Montana 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

   Complete 70 hours with a Board-approved provider

   Keep the certificate inside 24 months of the license application. MCA 37-51-302 subjects: principles, law and ethics, finance, related topics, plus a course exam. Not a 60-hour neighbor package.

2. 2

   Schedule Pearson — $95 per portion

   National 80 scored / 150 min / 75% (+5 pretest) and state 40 scored / 90 min / 75% (+10 pretest). Sit both = $190. Reserve ≥48 hours ahead. Name on ID must match the registration.

3. 3

   Line up a broker who holds the supervising-broker endorsement

   Ask to see the endorsement, not just a broker license. The 8-hour pre-endorsement course is how they got it; the annual 4-hour "Supervising Broker" CE is how they keep it.

4. 4

   Apply within 12 months of the exam at the Accela/POL portal

   Current broker checklist URL is aca-prod.accela.com/POL; older materials still say ebiz.mt.gov/POL. Pay the $80 original (ARM 24.210.401). Attach 70-hour certificate, both Pearson score reports, supervising-broker certification, license verifications, E&O proof. ARM 24.210.611(2): the Board will not accept the application until the exam is passed.

5. 5

   Stay inside the annual CE and E&O cycle

   12 hours between November 1 and October 31 (ARM 24.210.667). Renew in the September 1–October 31 window, $80 active. No CE carryover. Group E&O enrollment is on the Board homepage.

Minimum age

18 years old

Identification

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

Residency and identification

Montana residency is not a statutory prerequisite. MCA 37-51-302: age 18 and two years of full curriculum study at an accredited high school or equivalent. ARM 24.210.611(4): if you currently hold or have ever held a real estate license in another jurisdiction, a license verification from that jurisdiction is required before a Montana license will issue. Verifications are required for every professional license of any type, not only real estate (live salesperson application Part 3).

Qualifying education

ARM 24.210.611(8)(a) / MCA 37-51-302: 70 hours of Board-approved prelicensing education obtained within 24 months immediately preceding the date of the license application, in real estate principles, law and ethics, finance, and related topics, taught by Board-approved instructors, with a passing course examination. The Board's homepage lists approved providers (including 70-hour in-person blocks). Not Idaho Module 1+2, not Wyoming Salesperson I/II/Law, not a 60-hour neighbor package. Continuing education does not substitute.

Education or filing deadline

Education must be ≤24 months old at application (ARM 24.210.611(8)(a)). Exam results must be ≤12 months old at application (ARM 24.210.611(3)). Pearson's salesperson exam-authorization window is five years after the first required education course — that is Pearson eligibility, not the Board's application clocks.

Character review

Licenses only to individuals the Board considers of good repute and competent to transact in a manner that safeguards the public (MCA 37-51-302(1)). The salesperson application's personal-history questions cover denials, surrenders, discipline, and related events; a "yes" generates a document request and the file is not complete until staff have the source paperwork. Non-disclosure is independently disqualifying (MCA 37-1-105).

Background process

The current salesperson application (Part 4 personal history) and the 12/2025 broker checklist do not list a fingerprint vendor, FD-258 card, or fingerprint fee. ARM 24.210.611 does not require fingerprints. Background is self-disclosure plus official license verification. Secondary blogs that freeze a $30 fingerprint figure are not the live packet.

Experience

No licensed experience for the salesperson license. The application must be accompanied by a licensed broker who holds a supervising-broker endorsement (MCA 37-51-302(4)(b); ARM 24.210.611(8)(b)).

Broker affiliation

MCA 37-51-302(4)(b): the application must be accompanied by the recommendation of a licensed broker with a supervising-broker endorsement who will employ or contract the applicant and who certifies good repute and active supervision. A broker license is not the endorsement. Endorsement path (Board page + ARM 24.210.604): complete the 8-hour Supervising Broker Pre-Endorsement Course, then 4 hours of board-approved "Supervising Broker" CE each licensing year, counted inside the 12-hour CE total. The endorsement cannot be placed inactive; miss the 4 hours and it lapses, expires, and terminates, and a terminated endorsement cannot be reinstated — the broker retakes the current pre-endorsement course. Change of supervising broker: $40 by mail, no fee online (ARM 24.210.401). Temporary supervising-broker transfer $45, late $90.

Pearson VUE (https://www.pearsonvue.com/us/en/mt/realestate.html; (888) 366-9520). Handbook #092700, January 2026. · Fee: $95

Handbook table prices each portion at $95; sitting both is two fees ($190). Fees are non-refundable and non-transferable except under the 48-hour change/cancel policy. Pass one part, retake only the failed part. Reservations for re-examination cannot be made at the test center. Pearson salesperson authorization is five years after the first required education course. ARM 24.210.611(3) still requires the license application within 12 months of the examination date — that Board clock, not Pearson's 3-year "results are good" sentence, is what invalidates the score for licensure. ID name must match the registration exactly or the sitting is forfeited. Walk-ins are not available; reserve at least 48 hours ahead.

