Is the Texas license called salesperson or sales agent?

Sales agent. TREC and the License Act use that title. This site uses it in the URL and the body so you are searching the same words TREC uses.

Can I take the Pearson VUE exam before I apply?

No. TREC reviews education after the REALM application is filed and then emails exam-scheduling instructions. California is the reverse (exam application first). Florida lets you file with DBPR before the 63-hour course is finished, but you still cannot sit Pearson VUE without an approved application and a valid course completion slip.

What is SAE, and is it the same as CE?

SAE is Sales Agent Apprentice Education at first renewal: 270 cumulative qualifying hours including a 30-hour Brokerage course, plus 8 hours of Legal Update I and II. SAE cannot be deferred. Later cycles are 18 hours of CE, which can be deferred for $200 and 60 days if you are renewing active.

Texas Sales Agent License Requirements

Required education: 180 classroom hours in six TREC qualifying courses
Exam fee: $43
Published fees: $286
Typical timeline: Most candidates finish in about 2–6 months if education is complete before filing

What to know first

Texas does not issue a "salesperson" license. The Real Estate License Act calls the entry credential a sales agent license, and TREC will not let that person perform any brokerage act until a licensed broker has sponsored the agent in the REALM Portal. That sponsorship rule is stricter than California's (where DRE will issue an unemployed salesperson license) and similar in effect to New York's (where the principal broker must authorize the application). The Texas wrinkle is the inactive-first sequence: you can finish education, fingerprints, and both exam portions, receive a license, and still be unable to show property until sponsorship is posted.

The education block is 180 classroom hours in six named TREC qualifying courses: Principles of Real Estate I and II, Law of Agency, Law of Contracts, Promulgated Contract Forms, and Real Estate Finance — 30 hours each. Those promulgated-contract hours are not decorative. TREC publishes mandatory contract forms that Texas agents are expected to use; the state exam tests them, and Pearson VUE's Texas content outline even includes a ten-item case-study bucket built around those forms. A college transcript that does not map onto those six courses generally will not substitute. After the six courses, TREC still expects 90 more qualifying hours — including a 30-hour Real Estate Brokerage course taken for first renewal as Sales Agent Apprentice Education (SAE) — before you have the 270 qualifying hours that also sit on the broker-education ladder.

The administrative clock is the opposite of California's exam-then-apply model. TREC wants the REALM application filed (total original sales-agent fee $206 on the schedule effective December 15, 2025), then gives you one year from the filing date to finish education documentation, TREC-specific fingerprints, and both exam portions. Fingerprints on file for DPS, a school district, or another state board are not accepted; TREC emails IdentoGO/IDEMIA instructions only after the application moves from Submitted to In Review. Pearson VUE will not seat you until TREC has reviewed the qualifying education and sent the scheduling email from no-reply@notices.trec.texas.gov.

The exam is two portions, both Pearson VUE: a national section (85 administered questions, 150 minutes) and a Texas state section (50 administered questions, 90 minutes). The Pearson VUE Texas Real Estate Candidate Handbook states the passing raw scores as 56 correct on the national examination and 28 correct on the state examination for salespersons. The current content outline (effective January 1, 2026) describes 80 scored national items and 40 scored state items plus pretest items, which is why the administered counts in the handbook table are higher. Fail either portion three times and TREC requires additional education before another attempt. Exam fee is $43 per appointment, paid to Pearson VUE, whether you sit one portion or both.

Your path to the license

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

Complete the six 30-hour TREC qualifying courses (180 hours)

Use a TREC-approved provider. Do not file REALM until certificates are ready to upload as PDFs.
File the sales agent application in REALM and pay $206

The total on the December 15, 2025 schedule is $150 application + $6 Texas Online + $40 A&M Research Center + $10 Recovery Trust Account.
Get TREC fingerprints after the file is In Review

Wait for TREC's fingerprint email. Pay the vendor ($37 on TREC's schedule).
Sit both Pearson VUE portions

Schedule only after TREC's education-review email. Pass 56 national and 28 state. $43 to Pearson VUE.
Obtain broker sponsorship in REALM

The license is inactive until sponsorship posts. Then calendar SAE (90 qualifying hours including Brokerage plus 8 hours of Legal Update) before first renewal.

