Massachusetts licensing
How to Get a Massachusetts Real Estate License
Massachusetts eligibility and application rules - minimum age, pre-licensing education, sponsoring broker, good moral character, course content rule, and more - each cited to the Massachusetts Board of Registration of Real Estate Brokers and Salespersons 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 Massachusetts's application order, then sit the configured salesperson exam.
- 04Activate your license
Complete any sponsorship or initial-license step that Massachusetts requires.
| Requirement | Massachusetts |
|---|---|
| Minimum age | 18 |
| Pre-licensing education | 40 classroom hours |
| Sponsoring broker | Required, one broker at a time |
| Good moral character | Evidence required, no license without it |
| Course content rule | Board-approved real estate subjects |
| Education exemption | Attorneys and law students |
| Exam registration | At least eight sittings a year |
| Application sequence | Course, application, exam, license |
| License activation | Affiliate, and keep the board informed |
| Reciprocity | Exam waiver only where mutual |
| Exam provider | PSI |
Requirements change. Confirm with the Massachusetts Board of Registration of Real Estate Brokers and Salespersons 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
Salesperson applicants must be at least eighteen years of age, per the exam administrator's candidate information bulletin issued for the board.
Source: PSI - Massachusetts Real Estate Candidate Information Bulletin, Real Estate Requirements - Salesperson Applicants Must — verified 2026-08-11
Pre-licensing education
An individual applying for a salesperson's license examination must, as a prerequisite, submit proof of completion of board-approved real estate courses totaling 40 classroom hours of instruction.
Source: Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 112, Section 87SS - Real estate brokers and salesmen; applicants for license; requisites; attorney at law; examinations; rules and regulations — verified 2026-08-11
Sponsoring broker
A salesperson may not operate their own real estate business and may act only as the representative of a real estate broker who is responsible for the salesperson; a salesperson may be affiliated with only one broker at a time.
Source: Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 112, Section 87RR - Persons required to be licensed; salesman acting as representative of broker — verified 2026-08-11
Good moral character
Each applicant must furnish evidence of good moral character, and the statute is written as a bar rather than a preference: no license shall be issued unless the evidence of good moral character it requires is found. The same finding is re-made at every biennial renewal.
Source: Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 112, Section 87TT - Real estate brokers and salesmen; application for licenses; forms; fees; evidence of applicant; bonds — verified 2026-08-17
Course content rule
The 40 classroom hours must be courses in real estate subjects approved by the board, and the examination they prepare you for tests a fair understanding of the principles of real estate practice, real estate agreements, principal and agent relations, the rudimentary principles of real estate economics and appraising, and sections 87PP to 87DDD themselves.
Source: Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 112, Section 87SS - Real estate brokers and salesmen; applicants for license; requisites; attorney at law; examinations — verified 2026-08-17
Education exemption
An applicant who is an attorney at law of the commonwealth is not required to take the licensing examination at all. Separately, an applicant who successfully completed a course in real property while enrolled in an accredited Massachusetts law school may sit the examination without the 40 classroom hours.
Source: Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 112, Section 87SS - Real estate brokers and salesmen; applicants for license; requisites; attorney at law; examinations — verified 2026-08-17
Exam registration
The board or its designated independent testing service must conduct salesman examinations at least eight times in each calendar year, and no limit may be placed on how many applicants sit on any one examination date, so a candidate is never queued out of a date.
Source: Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 112, Section 87SS - Real estate brokers and salesmen; applicants for license; requisites; attorney at law; examinations — verified 2026-08-17
Application sequence
Applications are made on board forms, signed and sworn to by the applicant. No license may be issued until the application has been on file with the board for at least ten days, and the license issuance fee is payable only on receipt of notice that the examination was passed.
Source: Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 112, Section 87TT - Real estate brokers and salesmen; application for licenses; forms; fees; evidence of applicant; bonds — verified 2026-08-17
License activation
No unlicensed salesman may be affiliated with a broker. Once affiliated, a salesman may not act for any other broker and may accept payment for salesman work only from the affiliated broker. A licensed salesman must promptly notify the board in writing of any change of business address; failing to do so is a ground for revoking the license.
Source: Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 112, Section 87VV - Licensed real estate salesmen; restrictions; notices — verified 2026-08-17
Reciprocity
A non-resident may be licensed on the same terms as a resident, and the board may waive the written examination for a salesman already licensed in another state, but only where that state extends the same exemption to Massachusetts licensees. No non-resident license issues until the applicant files a power of attorney appointing the board chairman as agent for service of process.
Source: Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 112, Section 87WW - Non-residents; licensed real estate broker or salesman; power of attorney; service of process — verified 2026-08-17
Exam provider
Massachusetts's real estate exam is administered by PSI.
Source: PSI — Massachusetts Real Estate Candidate Information Bulletin, EXAMINATION SUMMARY TABLE — verified 2026-07-27
Once you are eligible
The Massachusetts salesperson exam is 120 questions in 240 minutes, administered by PSI. Practice it free: Massachusetts practice test · Massachusetts exam prep · Massachusetts 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.
Massachusetts licensing FAQ
How do you get a real estate license in Massachusetts?
Meet Massachusetts's eligibility rules, complete 40 classroom hours, apply to the regulator, and pass the salesperson exam. On sponsoring broker, Massachusetts's rule is: Required, one broker at a time. Each requirement is set out below with the provision it comes from.
What are the requirements for a Massachusetts real estate license?
Massachusetts requires you to be 18 or older and to complete 40 classroom hours before sitting the salesperson exam, which is 120 questions in 240 minutes. Every figure on this page names the Massachusetts Board of Registration of Real Estate Brokers and Salespersons page it came from and the date we checked it.
How much pre-licensing education does Massachusetts require?
An individual applying for a salesperson's license examination must, as a prerequisite, submit proof of completion of board-approved real estate courses totaling 40 classroom hours of instruction.
Sponsoring broker — what does Massachusetts require?
A salesperson may not operate their own real estate business and may act only as the representative of a real estate broker who is responsible for the salesperson; a salesperson may be affiliated with only one broker at a time.
How do you become a real estate agent in Massachusetts?
Becoming an agent in Massachusetts is the license plus one more step: complete 40 classroom hours, pass the 120-question salesperson exam, and then satisfy Massachusetts's rule on sponsoring broker — Required, one broker at a time. 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.
Rhode Island · Connecticut · New York · New Hampshire · Vermont
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