Kentucky real estate licensing
Kentucky Real Estate Broker License requirements
A practical, source-checked guide to qualifying, passing the exam, applying, and keeping this license active.
By Gabriel Giner, Editor · Verified · RE License Guide Editorial Desk
- Required education
- 336 classroom hours or 21 academic credits including 48-hour brokerage management
- Exam fee
- $100
- Published fees
- $100
- Typical timeline
- 24 months at 20 hours/week is the long pole
What to know first
A Kentucky broker license is 336 classroom hours from a Kentucky-approved private school, or 21 academic credit hours from an accredited college including at least 12 academic credits in real estate, or a mix (12 academic real-estate credits / 192 classroom plus 9 college electives) — and that grid includes a 48-hour brokerage management course. One semester hour equals 16 classroom hours. CE will not fulfill it. Form 207 (live KREC; PSI bulletin still prints #603) is the education-review request KREC wants before you schedule PSI if you are not sure the hours post. Experience is 24 months as a sales associate averaging 20 hours per week.
The broker paper is not the sales-associate 80/50. PSI: Broker General 75 items (80 points; some items scored up to two points) / 150 minutes, State 50 / 90 minutes, combo 125 items (125 points) / 240 minutes, still 75 percent, still $100 whether one portion or both. Same FBI-before-exam, same four-month split, same 60-day apply-or-void. Reciprocity brokers from OH/TN/WV/FL book License Reciprocity Broker (state only) and bring the license. Indiana’s broker-entry 90 is not Kentucky’s 336. Tennessee’s affiliate-to-broker upgrade is a different board.
Your path to the license
Follow these steps in order. Deadlines and affiliation requirements can make a passed exam unusable if they are missed.
-
Document 24 months at 20 hours/week and map the 336/21-credit grid
Form 207 (live KREC; PSI bulletin still prints #603) before paying for more school if the history is messy. 48-hour management is named.
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FBI request, then PSI broker 75/50 at 75%
$100. Reciprocity brokers book the Reciprocity product.
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File within 60 days
E&O, firm filings if you will be principal broker.
Education and eligibility
- Minimum age
- 18 years old
- Identification
- A Social Security number is required. An ITIN is not confirmed as a substitute.
- Residency and identification
- 24 months as a sales associate averaging 20 hours per week before applying. Out-of-state license history (90 days) if ever licensed elsewhere. Document #407 if nonresident.
- Qualifying education
- 336 classroom hours from a Kentucky-approved private school, OR 21 academic credit hours from an accredited college including at least 12 in real estate, OR 12 academic real-estate credits / 192 classroom plus 9 college electives. Includes a 48-hour brokerage management course. CE does not count. One semester hour = 16 classroom hours. Form 207 (live KREC; PSI bulletin still prints #603) education review before scheduling if needed. Sales-associate 96 is not the 336.
- Education or filing deadline
- Same 60-day apply-or-void and four-month split as sales associate. Education must be finished before the broker PSI reservation.
- Character review
- Same FBI filter and disclosure rules as sales-associate applicants.
- Background process
- Same FBI-before-PSI, 90-day report life as sales associates.
- Experience
- worked an average of 20 hours per week for 24 months as a sales associate before applying for a broker license (PSI bulletin)
- Broker affiliation
- A Kentucky broker license is what lets you serve as principal broker and hold sales associates. E&O still required. Company / principal-broker filings are separate KREC documents.
Documents to prepare
- Form 207 (live KREC; PSI bulletin still prints #603) education review if the 336/21-credit grid needs Commission sign-off
- Transcripts / 336-hour certificates including 48-hour brokerage management
- Documentation of 24 months at 20 hours/week
- FBI report ≤90 days
- PSI broker 75/50 at 75%
- E&O and principal-broker / firm filings as applicable
The licensing exam
PSI broker table: general 75 items (80 points) / 150 minutes; state 50 / 90 minutes; combo 125 / 240 minutes. 75% each. $100. State outline shifts Commission items from 5 to 7 and license-requirement items from 10 to 8; brokerage activities stay 18. National broker weights add supervisory and trust-account items inside property management and practice. Form 207 (live KREC; PSI bulletin still prints #603) education review before the reservation if the 336/21-credit grid is messy.
