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 choose the alternate or reciprocity path

   Upgrading is the standard path. Alternate qualifications: a cover letter naming the method, a resume, and one exam sitting. Reciprocity: license history and the state exam only. Confirm out-of-state years with DOL before paying for the three 30-hour courses.

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. These are separate from the entry 60+30 and the first-renewal Advanced Practices / Law courses.

3. 3

   Submit the SAW exam application, wait 4 business days, and pass PSI ($210) at scaled 75

   National simulation (information gathering and decision making each at 75) plus state simulation. Reciprocity applicants take the state exam only. Alternate path: one chance to pass 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. Complete firm/designated-broker paperwork if you will qualify a firm. Then complete 30 hours of 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); you take the 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 separate from the entry 60+30 and from 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 candidates still need these 90 hours. Reciprocity candidates take only the state exam and do not need 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, at the same $51 fee as entry brokers, if new prints are required. Fingerprint results expire 6 years after DOL receives them. Do not reuse prints taken 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 within the last 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 license ($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 fee and PSI bulletin as the entry broker exam, but a different exam. · 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; if you fail, you must 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. The application and initialLicense amounts here are the same $330 original fee, not two charges. IdentoGO is $51 for Real Estate Broker/Managing Broker. The $304 firm license is a separate business-license fee.

• !

  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, within 3 years. Advanced Real Estate Law is not the Real Estate Law course used to reinstate a canceled broker license.

• !

  Expecting the entry broker's scaled 70 multiple-choice exam

  The managing broker exam requires a scaled 75. The national portion is a simulation with two aspects; the state portion is a simulation that includes closing. School materials list about 90 + 44 items, some scored 0/1/2. If you fail the alternate-qualification sitting, that path is closed.

• !

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

  RCW 18.85.111 does not count career totals. Inactive or part-time years, and years more than five years back, do not count toward the upgrade path. If you do not qualify, apply under alternate qualifications deliberately, with a cover letter.

• !

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

  Reciprocity requires an active license within the last 6 months plus an official license 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

  The original $330 fee includes the research assessment. Missing exam results or IdentoGO results hide the apply button. If the to-do is still missing after 14 business days (prints) and 4 business days (exam), DOL says to call 360-664-6488, with your IdentoGO TCN ready.

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. Upgrading from a Washington broker license is the usual in-state path and requires both portions at scaled 75.

Washington 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 Washington issue a salesperson license?

No. The entry license is broker. This guide covers managing broker, the supervising license that can serve as designated broker for a firm.

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

No. Managing-broker education is Brokerage Management + Business Management + Advanced Real Estate Law, each 30 hours with a course exam, within 3 years of the exam application. First-renewal CE for entry brokers is Advanced Practices / Law / Current Issues. Current managing brokers renew with 30 hours under WAC 308-124A-790, 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 differs from the entry broker's 100+30 multiple-choice exam.

What does the original managing-broker license cost?

DOL: $330 including $20 research. The exam is a separate $210. Late renewal is $370. The designated-broker endorsement has 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. It requires one of six named experience methods within the last 6 years, a cover letter, a resume, the same 90 hours, and one chance to pass both exams. If you fail that sitting, you must 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 take the Washington state exam only. Upgrading 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. The designated-broker endorsement is a no-fee add-on, not a second license.