Education and eligibility

Minimum age: 18 years old
Identification: A Social Security number is required. An ITIN is not confirmed as a substitute.
Residency and identification: Must be a U.S. citizen or lawfully admitted alien. Texas residency is not required to hold the license, but fingerprints must be taken for TREC specifically.
Qualifying education: Principles of Real Estate I (30), Principles of Real Estate II (30), Law of Agency (30), Law of Contracts (30), Promulgated Contract Forms (30), Real Estate Finance (30). Upload completion certificates in REALM. College transcripts count only if they map to those specific courses.
Education or filing deadline: You have one year from the date the REALM application is filed to meet all license requirements, including education, fingerprints, and both exam portions.
After licensing: First renewal: 270 total qualifying hours including a 30-hour Real Estate Brokerage course (this is SAE), plus 8 hours of TREC Legal Update I and II. SAE cannot be deferred. Subsequent renewals: 18 hours CE (8 Legal Update, 3 contract-related, 7 elective).
Character review: TREC requires honesty, trustworthiness, and integrity. Applicants concerned about criminal history may request a Fitness Determination (online fee $54 on the current schedule) before applying.
Background process: Fingerprints on file with Texas DPS for a TREC background check. Fingerprints taken for other agencies are not accepted. TREC emails scheduling instructions after the REALM application status changes to In Review. IDEMIA fingerprint fee is $37 on TREC's fee schedule if the applicant has not previously been fingerprinted for TREC.
Experience: No licensed experience is required for a sales agent license. A sponsoring broker is required to move from inactive to active and to practice.
Broker affiliation: After education, fingerprints, and exams, TREC issues an inactive sales agent license. You or the sponsoring broker submit a sponsorship request in REALM. Without that sponsorship you cannot perform brokerage activity.

Documents to prepare

Qualifying-education completion certificates uploaded in REALM
TREC fingerprint appointment confirmation

The licensing exam

Pearson VUE's Texas Real Estate Content Outlines (effective January 1, 2026) split the sales-agent exam. The national/general portion is 80 scored items covering the standard ARELLO-style topics (property ownership, land use, valuation, financing, agency, contracts, mandated disclosures). The Texas state-law portion is 40 scored items plus pretest items. Published state buckets include commission duties and licensing, agency (including intermediary practice and broker responsibility for sales agents), promulgated contracts and seller disclosure, and a ten-item case-study section that uses TREC contract forms and addenda. That promulgated-forms testing is the piece a California or New York candidate will not have seen. Passing raw scores in the Pearson VUE Texas Candidate Handbook: 56 national, 28 state.

Pearson VUE · Fee: $43

Part	Questions	Minutes	Pass
National / general	85	150	56 correct (Pearson VUE Texas Candidate Handbook)
Texas state law	50	90	28 correct (Pearson VUE Texas Candidate Handbook)

If you fail either exam three times, TREC requires additional education before another attempt. The $43 Pearson VUE fee is charged per appointment (national, state, or both).

What to study

Texas Real Estate Candidate Handbook

Pearson VUE / TREC

Administered question counts, time limits, fees, and raw passing scores.
Texas Real Estate Content Outlines (effective January 1, 2026)

Pearson VUE

State-law topic weights, including promulgated contracts and case studies.
TREC promulgated contract forms

Texas Real Estate Commission

The forms the state portion actually tests.

Application costs

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

Fee	Amount
Application	$206
Examination	$43
Renewal (every 2 years)	$110
Fingerprints / background check	$37

TREC fee schedule effective December 15, 2025. Original sales-agent total $206 includes the license; there is no separate initial-license line. Renewal $110. Pearson VUE exam $43. Fingerprint $37 to IDEMIA. CE deferral (subsequent renewals, not SAE) $200 for a 60-day extension.

Commission	Texas Real Estate Commission 512.936.3000 Texas Occupations Code Chapter 1101 (The Real Estate License Act); 22 TAC Chapter 535
Pre-licensing	180 classroom hours in six TREC qualifying courses Principles of Real Estate I (30), Principles of Real Estate II (30), Law of Agency (30), Law of Contracts (30), Promulgated Contract Forms (30), Real Estate Finance (30). Upload completion certificates in REALM. College transcripts count only if they map to those specific courses. You have one year from the date the REALM application is filed to meet all license requirements, including education, fingerprints, and both exam portions.
Post-license education	First renewal: 270 total qualifying hours including a 30-hour Real Estate Brokerage course (this is SAE), plus 8 hours of TREC Legal Update I and II. SAE cannot be deferred. Subsequent renewals: 18 hours CE (8 Legal Update, 3 contract-related, 7 elective).
Sponsoring broker	After education, fingerprints, and exams, TREC issues an inactive sales agent license. You or the sponsoring broker submit a sponsorship request in REALM. Without that sponsorship you cannot perform brokerage activity.
Fingerprints	TREC-specific fingerprints through the vendor TREC names in the In Review email (IDEMIA/IdentoGO; $37 on the TREC fee schedule). Prints taken for another Texas agency will be rejected.
CE / renewal	First renewal: SAE (270 qualifying hours including 30-hour Brokerage) plus Legal Update I and II (8 hours). Later: 18 hours CE including 8 hours Legal Update, 3 hours contract-related, 7 elective. Delegated supervisors also take the 6-hour Broker Responsibility course inside those 18 hours. Late renewal <90 days $143; >90 days $176 (sales agent, current TREC schedule).
Recovery fund	The original application total includes a $10 Real Estate Recovery Trust Account fee (TREC fee schedule effective December 15, 2025). The Account compensates consumers who obtain judgments against licensees for certain misconduct and cannot collect. It is not a surety bond the agent posts.

