North Carolina Provisional Broker License requirements

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

1. 1

   Complete the 75-hour NC Broker Prelicensing Course at a certified provider

   Confirm the school reports electronically to NCREC.

2. 2

   Order the criminal record report, then apply and pay $105

   Do not let the report expire while the course is unfinished.

3. 3

   Wait for the Notice of Examination Eligibility

   Then schedule Pearson VUE. $63 comprehensive. 75 on each section.

4. 4

   Affiliate with a BIC to go active

   License Activation / Affiliation form.

5. 5

   Finish three 30-hour postlicensing courses within 18 months

   Then keep 8 hours of CE each license year and renew by June 10.

Minimum age

18 years old

Identification

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

Residency and identification

Not required. The 75-hour course must be one NCREC will actually accept (certified provider, electronic reporting). Out-of-state licensees use the waiver path in RELINC; North Carolina has no separate reciprocity agreement.

Qualifying education

Commission-certified education provider, mandatory end-of-course exam, completion within three years prior to application. Equivalent education/experience options exist in RELINC (Options 2–4) for people NCREC finds equivalent.

Education or filing deadline

75-hour course: three years prior to application. Exam eligibility comes from a Commission notice with its own deadline. Application fee $105 effective April 1, 2026.

After licensing

90 hours of postlicensing (three 30-hour courses) within 18 months of licensure to remain eligible for active status and remove provisional status. Missing the deadline makes the license inactive. This is not CE; annual CE is a separate 8 hours.

Character review

NCREC character-and-fitness review, including a criminal record report. A Petition for Pre-Determination is available before you enroll.

Background process

Criminal record report through the Commission-named vendor (NCREC has published ncreccheck.com). Report timing matters: if the report expires before you apply, you must order a new one. This is not the Texas (TREC) IdentoGO process or Georgia’s GCIC check at the PSI test center.

Experience

No experience required for the initial (provisional) broker license. Affiliation with a Broker-in-Charge is required for active status.

Broker affiliation

A provisional broker must affiliate with a Broker-in-Charge to be active. The BIC is a status held by a non-provisional broker who has completed BIC education and eligibility, not a separate license number type.

Pearson VUE (after NCREC Notice of Examination Eligibility) · Fee: $63

Comprehensive $63; single section $53, paid to Pearson each sitting (NCREC RELINC). Pass both sections within the eligibility window. Check the current booklet for time limits.

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

NCREC: original application $105 effective April 1, 2026 (21 NCAC 58A .0302). Pearson comprehensive $63 / single section $53. Renewal fee $50 effective the same rule package (was $45). Confirm the amount on your renewal invoice.

• !

  Buying a 75-hour course NCREC will not accept

  The course must be the North Carolina Broker Prelicensing Course at a certified provider that reports electronically. A Georgia 75-hour certificate may be considered under the waiver options, but it does not automatically qualify you for the exam.

• !

  18-month postlicensing deadline

  Three 30-hour courses. This is how you stop being provisional. It is not CE, and it is required if you want to stay on the path the Commission published.

• !

  Letting the criminal-record report expire

  Order it too early and you will need a new one; order it too late and your $105 application waits. Order the report when your course is about to report your completion.

Not a compact. An applicant who holds a current license in another state (or U.S. territory or Canadian jurisdiction) that has been on active status within three years and is equivalent to NC provisional or full broker may waive the 75-hour course and the national section, then pass the NC state section, often remaining provisional and still owing postlicensing unless NCREC places them in an equivalent full-broker status. California, New York, and Texas licensees should read RELINC Option 4 rather than secondary sources that describe this as reciprocity.

North Carolina 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.

Is this a salesperson license?

No. North Carolina issues a broker license. New licensees are provisional brokers until 90 hours of postlicensing are done. This guide covers that entry status; the non-provisional broker / BIC path is covered separately.

Can I practice without a BIC?

Not on active provisional status. Affiliation with a Broker-in-Charge is required to go active.