Vermont 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 the 40-hour OPR-approved salesperson course

   Search approved courses in the OPR portal. Skip only if you hold an active license in an equivalent state — not Indiana, not Rhode Island.

2. 2

   Sit PSI national — 100 items / 70 / 150 minutes / $110

   Bulletin 5036. Remote option as of December 3, 2025. Skip only if equivalent — not California, New York, Puerto Rico, or West Virginia.

3. 3

   OPR online application: state exam link inside, no exceptions

   Review statutes and administrative rules first. 3–5 business days per piece. Both exams must have been passed within the prior two years.

4. 4

   Affiliate with a Vermont principal broker and registered office

   Verification of Employment/Supervision. Office registration is a separate filing from Corporations Division registration.

5. 5

   Complete 8-hour post-licensure within 90 days of issuance

   First-renewal product. Waived if you have been licensed 24 months in another jurisdiction in good standing. Not the 40-hour prelicense and not the 16-hour CE cycle.

Minimum age

18 years old

Identification

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

Residency and identification

Vermont residency is not required (Rule 2.4; OPR FAQ). Affiliation with a Vermont principal broker and Vermont-registered office is. Out-of-state: skip 40 hours only if the other state is equivalent (Indiana and Rhode Island are not). Skip PSI national only if equivalent (California, New York, Puerto Rico, and West Virginia are not). Everyone sits the OPR state exam. Fast-track (3 V.S.A. § 136a): licensed, in good standing, continuous practice three or more years in another U.S. jurisdiction — state exam still required.

Qualifying education

Commission-approved salesperson prelicense of at least 40 hours. Search approved providers in OPR’s online course search. Active license in an equivalent state: skip the 40. Indiana and Rhode Island are not equivalent (OPR FAQ). Post-licensure is a separate 8-hour product within 90 days of the initial salesperson license (VAR; NVRA; Rule 5.2(a)). A salesperson licensed 24 months in another jurisdiction in good standing skips post-licensure. The salesperson 40 is not the broker 40.

Education or filing deadline

National and state examinations must have been passed within the two years immediately preceding application (Rule 2.4(c)). PSI fee is forfeited if you do not test within one year of payment (bulletin 5036). Rule 2.7: fail one part, retake that part within six months; after six months or two failures, retake the full exam.

Character review

Not precluded from licensure under 3 V.S.A. § 129a (Rule 2.4(e)). Convictions: written explanation in your own words plus all court documents. Discipline: full documentation. Non-disclosure is independently disqualifying (OPR FAQ).

Background process

OPR’s salesperson FAQ does not print a fingerprint vendor. Convictions and discipline are a disclosure file uploaded to the online application. 3 V.S.A. § 125(a)(5) prices a preapplication criminal-background determination at $25 if you use that OPR product. Do not copy a leftover New Hampshire IdentoGO packet.

Experience

No licensed experience for salesperson. Vermont principal-broker hang and Vermont-registered office required to activate (Rule 2.4(d)). Broker upgrade: 2 years as salesperson plus 8 closed unrelated transactions with no familial or contemporaneous business relation to the applicant (Rule 2.5(c)).

Broker affiliation

Yes. You must be affiliated with a Vermont principal broker and a Vermont registered office to activate (Rule 2.4(d); OPR FAQ). Every licensee is associated with a single registered brokerage firm (Rule 2.3(c)). Office registration is a separate OPR filing: trust account or a signed-and-dated explanation, Federal ID (or SSN for a sole proprietor), principal broker, proof of Corporations Division name registration. A salesperson cannot open an office except under a principal broker responsible for supervision. Corporations Division registration is not OPR registration.

PSI national only (test-takers.psiexams.com/vtre, bulletin 5036, $110). Vermont state exam administered by OPR inside the online application. · Fee: $110

PSI national: $110 per attempt, not refundable or transferable; test within one year of payment. Same-day retest is not available. Cancel two days before the appointment. Remote: start within 15 minutes of the booked time. After a Wednesday failure you can typically retest Friday. OPR state exam: inside the application; Rule 2.7 lets you retake a failed part within six months, and after six months or two failures you retake the full exam. Fast-track still requires the state exam (3 V.S.A. § 136a). Both parts must have been passed within the two years immediately preceding application.

