New Jersey 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 75 hours at a licensed New Jersey school

   Per the Requirements page. The school sends your eligibility to PSI. A Pennsylvania 75-hour course will not qualify.

2. 2

   Sit PSI $38: unified 110 questions / 4 hours / 77 of 110 (70%)

   Do not call PSI before the school has sent your eligibility. Eligibility runs one year from the course. You cannot retake only part of the exam.

3. 3

   IDEMIA Live Scan $66.05 immediately after you pass (Universal Form IDG_NJAPP_051719_V1)

   Prints taken for another purpose do not transfer. If you are out of state and more than ten miles from the border, call the Bureau.

4. 4

   Sponsoring broker signs the score report; send the $160 cart to the State Treasurer (not to PSI)

   $100 license + $50 application + $10 Guaranty Fund. No personal checks. The employment date cannot be before the exam. Send all materials together, within the one-year eligibility period.

5. 5

   Calendar the two-year CE term (12 hours including 2 ethics + 1 Fair Housing/NJLAD + 1 agency)

   The current term on the NJREC CE pages is July 1, 2025–June 30, 2027. Salespersons licensed in the second year of a term may be exempt from CE for that first renewal; check the CE note in NJREC's online renewal instructions for the exact cutoff.

Minimum age

18 years old

Identification

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

Residency and identification

Requirements page: 18 or older, high school or equivalency, a 75-hour course at a licensed school, the examination, and a sponsoring broker. New Jersey residency is not required. If you do not live, work, or go to school in New Jersey and are not within ten miles of the border, you get fingerprinting instructions from the Bureau instead of walking into IdentoGO (NJREC fingerprint page). No reciprocity with any state. Disabled U.S. veterans who are New Jersey citizens may request education/experience waivers at (609) 292-7272 (Education Waiver Section). The fees page lists a $25 salesperson education waiver fee.

Qualifying education

Requirements page: complete a 75-hour prelicensure course at a licensed school. Course content is prescribed in N.J.A.C. 11:5. The school, not you, sends your eligibility electronically to PSI when you complete the course. A Pennsylvania 75-hour course, a New York 77-hour course, or a generic 75-hour national course does not qualify. Disabled-veteran education waivers go through the Education Waiver Section, not PSI. The Requirements page does not set a passing score for the course final; the Commission licenses the schools and instructors, so follow your school's final exam requirement.

Education or filing deadline

PSI bulletin: eligibility expires one year to the day from the date it is issued. You must pass the examination AND apply for licensure before that date. The eligibility expiration date on the score report is one year from completion of your pre-licensure course, NOT one year from passing (NJREC fingerprint page).

Character review

Requirements page: honesty, trustworthiness, character and integrity. A conviction of a crime, or current parole or probation, may result in denial (N.J.S.A. 45:15-9, 45:15-12.1, 2A:168A-1 et seq.). Disclose everything; failing to disclose is a separate ground for denial.

Background process

IDEMIA Live Scan, $66.05, after you pass, using Universal Form IDG_NJAPP_051719_V1. Results go to the Bureau. Fingerprints taken for another purpose do not transfer.

Experience

No licensed experience is required for a salesperson. You need a sponsoring (employing) broker to apply, but not to take the PSI exam. To become a broker later, you must be continually licensed and employed full-time as a New Jersey real estate salesperson for the three years immediately before applying, plus complete 150 hours (the 90-hour general course first, then two 30-hour courses).

Broker affiliation

Requirements page: you apply for a license through a sponsoring real estate broker. PSI bulletin: meet with your employing broker, who completes, signs, and dates the PSI passing score report. The employment date the broker enters cannot be before the examination date or after the eligibility expiration date. Submit all materials together to the Licensing Services Bureau. A salesperson practices only under that broker. A broker-salesperson license is a different license for someone who already holds a broker license and chooses to work under another broker ($270 fee). Salesperson Referral is a $160 referral-only license; referral agents do not have to complete CE while renewing as referral agents (NJREC CE FAQ).

PSI Services (test-takers.psiexams.com/njre; (855) 579-4634; bulletin 1667). $38. A single exam (not Pearson), with no option to retake only one part. Remote or in-person. · Fee: $38

Unlimited attempts until your one-year eligibility expires. Each attempt costs $38, non-refundable and non-transferable. Because it is a single exam, a retake covers all 110 questions; there is no national-only retake. You must pass AND apply before the eligibility date, which runs from your course, not your pass date. Remote or in-person.

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

PSI bulletin 1667: salesperson $160.00 = License Fee $100.00 + Application Fee $50.00 + Guaranty Fund $10.00, payable to the State Treasurer of New Jersey; no personal checks. PSI exam $38, non-refundable. NJREC fingerprint page: IDEMIA $66.05. NJREC fees page: salesperson initial $160, salesperson renewal $100, salesperson reinstatement of unrenewed license $150, salesperson transfer $25. Broker/broker-salesperson initial $270 / renewal $200 / reinstatement $250. Disabled veterans may have the $100 salesperson license fee waived (bulletin: remaining $60). Do not send any of these fees to PSI.

• !

  Calling PSI before the school has imported eligibility

  If PSI does not have your record, contact your school. Eligibility is sent electronically.

• !

