Illinois Real Estate Managing Broker License requirements

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

1. 1

   Hold an active Illinois broker license for two of the past three years (typical path)

   Otherwise, complete the full 165 hours and meet the experience requirement in the bulletin.

2. 2

   Complete the 45-hour managing-broker pre-license

   30 topics + 15 interactive supervision.

3. 3

   Pass the PSI managing-broker exam ($58)

   You have four attempts; after that, you must repeat the education.

4. 4

   Apply on the IDFPR portal

   Pay the current managing-broker fee. Endorsement is $175 if that is your path.

5. 5

   Plan for odd-year renewal and broker-management CE

   Use the managing-broker fact sheet, not the even-year broker fact sheet.

Minimum age

20 years old

Identification

A Social Security number is required. An ITIN is accepted.

Residency and identification

Not required. Inbound out-of-state managing brokers use endorsement as of January 1, 2026 ($175 published).

Qualifying education

Licensed Illinois brokers take Managing Broker Pre-License Topics (30) plus Applied Management and Supervision-Interactive (15). The 165-hour Category A-1 path in the PSI bulletin is the full sequence, including the broker pre-license and post-license courses.

Character review

IDFPR fitness review and fingerprints.

Background process

Fingerprints through an IDFPR-licensed live-scan vendor, checked by ISP + FBI, unless a current qualifying print is already on file.

Experience

an active real estate license for two of the past three years (PSI bulletin Category A-1); managing-broker endorsement also requires active practice as a managing broker or equivalent during the immediately preceding two years

Broker affiliation

A managing broker may sponsor Illinois brokers and operate the office. This is the Illinois equivalent of the person TREC calls a broker who sponsors sales agents.

PSI · Fee: $58

You have four attempts. After that, you must retake the 45-hour managing-broker education (if you hold an active IL broker license) or the full 165 hours (if you do not). The fee is $58 per the bulletin.

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

The endorsement application lists $175 for managing broker. The PSI exam is $58. If you are applying by examination, confirm the initial license fee at IDFPR checkout; the $175 shown here is the published endorsement fee, and a separate by-examination fee has not been confirmed.

• !

  Copying broker CE dates

  Brokers renew in even years; managing brokers renew in odd years. Following the wrong fact sheet can cause you to miss your renewal requirements.

• !

  Treating 45 hours as optional leadership training

  Without the 45 hours and the managing-broker exam you cannot sponsor Illinois brokers. The entry broker license does not authorize that.

Inbound path is endorsement ($175 published for managing broker), not the retired reciprocal list. Florida may treat an Illinois managing broker under mutual recognition if the applicant is a nonresident of Florida; that is a Florida rule, not an IDFPR compact.

Illinois 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 managing broker just a CE designation?

No. It is a separate IDFPR license with its own education, exam, and odd-year renewal.

Can I apply for managing broker as my first Illinois license?

Only if you complete the bulletin's 165-hour path and the two-of-three-years licensed experience (or endorsement as an already-practicing out-of-state managing broker). Most people become Illinois brokers first.