Tennessee licensing
How to Get a Tennessee Real Estate License
Tennessee eligibility and application rules - minimum age, pre-licensing education, sponsoring broker, high school diploma, background check, and more - each cited to the Tennessee Real Estate Commission (TREC) 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 Tennessee's application order, then sit the configured salesperson exam.
- 04Activate your license
Complete any sponsorship or initial-license step that Tennessee requires.
| Requirement | Tennessee |
|---|---|
| Minimum age | 18 |
| Pre-licensing education | 90 hours (60 + 30) |
| Sponsoring broker | Application must be signed by a Principal Broker |
| High school diploma | Proof required with the application |
| Background check | Electronic fingerprints, TBI and FBI |
| Exam registration | The school releases you to PSI |
| Retake policy | Only the failed section, then a 30-day wait |
| Time limit | One year after passing |
| Application sequence | Test first, apply online second |
| License activation | Errors and omissions insurance |
| Reciprocity | None, but credit may substitute |
| Exam provider | PSI |
Requirements change. Confirm with the Tennessee Real Estate Commission (TREC) 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
Tennessee law requires an applicant to be at least 18 years of age, one of the qualifying questions TREC requires a candidate to answer honestly before sitting the affiliate broker licensing examination.
Source: PSI - Tennessee Real Estate Candidate Information Bulletin (TREC), Qualifying Questions — verified 2026-08-11
Pre-licensing education
Tennessee's entry-level license is called Affiliate Broker rather than salesperson, and candidates must complete 60 hours of real estate principles and fundamentals before the exam, then a separate 30-hour Course for New Affiliates before a license is issued.
Source: Tennessee Real Estate Commission - Affiliate Broker Licensure, Education Requirements — verified 2026-08-11
Sponsoring broker
The PSI Examination Application an affiliate broker candidate receives at the testing center must be signed by their Principal Broker, reflecting Tennessee's requirement that affiliate brokers work under a supervising broker.
Source: Tennessee Real Estate Commission - Affiliate Broker Licensure, Additional Supporting Documentation — verified 2026-08-11
High school diploma
Proof of high school graduation is one of the supporting documents an affiliate broker applicant must file, alongside the course completion certificates, the signed PSI examination application and the fingerprint receipt. It is a document to produce, not a box to tick.
Source: Tennessee Real Estate Commission - Affiliate Broker Licensure, Additional Supporting Documentation — verified 2026-08-17
Background check
TREC requires fingerprints on every initial license application. Applicants in Tennessee book through IdentoGO, which transmits the prints to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the FBI; out-of-state applicants use the non-resident card scan service instead. The receipt and the ORI number go in with the application. Fingerprints are not needed to sit the examination, only to be licensed, and an affiliate broker upgrading to broker does not repeat them.
Source: PSI - Tennessee Real Estate Candidate Information Bulletin (TREC), Fingerprint Requirement (T.C.A. 62-13-303(l)) — verified 2026-08-17
Exam registration
A candidate cannot register for the examination until the education provider has sent proof of completion to PSI electronically. Only after the school submits that file can the candidate log in to the PSI Tennessee real estate portal to pay and schedule. If PSI has no record, the fix is with the school, not with PSI.
Source: PSI - Tennessee Real Estate Candidate Information Bulletin (TREC), Examination Payment and Scheduling Procedures — verified 2026-08-17
Retake policy
The affiliate broker examination has a national section of 80 items and a Tennessee state section of 40 items, each needing 70 percent correct. Pass one and fail the other and only the failed section is retaken, but the passed section's score lasts for two retakes of the failed section or one year, whichever comes first. A first failure can be retaken the next day; after the second attempt the candidate must wait 30 days between every further failed attempt.
Source: PSI - Tennessee Real Estate Candidate Information Bulletin (TREC), Description of Examinations, and Score Reporting - Minimum Passing Score — verified 2026-08-17
Time limit
Every required portion must be passed before applying, and the license application must be filed at core.tn.gov within one year of passing the examinations. The examination fee itself is also only valid for one year, so an unused registration expires on the same clock.
Source: PSI - Tennessee Real Estate Candidate Information Bulletin (TREC), Contact Information, and Examination Fee — verified 2026-08-17
Application sequence
The PSI examination application is handed to the candidate at the testing center on completion, and it must be signed by the principal broker before it goes in. The license application itself is then filed online through the CORE portal at core.tn.gov, with the course certificates, the high school proof, the fingerprint receipt, the errors and omissions proof and the Eligibility for Entitlements Verification form attached.
Source: Tennessee Real Estate Commission - Affiliate Broker Licensure, Additional Supporting Documentation, and Application & Fees — verified 2026-08-17
License activation
Proof of an errors and omissions insurance policy must be filed with the initial affiliate broker application. Tennessee treats it as a condition of holding an active license: a licensee who later retires the license may drop the policy, and must produce current coverage again, plus firm affiliation, to reactivate.
Source: Tennessee Real Estate Commission - Affiliate Broker Licensure, Additional Supporting Documentation — verified 2026-08-17
Reciprocity
The Commission does not offer a reciprocal license. A licensee of another state may still qualify under Tennessee statute to have their real estate education, the national portion of the examination, or their experience substitute for Tennessee's, decided case by case on a submitted Worksheet A plus a certified license history from every state where they hold or have held a license. Nonresident candidates meet the same education criteria as residents and must be affiliated with a Tennessee-licensed firm under a Tennessee-licensed principal broker. An out-of-state licensee cannot partner with a Tennessee licensee instead of getting licensed.
Source: Tennessee Real Estate Commission - Renewal, Reciprocity and Other Resources, Reciprocity — verified 2026-08-17
Exam provider
Tennessee's real estate exam is administered by PSI.
Source: PSI — Tennessee Real Estate Candidate Information Bulletin (TREC), EXAMINATION SUMMARY TABLE — verified 2026-07-27
Once you are eligible
The Tennessee salesperson exam is 120 questions in 240 minutes, administered by PSI. Practice it free: Tennessee practice test · Tennessee exam prep · Tennessee 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.
Tennessee licensing FAQ
How do you get a real estate license in Tennessee?
Meet Tennessee's eligibility rules, complete 90 hours (60 + 30), apply to the regulator, and pass the salesperson exam. On sponsoring broker, Tennessee's rule is: Application must be signed by a Principal Broker. Each requirement is set out below with the provision it comes from.
What are the requirements for a Tennessee real estate license?
Tennessee requires you to be 18 or older and to complete 90 hours (60 + 30) before sitting the salesperson exam, which is 120 questions in 240 minutes. Every figure on this page names the Tennessee Real Estate Commission (TREC) page it came from and the date we checked it.
How much pre-licensing education does Tennessee require?
Tennessee's entry-level license is called Affiliate Broker rather than salesperson, and candidates must complete 60 hours of real estate principles and fundamentals before the exam, then a separate 30-hour Course for New Affiliates before a license is issued.
Sponsoring broker — what does Tennessee require?
The PSI Examination Application an affiliate broker candidate receives at the testing center must be signed by their Principal Broker, reflecting Tennessee's requirement that affiliate brokers work under a supervising broker.
How do you become a real estate agent in Tennessee?
Becoming an agent in Tennessee is the license plus one more step: complete 90 hours (60 + 30), pass the 120-question salesperson exam, and then satisfy Tennessee's rule on sponsoring broker — Application must be signed by a Principal Broker. 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.
Kentucky · Virginia · North Carolina · Georgia · Alabama · Mississippi · Arkansas · Missouri
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