Washington Real Estate Managing 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 3 years full-time as a broker in the last 5, or pick alternate / reciprocity

   Upgrade is the default. Alternate qualifications: cover letter naming the method, resume, one sitting. Reciprocity: license history, state exam only. Confirm out-of-state years with DOL before paying for the three 30s.

2. 2

   Complete 30+30+30 named managing-broker courses within 3 years

   Brokerage Management, Business Management, Advanced Real Estate Law, each with a course exam. Not the entry 60+30 and not first-renewal Advanced Practices / Law.

3. 3

   SAW exam application, wait 4 business days, sit PSI ($210) at scaled 75

   National simulation (info-gathering and decision-making each at 75) plus state simulation. Reciprocity sits state only. Alternate path: one chance at both.

4. 4

   IdentoGO if required; apply ($330 including $20 research) within 1 year of passing

   Pay both the license fee and the research fee. Firm/designated-broker paperwork if you will qualify a firm. Then 30-hour CE (not another 90) at each managing-broker renewal.

Minimum age

18 years old

Identification

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

Residency and identification

Three paths. Upgrade: 3 years full-time as an active real estate broker within the last 5 years (RCW 18.85.111; DOL). Alternate qualifications: 18, high school, the same 90 hours, plus one or more of six alternative qualification experiences within the last 6 years, with a cover letter naming the method and a resume; one chance to pass both exams. Reciprocity: actively licensed in another state, in good standing, within the past 6 months, with a license-history document (not a screenshot); state exam only. Confirm any out-of-state years in writing with DOL before assuming they count on the upgrade path.

Qualifying education

RCW 18.85.111 and DOL: three named 30-hour courses, each with a director-approved course examination, completed within three years before applying for the managing broker examination. These are not the entry 60+30 and not the first-renewal Advanced Practices / Law / Current Issues 90. Advanced Real Estate Law is not the Real Estate Law course used to reinstate a canceled broker license. Approval to upgrade expires when it has been 3 years since you completed the newest of the three courses. Alternate-qualification and reciprocity candidates still owe this 90 unless the live reciprocity path is the one they are on (reciprocity sits state only and does not rest on these three courses).

Education or filing deadline

Each of the three 30-hour courses within 3 years before applying for the exam. Exam approval expires 3 years from the newest course. Six months between passing the two portions (upgrade path). One year from passing to apply for the license.

Character review

Same DOL character review as entry brokers, plus designated-broker fitness if you will qualify a firm. Legal-background documents upload with the SAW application.

Background process

IdentoGO after passing, same $51 live table as entry brokers if new prints are required. Fingerprint results expire 6 years after DOL receives them. Do not reuse a print dated for a different license without DOL confirmation.

Experience

Three years of full-time licensed experience as an active real estate broker in Washington or a comparable jurisdiction within the five years previous to applying for the managing broker examination (RCW 18.85.111; DOL upgrade path). Alternate qualifications: named experience in an allied business within the last 6 years, as prescribed by rule — one sitting. Reciprocity substitutes current out-of-state managing-broker (or equivalent) licensure inside 6 months.

Broker affiliation

A managing broker may serve as designated broker for a firm (endorsement, no fee) and supervise brokers. A managing broker is licensed to one firm only at any one time (RCW 18.85.111(3)). Firm licensure is a separate DOL object ($304 original/renewal). Branch-manager endorsement is also no fee. Passing the managing-broker exam does not automatically create a firm.

PSI Testing Excellence after DOL SAW approval (wait 4 business days). Same $210 bulletin family as the entry broker exam, different sitting. · Fee: $210

Exam $210, retake $210. Upgrade path: pass both portions within 6 months of each other or retake both; exam approval expires 3 years from the newest of the three 30-hour courses. Reciprocity: state exam only, 6 months from approval, no extension. Alternate qualifications: one chance to pass both exams — fail and you later upgrade on experience or use reciprocity. Apply for the license within 1 year of passing. Original license $330 including $20 research.

