Florida licensing
How to Get a Florida Real Estate License
Florida eligibility and application rules - minimum age, pre-licensing education, application sequence, application timeline, fingerprinting and background check, and more - each cited to the Florida Statutes, Chapter 475 and dated.
Published by Freehold · First published 2026-08-11 · Sources last verified 2026-08-17 · Review method
Your licensing route
From eligibility to an active license
Exact order can vary by state process. Each state-specific rule appears below with its source.
- 01Confirm eligibility
Check age and any residency, education, or background conditions.
- 02Complete approved education
Use the regulator's approved-provider list where one is published.
- 03Apply and take the exam
Follow Florida's application order, then sit the configured salesperson exam.
- 04Activate your license
Complete any sponsorship or initial-license step that Florida requires.
| Requirement | Florida |
|---|---|
| Minimum age | 18 |
| Pre-licensing education | 63 classroom hours |
| Application sequence | Apply with prints, then sit the exam |
| Application timeline | Two years to pass |
| Fingerprinting and background check | Digital prints to FDLE and the FBI |
| Exam registration | Booked with Pearson VUE |
| Retake policy | Rebook online, 21-day review rule |
| License activation | Active license plus a registered employer |
| Sponsoring broker | Registered employer required |
| Reciprocity | No blanket reciprocity |
| Broker experience | 24 months in 5 years |
| Exam provider | Pearson VUE |
Requirements change. Confirm with the Florida Statutes, Chapter 475 before enrolling or paying anything.
More on what counts as real estate school, state by state.
Each requirement, and where it comes from
Minimum age
An applicant who is a natural person must be at least 18 years of age, hold a high school diploma or its equivalent, and be honest, truthful, trustworthy and of good character with a good reputation for fair dealing.
Source: Florida Statutes 475.17 - Qualifications for practice, (1)(a) — verified 2026-08-11
Pre-licensing education
The statute caps the sales associate course at 63 classroom hours of 50 minutes each, inclusive of its examination, taken at an accredited college, university, community college, career center or registered real estate school. Passing that school-administered examination is what proves completion, and notice of completion is withheld if absences run past the permitted limit.
Source: Florida Statutes 475.17 - Qualifications for practice, (2)(a) — verified 2026-08-11
Application sequence
You are entitled to sit the license examination once you send the department a signed application, digital fingerprint data and the fee; at the exam you present the school's course-completion certificate, the examination admissions authorization letter and photo identification.
Source: Florida Statutes s. 475.175 - Examinations, (1)(a) and (1)(b) — verified 2026-08-17
Application timeline
The application expires two years after the date it is received if the applicant has not passed the examination, and course completion that is more than two years old is no longer valid for licensure either.
Source: Florida Statutes s. 475.181 - Licensure, (2) — verified 2026-08-17
Fingerprinting and background check
Digital fingerprints filed with the application are forwarded to the Division of Criminal Justice Information Systems within the Department of Law Enforcement and to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the criminal history result decides whether you are statutorily qualified for examination.
Source: Florida Statutes s. 475.175 - Examinations, (1)(a) — verified 2026-08-17
Exam registration
Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation candidates reserve the appointment online or by telephone with Pearson VUE, and every candidate must test in a physical test center; appointments can be made up to one calendar day before the test.
Source: Pearson VUE - Florida Real Estate & Appraisers, Florida Real Estate - Examination scheduling information — verified 2026-08-17
Retake policy
A failed candidate may book a retake online themselves outside the 21-day exam-review exclusion window; scheduling a retake within 21 days of an exam review needs a customer-service override. Cancel or reschedule two full calendar days ahead to avoid a penalty.
Source: Pearson VUE - Florida Real Estate & Appraisers, Exam Reviews/Playbacks Update and Cancellation / Rescheduling policy — verified 2026-08-17
License activation
Passing alone does not let you work: operating as a sales associate without a valid and current active license is a third-degree felony, and a sales associate may not operate for any person not registered as their employer, with no more than one registered employer at a time.
Source: Florida Statutes s. 475.42 - Violations and penalties, (1)(a) and (1)(b) — verified 2026-08-17
Sponsoring broker
A sales associate may not operate for any person who is not registered as their employer, and a broker may not employ anyone as a sales associate who does not hold a valid current license. The obligation runs both ways, and breaching it is a criminal offence rather than a licensing technicality.
Source: Florida Statutes 475.42 - Violations and penalties, (1)(b) and (1)(c) — verified 2026-08-11
Reciprocity
Florida grants no automatic reciprocity. The commission may enter written mutual-recognition agreements with other licensing authorities, and where a jurisdiction does not offer Florida licensees comparable terms its applicants must meet substantially comparable education, experience and examination requirements.
Source: Florida Statutes s. 475.180 - Nonresident licenses, (1) — verified 2026-08-17
Broker experience
Moving up to a broker license requires having held an active sales associate license for at least 24 months during the preceding five years, in the office of one or more licensed brokers, plus a 72-hour course rather than the 63-hour one.
Source: Florida Statutes 475.17 - Qualifications for practice, (3)(b) — verified 2026-08-11
Exam provider
Florida's real estate exam is administered by Pearson VUE.
Source: Pearson VUE — Florida Real Estate Candidate Handbook, Available Exams and Time Allotted — verified 2026-07-27
Once you are eligible
The Florida salesperson exam is 100 questions in 210 minutes, administered by Pearson VUE. Practice it free: Florida practice test · Florida exam prep · Florida broker exam · compare all 50 states
New to the whole process? How to become a real estate agent walks the five steps and what changes between states.
Florida licensing FAQ
How do you get a real estate license in Florida?
Meet Florida's eligibility rules, complete 63 classroom hours, apply to the regulator, and pass the salesperson exam. On sponsoring broker, Florida's rule is: Registered employer required. Each requirement is set out below with the provision it comes from.
What are the requirements for a Florida real estate license?
Florida requires you to be 18 or older and to complete 63 classroom hours before sitting the salesperson exam, which is 100 questions in 210 minutes. Every figure on this page names the Florida Statutes, Chapter 475 page it came from and the date we checked it.
How much pre-licensing education does Florida require?
The statute caps the sales associate course at 63 classroom hours of 50 minutes each, inclusive of its examination, taken at an accredited college, university, community college, career center or registered real estate school. Passing that school-administered examination is what proves completion, and notice of completion is withheld if absences run past the permitted limit.
Sponsoring broker — what does Florida require?
A sales associate may not operate for any person who is not registered as their employer, and a broker may not employ anyone as a sales associate who does not hold a valid current license. The obligation runs both ways, and breaching it is a criminal offence rather than a licensing technicality.
How do you become a real estate agent in Florida?
Becoming an agent in Florida is the license plus one more step: complete 63 classroom hours, pass the 100-question salesperson exam, and then satisfy Florida's rule on sponsoring broker — Registered employer required. A license you hold and a license you can practice under are not the same thing, and the difference is set out above with its source.
Nearby states
Licensing in more than one state? Each state's license requirements covers its own license law.
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