Rhode Island 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

   Finish 45 classroom hours at a DBR-approved school

   In-person or live-virtual. On-demand is prohibited. Three hours of Agency Law sit inside the 45. Hours older than two years at application do not count. Approved schools: DBR Real Estate Schools list / https://bit.ly/RIRealEstateSchools.

2. 2

   Complete the separate 3-hour lead certificate

   Lead Poisoning / Lead Hazard Mitigation. Approved courses on the DBR pre-licensing and CE list. Reciprocal applicants still take it.

3. 3

   Sit Pearson before you mail DBR

   National $53 (80 scored / 2.5 hours) and State $50 (50 scored / 1.5 hours), scaled 70 each. Bring the Education Completion Certificate. Keep the original score report. Apply to DBR within one year of the later passing date.

4. 4

   Collect AG BCI, E&O, and two checks

   RI Attorney General BCI at 4 Howard Avenue, Cranston. E&O at $50,000 / $150,000 for an individual policy. $140 to RI General Treasurer and $25 to Real Estate Recovery Account, separately.

5. 5

   File the DBR salesperson application with a principal-broker affidavit

   Original score report, both certificates, BCI, E&O, two instruments. Online filing is available. Allow 7–10 business days. You cannot practice until the license issues and you are affiliated with that principal broker.

Minimum age

18 years old

Identification

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

Residency and identification

Age 18 (R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-20.5-3). Rhode Island residency is not required. Non-residents attach additional documents as the application lists them, including a Non-Resident Power of Attorney. Reciprocal applicants from Connecticut or Massachusetts, and Florida mutual-recognition applicants, still complete the 3-hour lead certificate. Florida additionally sits the Rhode Island state portion (handbook; DBR reciprocal forms).

Qualifying education

R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-20.5-4(b) and 230-RICR-30-20-2.7(A): minimum of 45 classroom hours from a DBR-approved school (§ 5-20.5-19). Classroom, as defined in 230-RICR-30-20-2.2, is in-person instruction or a live-virtual classroom with real-time interaction; on-demand and pre-recorded pre-licensing is prohibited (2.7(D)(2)(a)(1)). Live-virtual students must be on video and visible. A clock hour is at least 50 minutes of classroom instruction (2.2). Three hours of Agency Law sit inside the 45 on the RIAR and school description. The 3-hour Lead Poisoning / Lead Hazard Mitigation certificate is a separate DBR attachment (salesperson application item 4; approved courses at the DBR pre-licensing and CE course list). A Connecticut 60-hour or Massachusetts 40-hour blob is not this 45.

Education or filing deadline

Classroom hours completed more than two years from the date of the application do not count (230-RICR-30-20-2.7(A)). Pearson passing results are valid one year from the passing date; if parts were passed on different dates, the one-year filing clock starts on the later date (handbook #094000). A failed portion may be retaken within one year; after that the entire examination must be retaken (230-RICR-30-20-2.6(B)).

Character review

Honesty, trustworthiness, integrity, good reputation, and competency (R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-20.5-4(b)). The director may require additional evidence. Convictions and out-of-state license discipline must be disclosed; the Attorney General BCI is the character product. Non-disclosure is independently disqualifying.

Background process

Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation (BCI) background check from the Rhode Island Office of the Attorney General, 4 Howard Avenue, Cranston, RI 02920 (BCIstate@riag.ri.gov). This is the product the salesperson application names — not an IdentoGO fingerprint packet. A leftover Massachusetts CORI is not a substitute. Non-residents also submit a Criminal History Record from their home-state law-enforcement agency on the reciprocal forms.

Experience

No licensed experience is required for the salesperson license. Affiliation with a licensed principal broker is required to practice (230-RICR-30-20-2.5).

Broker affiliation

A licensed salesperson must be affiliated with a licensed principal broker to engage in any activity requiring licensure and shall not operate, supervise, or manage a brokerage (230-RICR-30-20-2.5). The salesperson application carries a principal-broker affidavit. Teams of two or more licensees work under the same principal broker; teams do not hold a separate escrow account (2.18(B)(2)). The principal broker pays each individual licensee, not the team as a whole (2.21(F)).

