Hawaii Real Estate Salesperson License requirements

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

1. 1

   Finish the 60-hour Commission salesperson curriculum

   Use a Hawaii-registered school. HAR §16-99-61: 80 percent attendance and a passing school final. Certificate is valid two years from class completion. A mainland 60-hour blob needs a Prelicensing Education Equivalency Certificate instead.

2. 2

   Create a PSI account and upload the unexpired certificate

   Effective 12/10/2025 PSI reviews in about three business days and emails eligibility. Do not schedule before approval. Out-of-state testing requires a PSI accommodations/out-of-state form and a phone schedule — it cannot be paid online.

3. 3

   Sit the PSI exam ($61)

   Uniform 80/150 min/70% and State 50/90 min/70%, or the 130-item combo in 240 minutes. Remote proctoring is in Hawaii Time. Study Land Court (HRS 501), Regular System (HRS 502), HARPTA, and the Landlord-Tenant Code — they are on the state paper.

4. 4

   File the DCCA application within two years of the exam date

   The application is handed out at the test site (or requested from the Real Estate Branch). Submit original school certificate, original Candidate Screening Responses, and the even-year $282 or odd-year $382 original fee from the posted HAR 16-53 table. Fees are not prorated.

5. 5

   Hang with a Hawaii brokerage before practicing

   Active practice requires association with a licensed brokerage. A 2026 original salesperson who wants to stay active through 2027 must also renew by November 30, 2026 — original plus renewal in the same calendar year — but is deemed to have completed CE for that first even-year renewal (February 2026 Informational Notice).

Minimum age

18 years old

Identification

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

Residency and identification

Hawaii residency is not required. PSI and GENINFO require U.S. citizenship, U.S. national status, or alien authorized to work in the United States, plus a high school diploma or equivalent, by the examination date. A Social Security number is required on the license application (42 U.S.C. §666(a)(13); HRS §§576D-13(j), 436B-10(4)).

Qualifying education

Commission-approved salesperson prelicense at a Hawaii-registered school, conforming to the Salespersons' Prelicensing Curriculum effective January 1, 2021 (18 sections, 60 estimated hours): Introduction and Hawaiian History 2; Laws, Land Use and Controls 3; Hawai'i Licensing Laws 5; Agency 3; Property Rights 4; Transferring Real Property Interest 4; Encumbrances 3; Contracts 4; Closing/Settlement 3; Disclosures 4; Valuation and Market Analysis 3; Financing 4; Property Management and Leasing 3; Forms of Ownership 5; Discrimination 3; Taxes 2; Hawai'i Forms 2; Mathematics 3. Independent-study courses must reasonably require 60 hours (HAR §16-99-52.1). HAR §16-99-61: attend 80 percent of scheduled classes and pass the school's final. A California 60-hour package is not this 60 unless the Commission issues a Prelicensing Education Equivalency Certificate.

Education or filing deadline

School Completion Certificate valid two years from the class-completion date (HAR §16-99-61; GENINFO). Education equivalency certificates are also valid two years from issuance (HAR §16-99-37(d)). License application must be complete within two years of the last examination date (HAR §16-99-29(f)).

Character review

Possess a reputation for or record of competency, honesty, truthfulness, financial integrity, and fair dealing (HRS Chapter 467; GENINFO). Section C "yes" answers — convictions, disciplinary actions, unpaid judgments, pending lawsuits, outstanding tax obligations, liens — require explanation and documents. The Commission will not issue a license to a person who does not meet that standard. Request for Preliminary Decision is the non-binding advisory path before you pay for school.

Background process

Original salesperson applications run on self-disclosure and Commission review of the license application. The live PSI bulletin, GENINFO_210119, and the salesperson exam/license pages do not print a Fieldprint code the way DCCA Insurance (HI-DCCA-INS) and Private Detectives (HI-DCCA-PDSG) do. Do not treat a leftover California Live Scan or a detective-board fingerprint as a Hawaii real-estate packet.

Experience

No licensed experience is required for the salesperson license. Affiliation with a Hawaii-licensed brokerage is required to practice on active status.

Broker affiliation

A salesperson practices only while associated with a Hawaii-licensed brokerage under a principal broker (and a broker-in-charge where required). Branch-office registration is required only for an office on a different island from the principal place of business (HAR Chapter 16-99). The license can issue inactive; unlicensed activity before the hang is still unlicensed activity.

PSI Services LLC (https://test-takers.psiexams.com/hire; (855) 579-4640). Bulletin effective 1/16/2026. · Fee: $61

PSI bulletin: $61 covers one or both portions; fee is not refundable or transferable and is valid one year from payment. Pass one portion and fail the other: retake only the failed portion within two years of the date of the first passed portion, and only while the School Completion Certificate (or education equivalency) is unexpired (HAR §16-99-29(a); PSI bulletin). Fail to pass both portions within two years of the first passed portion and both portions must be retaken. Same-day retest is not available; a Wednesday failure can typically retest as early as Friday. Cancel at least two days before the appointment or forfeit the fee. Walk-in testing is not available.