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

ARM 24.210.401 and the live salesperson page: original salesperson license $80, active renewal $80, inactive renewal $40, activate from inactive $40, change of supervising broker $40 by mail / no fee online, temporary supervising-broker transfer $45 (late $90). Pearson handbook #092700 January 2026: $95 per portion (national $95, state $95). Application and initialLicense in this object are the same $80 original, not stacked. The 2018 salesperson checklist's $150 application fee is not on the live page. No fingerprint line in 24.210.401. Examination fees are payable to Pearson, not the Board (24.210.401(3)). All Board fees nonrefundable (24.210.401(2)).

• !

  Treating Pearson's $95 as a combined national-plus-state fee

  The handbook table lists $95 on each row: National Salesperson $95, State Salesperson $95. OnVUE says schedule the portions separately. Sitting both is $190. A "Pearson $95" school-blog line that implies one payment for both papers is misreading the table.

• !

  Passing Pearson and applying 13 months later

  ARM 24.210.611(3) invalidates exam results if the license application is not made within 12 months. Pearson's handbook also says results are good for three years and salesperson authorization lasts five years after the first education course. Those Pearson windows do not extend the Board clock. The 24-month education clock is a third fuse on the same application.

• !

  Hanging under a broker who lacks the supervising-broker endorsement

  MCA 37-51-302(4)(b) is specific: a licensed broker with a supervising-broker endorsement. The endorsement is an 8-hour pre-endorsement course plus 4 hours of titled "Supervising Broker" CE per year. It cannot sit inactive. A terminated endorsement cannot be reinstated (ARM 24.210.604). Asking "are you a broker?" is the wrong question.

• !

  Using a 60-hour Idaho or Wyoming package as Montana's 70

  ARM 24.210.611(8)(a) is 70 hours inside 24 months of application. Neighbor hour-counts belong in neighborComparison. Waiver applicants with a current active out-of-state license still sit the Montana state portion (611(7)).

• !

  Skipping E&O because there is no recovery fund line

  ARM 24.210.401 has no recovery-fund assessment. MCA 37-51-325 still requires continuous professional-liability insurance. The Board homepage is built around group-policy enrollment. The 12/2025 broker checklist lists E&O as a qualification; the salesperson statute points the same direction.

• !

  Trusting a 2018 $150 checklist or an FD-258 fingerprint blog

  Live salesperson page and ARM 24.210.401: $80 original. Live application: personal-history questions, no fingerprint vendor. The Portals/133 $150 PDF is an old checklist. Using it will overpay and still not match Accela's required attachments.

ARM 24.210.611 does not publish a sister-state list. Waiver applicants must hold a current active license in good standing (611(6)) and must pass the Montana state examination (611(7)). Out-of-state salesperson files still need license verification from every jurisdiction of any professional license. A 90-hour Idaho education file is not a 70-hour Montana file without reading the live waiver checklist on the salesperson page. Experience, including transactions, must be presented on Board forms (611(5)) — that line matters more on the broker application.

Is Montana 60 hours like some neighbor blogs say?

No. ARM 24.210.611(8)(a) is 70 hours, completed within 24 months of the license application. MCA 37-51-302 lets the Board set salesperson hours between 60 and 80; the Board has set 70. Idaho 90 and Wyoming's named-course package do not post as this 70.

What does Pearson actually charge, and what is the cut?

Handbook #092700 (January 2026) prices each portion at $95. National: 80 scored + 5 pretest, 150 minutes, 75. State: 40 scored + 10 pretest, 90 minutes, 75. Sitting both is $190. Pass one, retake only the failed part, another $95.

Pearson says results are good for three years. Is that the license clock?

No. ARM 24.210.611(3): apply for licensure within 12 months of the examination date or the results are invalidated. Pearson also prints a 5-year salesperson authorization after the first required education course. Three different clocks. The Board's 12-month application clock is the one that kills the license file.

Can any Montana broker supervise me?

No. MCA 37-51-302(4)(b) requires a broker who holds a supervising-broker endorsement. The Board's endorsement page: 8-hour pre-endorsement course, then 4 hours of "Supervising Broker" CE each licensing year inside the 12-hour total. Miss the 4 hours and the endorsement terminates; a terminated endorsement cannot be reinstated (ARM 24.210.604). MCA 37-51-302(6)(b): no separate licensing fee for the endorsement.

Do I need fingerprints?

Not on the live salesperson application or ARM 24.210.401. The current packet uses personal-history questions and official license verification from every jurisdiction of any professional license. Older $150-checklist / FD-258 blog instructions are not the 2026 file.

When is CE due, and is the first year waived?

ARM 24.210.667 (as amended 9/7/2024): 12 hours every licensing year between November 1 and October 31, no carryover. The current Cornell text of 24.210.667 does not print the old "licensed less than 12 months" salesperson exemption; subsection (6) is now individual course-credit applications. Association pages that still recite a first-year waiver are secondary. Renew September 1–October 31, $80 active.

Is E&O optional?

No. MCA 37-51-325 requires continuous professional liability / errors-and-omissions coverage. The Board homepage is currently enrolling the group policy. The broker checklist (updated 12/2025) lists E&O proof as a qualification. There is no recovery-fund line on ARM 24.210.401.