Editorial Policy

Sourcing

RE License Guide relies on primary sources: official state licensing board portals, state codes and statutes, board rules and bulletins, and the published materials of the testing services contracted to administer state examinations. We do not source regulatory requirements from blog posts, marketing pages, or third-party aggregators.

Verification cadence

Every state license page is re-verified at least once per quarter (every 90 days). On each cycle, the analyst opens every primary source listed in the page footer and confirms that the published numbers, statutes, and procedures still match the current .gov source. The "Verified" date stamp at the bottom of each page reflects the most recent successful verification.

High-volatility pages are reviewed faster when needed. Fee changes, exam-vendor changes, board portal migrations, and reciprocity revisions do not wait for a calendar quarter if they materially change what a reader needs to do next.

Exam pass rates and earnings data

We publish exam pass rates only from reports issued by a state commission or its contracted testing vendor, with the reporting period and a link to the report. School-advertised pass rates are not used. Many states publish no pass-rate data; for those states we show nothing rather than an estimate.

Earnings figures come only from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program for real estate sales agents (SOC 41-9022) and brokers (SOC 41-9021). They are imported directly from the BLS state data file rather than retyped, and labeled with the BLS reference period. OEWS excludes self-employed workers, so we say so wherever the figures appear.

Expert review

When a licensed real estate professional reviews a guide, the page names the reviewer, their credential, and a license number linked to the issuing state's public license lookup, along with the review date. Reviewers check that the guide matches how the process works in practice; they do not replace the primary-source verification described above.

Update history

Every license guide ends with a dated update history covering source verifications and any change to requirements, fees, deadlines, or the way the guide is written.

Corrections

Reader-submitted corrections are checked against the relevant official source set. When a correction is verified, we update the page and refresh its visible review date.

Our working target is 2 business days for triage, with verified corrections applied on the next publishing pass. Correction requests that identify a mismatch with a live board fee table, application packet, or statute are triaged first because they have the highest risk of causing real-world filing mistakes.

Independence

RE License Guide accepts no payment from licensing boards, exam administrators, exam vendors, pre-license schools, or trade associations in exchange for coverage, placement, or editorial influence. Display advertising, where enabled, is programmatic and separated from the editorial process; advertisers do not review, approve, or influence licensing coverage.

How we write

We summarize board requirements in plain English, but we do not simplify away the actual legal trigger. If a state uses different rules for salesperson versus broker, post-license versus later CE, endorsement versus examination, or sponsoring-broker affiliation, that distinction stays in the page. Where a board rule is ambiguous, we default to the exact published language in the cited source set rather than filling the gap with assumptions.

Disclaimer

Information published on RE License Guide is provided for reference only and does not constitute legal, tax, or professional advice. Licensing law changes frequently. Always verify the current requirements directly with the relevant state board before taking action.