Virginia 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

   Log 40 hours/week as a licensee during 36 of the 48 months immediately preceding application

   Get an Experience Verification Form from each firm. Question 12 on the application form sets the requirement; the FAQ omits the 40-hour-week clause.

2. 2

   Complete 180 hours including a 45-hour Real Estate Brokerage course; Principles does not count

   Three broker-specific courses minimum. Max 60 hours per broker-specific course / 45 per broker-related course. Monitored finals. Certified transcripts.

3. 3

   Pass the PSI $60 broker exam: 75 items/80 points/105 min, pass 60; plus 50 items/55 min, pass 38 (combined 125/160 min)

   Do not book the salesperson 80/40 exam. The cut is 60 of 80 points, not 56 of 75 items.

4. 4

   File A490-0225BLIC: $299.50 by exam (includes Recovery Fund) or $134.50 Virginia salesperson upgrade, within 1 year of the initial examination date

   Associate, Principal, or sole proprietorship is a choice on the form. Later CE is 24 hours including 8 supervision (2 of which are broker-supervision overview) under 18VAC135-20-101.

Minimum age

18 years old

Identification

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

Residency and identification

Broker form question 12: actively engaged as a real estate licensee for at least 40 hours per week during 36 of the 48 months immediately preceding the application, documented on Experience Verification Forms (a separate form from each firm). The Board FAQ says 36 of 48 months as a salesperson without the 40-hour-week clause; follow the form. Reciprocity brokers: current broker license in another state, 180 substantially equivalent hours, 36 of 48 months as salesperson or broker, state portion only.

Qualifying education

Per the Pre-License page and Board FAQ: 180 class/clock hours. At least three courses must come from the broker-specific list; one of the three must be a 45-classroom-hour real estate brokerage course. Remaining hours may be broker-related (abstracting, contract law, economics, feasibility, investments, math, property management, property law, CCIM/CRB/GRI/SIR-SIOR designations, business law, commercial mortgage lending, land planning and use, urban development). Maximum 60 hours for a single broker-specific course and 45 hours for a single broker-related course. Principles of Real Estate taken for the salesperson license is not acceptable. Equivalent accredited-institution courses of at least 45 class/clock hours or 3 semester hours may count; a monitored final is required. CE hours are not pre-license credit. Original or certified transcripts required.

Education or filing deadline

Apply within 1 year of the initial examination date. Experience must cover 36 of the 48 months immediately preceding the application, not any 36 months earlier in your career.

Character review

Same disclosure questions as the salesperson application, plus the 40-hour-week experience affidavit. A high school diploma or GED is required by statute for brokers too (§54.1-2105.B.2.a).

Background process

Fingerprints are required for initial licensure; a Virginia salesperson upgrading may be exempt from a new set (checkbox on the application form). The 90-day deadline applies if you submit new prints.

Experience

Broker application form: actively engaged as a real estate licensee at least 40 hours per week during 36 of the 48 months immediately preceding the date of the application. Board FAQ: 36 of 48 months as a salesperson. Follow the form's 40-hour-week clause, since it is the stricter standard. Reciprocity: 36 of 48 as salesperson or broker.

Broker affiliation

The application form offers Associate Broker, Principal Broker, or broker-owned Sole Proprietorship. A Principal Broker of an existing firm needs a Firm Principal Broker/Officer Change Form before the Board will issue the license. A new firm that is not a broker-owned sole proprietorship needs a complete Firm License Application. Associate brokers affiliating with a branch need the branch license number and supervising broker. 18VAC135-20-101 broker CE includes 8 hours of supervision and management, 2 of which must overview broker supervision requirements under Chapter 21.

PSI Services LLC (test-takers.psiexams.com/vare; (855) 340-3910; Candidate Information Bulletin 466, Last Revised 2/18/2026). $60. The portions are scored separately. · Fee: $60

Same $60, not refundable or transferable. Retake only the failed portion. Apply within 1 year of the initial examination date. Reciprocity brokers book the broker state exam, not the salesperson state exam.