PSI after education (and Form 207 (live KREC; PSI bulletin still prints #603) if used) and after the FBI request · Fee: $100
| Part | Questions | Minutes | Pass |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broker National (General) | 75 | 150 | 75 items carrying 80 points / 150 minutes. National broker exams include questions scored up to two points. 75% of 80 points is 60 — not 56 of 75 items. Combo with state is 125 items (125 points) / 240 minutes. $100 one portion or both. |
| Broker Kentucky State | 50 | 90 | 50 items (50 points) / 90 minutes; 75%. Commission items rise to 7 (from 5); license-requirement items drop to 8 (from 10); brokerage activities stay 18; contracts 6; disclosures/agency 8; property management 3. Reciprocity brokers book License Reciprocity Broker. |
Same $100 / four-month split / 60-day apply-or-void as sales associate.
What to study
-
PSI broker table (75 items / 50 items, 75%)
PSI / KREC
Some national items worth two points.
-
Form 207 (live KREC; PSI bulletin still prints #603) education review
KREC
Before the reservation if the 336/21-credit mix is messy.
-
48-hour brokerage management course
Kentucky-approved school
Named piece of the broker grid. Indiana 90 will not post as this.
Application costs
These are commission or testing-vendor amounts we can cite. School tuition and optional preparation products are private-market prices.
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Application | $60 |
| Examination | $100 |
| Initial license | $60 |
| Renewal (every 2 years) | $130 |
Live Fee Schedule: Initial Broker Application Fee (upgrading from sales associate) $60. Renewal $130 active / $120 inactive. PSI $100. Application and initialLicense are that same $60 upgrade, not stacked on the $130 sales-associate original. E&O separate. Broker Education Review $10.
| Commission | Kentucky Real Estate Commission (502) 564-7760 KRS Chapter 324 (324.046 initial licensure, 324.085 PLE/CE, 324.141 reciprocity, 324.287 fees, 324.395 E&O, 324.400 recovery fund); 201 KAR 11:170 (PLE curriculum), 201 KAR 11:210 (application, FBI 90 days, Core, CE); live KREC Requirements (static_id=201), Education (190), Candidate Testing (205), Reciprocal License (655), Fee Schedule (199), Renewals (662), PLE (213) fetched 2026-09-02. PSI CIB Updated 10/1/2023 at test-takers.psiexams.com/kyre / bulletin 2312, (855) 746-8176, fetched 2026-09-02. |
|---|---|
| Pre-licensing | 336 classroom hours or 21 academic credits including 48-hour brokerage management 336 classroom hours from a Kentucky-approved private school, OR 21 academic credit hours from an accredited college including at least 12 in real estate, OR 12 academic real-estate credits / 192 classroom plus 9 college electives. Includes a 48-hour brokerage management course. CE does not count. One semester hour = 16 classroom hours. Form 207 (live KREC; PSI bulletin still prints #603) education review before scheduling if needed. Sales-associate 96 is not the 336. Same 60-day apply-or-void and four-month split as sales associate. Education must be finished before the broker PSI reservation. |
| Sponsoring broker | A Kentucky broker license is what lets you serve as principal broker and hold sales associates. E&O still required. Company / principal-broker filings are separate KREC documents. |
| Fingerprints | Same FBI Identification Records Check before PSI, 90-day report life. |
| CE / renewal | Same 6-hour annual CE (3 law) and Kentucky Core Course every four years as sales associates (live Renewals page). Brokerage Management 48 is original broker education, not a CE substitute. E&O before renewal. $130 active / $120 inactive on the live Fee Schedule. |
| Recovery fund | Same Education, Research, and Recovery Fund, scored at higher Commission-item weight on the broker state outline (7 items). |
Mistakes that delay applicants
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Treating sales-associate 96 as the 336 after March 1, 2022
Live homepage cutoff. KAR 11:210 excludes SA prelicense from the 9 real-estate academic hours. 48-hour Brokerage Management is named.
