Nebraska Real Estate Broker License requirements

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

1. 1

   Document two years (NREC-averaged) or win a hardship hearing

   Designated-broker survey plus renewal history. Experience must be done by the exam date. Hardship is an informal Commission hearing for an existing shop that cannot retain a two-year designated broker, not a shortcut for a first-year salesperson who is in a hurry.

2. 2

   Two additional 30-hour courses that do not repeat the salesperson 96, plus Course #0003 if older than 4 years

   Salesperson 96 is the base. Hardship path uses 180 hours or 18 college credits plus Course 6000 instead.

3. 3

   Pearson 75% on both portions in one broker sitting ($150 to NREC)

   Entire-test retake if you fail. Same 80/50 counts, different state weights. Keep both original score reports.

4. 4

   Issue within 30 days ($110 original, E&O, associate or designated papers), then Course 7000 in 180 days

   Hardship designated brokers also owe Course 6000 on the Commission's extension rules. Firm / branch / entity papers are separate. First 2-year renewal is $220.

Minimum age

19 years old

Identification

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

Residency and identification

Two years full-time salesperson (or part-time equivalent) fulfilled by the time of the examination. NREC averages a designated-broker survey and prior salesperson renewals. Hardship provision: special application, informal hearing, proof that an existing brokerage cannot retain a two-year designated broker (§ 81-885.13(3)(b)). Age 19 still applies. License Recognition is a separate NREC path for currently licensed out-of-state brokers.

Qualifying education

NREC table for Associate Broker / Broker: 60 clock hours (2 courses) in pre-license education in addition to the hours required for a salesperson license. May not repeat the courses taken for a salesperson license. 6-hour Professional Practice Standards (Course #0003) if not taken within the last 4 years (license-information page); the prelicense-requirements footnote says it does not need to be repeated if taken to qualify for the salesperson license — use the last-4-years clock on the live table before you skip it. Hardship path is different: 18 college credit hours in real-estate subjects or six courses / 180 hours, plus Course 6000 (12 hours: trust accounting, brokerage finance, business ethics, risk management). Course 7000 still applies within 180 days of issuance for all licensees, including new brokers (§ 81-885.13(9)).

Education or filing deadline

Application file valid 12 months. Course #0003 reuse dies at 4 years. Course 7000 evidence is valid 4 years from completion. Sit only after the extra 60 (and 0003 if required) is posted.

Character review

Current criminal-history report plus Commission review. Same disclosure universe. Hardship hearings add a fitness record in front of the Commissioners.

Background process

Nebraska State Patrol fingerprint report after the broker application is on file. New file, new report; the salesperson-era report does not automatically travel once the 12-month clock or the original-license event has passed.

Experience

Two years full-time salesperson experience or part-time equivalent, fulfilled by the time of the examination. NREC averages designated-broker survey hours and prior salesperson-renewal hours. See Broker Hardship Provision for an existing brokerage that cannot retain a two-year designated broker.

Broker affiliation

An associate broker still hangs under a designated broker. A designated broker qualifies the firm and may operate independently. Self-employed brokers use NREC's Business Options for Self-Employed Brokers page (entity vs sole proprietor papers). Branch original/renewal is $50. Passing the broker exam does not automatically create a firm. Hardship licensees must be licensed as designated broker.

Pearson VUE after NREC approval, 75%, fee paid to NREC. Handbook April 2025. Brokers retake the entire examination if they fail. · Fee: $150

Broker candidates retake the entire test if they fail (handbook) — salesperson portion-banking is not this sitting. $150 to NREC per attempt with a retake application. 12-month application fuse still applies. 48-hour cancel rule. Issuance within 30 days of the pass notice. Associate-broker and designated-broker issuance use the same Pearson printout and different employment papers.

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

Same $175 application and $150 exam / retake as salesperson, paid to NREC. Broker original $110 (rest of calendar year); broker 2-year renewal $220. Late $25/month December–June. Re-instatement $150. Branch $50. Transfer $50. Application, examination, and initialLicense are three different lines. Firm/entity papers are additional NREC products (PC/PLLC certification $25). Confirm the live Fee Schedule; NREC flagged a January 1, 2026 fee change.

• !

  Treating the 96 as the broker 60, or repeating a salesperson course

  Two additional courses. NREC table: may not repeat the courses taken for a salesperson license. Course #0003 reuse is a 4-year clock on the live license-information page, not a lifetime stamp.

• !

  Banking a passed national the way salespersons can

  Handbook: broker candidates retake the entire test if they fail. Salesperson 3-attempt / 6-month portion-banking is the other license. Walking in with that expectation is how a 79% national and a 70% state turns into two more $150 checks.

• !

  Counting calendar years on a wall hanging as two years of full-time work

  NREC averages designated-broker survey hours and your renewal filings. Part-time needs a part-time equivalent. Experience must be done by the exam, not promised after. Hardship is a hearing for a shop that cannot retain a two-year designated broker, not a volume discount for the impatient.

• !

  Skipping Course 7000 because "I already took it as a salesperson"

  § 81-885.13(9) is all licensees, within 180 days after license issuance. A new broker license starts a new 180. Evidence is valid 4 years from completion — if yours is older, retake it. Hardship designated brokers also owe Course 6000.

• !

  Opening a shop on the individual broker license alone, or missing the 30-day issuance fuse

  Associate vs designated is an employment/business filing. Entity papers, branch $50, PC/PLLC $25 are separate. The $110 original still has to issue within 30 days of the pass notice with E&O and original score reports. A Pearson printout in a drawer is not a firm.

Iowa's nine named broker courses and Kansas transaction points do not silently post as Nebraska's two additional 30-hour courses. Confirm the live recognition page rather than a compact chart.

Does the salesperson 96 count as the broker 60?

No. Broker is 60 clock hours in two courses in addition to the salesperson hours, and you may not repeat the salesperson courses. Course #0003 is reused only if taken within the last 4 years (live table). Course 7000 is still due within 180 days of the new broker license — "all licensees," not salesperson-only.

How much experience, and who measures it?

Two years full-time or part-time equivalent, fulfilled by the examination date. NREC sends a broker survey to prior designated brokers and averages those hours with your salesperson renewals. Inactive or low-production years will not look like two years just because the wall hanging is old.

Is the broker exam the salesperson exam with a new title?

Same 80/50 counts and 75% cut, different state weights (statutory 17–18 vs 15; agency 15 vs 17–18) and a different retake rule: brokers retake the entire test if they fail. Salesperson portion-banking does not apply. National broker outline also shifts toward analysis items.

What is the hardship provision?

§ 81-885.13(3)(b): if an existing brokerage cannot retain a licensee with two years' experience to act as designated broker, you may file a special hardship application and sit an informal Commission hearing. If granted: 18 college credit hours in real-estate subjects or six courses / 180 hours, Course 6000 (12 hours: trust accounting, brokerage finance, business ethics, risk management), pass the broker exam, license as designated broker, Course 7000 in 180 days. It is not a waiver for a first-year salesperson who simply wants a faster title.

Associate broker vs designated broker?

Both use the broker license. Associate broker is employed by and under a designated broker. Designated broker qualifies the firm and may operate independently (NREC "Difference between brokers and salespersons"; Business Options for Self-Employed Brokers). Branch $50. PC/PLLC certification $25. Passing Pearson does not file those papers for you.

What does original cost, and is CE different for brokers?

Original broker $110 (rest of calendar year); 2-year renewal $220. Active CE is the same 18-hour / 2-year grid as salespersons (12 CE including 6 R, 6 training optional). Course 7000 is still post-license for a new broker license. The extra 60 is original education, not CE.