Is the broker exam the salesperson exam at a higher cut score?

No. National Broker is still 80 scored in 150 minutes, but State Broker is 60 scored in 90 minutes (not 50/60), passing is 75 percent (not 70), and 18 of the state items are Broker Management.

What else goes in the post-exam packet?

Trust Fund Form or Waiver, Subordination Resolution, both Pearson pass certificates, and West Virginia Secretary of State registration with the applicant listed as a member or officer of the company.

How is broker CE different?

Still 7 hours per fiscal year in the year preceding renewal. Beginning FY 2024, 3 of those 7 must be broker-level for brokers and associate brokers.

West Virginia Broker License Requirements

Required education: 180 clock hours (12 semester hours), or an additional 90 if already a West Virginia salesperson
Exam fee: $59
Published fees: $293
Typical timeline: Two years as a salesperson with 20/40 closings

What to know first

A West Virginia broker license is not a second sitting of the salesperson exam with a new title. WVREC will not start the file unless you have been licensed as a salesperson for a minimum of two years and you can document closed transactions on the Closed Transactions Form: 20 closed transactions in the two years prior to the application, or 40 closed transactions over any period. That is a production test, not a calendar test. Holding the salesperson wall license for 24 quiet months does not replace 20 closings.

Education is 180 clock hours (12 college semester hours) from zero. If you already hold a West Virginia salesperson license, the additional requirement is 90 hours of broker education, not a second copy of the salesperson 30/20/20/20. The official broker 90-hour outline is 30 hours of Brokerage Operation and Management, 25 hours of Human Resources Management & Interpersonal Skills, and 35 hours of West Virginia Specific Real Estate for Brokers. You must score 70 percent or higher in each of those three subject areas. Broker courses are accepted if completed in the five years preceding the application — a single five-year window, not the salesperson's split 3-year / pre-June 9, 2023 5-year rule.

The exam path is the same gate as salesperson: IdentoGO 228Q6K, online exam application, WVREC approval, then Pearson. The papers are not the same. National Broker is $59, 5 pretest, 80 scored, 150 minutes. State Broker is $59, 5 pretest, 60 scored, 90 minutes. Passing is 75 percent, not the salesperson 70. The sitting fuse is still 90 days or two attempts, whichever first; passing score reports are still good 90 days; OnVUE is still one attempt for life at the Broker level. After you pass, the license application is a broker packet: Trust Fund Form or Waiver, Subordination Resolution, both pass certificates. The company registers with the West Virginia Secretary of State, and the applicant must be listed as a member or officer of that company.

Series 2 prices the broker and associate-broker license at $150. The responsible broker surrenders the salesperson certificate before the broker certificate issues, and there is no credit for the salesperson fee already paid. Annual renewal is $150. Continuing education is still 7 hours per fiscal year, but beginning in FY 2024 brokers and associate brokers must take 3 of those 7 at broker level. Associate broker uses the same 180-hour (or +90) education, the same Pearson broker exam, and the same $150 Series 2 fee; what changes is the office role, not a third exam.

Your path to the license

Follow these steps in order. Deadlines and affiliation requirements can make a passed exam unusable if they are missed.

Document two years and the closings

Minimum two years as a salesperson. Closed Transactions Form: 20 in the two years prior, or 40 over any period. Quiet wall time does not count as 20 closings.
Complete the additional 90 hours at 70 percent each

30 Brokerage Operation and Management, 25 Human Resources Management & Interpersonal Skills, 35 West Virginia Specific Real Estate for Brokers. From zero, the stack is 180 hours. Courses must be inside five years.
IdentoGO 228Q6K and the online exam application ($25)

Same approval-before-Pearson gate. Pearson emails after WVREC approves; 72 hours of silence goes to REClicensing@wv.gov.
Pass National 80/150 and State 60/90 at 75 percent ($59 each)

Inside 90 days or two attempts. This is not the salesperson 70 percent cut and not the salesperson 50-item state paper.
File the broker packet ($150) and surrender the salesperson certificate

Trust Fund Form or Waiver, Subordination Resolution, both pass certificates, Secretary of State registration with you as member or officer. No credit for the salesperson fee. Certificate surrendered before the broker certificate issues.

Education and eligibility

Minimum age: 18 years old
Identification: A Social Security number is required. An ITIN is not confirmed as a substitute.
Residency and identification: Same as salesperson: residency is not the published gate. Two years as a licensed salesperson and the Closed Transactions Form are. The firm must be registered with the West Virginia Secretary of State, with the applicant listed as a member or officer.
Qualifying education: From zero: 180 clock hours. Currently licensed WV salespersons: additional 90 hours of broker education in the official outline — 30 Brokerage Operation and Management, 25 Human Resources Management & Interpersonal Skills, 35 West Virginia Specific Real Estate for Brokers. 70 percent or higher in each of those three subject areas. Broker courses accepted if completed in the 5 years preceding application.
Education or filing deadline: Broker pre-license: 5 years preceding application. Exam authorization: 90 days or two attempts. Passing score reports: 90 days. IdentoGO: 90 days.
Character review: Same character standard and national criminal-background check as salesperson, read against a broker who will hold trust funds and supervise.
Background process: IdentoGO service code 228Q6K, valid 90 days, filed with the online exam application the same way as a salesperson applicant.
Experience: Licensed minimum 2 years as a salesperson, plus 20 closed transactions in the two years prior to application or 40 closed transactions over any period
Broker affiliation: The broker certificate is what lets you be the responsible broker. Series 2: the responsible broker surrenders the salesperson certificate before the broker certificate issues. There is no credit for the salesperson fee already paid. Associate broker is the same education and exam at the same $150 Series 2 fee, in a subordinated office role.

