West Virginia Real Estate Salesperson License requirements

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

1. 1

   Finish the 90-hour outline at 70 percent in each subject

   30 Principles and Practice, 20 Law, 20 Finance, 20 Appraisal at a Commission-approved provider. Keep the Official Course Completion Certificate with scores. The course must fall inside the 3-year window, or 5 years if taken before June 9, 2023.

2. 2

   Complete IdentoGO 228Q6K fingerprinting

   This is the national criminal history check, valid 90 days. Do it before or with the exam application, because the 90 days run during Commission review.

3. 3

   File the online exam application ($25) and wait for approval

   Upload the scored certificate and your driver's license. Paper applications are not accepted. Pearson emails scheduling instructions after WVREC approves you. If that email has not arrived within 72 hours, write [email protected].

4. 4

   Take National 80/150 and State 50/60 at 70 percent ($59 each)

   Pass within 90 days or two attempts, whichever comes first. Schedule the parts separately; back-to-back appointments are allowed. Bring one government-issued ID with photo and signature. The Charleston and Morgantown Pearson Professional Centers are in-state options.

5. 5

   Apply for the license within 90 days ($75) with a sponsoring broker

   Upload both passing score reports (each valid 90 days) and the Verification of Sponsoring Broker. If you miss this deadline, your passing scores expire and you are not licensed.

Minimum age

18 years old

Identification

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

Residency and identification

WVREC's salesperson page does not list West Virginia residency as a prerequisite. You must be age 18 and have a high school diploma or GED. Non-resident CE reciprocity applies only at renewal (when the other jurisdiction has a comparable requirement and recognizes WV CE); it does not replace the 90-hour course or the exam.

Qualifying education

Take the course from a Commission-approved provider. Official outline: 30 hours Principles and Practice, 20 hours Law, 20 hours Finance, 20 hours Appraisal. You must score 70 percent or higher in each subject area to take the exam. On the online exam application, upload the Official Course Completion Certificate with scores (not the Student Affidavit) plus your driver's license.

Education or filing deadline

The course must be completed in the 3 years preceding application, or 5 years if taken before June 9, 2023. Separately, exam authorization lasts 90 days or two attempts, whichever comes first; each passing score report is valid 90 days; and IdentoGO 228Q6K results are valid 90 days.

Character review

You need good character and a national criminal-background check. Disclose anything that will appear on your IdentoGO report; failing to disclose creates a separate problem. WVREC reviews each record individually and does not publish a list of disqualifying felonies on its salesperson page.

Background process

National criminal history through IdentoGO, service code 228Q6K. The report is valid 90 days and is part of qualifying to take the exam, so complete it before or with your application rather than after Pearson schedules you.

Experience

No licensed experience is required for the salesperson license. A sponsoring broker is required to file the license application and to practice.

Broker affiliation

The Verification of Sponsoring Broker is a required upload on the license application after you pass the exam. WVREC will not issue a practicing salesperson license without a sponsoring broker, and you may not perform licensed activity until the broker is on your file.

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

Your authorization lasts 90 days or two attempts, whichever comes first; after that, resubmit the exam application to WVREC. You cannot retake a part you already passed during the authorization. Once you pass one part, you have 90 days to pass the other. If the authorization expires with a failed part, reapply to WVREC for the failed part only. Passing score reports are valid 90 days. At the Sales level you get one OnVUE attempt for life; a later authorization cannot be used for another OnVUE attempt. Cancel or change at least 48 hours in advance or forfeit the Pearson fee. The handbook cover page mentions unlimited attempts within one year, but the West Virginia section controls.

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

Series 2 / rec.wv.gov Schedule of Fees: exam application $25; salesperson license $75 initial and subsequent; annual renewal $75. Late renewal from July 1–August 31 adds $50; fees for later periods are listed on WVREC's current Schedule of Fees. Pearson charges $59 per part (National and State are separate), which is separate from the Series 2 exam-fee cap of "up to $150." IdentoGO sets its own fee.

• !

  Uploading the Student Affidavit instead of the scored certificate

  WVREC requires the Official Course Completion Certificate with scores; the affidavit is a different document. Your file stalls, and the IdentoGO 90-day period keeps running while you fix it.

• !

  Treating 70 percent as a course average

  A 62 in Finance and an 88 in Appraisal is not a pass. Each of the four subject areas must be 70 percent or higher, or you cannot take the exam.

• !

  Letting fingerprints expire during Commission review

  228Q6K results are valid 90 days from IdentoGO, not from Pearson's email, and approval time counts against them. If they expire before you test, you must redo them.

• !

  Following the Pearson cover page instead of the West Virginia section

  The cover page's mentions of unlimited attempts within one year and a passing score valid for one year do not apply. In West Virginia, you get 90 days or two attempts, and passing score reports are valid 90 days.

• !

  Using your OnVUE attempt as a practice test

  At the Sales level you get one OnVUE attempt for life. Any later authorization at that level must be used at a test center.

• !

  Passing Pearson and missing the 90-day license filing

  Each passing score report expires after 90 days, and your upload must include the Verification of Sponsoring Broker. Finding a broker three months later will not revive expired score reports.

WVREC does not publish a salesperson-exam waiver chart. Kentucky currently lists West Virginia among the states whose active licensees may take only Kentucky's state exam for reciprocity; that is a KREC rule, and WVREC does not waive its 90-hour course in return. West Virginia may accept non-resident continuing education if the other jurisdiction has a comparable CE requirement and recognizes West Virginia CE; that rule applies to renewal, not original licensure.

West 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.

What is the official 90-hour breakdown?

30 hours Principles and Practice, 20 hours Law, 20 hours Finance, 20 hours Appraisal, per WVREC's pre-licensing outline. You must score 70 percent or higher in each subject area to take the Pearson exam.

Can I book Pearson before the Commission approves me?

No. Pearson emails a scheduling notice only after WVREC approval. If you have not received that email within 72 hours, email [email protected]. Paper applications and walk-ins are not accepted.

What are the three 90-day deadlines?

IdentoGO 228Q6K (fingerprint results valid 90 days, counting during the approval period). Exam authorization (90 days or two attempts, whichever comes first). License filing (90 days from each passing score report, with both portions and a sponsoring broker). Each is a separate deadline.

How is the exam built?

National Salesperson: 80 scored, 5 pretest, 150 minutes, $59. State Salesperson: 50 scored, 5 pretest, 60 minutes, $59. Passing is 70 percent, scaled. Source: handbook #094900 (February 2026). The cover-page statements about "unlimited attempts / one year" do not apply in West Virginia.

How old can the 90-hour course be?

It must be completed in the 3 years preceding application, or 5 years if the course was taken before June 9, 2023.

What does Series 2 actually charge?

Exam application $25. Salesperson license $75 initial and subsequent. Annual renewal $75. Late renewal from July 1–August 31 adds $50. Pearson charges $59 per part in addition.

How much continuing education?

7 hours per fiscal year, using 50-minute hours, taken in the fiscal year preceding the renewal year. W. Va. Code § 30-40-16.

Can I test OnVUE more than once?

No. At the Sales level, you get one OnVUE attempt for life, and after a new authorization you cannot retest through OnVUE. National and State are still separate appointments and may be taken back to back at a test center.