NE real estate licensing guide
Nebraska
Nebraska raised salesperson prelicense to 96 hours on January 1, 2026, will not seat you before age 19, scores Pearson at 75% on 80 national and 50 state items, and will let a passing score die if the license is not issued within 30 days.
Verified 2026-09-02
The Nebraska Real Estate Commission in Lincoln licenses salespersons, associate brokers, and brokers. As of January 1, 2026 the salesperson table is 96 hours: 30-hour Real Estate Principles and Practices, 30-hour Nebraska Real Estate License Law, one additional 30-hour approved pre-license course, and 6-hour Professional Practice and Standards (Course #0003). Title 299 Ch. 7 § 004.09 is the rule. The retired 66-hour path is only for people already scheduled to sit before that date whose applications have not expired. Age 19 is a sitting requirement, not a suggestion. Application fee $175 and exam fee $150 are paid to the Commission, not to Pearson VUE. Pearson's April 2025 handbook (#092800) is the sitting: 80 scored national items in 2.5 hours, 50 scored Nebraska items in 1.5 hours, 5–10 pretest, 4 hours total, 75% on each portion. Salespersons may bank a passed portion for three attempts or six months inside a 12-month application file; brokers retake the entire test. The license must be issued within 30 days of the pass notice, with original score report, E&O, and a designated broker (or a written inactive request). Original salesperson is $90 for the rest of the calendar year; original broker is $110; two-year renewals are $180 and $220.
Course 7000 (12 hours) is due within 180 days of issuance for all licensees (§ 81-885.13(9)); miss it and the license goes inactive until the course posts. Active CE is 18 hours every two years: 12 Commission-approved CE including 6 designated-subject-matter "R" hours, plus 6 hours that may be Commission-approved training. Broker upgrade is two years of full-time (or equivalent) salesperson work that NREC measures by averaging designated-broker surveys and renewal filings, plus two additional 30-hour courses that do not repeat the salesperson 96, plus Course #0003 if it is more than four years old. A hardship hearing exists for shops that cannot retain a two-year designated broker; it is not a shortcut around those two years. Iowa's live 12s, Kansas's 30+30, and Missouri's 48-plus-MREP are neighboring products, not this 96.
Licensing authority
Nebraska Real Estate Commission
NREC
Licenses salespersons, associate brokers, and brokers. As of January 1, 2026 original salesperson education is 96 hours — 90 clock hours in three named 30-hour courses plus 6-hour Professional Practice and Standards (Course #0003). Age 19. Exam score 75% on each Pearson VUE portion. E&O required. Course 7000 (12 hours) within 180 days of issuance. Application and exam fees are paid to the Commission, not to Pearson.
Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 81-885.01 et seq. (Nebraska Real Estate License Act); § 81-885.13 (qualifications, 96-hour prelicense as of 2026, Course 7000 in 180 days, broker hardship); § 81-885.54 (CE); Title 299 NAC (Commission rules); Title 299 Ch. 7 (education, including the January 1, 2026 30+30 salesperson curriculum) 500 S 16th St, Suite 201, P.O. Box 94667, Lincoln, NE 68509-4667 (402) 471-2004
Official commission siteLicense types in Nebraska
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Nebraska Real Estate Salesperson License
96 hours as of January 1, 2026: 30 Principles and Practices + 30 Nebraska License Law + 30 approved elective + 6-hour Course #0003 Professional Practice and Standards · Pearson VUE after NREC pre-qualification (https://www.pearsonvue.com/us/en/ne/realestate.html; (800) 819-3966). Handbook #092800, April 2025. Fee paid to NREC, not Pearson.
Verified 2026-09-02
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Nebraska Real Estate Broker License
60 clock hours (two 30-hour courses) in addition to the salesperson 96, plus Course #0003 if not taken within the last 4 years · Pearson VUE after NREC approval, 75%, fee paid to NREC. Handbook April 2025. Brokers retake the entire examination if they fail.
Verified 2026-09-02
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