Washington 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

   Complete 60-hour Fundamentals and 30-hour Practices

   DOL-approved providers. Fundamentals includes 3 hours fair housing (RCW 18.85.101). Register as a PSI student for Washington before the school posts. Two-year clock to apply for and finish exams starts at course completion.

2. 2

   Wait for the PSI eligibility email; sit both portions ($210)

   School has up to 7 days to post. Pass national and state within six months of each other at scaled 70. Do not apply for the license until DOL emails that it has results.

3. 3

   Fingerprint at IdentoGO after passing

   $51 on the live Real Estate Broker table ($18+$33). Out-of-state cards use ORI WA920100Z. Up to 14 business days from WSP.

4. 4

   Apply for the original broker license within one year of passing

   $233 including $20 research. SAW online is faster. Affiliate with a firm / designated broker under Your To-Do's before practicing.

5. 5

   First active renewal: a different 90-hour CE package

   30 Advanced Practices, 30 Real Estate Law (including 3 hours fair housing), 3 Current Issues, 27 other, started after first licensure. If you never took the 6-hour Fair Housing (reciprocity path), take it first; then 3-hour Fair Housing each cycle. Later renewals: 30 hours. Fee $233 including $20 research.

Minimum age

18 years old

Identification

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

Residency and identification

Washington residency is not independently required (RCW 18.85.101). Out-of-state applicants complete the same 90 hours unless they use DOL reciprocity: actively licensed in another state, in good standing, within the preceding 6 months, with a license-history document (agency heading, active dates inside 6 months, licensure level, expiration, discipline, how obtained, creation date — not a pocket-card photo or a website screenshot). Reciprocity sits only the Washington state exam. Military/spouse temporary-license paths are a separate DOL product.

Qualifying education

RCW 18.85.101 and DOL Get-your-license: 60-hour Real Estate Fundamentals, which shall include three hours of instruction on fair housing and consumer-protection issues, plus 30-hour Real Estate Practices, from DOL-approved providers on the Course Search. Each course must be completed within two years before applying for the broker examination and must include a director-approved course examination. These 90 hours are the Washington broker-entry package, not a salesperson course plus a broker add-on, because there is no salesperson license. First active renewal later requires a separate 90-hour CE package (Advanced Practices, Real Estate Law including 3 hours fair housing, Current Issues, Fair Housing as specified) — that is not this 90. A California three-course file or an Oregon 150-hour broker file is not this 90 unless reciprocity applies.

Education or filing deadline

Two years from course completion to apply for and finish the exams (RCW 18.85.101; DOL). Exam approval expires 2 years from the date you completed your courses. Six months between passing the two portions. One year from passing to apply for the license. Fingerprint results expire 6 years after DOL receives them.

Character review

Character and fitness are reviewed after IdentoGO posts. DOL fingerprint page: convictions are case-by-case (type, level, relationship to practice, time since, whether already disclosed). Non-disclosure is independently disqualifying. Legal-background "yes" answers need documents uploaded with the SAW application.

Background process

IdentoGO / Idemia after passing both exam portions. Live DOL table for Real Estate Broker/Managing Broker: $18 fingerprint + $33 state-and-national background check = $51. Out-of-state ink cards: ORI WA920100Z DIV OF REAL ESTATE OLYMPIA, WA, mailed to IdentoGO-WA Card Scan Operations, 100 Salem Ct., Tallahassee, FL 32301. Results can take up to 14 business days from Washington State Patrol. Fingerprint results expire 6 years after DOL receives them; expired prints block join-a-firm, reactivation, and renewal. Apply for the license within one year of passing; do not fingerprint a year later for a dead score.

Experience

No licensed experience is required for the entry broker license. Managing broker is a later credential (3 years full-time broker in the last 5, or named alternative qualifications, plus 90 hours of named managing-broker courses).

Broker affiliation

A newly licensed Washington broker practices under a firm's designated or managing broker (RCW 18.85.101(3): licensed to one firm at a time and supervised by a designated or managing broker). Independent practice as a one-person shop still requires the firm license ($304 original/renewal on the live table) and a designated-broker endorsement (no fee). There is no salesperson affiliation because there is no salesperson license. After issuance, a firm invites you in SAW; you accept under Your To-Do's to activate.

PSI Testing Excellence, under contract to the Washington State Department of Licensing (https://test-takers.psiexams.com/ware; (855) 746-8168). School posts completions; PSI emails the registration link (up to 7 days). · Fee: $210

DOL fee table and WAC 308-124A-775: examination $210, reexamination $210; not refundable. Pass both portions within six months of each other or retake both (DOL exam page). PSI will not let you schedule a retake more than 6 months after passing the other exam. Apply for the license within one year of passing; exam results are valid 1 year. Reciprocity: state exam only, 6 months from approval, retakes as scheduling allows, no extension. Same-day retest is not a DOL product. Cancel/reschedule rules are PSI bulletin products. Walk-ins are not available.