Mistakes that delay applicants

Filing REALM before certificates are uploadable

TREC tells applicants not to submit until qualifying education is complete and PDFs are attached. A Submitted file cannot be edited. The one-year completion clock starts at filing.
Fingerprints from another Texas agency

TREC will not reuse DPS prints taken for a teacher certificate, a city job, or another board. Wait for the TREC-specific IdentoGO email after In Review.
Three-fail education lock

Failing either the national or the state portion three times triggers additional education before TREC will let Pearson VUE seat you again. Budget retakes and a possible extra course, not a fourth attempt the next morning.
SAE is not optional even if you go inactive

First-renewal SAE applies to active and inactive sales agents and cannot be deferred. Florida's 45-hour post-license course is the other famous "miss it and the license dies" rule; Texas will simply refuse to renew until SAE posts.

Reciprocity and recognition

Partner / path	Accepted exam	Conditions
No formal bilateral reciprocity is published for this credential.

Texas does not maintain a Florida-style mutual-recognition list. Licensed out-of-state agents generally still complete TREC education evaluation and pass the Texas exam (often the state portion). Confirm current waiver rules on TREC's become-licensed pages before assuming any exam exemption.

Renewal and staying active

First renewal: SAE (270 qualifying hours including 30-hour Brokerage) plus Legal Update I and II (8 hours). Later: 18 hours CE including 8 hours Legal Update, 3 hours contract-related, 7 elective. Delegated supervisors also take the 6-hour Broker Responsibility course inside those 18 hours.

Late renewal: Late renewal <90 days $143; >90 days $176 (sales agent, current TREC schedule).

SAE cannot be deferred. Subsequent CE may be deferred for $200 with a 60-day window; missing that window drops the license inactive.

Applicant checklist

Finish all six TREC qualifying courses and save PDF certificates
Create a REALM account and file only when uploads are complete
Wait for In Review before booking IdentoGO
Schedule Pearson VUE only after TREC's exam email
Pass both portions (56 national / 28 state per the Pearson handbook)
Submit sponsorship in REALM before practicing
Plan the 30-hour Brokerage SAE course early in the first two-year term

How Texas is different

Texas's 180-hour pre-license block is one of the country's heaviest entry education requirements (California is three college courses; Florida 63; New York 77; Georgia, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina 75; Illinois 75 as a broker). First-renewal SAE then adds 90 qualifying hours plus 8 hours of Legal Update — Florida's analog is a 45-hour post-license course that, if missed, makes the license null and void; Georgia's is 25 hours in year one; North Carolina's is 90 hours of postlicensing in 18 months to remain eligible for active status. Texas does not offer Florida-style mutual recognition to California, New York, or North Carolina. Out-of-state licensees typically still sit the Texas state exam. TREC also collects a Real Estate Recovery Trust Account fee ($10) and a Texas A&M Real Estate Research Center fee ($40) inside the $206 original application total — line items DRE and DOS do not print that way.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Texas license called salesperson or sales agent?: Sales agent. TREC and the License Act use that title. This site uses it in the URL and the body so you are searching the same words TREC uses.
Can I take the Pearson VUE exam before I apply?: No. TREC reviews education after the REALM application is filed and then emails exam-scheduling instructions. California is the reverse (exam application first). Florida lets you file with DBPR before the 63-hour course is finished, but you still cannot sit Pearson VUE without an approved application and a valid course completion slip.
What is SAE, and is it the same as CE?: SAE is Sales Agent Apprentice Education at first renewal: 270 cumulative qualifying hours including a 30-hour Brokerage course, plus 8 hours of Legal Update I and II. SAE cannot be deferred. Later cycles are 18 hours of CE, which can be deferred for $200 and 60 days if you are renewing active.

Primary Sources

Regulatory requirements on this page are drawn from the official board, statute, and exam-provider materials listed below.

Verified 2026-09-02 · Next scheduled review 2026-12-01