1.2 Hawaii License Requirements

Salesperson License: Step by Step

Hawaii's salesperson path is set by HRS Chapter 467 and HREC rules. The eligibility floor is straightforward, but several numbers are exam favorites.

Basic eligibility

Pre-license education — 60 hours

A salesperson candidate must finish a 60-hour HREC-approved course before testing. Hawaii's course is not broken into three equal 20-hour blocks the way some other states structure it; the 60 hours are delivered as a single approved curriculum that blends principles, license law, and practice. What you must retain for the exam is the headline number and that the curriculum covers Hawaii-specific material:

• HRS Chapter 467 (license law and licensee duties)
• HRS Chapter 514B (condominium law — disproportionately important in Hawaii's condo-heavy market)
• Agency, contracts, financing, and fair housing as applied in Hawaii

You must pass the school's course final before you are eligible to sit the state exam.

The state examination

The exam is delivered by PSI (the approved vendor — do not confuse it with Prometric). It has two scored portions:

At 70%, you need roughly 56 of 80 correct on the national portion and 35 of 50 on the state portion. The two scores are independent — acing the national side cannot rescue a failed state side.

Worked example: A candidate scores 60/80 national (75%) and 33/50 state (66%). The national passes, the state fails at 66% (<70%). Result: the candidate must retake only the failed state portion, not the whole exam, as long as the passed portion is retaken within the vendor's validity window.

Background check

Applicants submit fingerprints; the FBI and the Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center run the check, and results route to HREC. A disqualifying offense can block licensure even after a passing exam.

Approximate fees

Fees change by biennium — always confirm the current schedule on the DCCA Real Estate Branch site before paying.

Broker License Requirements

The broker license is a true step up in both education and proven experience, and Hawaii's experience rule is a frequent test item.

Experience

A broker applicant must have held an active salesperson (or equivalent) license for at least 3 years of full-time experience within the preceding 5 years. "Active" matters — time spent on inactive status does not count toward the three years.

Education

The broker course is 80 hours, separate from and in addition to the 60-hour salesperson education. Together with experience, it prepares the candidate for greater supervisory and trust-account responsibility.

Broker exam

The broker exam mirrors the salesperson structure (two portions, 70% each) but tests at a higher level on supervision, trust accounting, and brokerage operations.

License Period and Renewal Dates

Here the existing guide contained a serious error. Hawaii does not tie expiration to the licensee's birthday. The correct rule:

So every Hawaii license shares the same biennial clock — it is calendar-based, not birthday-based. The application to renew is due November 30, even though the license technically runs through December 31.

Exam-critical correction: Any answer choice stating that Hawaii licenses expire "on the licensee's birthday" is wrong. The biennium ends December 31 of even years with a November 30 filing deadline.

The Full Application Sequence

1. Complete the 60-hour salesperson course (or 80-hour broker course) with an HREC-approved school.
2. Pass the school-administered final.
3. Submit fingerprints for the background check.
4. Register and schedule the exam with PSI.
5. Pass both portions at 70% within the 240-minute session.
6. Submit the license application and fees to the Real Estate Branch.
7. Activate the license under a sponsoring principal broker (a salesperson cannot operate independently).

Common trap: Passing the PSI exam does not by itself make you licensed — a salesperson's license stays inactive until a principal broker engages and activates it.

Retakes, Score Validity, and Application Windows

Several timing rules around the exam itself are tested. Because the national and state portions are scored independently, a candidate who passes one and fails the other retakes only the failed portion — but only within the vendor's validity window. A passed portion is generally good for two years; if the candidate does not pass the remaining portion and apply for licensure within that period, both portions must be retaken.

Worked example: A candidate passes the national portion in March 2026 but keeps failing the state portion. If they have not passed the state side and applied for licensure by the corresponding 2026-window expiration, the earlier national pass expires and they must sit both portions again. Tracking that clock is the practical reason candidates are advised to clear both portions quickly.

Schedule retakes through PSI; the candidate handbook sets any mandatory wait period between attempts and the fee for each sitting. Always confirm the current handbook because vendor scheduling rules change independently of HREC.