Arizona 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

   Document three years of actual licensed experience in the last five

   Get LI-226 from each broker. Out-of-state experience also needs a certified license history. A Texas 720-point experience log does not replace this form.

2. 2

   Complete the 90-hour broker pre-licensing at a certified school

   A.R.S. § 32-2124(C): classroom or certified distance learning, with an in-person proctored school exam. The certificate must be ≤10 years old. Salesperson hours do not count.

3. 3

   Complete BMC #1, BMC #2, and BMC #3

   9 hours, all three, within two years of application. These are specific Arizona clinics; a Colorado administration course will not count.

4. 4

   Take the 180-question Pearson broker exam at an Arizona test center

   315 minutes, $125, 75% to pass. Bring LI-226. No OnVUE. Recognition candidates book the 110-question/165-minute exam instead.

5. 5

   File with ADRE within one year, DPS card in hand

   ADRE Fees page: $125 license + $20 Recovery Fund = $145. If you will operate through an entity, add the designated-broker / entity filings (entity fee $0; branch $60).

6. 6

   Calendar 30-hour designated-broker CE

   A.R.S. § 32-2130(A): 30 credit hours per 24-month period for designated brokers, with the Firewise / Deed Fraud / Arizona Water hours required since January 1, 2025 counted within that total.

Minimum age

18 years old

Identification

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

Residency and identification

A.R.S. § 32-2124(D): 18. Legal presence under A.R.S. § 41-1080. Arizona residency is not separately required for an original in-state broker application. ADRE's Out-of-State License Recognition Broker page requires Proof of Arizona Residency; unlike the salesperson recognition page, it does not offer a 27-hour alternative. Check the broker recognition document list rather than assuming the salesperson 27-hour option applies.

Qualifying education

A.R.S. § 32-2124(C) requires at least ninety classroom hours, or the equivalent, of a commissioner-approved broker course at a certified school, with a passed school exam. You may take a live classroom course or certified distance learning, with an in-person proctored school exam; instruction may mix in-person and synchronous remote segments; and the course must be completed not more than ten years before application. ADRE's broker page requires a 90-hour Broker Pre-licensing Course Certificate within 10 years and 9 hours of Broker Management Clinic Certificates (BMC #1, BMC #2 and BMC #3, all three) within 2 years of application. Your salesperson 90 hours do not count toward the broker 90. CE does not substitute, although the ADRE Education FAQ allows a Continuing Education Waiver Request Form to apply the 90-hour broker pre-licensing course toward current CE categories. A Colorado 24-hour Brokerage Administration course, Oregon BASS, or Washington's 90-hour managing-broker courses will not count as BMC.

Education or filing deadline

90-hour broker certificate within 10 years of application. BMC #1–#3 within 2 years of application (ADRE broker page). Pearson: apply within one year of passing. A.R.S. § 32-2130(J): a broker may renew as a salesperson without meeting § 32-2124(B); returning to broker status later means meeting chapter requirements, including § 32-2124(C).

Character review

The same competency, one-year-denial, two-year-revocation, and felony-supervision bars apply as for salesperson applicants (A.R.S. § 32-2124). The Disciplinary Action Disclosure applies. The handbook still prints honesty, truthfulness, good character and competency.

Background process

Level 1 Non-IVP DPS Fingerprint Clearance Card, the same card as for a salesperson application. DPS fee $67.00.

Experience

ADRE broker page: a minimum of three years of actual experience as a real estate licensee during the five years immediately preceding the time of application. A.R.S. § 32-2124(A)(1): active licensed real estate salesperson or real estate broker for at least three years during the five years immediately preceding. A.R.S. § 32-2124(A)(7): equivalent experience in the field in the past five years may substitute if it would have been sufficient had the applicant held a license. Handbook: the experience must be full-time, documented on LI-226 from each designated or employing broker, with a certified license history if it was earned in another state.

Broker affiliation

An Arizona broker license is the credential that can run a brokerage and employ salespersons. Designated-broker status for an entity is a separate ADRE filing (Entity/Employing Broker License Application/Change Form). ADRE Fees page: entity original/renewal No Fee; original branch $60. Licensing FAQ: a virtual office is allowed if you notify the Department of off-site or electronic record storage and have an address of record. Salespersons work under a broker, and an eligible license is not active until the hire-on is accepted.

Pearson, under contract to ADRE. Test centers in Arizona only. Not PSI. Not OnVUE. (888) 405-5776. · Fee: $125

24-hour wait. Retake $125. The handbook prints no attempt limit. After a second fail, you can book a one-time 30-minute exam playback within 14 days, before any additional attempt; call (888) 405-5776. Apply within one year of passing. Bring LI-226 to the test center; ADRE can still reject deficient experience at issuance.

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

ADRE Fees page: original broker License Fee $125 + Real Estate Recovery Fund $20 = Total $145. Examination combined $125. Timely renewal $120; late $245; reinstatement $5. Entity original/renewal No Fee; branch original/renewal/realignment $60. The application and initialLicense amounts here are the same $145 original fee, not two separate charges. Pearson handbook: broker exam $125, out-of-state broker state exam $125; a retake costs the same as the initial exam. DPS fee $67.00 plus vendor printing. BMC and 90-hour tuition are set by each school. The first-time Fee Waiver Request Form may apply (ADRE broker page).