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

26 V.S.A. § 2255: salesperson/broker application $100, biennial individual renewal $200, firm $200 / $400, temporary permit $25, transfer $10, inactive $25, course review $100. 3 V.S.A. § 125 is the OPR advisor-profession default (application $115, biennial renewal $275, verification $30, preapplication criminal-background determination $25) and applies unless otherwise provided by law — chapter 41 otherwise provides. PSI national $110 (bulletin 5036); fee forfeited if not tested within one year. State exam has no separate PSI fee. Military members and spouses may request an application-fee waiver (§ 125(d)).

• !

  Waiting for PSI to seat a Vermont state paper

  That paper moved into the OPR application on February 27, 2021. There is no PSI state sitting to buy. The $110 is national only.

• !

  Skipping the state exam on fast-track or endorsement

  OPR: no exceptions. 3 V.S.A. § 136a still requires it. Rule 2.4 says all applicants complete the Vermont examination.

• !

  Treating a New York or California license as a national-exam skip

  OPR names CA, NY, PR, and WV as not equivalent for the national exam.

• !

  Treating an Indiana or Rhode Island license as a 40-hour skip

  OPR names IN and RI as not equivalent for education. Rhode Island’s 45-plus-lead pair is a different product, and it still does not skip Vermont’s 40.

• !

  Applying without a Vermont principal-broker hang

  The license will not activate (Rule 2.4(d)). Office registration is a separate OPR filing from the Corporations Division registration. A salesperson cannot open a shop except under a principal broker.

• !

  Missing the 8-hour post-licensure 90-day window

  Rule 5.2(a) and VAR: first-renewal salespersons complete post-licensure within 90 days. It is audited with CE. Licensees with 24 months in another jurisdiction skip it; everyone else does not.

Equivalence, not a named-partner chart. Education skip: active license in an equivalent state — Indiana and Rhode Island are not equivalent. National-exam skip: active license in an equivalent state — California, New York, Puerto Rico, and West Virginia are not equivalent. State exam: no skip, no exceptions. Fast-track endorsement (3 V.S.A. § 136a): licensed, in good standing, continuous practice three or more years in another U.S. jurisdiction — state exam still required. Verification of licensure: initial and most recent states only. Post-licensure is waived for a salesperson licensed 24 months in another jurisdiction in good standing (Rule 5.2(a)).

How many pre-license hours?

40. Skip only if you hold an active license in a state OPR treats as equivalent. Indiana and Rhode Island are not equivalent.

Who gives the exam, and what does it cost?

PSI gives only the national (100 items, passing 70, 150 minutes, $110). The Vermont state exam is inside the OPR online application. All applicants, no exceptions. OPR has not published item counts on the live FAQ. Application for licensure is $100 under 26 V.S.A. § 2255; 3 V.S.A. § 125 ($115/$275) is the advisor-profession default and yields to chapter 41.

Do endorsement or fast-track skip the state exam?

No. OPR FAQ: all applicants must take the state exam. Fast-track (3 V.S.A. § 136a) still includes it. Rule 2.4 also says all applicants complete the Vermont examination.

Do I need a Vermont office hang?

Yes. Vermont principal broker and Vermont-registered office to activate. A salesperson cannot open a shop except under a principal broker. Corporations Division registration is a separate filing from OPR office registration.

What is post-licensure?

Eight hours, within 90 days of the initial salesperson license, uploaded at first renewal (VAR; NVRA; Rule 5.2(a)). Waived if you have been licensed 24 months in another jurisdiction in good standing. Not the 16-hour CE cycle.

When do I renew, and what is CE?

Fixed biennial schedule (Rule 3.1). Salespersons: 16 hours including a 4-hour Commission-designated mandatory course (NVRA / VAR 2024–2026 map; Rule 5.2(b)). Renewal $200 (26 V.S.A. § 2255). Current salesperson deadline on the NVRA map is May 31, 2026.

Is dual agency allowed?

No. Non-designated-agency firms and designated-agency firms are both prohibited from dual or limited agency (Rules 4.3(d)(1), 4.4(e)(1)). Net listings are also prohibited (Rule 4.8(e)).