part of this prelicense.

Education or filing deadline

You have six months from completing the broker 60 hours to pass Pearson, then 90 days to file. The reciprocal six-hour course carries the same six-month exam deadline.

Character review

The same AREC character review and Determination of Licensing Eligibility option apply. A rejected or revoked license in any state within two years is disqualifying on its own.

Background process

Fieldprint Alabama.

Experience

Active real estate license in any state for at least 24 months of the 36-month period immediately preceding the date of application (Pearson VUE handbook). If your history is complicated, confirm it with AREC before paying for the broker 60 hours.

Broker affiliation

A broker license lets you serve as the qualifying broker of a company. Associate broker is a different AREC status. Check arec.alabama.gov for company and branch-office filings, home-office rules, and serving as qualifying broker for more than one company. Companies less than a year old can request an Assistance Visit or Assistance Desk Audit from AREC auditors.

Pearson VUE, $73 (reciprocal $53). Handbook #093300. · Fee: $73

The same rules apply as for salespersons: a six-month window, one overall score, and $73 per attempt. The reciprocal broker exam is $53, state only. If you fail overall, you retake both parts.

These are commission or testing-vendor amounts we can cite. School tuition and optional preparation products are private-market prices.

Per the handbook, the broker exam is $73 and the reciprocal exam is $53. Check the current broker application for this cycle's original-license and Recovery Fund fees rather than assuming the salesperson $85/$30 apply. The 2024 Special Renewal Issue listed broker renewal at $205 if paid by August 31 (followed by the $150 late penalty). Check the 2026 amounts.

• !

  Using the salesperson 60 hours as the broker 60 hours

  They are separate approved courses. You have six months from the broker course to pass Pearson.

• !

  Missing one of the two required CE courses

  Brokers need both mandatory three-hour courses plus 9 electives. Salespersons need only Risk Management plus 12 electives.

• !

  Assuming Florida mutual recognition works both ways

  FREC's list only gets you into Florida. AREC's reciprocal license is a separate application requiring six hours plus the $53 exam.

• !

  Counting three of five Georgia years as 24 of 36 Alabama months

  The requirements are measured differently. AREC wants a certification showing active dates within the last 36 months.

A reciprocal broker license requires six hours of Alabama coursework, the $53 state exam, and a certification of licensure from the state where you passed your original full exam. It is not Florida mutual recognition. If you apply through AREC's reciprocal path, check the current reciprocal page for whether the 24-of-36-month requirement also applies.

Alabama vs neighboring states

Hours are the pre-license total printed in each guide; states that count credits or named courses show “See guide.” Published state fees add the application, exam, initial-license, and fingerprint amounts the guide can cite — tuition is not included.

Do my Georgia years count?

Possibly, if they are active months within the last 36. AREC requires a written certification, not a verbal confirmation. Georgia's three-of-five-years rule is a different requirement.

Is the broker exam harder nationally?

The national portion has the same 80 items. The Alabama outline puts more weight on RECAD (5) and qualifying broker duties (6).

What CE is required for brokers?

Risk Management: Initial Contact to Accepted Offer and the Mandatory Broker CE Course, plus 9 electives (AREC home page).

Can I skip the 60 hours with a Florida broker license?

It does not replace AREC's broker prelicense, unless you use the reciprocal path (six hours plus the state exam) and AREC approves your application.

What is a qualifying broker vs an associate broker?

The qualifying broker is the broker who qualifies a company with AREC and is responsible for its place of business, trust funds, and estimated closing statements. An associate broker is a licensed broker who is not serving as qualifying broker. Check current company and branch filing requirements with AREC.