1.2 New Jersey License Requirements

New Jersey sets specific eligibility, education, examination, and character requirements for both salesperson and broker licenses, and the state portion tests these logistics directly. The numbers are easy points if you memorize them.

Salesperson License Requirements

Four buckets must all be satisfied.

1. Basic Eligibility

• Be at least 18 years of age
• Hold a high school diploma or equivalent (GED)
• Be of good moral character — NJREC weighs honesty, trustworthiness, and integrity
• Disclose any criminal convictions. Certain crimes (forgery, fraud, theft, or any crime involving moral turpitude) can bar licensure, but most are reviewed case-by-case rather than being automatic disqualifiers

2. Pre-License Education

Complete 75 hours of classroom or NJREC-approved distance instruction from a school licensed by NJREC. The 75 hours blend national real-estate principles with New Jersey license law. You must score at least 70% on the school's end-of-course exam before you may sit for the state licensing exam. Two clocks then start:

3. The Licensing Examination

Note: Because scoring is combined, a strong national score can offset a weaker state score and vice versa. There is no penalty for guessing, so never leave a question blank.

4. Background Check (Fingerprinting)

All applicants submit fingerprints through IdentoGO (by IDEMIA) for a state and FBI criminal-history check.

Broker License Requirements

A broker license lets you operate independently and supervise others, so New Jersey demands both experience and far more education.

Experience Requirement

You must have been continuously licensed and employed full-time as a salesperson for the three years immediately preceding your broker application. "Continuous" and "full-time" are deliberate traps — part-time activity or a lapse anywhere in that three-year window can disqualify the application.

Broker Education — 150 Hours in Three Courses

Beyond the 75-hour salesperson course, a broker candidate completes 150 additional hours, taken in sequence after the general course:

The trap: the broker requirement is 150 hours, not 165 and not 225. The Agency/Ethics and Office Management courses each follow the 90-hour general course.

Broker Examination

The broker exam emphasizes brokerage operation and supervision — trust-account management, agency, advertising compliance, recordkeeping, fair housing, and the License Act. It is also a PSI exam scored at 70%.

Salesperson Application Process (Step by Step)

1. Complete the 75-hour pre-license course at an NJREC-licensed school and pass the school exam at 70%.
2. Register and pay the $45 exam fee with PSI; schedule the state exam.
3. Pass the state exam with 77/110 (70%).
4. Complete IdentoGO fingerprinting ($66.05).
5. File the license application with NJREC within 1 year of finishing the 75 hours.
6. Pay the salesperson license fee (about $160 for a new license, prorated within the biennial cycle).
7. Affiliate with a sponsoring broker — the license stays inactive until a broker certifies the employment relationship.

Approximate Costs

Critical: The one-year clock runs from course completion, not the exam date. If you do not pass and file a complete application within one year of finishing the 75 hours, you must retake the entire course.

Retakes and the 90-Day Rule

If you fail the state exam, you may schedule a retake by paying the $45 fee again. After three failures, candidates are commonly required to repeat additional education before another attempt — do not assume unlimited identical retries. Separately, a candidate must have completed the 75 hours within the prior window for the course certificate to remain valid for scheduling.

Salesperson vs. Broker Requirements Side by Side

This side-by-side captures the most-tested contrasts: the broker's added 150 hours, the three-year experience bar, and the broker's exclusive authority to hold trust funds and supervise affiliated licensees.