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

PSI Candidate Information Bulletin effective 1/16/2026: Broker and Salesperson Examination Fee $61, one fee whether you sit one portion or both; not refundable; valid one year from payment. DCCA Application/Registration Fees page (HAR Chapter 16-53, posted effective 10/10/2016): salesperson / broker-salesperson / PB / BIC original $382 odd-numbered year, $282 even-numbered year, renewal $268. 2026 is an even year, so the original on the posted table is $282. Application and initialLicense in this object are that same combined original, not stacked. Entity originals and sole-proprietor add-ons are a different line. Inactive-to-active change $25. Dishonored payment $25 service charge. Broker Experience Certificate is a broker-only $75 and does not apply here.

• !

  Uploading an expired School Completion Certificate to PSI

  HAR §16-99-61: the certificate is valid two years from class completion, not from the day you remembered to open a PSI account. Effective 12/10/2025 PSI reviews the upload before you can schedule. An Equivalency Certificate is a different document with its own two-year life (HAR §16-99-37(d)).

• !

  Studying only the uniform 80

  The state 50 is where Hawaii fails people. Professional Practices is 14 items. Ascertaining and Disclosing Material Facts (Land Court / Regular System, HARPTA, GET, Seller Disclosure Law) is 8. Landlord-Tenant Code sits inside Property Management. A mainland national outline will not cover HRS 501 or HRS 521.

• !

  Waiting more than two years after passing to file with DCCA

  HAR §16-99-29(f) and GENINFO: a complete application must arrive within two years of the last examination date or the sitting is abandoned under HRS §436B-9 and you retake both portions. "I passed in 2024 and will apply after I move" is how this fuse is blown.

• !

  Paying original fees in 2026 and forgetting the November 30 renewal

  February 2026 Informational Notice: a new salesperson licensed before the end of 2026 pays original fees and then renewal fees by November 30, 2026. Fees are not prorated. The CE deeming for new even-year salespersons does not waive the renewal dollar. Miss December 31 and the license forfeits January 1, 2027.

• !

  Treating Hawaii as a reciprocal state because you already passed a PSI national

  GENINFO: no reciprocity with any state. Uniform-section equivalency, if granted, waives only the 80-item uniform portion. You still need a current Hawaii school or education-equivalency certificate and you still sit the 50-item state section.

• !

  Assuming a Fieldprint receipt from another DCCA board covers real estate

  Insurance and private-detective applicants have named Fieldprint codes. The live real-estate salesperson packet does not. The Commission's character process is disclosure, documents, and — if the file is ugly — a Request for Preliminary Decision before you spend on the 60-hour course.

GENINFO: "Hawaii does not reciprocate with any other state or country." The Commission instead issues (1) Prelicensing Education Equivalency Certificates under HAR §16-99-37 and (2) Equivalency to the Uniform Section of the Examination for a current out-of-state licensee who already passed that state's uniform portion — the candidate still sits the 50-item Hawaii state section and still needs a current School Completion or education-equivalency certificate. Land Court and HARPTA are not waived by a California, Washington, or Alaska score report.

How many prelicense hours does Hawaii actually require?

Sixty class hours conforming to the Commission-adopted salesperson curriculum (HAR §16-99-36). The current outline is 18 named sections totaling 60 estimated hours. Independent study must reasonably take 60 hours. A California three-course file or a Washington 90-hour broker file is not this 60 unless the Commission issues a Prelicensing Education Equivalency Certificate.

What is on the PSI exam, and what does it cost?

Bulletin effective 1/16/2026: $61 for one or both portions. Salesperson uniform 80 items / 150 minutes / 70 percent; salesperson state 50 items / 90 minutes / 70 percent. Combo is 130 items in 240 minutes. HAR §16-99-29 is the rule that sets the 70 percent salesperson cut. Experimental items (5–10) are unscored but eat the clock.

How long is the School Completion Certificate good?

Two years from the class-completion date (HAR §16-99-61). You must upload an unexpired certificate to PSI before scheduling (effective 12/10/2025). After you pass, you have two years from the last examination date to file a complete DCCA application (HAR §16-99-29(f)). Those are two different fuses.

Does Hawaii reciprocate with California, Washington, or Alaska?

No. GENINFO: Hawaii does not reciprocate with any other state or country. Out-of-state licensees use named equivalency certificates for education and, separately, for the uniform exam section. The Hawaii state section still has to be passed. Land Court is original content.

What is Land Court, and why do schools keep mentioning it?

Hawaii records title two ways at the Bureau of Conveyances: Land Court (Torrens, HRS Chapter 501) and the Regular System (HRS Chapter 502). The PSI state outline tests documents, indexes, conveyance tax, and related Bureau practice. A mainland national outline will not cover it. HARPTA withholding and the Residential Landlord-Tenant Code are the other Hawaii-only buckets.

When is CE due, and does a brand-new salesperson have to take it?

Active renewal is 20 hours per even-year biennium: Core A and Core B (3 hours each, 6 total — both parts required for any core credit) plus 14 elective hours, completed by the November 30 even-year filing deadline. Licenses expire December 31 of even years and forfeit January 1 of the odd year if not renewed. A salesperson first licensed in calendar year 2026 who renews by November 30, 2026 is deemed to have completed CE for that cycle (February 2026 Informational Notice). Broker licensees do not get that first-cycle deeming.

Do I need fingerprints?

The live Commission salesperson packet does not print a Fieldprint code or a fingerprint fee. Character is disclosure plus Commission review. If the file is dirty, file a Request for Preliminary Decision before paying for the 60-hour course. Do not reuse a California Live Scan or another board's Fieldprint receipt.