  Treating eligibility as one year from the pass date

  Per the NJREC fingerprint page, it is one year from course completion. You must pass AND apply before that date.

• !

  Expecting a split national/state retake, or treating 70% as 56 of 80

  It is a single 110-question exam. The cut is 77 of 110. If you fail, you retake the whole exam, at $38 each attempt.

• !

  Sending the $160 package to PSI

  Per the bulletin, it will be returned. Make it payable to the State Treasurer of New Jersey. No personal checks.

• !

  Fingerprinting before you pass, or recycling prints from another New Jersey agency

  Schedule after you pass. The reason-fingerprinted field prevents reuse. Showing up with the wrong Universal Form costs $12.80.

• !

  Dating employment before the exam, or applying without a sponsoring broker

  The employment date cannot be before the exam or after eligibility expires. Your employing broker signs the score report.

• !

  Expecting Pennsylvania or New York reciprocity

  Per the Requirements page, New Jersey does not have reciprocity with any state.

• !

  Studying a 40-question PSI state outline and skipping Pinelands, Mount Laurel, attorney review, and the Realty Transfer Fee

  The New Jersey section has 22 statutes-and-rules items plus 3 additional items, all specific to New Jersey.

• !

  Renewing on 12 generic electives without 2 ethics + 1 Fair Housing/NJLAD + 1 agency

  Those named hours are required. Core and elective hours cannot replace them.

• !

  Banking the first-renewal CE exemption without checking which year of the term you were licensed

  If you were first licensed in the second year of a term, you may skip CE for that first renewal; if you were licensed in the first year, you may not. Check NJREC's online renewal instructions.

Requirements page: New Jersey does not have reciprocity with any state. Out-of-state brokers who have been continuously licensed as a broker in another state for 3 years still complete the two 30-hour broker courses and submit a current certification of license status and history with the School Certificate (PSI bulletin waiver section). That is a broker-education path, not salesperson reciprocity. The salesperson education waiver is a $25 Commission application, not a reciprocity agreement. Disabled U.S. veterans who are New Jersey citizens: contact the Education Waiver Section at (609) 292-7272.

New Jersey 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.

How many prelicense hours?

Seventy-five hours at a licensed New Jersey school, per the NJREC Requirements page. New York's 77 hours or a Pennsylvania 75-hour course do not qualify.

What is the sitting?

PSI, $38. A single exam of 110 scored items in 4 hours. 70% = 77 correct. National and state content are not scored separately, so if you fail, you retake all 110. 5–10 experimental items count against your time. Remote or in-person.

When does eligibility expire?

One year to the day from the date the school issues eligibility (course completion). The NJREC fingerprint page notes that this date is NOT one year from passing. You must pass AND apply before it.

Does New Jersey have reciprocity?

No. Per the Requirements page, New Jersey does not have reciprocity with any state. A Pennsylvania or New York license does not waive the 75 hours.

How much is IdentoGO?

Per the NJREC fingerprint page, $66.05 paid to IDEMIA, using Universal Form IDG_NJAPP_051719_V1. Schedule after you pass. Prints taken for another purpose do not transfer.

What does original cost?

PSI bulletin: $160 = $100 license + $50 application + $10 Guaranty Fund, payable to the State Treasurer; no personal checks. Add $38 for PSI and $66.05 for IDEMIA. Do not send the $160 to PSI.

When do I renew, and what CE applies?

Licenses run on a two-year term. The fees page lists salesperson renewal at $100. The NJREC CE FAQ requires 12 hours, at least 6 in core topics, including 2 ethics, 1 Fair Housing & NJ Law Against Discrimination, and 1 agency; the remaining 6 can be any combination of core and elective. Referral agents renewing as referral agents do not owe CE. Salespersons first licensed in the second year of a term may be exempt from CE for that first renewal; check NJREC's online renewal instructions (current example: licensed July 1, 2026 or after, renewing by June 30, 2027).

Is the Guaranty Fund E&O?

No. It is $10 within the $160 salesperson fee and a scored Additional Requirements topic. It is a fund for consumer recovery, not optional NAR insurance.

Can I fingerprint before class?

The Department recommends scheduling immediately AFTER you pass. The license application will not be accepted without the Universal Form and the IDEMIA receipt. A no-show or a visit with the wrong form or wrong ID costs $12.80.

What New Jersey statutes actually show up on the 30 items?

Attorney review of contracts, Pinelands Protection Act of 1979, Mount Laurel, Freshwater Wetlands Protection Act of 1987, Realty Transfer Fee, Farmland Reassessment, Municipal Land Use Law, Truth in Renting, Full Disclosure Act, Law Against Discrimination, Guaranty Fund, Time Share Act. Studying only a national 80-item outline will not prepare you for these.

Can prelicense be online?

The Requirements page says the 75-hour prelicensure course must be taken at a licensed school. Whether you can take it in a classroom or by distance learning depends on what that school is approved to offer; the Requirements page does not address online delivery. Either way, the school sends your eligibility to PSI.

Do I have to live in New Jersey?

No. The requirements are age 18, high school or GED, 75 hours, the exam, and a sponsoring broker. If you do not live, work, or go to school in New Jersey and are not within ten miles of the border, call the Bureau for fingerprint instructions instead of walking into IdentoGO.