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

DOL / WAC 308-124A-775: managing-broker exam $210, retake $210, original $330 including $20 research, renewal $330 including $20 research, late renewal with penalty $370, reinstatement $100, print $5, history $40, designated-broker endorsement no fee, branch-manager endorsement no fee. Application and initialLicense in this object are that same $330 original, not stacked. IdentoGO $51 on the live Real Estate Broker/Managing Broker table. Firm $304 is a separate business-license line.

• !

  Using entry 60+30 or first-renewal Advanced Practices as managing-broker education

  You need the three named 30-hour managing-broker courses, each with a course exam, inside 3 years. Advanced Real Estate Law is not the Real Estate Law course used to reinstate a canceled broker license.

• !

  Walking into PSI expecting the entry broker's scaled 70 multiple-choice sitting

  Managing broker is scaled 75. National is simulation with two aspects. State is simulation including closing. School tables use ~90 + ~44 items, some scored 0/1/2. Fail the alternate-qualification sitting and that path is closed.

• !

  Counting lifetime broker time instead of three full-time years inside the last five

  RCW 18.85.111 is not a career-total. Inactive, part-time, or years six-plus years ago do not fill the upgrade path. Alternate qualifications exist for a reason — use them on purpose, with a cover letter, not as a silent hope.

• !

  Importing an Oregon principal-broker title without the license-history document

  Reciprocity is active-in-6-months plus a real history. Screenshots are denied. You still sit the Washington state exam. Designated-broker endorsement is a separate no-fee step after the individual license issues.

• !

  Unchecking the $20 research fee, or applying before Your To-Do's shows Apply for License

  Original $330 includes the research assessment. Missing exam results or missing IdentoGO results hide the apply button. Calling 360-664-6488 once, with the IdentoGO TCN, is the DOL instruction if the to-do is still missing after 14 business days (prints) and 4 business days (exam).

An Oregon principal-broker certificate is not a Washington managing-broker license until DOL accepts the history and you pass the Washington state exam. Alternate qualifications are not reciprocity. Upgrade from a Washington broker license is the ordinary in-state path and still sits both portions at scaled 75.

Does Washington issue a salesperson license?

No. Entry is broker. This page is managing broker, the supervising credential that can be designated broker for a firm.

Are the managing-broker 90 hours the same as first-renewal CE?

No. Managing broker is Brokerage Management + Business Management + Advanced Real Estate Law, each 30 hours with a course exam, inside 3 years of the exam application. First-renewal CE for entry brokers is Advanced Practices / Law / Current Issues. Current managing brokers renew on the 30-hour WAC 308-124A-790 grid, not another 90.

Why is the cut 75 instead of 70?

WAC 308-124A-760 uses scaled 70 for the broker examination and scaled 75 for the managing broker examination. The national managing-broker portion is simulation: you need 75 on information gathering and 75 on decision making. The state portion is also simulation and includes closing/settlement. That is not the entry broker's 100+30 multiple-choice sitting.

What does the original managing-broker license cost?

DOL: $330 including $20 research. Exam is a separate $210. Late renewal $370. Designated-broker endorsement is no fee.

What are alternate qualifications?

DOL's third path if you do not have 3 years full-time as a broker in the last 5. Six named experience methods inside the last 6 years, a cover letter, a resume, the same 90 hours, and one chance to pass both exams. Fail that sitting and you later upgrade on experience or use reciprocity. Form 620017 lists a postsecondary real-estate major plus 1 year as a licensed broker as one method.

Does reciprocity waive the three 30-hour courses?

Reciprocity is for people already actively licensed at managing-broker (or equivalent) level in another state within 6 months. They sit the Washington state exam only. Upgrade from a Washington broker license still requires the three courses and both exam portions.

Can I be designated broker for two firms?

RCW 18.85.111(3): a managing broker can be licensed to one firm only at any one time. Designated-broker endorsement is a no-fee add-on, not a second license.