How to become a Real Estate Broker in Florida by upgrading from Associate
A real estate sales associate or real estate salesperson is a level below a broker. An associate can do most of the tasks of the broker but only do so under the management of a licensed broker. The role of a real estate sales associate is much similar to that of a real estate broker but, they administer under a licensed broker or developer on an assignable transactional basis.
A licensed sales associate in Florida with sufficient experience can upgrade his/her license to a brokership.
Who can apply?
- Age and citizenship: The minimum age requirement for obtaining a real estate license in Florida is 18 years. Applicants are required to have the United States Social Number to apply for any real estate license.
- Experience: The applicant must hold an active sales associate license in Florida and must have a minimum of 24 months of experience in the preceding five years under a licensed broker.
- Certification of licensure history: The applicant must submit a certification of license history from the state in which they hold a license if they are claiming experience from a state other than Florida. The history must include the initial license exam type, current license status and disciplinary information.
- Pre-licensing education: Applicants applying for out of state experience are required to complete the Florida 72-hour pre-licensing course. Individuals with a four year real estate degree however are exempt from the course. Read more about the educational requirements of a real estate broker.
License process:
The following is the step by step procedure to obtain a broker license in Florida.
- Application: The application can be submitted online or through mail.
- Online: Register in the Florida DBPR portal, fill the necessary details and provide valid documentation to apply online.
- Offline: The application form available has to be downloaded from the site, printed and filled with the details required and posted through mail.
- Pre-license: Finish the FREC pre-licensing course and get the completion slip.
- Exam: Applicants applying for out of state are required to take the full exam for licensing which consists of 100 questions. A score of 75% or higher is required to pass the test.
- Fee: The fee for a broker license is $91.75 which breaks down to $14.75 non-refundable application fee, $72.00 license fee and $5.00 unlicensed activity fee.
- License: On passing the test, the testing vendor uploads the grades into the DBPR database and the license number is issued. The applicant can download their license from website on their registered account after about 48 hours of the test.
- Post license: Finish the FREC prescribed post licensing course, pass the test and submit the completion slip to activate the license. The final post licensing exam is a three hour test which consists of 100 multiple choice questions. The candidate needs to score 75% or higher to pass the test.
There are provisions for license holders from other states to apply for brokership in Florida too. If you are not licensed in Florida but hold a real estate license in some other state, read about the application process here.