Rhode Island 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 full-time as a salesperson immediately prior

   Supervising broker certifies in writing. Simply holding a license without working full time does not satisfy “engaged full time.”

2. 2

   Complete 90 classroom hours that do not include the salesperson 45

   In-person or live-virtual. Hours expire after four years. Complete the lead certificate if it is not already on file. RIAR Broker 90 is a combination of approved courses, not a single 90-hour course unless a school packages it that way.

3. 3

   Pass the Pearson broker exams — national 80 and state 60 at scaled 70

   $53 + $50. The 12 broker-only state items are supervision, escrow, commingling, and ownership-license rules. Keep the original score report. File within one year.

4. 4

   Three Rhode Island resident recommenders, AG BCI, E&O, $180 + $25

   Recommenders have known you three years and are not related. Blanket E&O if you will supervise. Two separate payments, as for salesperson, but the Treasurer amount is the broker original fee.

5. 5

   If you will qualify a firm, set up principal-broker infrastructure

   Escrow account labeled Trust or Escrow, office, team rules if any, corporation/LLC filing if using an entity. A salesperson cannot do this step.

Minimum age

18 years old

Identification

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

Residency and identification

Legal age of majority (R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-20.5-3); Rhode Island majority is 18. Citizen or legal resident of the United States. Broker applicants must name three Rhode Island residents who have known them for three years and are not related. Reciprocal CT/MA residents and Florida mutual-recognition brokers still file lead, BCI, E&O, and a Letter of Good Standing; Florida sits the state portion.

Qualifying education

R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-20.5-4(b) and 230-RICR-30-20-2.7(B)–(C): 90 classroom hours from a DBR-approved school, or the equivalent in a correspondence course offered by an extension department of an accredited college or university. The 45 classroom hours used to qualify for the salesperson license shall at no time be used to qualify for the 90. Classroom is still in-person or live-virtual; on-demand pre-licensing is still prohibited. RIAR’s Broker 90 is often assembled from approved general-education courses and designations; there is no single mandated sequence. A 27-hour broker pre-license exam-prep course that RIAR offers counts toward the 90 (RIAR: 24 of those hours) but is not the 90 by itself. The 3-hour lead certificate still attaches on reciprocal broker files and remains a DBR expectation on original files that have not already posted it.

Education or filing deadline

Classroom hours completed more than four years from the date of the broker application do not count (230-RICR-30-20-2.7(C)). Former brokers whose license has been expired more than four years retake the 90. Pearson passing results remain valid one year. Schools commonly treat Broker 90 courses as valid four years, which matches the regulation’s four-year limit.

Character review

Honesty, trustworthiness, integrity, good reputation, and competency. Three Rhode Island resident recommenders. Director may require additional evidence. AG BCI plus disclosure of convictions and out-of-state discipline.

Background process

The same Rhode Island Attorney General BCI check as salesperson applicants, from 4 Howard Avenue, Cranston. Reciprocal non-residents also submit a home-state Criminal History Record.

Experience

Engaged full time as a real estate salesperson for at least two years immediately prior to the date of application (R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-20.5-4(b)). The supervising broker certifies this in writing on the application (RIAR; DBR broker application).

Broker affiliation

A broker license is what lets you qualify a firm and serve as principal broker. The principal broker is responsible for affiliated licensees, unlicensed staff, escrow, team advertising, and records (230-RICR-30-20-2.4). If you practice under another principal broker, you still hold a broker license affiliated with that office. A salesperson cannot supervise. Teams do not hold a separate escrow account. Opening a corporation, partnership, or LLC is a separate DBR filing.

Pearson VUE, handbook #094000 (January 2026). Sit before applying to DBR. · Fee: $103

Same $53 / $50 fees and one-year validity for passing results as salesperson. Fail one portion and retake that portion within one year; after one year, the entire examination. Passing the salesperson state exam does not count toward the broker state exam. OnVUE: one failed attempt per part, then a physical center.

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

Statutory original fee: $10 application + $85 per annum × two-year term = $180 to RI General Treasurer (R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-20.5-11), plus $25 Recovery Account (230-RICR-30-20-2.8). Pearson $53 + $50. DBR 2026-04 renewal: broker/corporate $170, late +$100. The salesperson original is $140 under the same formula ($10 + $65 × 2). Do not pay the salesperson $140 on a broker file.

• !

  Filing broker on a 45-hour salesperson certificate

  90 hours. The 45 cannot count. Hours older than four years cannot count. A recent salesperson Practice course does not count.

• !

  Taking the salesperson state exam instead of the broker exam

  Broker state is 60 scored items with 12 broker-only questions. Scaled 70 is the same cut, not the same test.

• !

  Skipping the two-year full-time certification

  The statute wants engagement as a salesperson full time for two years immediately prior. A supervising-broker letter that is vague on dates or hours will be returned. Taking Broker 90 early does not replace the experience letter.

• !

  Paying the salesperson $140 on a broker original

  Statutory broker original is $180 to the Treasurer plus $25 Recovery Account. Renewal is $170, not $130.

• !

  Opening a brokerage without an escrow account labeled Trust or Escrow

  The principal broker maintains the escrow account. Teams and salespersons cannot hold client funds. Monthly statements must bear Trust Account or Escrow Account (230-RICR-30-20-2.18).

• !

  Skipping lead on a reciprocal broker file

  The DBR reciprocal broker application lists the 3-hour lead certificate for Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Florida. Florida also sits the state portion. E&O and Recovery Account still attach.

Named partners only. Lead is not waived. Principal-broker duties and Rhode Island escrow rules are not waived. Massachusetts or Connecticut broker education does not replace Rhode Island’s 90 classroom hours without the reciprocal form.

Rhode Island 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 salesperson 45 count toward broker education?

No. 230-RICR-30-20-2.7(C): at no time shall the 45 classroom hours used to qualify for a salesperson license be used to qualify for the 90. Broker hours also expire after four years.

How many years of experience?

Two years engaged full time as a real estate salesperson immediately prior to the application (R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-20.5-4(b)). The supervising broker certifies it in writing. You can take Broker 90 classes before the two years are up; RIAR recommends not sitting the exam until most of the 90 are done.

Is the broker exam the salesperson exam at a higher cut?

No. Cut is still scaled 70. National is still 80 items. State is 60 scored items, not 50, and 12 of those 60 are broker-only (supervision, escrow, commingling, RIGL 5-20.5-27). Fees remain $53 + $50.

What are the original broker dollars?

By statute, $10 + $85 × 2 years = $180 to the Treasurer, plus $25 Recovery Account. Renewal on the 2026-04 DBR form is $170 for broker/corporate. Pearson is $103 for both parts. Do not send the salesperson $140.

Do reciprocal brokers skip lead?

No. The DBR reciprocal broker application lists the 3-hour Lead Poisoning / Lead Hazard Mitigation certificate for Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Florida mutual-recognition applicants. Florida also sits the state portion.

Can a salesperson open an office on a broker exam pass?

The broker license is required to qualify a firm. The principal broker holds the escrow account, supervises affiliated licensees, and approves team names. A salesperson shall not operate, supervise, or manage a brokerage (230-RICR-30-20-2.5).

Is broker CE different from salesperson CE?

Same 24 clock hours, same 9 CORE including 3 fair housing. Completing Broker 90 during a cycle can also satisfy renewal CE when those courses are DBR-approved CE (RIAR: CEs obtained within the two years of licensure). Pre-licensing 90 is not automatically CE unless the course is dual-approved.