Documents to prepare

Closed Transactions Form (20 in the prior two years, or 40 over any period)
Current West Virginia salesperson license (for the additional-90 path)
Official broker-education certificate with scores (30/25/35 at 70 percent each)
IdentoGO 228Q6K inside 90 days
Pearson National Broker and State Broker passing score reports
Trust Fund Form or Waiver
Subordination Resolution
West Virginia Secretary of State company registration showing the applicant as member or officer

The licensing exam

Pearson VUE broker examination after WVREC approval, handbook #094900 (February 2026). National Broker: 80 scored, 5 pretest, 150 minutes, $59. State Broker: 60 scored, 5 pretest, 90 minutes, $59. Passing 75 percent scaled 0–100; numeric scores only to failing candidates. The state broker outline is 60 scored items: the salesperson state topics plus Broker Management 18 (trust funds, place of business, brokerage operations, human resources). Same 90-days-or-two-attempts authorization, same 90-day score reports, same 48-hour cancel rule, same ID rule, same Charleston and Morgantown Pearson Professional Centers. OnVUE is one attempt for life at the Broker level, separate from the Sales-level OnVUE attempt. Cover-page "unlimited attempts / one year" language does not apply.

Pearson VUE after WVREC online approval. Handbook #094900 (February 2026). $59 per part. · Fee: $59

Part	Questions	Minutes	Pass
National Broker	80	150	75% scaled 0–100; 80 scored + 5 pretest; $59
State Broker	60	90	75% scaled 0–100; 60 scored + 5 pretest; $59

Same West Virginia sitting fuse as salesperson: 90 days or two attempts, whichever first, then a new exam application. Cannot retake a passed part during the authorization. Ninety days to pass the remaining part. Expired authorization: re-apply to WVREC for the failed part only. OnVUE is one attempt for life at the Broker level. Passing score reports good 90 days. 75 percent is the cut, not 70.

What to study

Pearson VUE West Virginia Candidate Handbook #094900 (February 2026)

Pearson VUE / WVREC

Broker table: 80/150 national, 60/90 state, 75 percent. WV-specific 90-day/two-attempt fuse.
WVREC broker pre-licensing outline (30/25/35)

West Virginia Real Estate Commission

The additional 90 hours currently licensed salespersons actually take.
Closed Transactions Form and Trust Fund Form / Waiver

WVREC

Experience and trust-account instruments that do not exist on the salesperson file.
174 CSR 1 and Series 2

WVREC

Surrender of the salesperson certificate, $150 broker fee, no fee credit.

Application costs

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

Fee	Amount
Application	$25
Examination	$59
Initial license	$150
Renewal (every year)	$150

Series 2: exam application $25; broker and associate-broker license $150; annual renewal $150. No credit for the salesperson $75 already paid. Late renewal July 1–August 31 +$50; later windows on the live table. Pearson $59 per part. IdentoGO is the vendor's price.

Commission	West Virginia Real Estate Commission (304) 558-3555 W. Va. Code § 30-40 (Real Estate License Act); Legislative Rule 174 CSR 1; Series 2 (174 CSR 2) fees
Pre-licensing	180 clock hours (12 semester hours), or an additional 90 if already a West Virginia salesperson From zero: 180 clock hours. Currently licensed WV salespersons: additional 90 hours of broker education in the official outline — 30 Brokerage Operation and Management, 25 Human Resources Management & Interpersonal Skills, 35 West Virginia Specific Real Estate for Brokers. 70 percent or higher in each of those three subject areas. Broker courses accepted if completed in the 5 years preceding application. Broker pre-license: 5 years preceding application. Exam authorization: 90 days or two attempts. Passing score reports: 90 days. IdentoGO: 90 days.
Sponsoring broker	The broker certificate is what lets you be the responsible broker. Series 2: the responsible broker surrenders the salesperson certificate before the broker certificate issues. There is no credit for the salesperson fee already paid. Associate broker is the same education and exam at the same $150 Series 2 fee, in a subordinated office role.
Fingerprints	Fresh IdentoGO 228Q6K with the broker exam application. Valid 90 days. Do not assume a salesperson print still inside 90 days will be reused until WVREC says so on the live broker page; budget a new sitting of the code.
CE / renewal	7 hours per fiscal year (50-minute hours). Beginning FY 2024, brokers and associate brokers must take 3 of the 7 at broker level. Courses in the fiscal year preceding the renewal year. Non-resident CE reciprocity if the other jurisdiction has a comparable requirement and recognizes WV CE. July 1–August 31: +$50. Later windows: live Schedule of Fees.
Recovery fund	No separately itemized recovery-fund dollar is frozen on this page from Series 2. Trust-fund handling is a broker-management exam topic (18 state items cover trust funds, place of business, brokerage operations, and HR) and a license-application document (Trust Fund Form or Waiver).

