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State of North Carolina Real Estate License Requirements

North Carolina Real Estate Requirements 

Article Summary: This article contains helpful insight into what it takes to obtain a real estate license in the state of North Carolina. Summaries below can help an individual looking to learn the requirements including the governing agency, pre and post licensing, examination, renewal and more..


The North Carolina Real Estate Commission (NCREC)  located in Raleigh, NC, is the government agency that issues broker licenses to qualified applicants and governs all brokers with the License Law and Commission rules. Their goal is protecting public interest in all real estate brokerage transactions within NC. 

To be eligible to be a NC Real Estate Broker (called a salesperson in other states) a person must be at least 18 years of age, and complete a state-approved 75-hour pre licensing course in a classroom. This includes Real Estate Principles, Law of Agency, Law of Contracts, and Real Estate Law. In order to apply for a real estate license, each person needs to obtain a Criminal Record Check. This check is used by the commission to consider the applicant’s ability to demonstrate good character. 

In order to take the state’s exam, one needs to apply with the Commission. After an application for a license is submitted, they will notify each person for examination eligibility. Next, the licensing exam can be scheduled with PSI, the state’s exam provider. A score of 75% or higher is needed to pass the exam and results are given immediately after an exam is complete. The time frame for the national section of the exam is 2 hours and the state section is 1.5 hours. 

Each licensing broker is required to find a broker-in-charge to hang a license with. When a license is issued, it will be a Provisional Broker’s License until the post licensing education is complete within the three years from the date of licensure. There are three 30-hour courses mandated that must be completed for post licensing education.

All real estate licenses in NC expire on June 30th following the date of issuance, which can be renewed on the commission’s website along with a $45 renewal fee. The Continuing Education (CE) requirement includes 8 hours per annual license period (General Update Course of 4 hours and Commission approved elective course of 4 hours).

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