• !

  Skipping BMC because you took a broker class elsewhere

  ADRE's broker page requires BMC #1, #2, and #3, all three, within two years. Colorado Brokerage Administration is not BMC.

• !

  Reusing salesperson 90 hours as broker 90

  They are different commissioner-approved courses. A.R.S. § 32-2124(C) governs the broker 90.

• !

  Counting generic years

  You need three years of actual experience as a real estate licensee during the five years immediately preceding application, documented on LI-226. Substituting equivalent experience is at the commissioner's discretion under § 32-2124(A)(7); Pearson cannot approve it.

• !

  Using the word reciprocity on a broker application

  The out-of-state path is recognition. ADRE's broker recognition page requires Arizona residency proof and a 110-question state exam. It does not offer the salesperson 27-hour non-resident option.

• !

  Leaving LI-226 for after Pearson

  Handbook: bring the completed, signed LI-226 to the test center. ADRE can still reject deficient experience at issuance.

• !

  Booking the salesperson two-exam format as a broker

  The broker exam is a single 180-question / 315-minute Arizona exam at $125. The 80/60 split is the salesperson format after January 1, 2026.

• !

  Booking OnVUE or PSI

  Same as for salespersons: Pearson, at an Arizona test center, not OnVUE, not PSI.

• !

  Confusing Arizona with California or Colorado

  A California broker license requires eight college courses and a 200-question DRE exam. Colorado employing broker status requires 24-hour Brokerage Administration and two Colorado years. Arizona requires BMC #1–#3, three years in five, and a 180-question exam, administered by ADRE.

No reciprocity. ADRE's Out-of-State License Recognition Broker page requires: the Pearson state-specific exam; the Broker Application; the Disciplinary Action Disclosure; a license history from the other state showing an equivalent license held for at least one year; Proof of Arizona Residency; the Broker Candidate Experience Verification (three years in five); BMC #1–#3 within 2 years; the DPS card; and legal presence. The handbook lists the Out-of-State License Recognition - Broker State Specific Examination at 110 questions, 165 minutes, $125. The broker recognition page does not offer a 27-hour non-resident alternative. A.R.S. § 32-2124(J) waives the national portion for a current equivalent out-of-state licensee, but because the original broker exam is already Arizona-content, recognition candidates take a different, shorter exam rather than skipping the 180-question one. Military-spouse exam waiver: A.R.S. § 32-4302(A), requested through the Message Center.

Arizona 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.

Is this ADRE or DRE, Pearson or PSI?

ADRE and Pearson. ADRE's broker page names Pearson as the third-party testing vendor. It is not California's DRE, not PSI, and not OnVUE.

What are BMC courses?

ADRE's broker page requires 9 hours of Broker Management Clinic Certificates (BMC #1, BMC #2 and BMC #3, all three) completed within 2 years of application submission. These are specific Arizona clinics, not a generic broker class from another state. They are original-license education; designated-broker CE is a separate 30-hour cycle.

How much experience, and how is it proved?

ADRE's broker page requires a minimum of three years of actual experience as a real estate licensee during the five years immediately preceding application (A.R.S. § 32-2124(A)(1)). According to the handbook, you document it on Form LI-226 from each designated or employing broker, plus a certified license history if the years were earned in another state. Bring LI-226 to Pearson; ADRE still reviews it at issuance.

How many questions, how much time, what passing score, and what fee?

Pearson handbook: 180 scored + 15 pretest / 315 minutes / $125 / 75% percent score, in a single Arizona-content exam. 75% of 180 is 135, but that is not published as a raw cut. ADRE's Fees page also lists a combined examination fee of $125. Recognition brokers take 110 questions / 165 minutes / $125 / 75%.

Do the broker hours still have to be in a classroom?

No. A.R.S. § 32-2124(C) allows certified distance learning with an in-person proctored school exam, the same as for salespersons. ADRE's broker page still requires the 90-hour Broker Pre-licensing Course Certificate within 10 years. Salesperson hours do not count toward the broker 90.

What does original broker issuance cost?

ADRE Fees page: $125 license + $20 Recovery Fund = $145. Pearson $125. DPS $67 plus the vendor fee. Timely renewal $120; late $245.

Does a California broker license waive the Arizona exam?

No. Arizona does not offer reciprocity. Recognition brokers still take the 110-question Arizona state exam and still provide BMC #1–#3, LI-226, residency proof, and a DPS card.

What CE do designated brokers need?

A.R.S. § 32-2130(A): 30 credit hours per 24-month period for designated brokers (and for associate brokers employed under § 32-2151.01(G)), versus 24 for salespersons and ordinary associate brokers. The same Firewise / Deed Fraud / Arizona Water hours required since January 1, 2025 count within that total. BMC is original-license education and does not count toward the 30.