Mistakes that delay applicants

Counting two quiet years as 20 closings

The statute-level experience is two years and a Closed Transactions Form. 20 in the prior two years, or 40 over any period. A dormant salesperson license does not fill the form.
Retaking salesperson 30/20/20/20 and calling it broker education

The additional 90 is 30/25/35. Principles-and-Practice hours you already used to sit the salesperson exam are not Brokerage Operation and Management.
Sitting the broker exam at a 70 percent target

Salesperson passing is 70 percent. Broker passing is 75 percent, on a 60-item state paper, not a 50-item paper.
Expecting a $75 credit toward the $150 broker certificate

Series 2 is explicit: surrender the salesperson certificate first, no credit for the salesperson fee already paid.
Skipping Secretary of State registration

The applicant has to be listed as a member or officer of the company. Passing Pearson does not create the firm.
Doing 7 hours of salesperson-level CE as a new broker

Beginning FY 2024, 3 of the 7 must be broker-level for brokers and associate brokers.

Reciprocity and recognition

Partner / path	Accepted exam	Conditions
No formal bilateral reciprocity is published for this credential.

No WVREC-published broker-exam waiver chart is copied here. Two years, the Closed Transactions Form, and the additional 90 hours are original-licensure facts. Out-of-state production is whatever the Commission will accept on that form — this site does not invent a substitution grid.

Renewal and staying active

7 hours per fiscal year (50-minute hours). Beginning FY 2024, brokers and associate brokers must take 3 of the 7 at broker level. Courses in the fiscal year preceding the renewal year. Non-resident CE reciprocity if the other jurisdiction has a comparable requirement and recognizes WV CE.

Late renewal: July 1–August 31: +$50. Later windows: live Schedule of Fees.

Annual renewal $150 for broker and associate broker.

Applicant checklist

Licensed as a salesperson for at least 2 years
Closed Transactions Form: 20 in the prior two years, or 40 over any period
Additional 90 hours at 30/25/35 with 70 percent in each subject (or 180 from zero), inside 5 years
IdentoGO 228Q6K inside 90 days
Online exam application ($25); Pearson only after WVREC approval
National Broker 80/150 and State Broker 60/90 at 75 percent, $59 each
Trust Fund Form or Waiver, Subordination Resolution, both pass certificates
Secretary of State registration; applicant listed as member or officer
Surrender salesperson certificate; pay $150 with no fee credit

How West Virginia is different

Kentucky's broker upgrade sits on a 96-hour sales-associate base and a PSI product. Pennsylvania's broker path is 240 hours within ten years and a PALS-before-Pearson sequence. Virginia and Maryland upgrade off 60-hour salesperson courses. West Virginia wants two years as a salesperson, 20 closings in those two years or 40 over any period, an additional 90 hours in a 30/25/35 outline at 70 percent per subject, and a 75 percent Pearson broker cut on 80 national and 60 state items. The Closed Transactions Form is the document that makes the experience real.

Frequently asked questions

Is two years on a salesperson license enough?: No. Two years is the minimum licensed time. You also need 20 closed transactions in the two years prior to the application, or 40 closed transactions over any period, on the Closed Transactions Form.
Do I retake the full 180 hours if I am already a WV salesperson?: No. Currently licensed West Virginia salespersons complete an additional 90 hours of broker education: 30 Brokerage Operation and Management, 25 Human Resources, 35 West Virginia Specific Real Estate for Brokers, at 70 percent in each subject. From zero, the requirement is 180 clock hours (12 semester hours). Broker courses count if completed in the five years preceding application.
Is the broker exam the salesperson exam at a higher cut score?: No. National Broker is still 80 scored in 150 minutes, but State Broker is 60 scored in 90 minutes (not 50/60), passing is 75 percent (not 70), and 18 of the state items are Broker Management.
Do I get credit for the salesperson license fee?: No. Series 2: the responsible broker surrenders the salesperson certificate before the broker certificate issues, and there is no credit for the salesperson fee already paid. Broker/associate-broker license is $150.
What else goes in the post-exam packet?: Trust Fund Form or Waiver, Subordination Resolution, both Pearson pass certificates, and West Virginia Secretary of State registration with the applicant listed as a member or officer of the company.
How is broker CE different?: Still 7 hours per fiscal year in the year preceding renewal. Beginning FY 2024, 3 of those 7 must be broker-level for brokers and associate brokers.

Primary Sources

Regulatory requirements on this page are drawn from the official board, statute, and exam-provider materials listed below.

Verified 2026-09-02 · Next scheduled review 2026-12-01