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Skipping Form 207 on a mixed college/classroom file
Live Education: wait 7–10 days. PSI bulletin still prints #603. Do not register until KREC verifies hours.
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Sitting the salesperson 80-item national paper
Broker national is 75 items carrying 80 points. Cut is 60 of 80 points.
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Paying the $130 sales-associate original as the broker upgrade
Live Fee Schedule broker upgrade is $60.
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Counting a year under 20 hours/week
Live Requirements: averaging at least 20 hours a week for 24 months. Affidavit arrives after you pass.
Reciprocity and recognition
| Partner / path | Accepted exam | Conditions |
|---|---|---|
| Ohio | — | Active broker license; License Reciprocity Broker (state only); bring license or certificate to the center. |
| Tennessee | — | Same Reciprocity Broker product rules. |
| West Virginia | — | Same Reciprocity Broker product rules. |
| Florida | — | Same Reciprocity Broker product rules. Not FREC mutual recognition in reverse. |
Book the Reciprocity Broker product, not ordinary Broker State.
Renewal and staying active
Same 6-hour annual CE (3 law) and Kentucky Core Course every four years as sales associates (live Renewals page). Brokerage Management 48 is original broker education, not a CE substitute. E&O before renewal. $130 active / $120 inactive on the live Fee Schedule.
Applicant checklist
- 24 months at 20 hours/week
- 336 hours or 21 credits including 48-hour brokerage management (Form 207 (live KREC; PSI bulletin still prints #603) if needed)
- FBI before PSI
- PSI 75/50 at 75%
- File within 60 days; E&O
How Kentucky is different
Indiana starts at broker after 90 hours — not a substitute for Kentucky’s 336-or-21 including 48-hour management. Ohio broker is a different Division grid. Tennessee upgrades from affiliate broker. Kentucky: 336 or 21 credits including 48-hour brokerage management, 24 months at 20 hours/week, Form 207 (live KREC; PSI bulletin still prints #603), PSI 75/50 at 75%.
Frequently asked questions
- Does the sales-associate 96 count as the 336?
- Not after March 1, 2022 (live KREC homepage). 201 KAR 11:210: 9 academic real-estate hours shall not include the applicant's sales associate prelicense. 48-hour / 3-credit Brokerage Management is named. Form 207 (live) / bulletin #603; wait 7–10 days before PSI.
- How much experience?
- Live Requirements: two years averaging at least 20 hours a week. The experience affidavit arrives with the passing application. KRS 324.046(4) may cut the clock to one year with an associate degree in real estate or a baccalaureate major/minor in real estate.
- Is the broker exam still 80 national items?
- No. 75 items carrying 80 points / 150 minutes. Cut is 75% of 80 points (60), not 56 of 75 items. State 50 / 90 minutes at 75%.
- Upgrade fee?
- Live Fee Schedule $60. Not the $130 sales-associate original. PSI still $100.
Primary Sources
Regulatory requirements on this page are drawn from the official board, statute, and exam-provider materials listed below.
- KREC Requirements (336 / 21 with 48 brokerage management; 24 months at 20 hrs/week; Form 207)
- KREC Education — broker (Updated June 2026; 144 elective; 1 credit = 16 classroom)
- KREC Fee Schedule (broker upgrade $60)
- PSI Kentucky CIB bulletin 2312 (broker 75 items/80 points/150 min + 50/90 min at 75%)
- 201 KAR 11:210 broker 9+3+9 excluding sales-associate prelicense
Verified 2026-09-02 · Next scheduled review 2026-12-01