Pearson VUE (https://www.pearsonvue.com/us/en/ri/realestate.html, (800) 274-8922). Handbook #094000, January 2026. Sit before applying to DBR. · Fee: $103

National $53 and state $50 per sitting. Passing results are valid one year from the passing date. Fail one portion and retake only that portion within one year (230-RICR-30-20-2.6(B); handbook). After one year, retake the entire examination. After one failed OnVUE attempt per part, retakes are at a physical Pearson center. Cancel or change at least 48 hours out or forfeit the fee. Walk-ins are not available. Payment is not accepted at the test center.

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

DBR salesperson application: $140 to RI General Treasurer + $25 to Real Estate Recovery Account (two instruments). Pearson national $53 + state $50. AG BCI is the Attorney General’s invoice. E&O is a separate premium. DBR Real Estate Renewal Application (2026-04): salesperson renewal $130, late reinstatement +$100. Statutory skeleton in R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-20.5-11 is $10 application + $65 per annum for the two-year term, which is how the $140 original lands. Transfer of broker $25 (statute).

• !

  Buying a self-paced 45 without a live classroom

  230-RICR-30-20-2.7(D) prohibits on-demand and pre-recorded pre-licensing. Classroom is in-person or live-virtual with the student on camera. A distance-state 45-hour blob will not post.

• !

  Folding lead into the 45 and skipping the named certificate

  The salesperson application lists the 45-hour certificate and the 3-hour lead certificate as two attachments. Reciprocal CT, MA, and FL files still need lead.

• !

  Mailing DBR before Pearson, or letting the score age past one year

  Sit first. The original score report is a required attachment. Passing results die at one year from the later passing date. A failed portion also has a one-year retake fuse, then the entire exam.

• !

  One check for $165

  Two payees: Treasurer $140 and Recovery Account $25. Combining them is how a complete-looking packet comes back.

• !

  Treating the Recovery Account as E&O

  They are different instruments. E&O has a $50,000 / $150,000 individual floor. Cancellation of E&O requires an immediate stop of licensed activity and notice to DBR within five business days.

• !

  Using a leftover Massachusetts CORI as the Rhode Island BCI

  The application wants the Attorney General BCI from 4 Howard Avenue, Cranston. Non-residents also submit a home-state CHR, but that is in addition to, not instead of, the named BCI on some reciprocal packets.

Reciprocity is a named Connecticut / Massachusetts / Florida conversation, not a 50-state chart. Everyone on those paths still takes the 3-hour lead course (DBR reciprocal broker and salesperson applications; RIAR). Land Court is not a Rhode Island topic; the Cesspool Act and OWTS are.

Are the 45 hours online?

Only as DBR defines classroom: in-person or live-virtual with the student on camera. On-demand and pre-recorded pre-licensing is prohibited (230-RICR-30-20-2.7(D)(2)(a)(1)). A self-paced 45-hour package is not this 45.

Is the 3-hour lead course inside the 45?

No. The DBR salesperson application lists the 45-hour pre-licensing certificate and the 3-hour Lead Poisoning / Lead Hazard Mitigation certificate as two attachments. Reciprocal applicants still take lead.

What is the exam fee and cut score?

Pearson handbook #094000: National $53, 80 scored + 5 pretest, 2.5 hours. State $50, 50 scored + 10 pretest, 1.5 hours. Passing is a scaled 70 on each portion. Sit before applying to DBR. Apply within one year of passing.

Why two checks?

The salesperson application wants $140 payable to "RI General Treasurer" and $25 payable to "Real Estate Recovery Account," separately. E&O is a third required attachment, not the Recovery Account.

Is E&O optional if I paid the Recovery Account?

No. R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-20.5-25 and 230-RICR-30-20-2.28 require errors-and-omissions coverage — $50,000 per claim / $150,000 aggregate for an individual policy. Cancellation stops licensed activity immediately.

Can I use a Massachusetts 40-hour certificate?

Not as Rhode Island salesperson education. Massachusetts and Connecticut have named reciprocal forms for residents who already hold an active license at the same level. Those paths still require the 3-hour lead certificate. Florida mutual recognition sits the Rhode Island state portion only.

When does the license expire?

Every two years. Licenses issued before January 1, 2020 renew on May 1 of even-numbered years. Licenses issued after January 1, 2020 renew on the anniversary of issuance (230-RICR-30-20-2.9). CE is 24 clock hours, with 9 CORE including 3 fair housing.