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

Form A490-0225BLIC: Broker by examination $299.50, including the Real Estate Transaction Recovery Fund Assessment; reciprocity $299.50; VA Salesperson upgrading to Broker $134.50. The application and initialLicense amounts here are the single $299.50 by-exam fee, not added to the $134.50 upgrade fee. A concurrent broker license uses a different form at $209.50 (A490-0225CONCUR-v10, 07/01/2026). PSI $60. HB 30 Technology Fee $7.25/year. 18VAC135-20-80/-120 were repealed April 1, 2026, so confirm the current renewal fee. DPOR does not publish a fingerprint fee.

• !

  Counting Principles of Real Estate toward the 180

  The Pre-License page note states in capital letters that Principles taken for the salesperson license does not count.

• !

  Taking the salesperson 80-item national / 40-item state exam

  Broker national is 75 items carrying 80 points. State is 50 items in 55 minutes. The cuts are 60 of 80 points and 38 of 50.

• !

  Treating 56 of 75 items as the national cut

  The cut is 60 of 80 points; some items are worth two points. Combined, the exam is 125 items carrying 130 points in 160 minutes.

• !

  Skipping the 45-hour Real Estate Brokerage course

  One of the three broker-specific courses must be that named 45-hour course. Max 60 hours per broker-specific course.

• !

  Counting a part-time year toward the 36 of 48

  The application form requires 40 hours per week. The FAQ sentence that omits that clause is not the form you sign.

• !

  Paying $299.50 when the upgrade fee is $134.50, or paying both

  A Virginia salesperson upgrading to broker pays $134.50. By exam or reciprocity, the fee is $299.50 including the Recovery Fund. They are alternatives, not added together.

According to the Board FAQ, reciprocity brokers must (1) pass the State portion, (2) submit verification of experience (actively engaged as a salesperson or broker for 36 out of 48 months preceding application), (3) submit original or certified transcripts of 180 classroom hours of broker pre-licensing courses substantially equivalent to Virginia's, and (4) submit letters of certification from other jurisdictions, and MUST hold a current broker license in another state. Universal License Recognition is a separate broker application (A490-0225B-ULR) with the same $299.50 / $134.50 fees.

Virginia 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 60 count toward the 180?

No. The Pre-License page note says any Principles of Real Estate course taken for licensure as a salesperson is not acceptable as a broker pre-license education course.

How much experience, and is it 36 calendar months?

The broker application form requires 40 hours per week during 36 of the 48 months immediately preceding the application, documented on Experience Verification Forms. The Board FAQ omits the 40-hour-week clause. Follow the form.

Is the national portion still 80 items?

No. The broker national portion is 75 items carrying 80 points in 105 minutes. The cut is 60 of 80 points, not 56 of 75 items and not the salesperson 56. State is 50 items / 55 minutes, pass 38.

What does the upgrade cost?

The application form lists $134.50 if you are a Virginia salesperson upgrading to broker, and $299.50 by examination or reciprocity; that $299.50 includes the Recovery Fund assessment. PSI is still $60. A concurrent broker license is $209.50 on a different form.

What CE do brokers take?

18VAC135-20-101: 24 hours, of which 19 are mandatory — 8 supervision and management (2 of which overview broker supervision requirements under Chapter 21), Fair Housing 2, Ethics 3, Agency 2, Contracts/escrow 2, legal updates including flood/NFIP 2 — plus 5 electives. This is not the salesperson 16-hour requirement.

Associate broker vs principal broker?

Same 180 hours, same 40 hr/wk for 36-of-48-months requirement, same PSI broker exam. The form asks which license type you want. A Principal Broker of an existing firm needs the Firm Principal Broker/Officer Change Form. A new firm that is not a sole proprietorship needs a Firm License Application.