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

WAC 308-124A-775 / DOL Fees: Real estate page: broker exam $210, retake $210, original $233 (includes $20 research), renewal $233 (includes $20 research), late renewal with penalty $273, reinstatement $100 in addition to renewal, printed license by mail $5, license history $40, transfer/activate/name/address no fee. Application and initialLicense in this object are that same $233 original, not stacked. IdentoGO Real Estate Broker/Managing Broker: $18 fingerprint + $33 background = $51 (live Fingerprinting table). Firm original/renewal $304; assumed name $304 per name; branch original/renewal $288. Managing-broker dollars are the other license on this file. You must pay both the licensure fee and the $20 research fee; unchecking either in SAW stalls issuance.

• !

  Filing as a salesperson

  Washington does not issue that license. Entry is broker. Managing broker is the later supervising credential, not a second salesperson.

• !

  Fingerprinting before the exam, or reusing California Live Scan

  DOL wants IdentoGO after you pass. The live table is $51, not the retired $34.25 processing line. Prints for another license on another date are not automatic. Results expire in 6 years and will block renewal if you ignore the SAW to-do.

• !

  Letting six months pass between portions, or one year pass after the last pass

  National and state must both be passed within six months of each other or you retake both. Apply for the license within one year of passing. Course-to-exam is a third clock (two years). Reciprocity state-exam approval is a fourth (six months from approval).

• !

  Using the prelicense 90 as first-renewal CE

  First active renewal is a different 90-hour package started after first licensure: Advanced Practices, Real Estate Law (with 3 hours fair housing), Current Issues. Reciprocity licensees who never took Washington Fundamentals still owe the 6-hour Fair Housing course before the 3-hour cycle begins.

• !

  Importing an Oregon principal-broker certificate as Washington entry without the license-history document

  Reciprocity is active-in-6-months plus a real license history (agency heading, dates, level, discipline, how obtained). Pocket-card photos and website screenshots are denied. You still sit the Washington state exam.

• !

  Unchecking the $20 research fee in SAW, or applying before DOL has exam results

  Original $233 includes the $20 research assessment; unchecking either fee stalls issuance. Applying before the results-received email delays the file. Firm $304 is a different object from the individual $233.

This is license recognition by reciprocity, not a waived exam and not a salesperson-to-broker conversion from California. Oregon principal-broker and Idaho salesperson credentials are not automatically Washington broker licenses. Reciprocity candidates still fingerprint after passing and still apply within one year. Military/spouse temporary licenses are a separate DOL path.

Does Washington issue a salesperson license?

No. RCW 18.85 and DOL issue a broker license as the entry credential and a managing broker license as the supervising credential. Filing a "salesperson" application is the wrong object.

How many pre-licensing hours, and what is inside them?

90 clock hours: 60-hour Real Estate Fundamentals plus 30-hour Real Estate Practices, from DOL-approved providers. RCW 18.85.101 requires Fundamentals to include three hours of fair housing and consumer-protection issues. Each course needs a director-approved course exam and must be completed within two years before applying for the broker examination.

What is the exam shape and the cut score?

PSI, $210. National and Washington state portions. WAC 308-124A-760: minimum scaled score of 70 on each — a scaled score, not a raw percentage. Circulating PSI/school tables use about 100 scored national items and 30 scored state items with 5–10 pretest items. Pass both within six months of each other. Confirm the live PSI bulletin before you sit.

When do I fingerprint, and what does it cost?

After passing both exam portions, through IdentoGO. Live DOL table: $18 fingerprint + $33 state-and-national background = $51 for Real Estate Broker/Managing Broker. Not at PSI before the exam. Results expire 6 years after DOL receives them.

What does the original license cost?

DOL / WAC 308-124A-775: $233 including a mandatory $20 real estate research assessment. Exam is a separate $210. Pay both the license fee and the research fee in SAW or issuance waits.

Is the first-renewal 90 hours the same as prelicensing?

No. First active renewal (WAC 308-124A-785; RCW 18.85.101(2)) is 30 Advanced Practices + 30 Real Estate Law (including 3 hours fair housing) + 3 Current Issues + at least 27 other, all started after first licensure. If you never took the 6-hour Washington Real Estate Fair Housing course (typical reciprocity path), take it first; then the 3-hour Fair Housing each cycle. Subsequent renewals are 30 hours (WAC 308-124A-790).

Can I skip the national exam because I am already licensed in Oregon or Idaho?

Only on DOL reciprocity: actively licensed in good standing within the preceding 6 months, with a real license-history document (not a screenshot). Reciprocity sits the Washington state exam only, six months from approval. Oregon principal-broker and Idaho salesperson titles are not automatic waivers of Washington content.

How long is a passing score good?

Apply for the license within 1 year of passing the final exam (DOL exam page). The six-month fuse between portions is a different clock. Course-to-exam is two years. Do not mix those three fuses.