Minnesota licensing
How to Get a Minnesota Real Estate License
Minnesota eligibility and application rules - minimum age, pre-licensing education, sponsoring broker, course content rule, application sequence, and more - each cited to the Minnesota Department of Commerce 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 Minnesota's application order, then sit the configured salesperson exam.
- 04Activate your license
Complete any sponsorship or initial-license step that Minnesota requires.
| Requirement | Minnesota |
|---|---|
| Minimum age | 18 |
| Pre-licensing education | 90 hours (three 30-hour courses) |
| Sponsoring broker | Required to practice |
| Course content rule | Curriculum written into statute |
| Application sequence | Certificates and results with the form |
| Time limit | One year from the exam |
| Exam registration | Sittings at least every 45 days |
| Retake policy | 75 percent on each portion |
| License activation | Ineffective the day you leave |
| Reciprocity | Only under a written agreement |
| Broker experience | Three years within five |
| Exam provider | PSI |
Requirements change. Confirm with the Minnesota Department of Commerce 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
To qualify for a Minnesota real estate salesperson license, an applicant must be at least 18 years old in addition to completing education, passing the exam, and becoming associated with a broker.
Source: Minnesota Department of Commerce - Real Estate License Guide, Qualifying for the License — verified 2026-08-11
Pre-licensing education
Applicants must successfully complete three prelicense courses known as Course I, Course II, and Course III, each consisting of 30 hours of instruction, completing Course I before the exam and Course II and III before applying for a license.
Source: Minnesota Department of Commerce - Real Estate License Guide, Prelicense Education Courses — verified 2026-08-11
Sponsoring broker
By law a candidate cannot become licensed as a real estate salesperson without first being associated with an actively licensed real estate broker, who must submit the license application on the salesperson's behalf.
Source: Minnesota Department of Commerce - Real Estate License Guide, Becoming Associated with a Licensed Broker — verified 2026-08-11
Course content rule
Minnesota does not leave the syllabus to the school. Chapter 82 sets out Course I, Course II and Course III topic by topic with the hours attached, so Course I alone allocates one hour to introduction to real estate, six hours to title closing, eight hours to real estate law and three hours to the basic law of contracts.
Source: Minnesota Statutes 2025, Chapter 82, 82.60, subdivisions 1 and 2 - Education; course curriculum — verified 2026-08-17
Application sequence
The salesperson application must give the applicant's legal name, age, residence address, and the name and place of business of the broker on whose behalf the salesperson will act. It must be accompanied by the license fee and, separately, by copies of the course completion certificates for Courses I, II and III together with the passing examination results.
Source: Minnesota Statutes 2025, Chapter 82, 82.58, subdivision 2, paragraphs (c) and (e) - Licensing: application — verified 2026-08-17
Time limit
An applicant who obtains an acceptable score on the salesperson examination must file the application AND obtain the license within one year of the date of the successful examination. Missing that window means sitting a second examination to qualify.
Source: Minnesota Statutes 2025, Chapter 82, 82.58, subdivision 5 - Period for application — verified 2026-08-17
Exam registration
The commissioner sets examination times and places but must hold examinations at least every 45 days. Nobody may sit at all if a real estate broker or salesperson license was revoked in Minnesota or any other state within two years of the application date.
Source: Minnesota Statutes 2025, Chapter 82, 82.59, subdivisions 2 and 3 - Licensing; examinations and instruction — verified 2026-08-17
Retake policy
A passing grade is 75 percent or higher on the uniform portion AND 75 percent or higher on the state portion, so both halves must clear the bar. The commissioner will not accept the score of anyone who cheated, and cheating on the examination is itself a ground for denying the license application.
Source: Minnesota Statutes 2025, Chapter 82, 82.59, subdivision 6 - Passing grade for examination — verified 2026-08-17
License activation
A salesperson must be licensed to act on behalf of one licensed broker and may not be licensed under more than one broker at a time. When the salesperson stops working for that broker the license immediately becomes ineffective, the broker must notify the commissioner within ten days, and the salesperson may apply to transfer to another broker at any point in the remaining license period; after that period a whole new license application is required.
Source: Minnesota Statutes 2025, Chapter 82, 82.63, subdivisions 4 and 6 - Licensing; other requirements — verified 2026-08-17
Reciprocity
Minnesota waives the prelicense education and continuing education requirements for an out-of-state licensee only where all three conditions hold: a written reciprocal licensing agreement is in effect between the commissioner and that jurisdiction's licensing officials, the individual is licensed in good standing there, and that jurisdiction's requirements are substantially similar to chapter 82.
Source: Minnesota Statutes 2025, Chapter 82, 82.64 - Reciprocity — verified 2026-08-17
Broker experience
Every broker examination application must be accompanied by proof of at least three years of actual experience as a licensed salesperson within the previous five years, in Minnesota or a state with comparable requirements, plus the broker course. The commissioner may waive the experience for an applicant with a real estate degree, a practicing attorney whose work involves real estate law, or a public officer whose duties involve real estate transactions.
Source: Minnesota Statutes 2025, Chapter 82, 82.59, subdivisions 4 and 5 - Broker's examination; Waivers — verified 2026-08-17
Exam provider
Minnesota's real estate exam is administered by PSI.
Source: PSI — Minnesota Real Estate candidate materials, Scheduling the examination — verified 2026-07-29
Once you are eligible
The Minnesota salesperson exam is 120 questions in 240 minutes, administered by PSI. Practice it free: Minnesota practice test · Minnesota exam prep · Minnesota 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.
Minnesota licensing FAQ
How do you get a real estate license in Minnesota?
Meet Minnesota's eligibility rules, complete 90 hours (three 30-hour courses), apply to the regulator, and pass the salesperson exam. On sponsoring broker, Minnesota's rule is: Required to practice. Each requirement is set out below with the provision it comes from.
What are the requirements for a Minnesota real estate license?
Minnesota requires you to be 18 or older and to complete 90 hours (three 30-hour courses) before sitting the salesperson exam, which is 120 questions in 240 minutes. Every figure on this page names the Minnesota Department of Commerce page it came from and the date we checked it.
How much pre-licensing education does Minnesota require?
Applicants must successfully complete three prelicense courses known as Course I, Course II, and Course III, each consisting of 30 hours of instruction, completing Course I before the exam and Course II and III before applying for a license.
Sponsoring broker — what does Minnesota require?
By law a candidate cannot become licensed as a real estate salesperson without first being associated with an actively licensed real estate broker, who must submit the license application on the salesperson's behalf.
How do you become a real estate agent in Minnesota?
Becoming an agent in Minnesota is the license plus one more step: complete 90 hours (three 30-hour courses), pass the 120-question salesperson exam, and then satisfy Minnesota's rule on sponsoring broker — Required to practice. 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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