North Dakota 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

   2 years as a full-time salesperson (or equivalent) plus 60-hour broker course (residents)

   A second 90-hour salesperson certificate does not count.

2. 2

   PSI $134 — National 90/75 and State 40/30

   No test code. The broker assessment form goes to your designated broker.

3. 3

   Request issuance: $20 fund if unpaid, E&O, trust-account consent or waiver, firm $200 if opening

   An organization license (payee LLC) is a different $200 license and is not the firm license.

Minimum age

18 years old

Identification

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

Residency and identification

Residents: 60-hour broker course and both PSI broker exam portions; 2 years as a full-time salesperson or substantially equivalent experience. Reciprocal: licensed and active at the broker level in GA, IA, or MN as your primary residence. No revocation within 2 years.

Qualifying education

The costs line on the How to Apply page lists, for residents only, a 60-hour broker pre-licensure course. NDCC 43-23-08(4): an applicant for a broker's license must have successfully completed an additional sixty hours in courses of study approved by the commission, and must have fulfilled the educational requirement before taking the broker's licensing examination. The How to Apply page also says broker applicants can test at any time and no longer need test codes, and its broker-standards paragraph mistakenly refers to a “60-hour salesperson pre-licensure” course. The costs line and the statute both point to the 60-hour broker course. PSI bulletin: no eligibility requirements. Reciprocal GA/IA/MN brokers who live there skip the 60 hours. A second 90-hour salesperson certificate does not count.

Education or filing deadline

Apply within 2 years of the certified broker course.

Character review

Same credit and criminal review. You also need a favorable assessment of your salesperson work from your broker.

Background process

Same fingerprint packet. Same credit history.

Experience

Actively engaged full-time as a licensed real estate salesperson for at least 2 years, or experience the Commission determines is substantially equivalent (upload a brief explanation). NDREC emails your designated broker an assessment form.

Broker affiliation

You may be a designated broker of a sole proprietorship or firm, or a broker associate supervised by another broker. The $200 firm license is separate. An organization license (personal corp/LLC payee) is a different $200 license and is not a firm license.

PSI $134 (no test code) · Fee: $134

Same $134, unlimited retakes within 12 months; retake only the failed portion.

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

Broker application $150 (same fee as salesperson). $20 fund if not already paid as a salesperson. Firm $200. Organization (personal corp/LLC payee) $200 one-time; this is not the firm license. Renewal $150. PSI $134. Fingerprints $40, payable to the AG and mailed to NDREC.

• !

  Uploading the 90-hour salesperson certificate as broker education

  Wrong course. Residents need the 60-hour broker prelicense course.

• !

  Opening a firm without the $200 firm license

  A designated broker also needs a licensed firm. An organization license (payee LLC) is a separate $200 license and is not the firm license.

Nonresidents who do not qualify for reciprocity take the ND state broker portion only. A Consent to Suit by Non-resident Applicant is a required upload.

North Dakota 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.

Does the 90-hour salesperson course count as broker education?

No. Residents need a 60-hour NDREC-certified broker prelicense course plus 2 years of full-time salesperson work (or equivalent). The broker-standards paragraph on the How to Apply page mistakenly says “60-hour salesperson,” but the costs line and NDCC 43-23-08(4) refer to the 60-hour broker course.

May I take the broker exam before the 60 hours?

NDCC 43-23-08(4) says a broker applicant must fulfill the educational requirement before taking the broker examination. The How to Apply page says broker applicants can test at any time and no longer need test codes, and PSI lists no eligibility requirements. Because these sources conflict, confirm with NDREC before you take a broker exam portion with the 60 hours unfinished.

Exam?

PSI $134. National: 90 items carrying 100 points (some items score up to two), passing 75, 150 minutes. State: 40 items, passing 30, 90 minutes.

Firm vs organization?

The $200 firm license covers the brokerage. The $200 organization license registers a personal corp/LLC as a payee; it is not a firm license.