To become a real estate broker in Texas, you need four years of active experience as a licensed agent, 720 transaction points documented through the Texas Real Estate Commission’s point system, 900 classroom hours of approved education, a cleared background check, and passing scores on both sections of the broker exam administered by Pearson VUE. TREC runs the whole process, and the bar is deliberately higher than it is for a sales agent license.
The Four-Year Active Experience Requirement
Texas Occupations Code Section 1101.356 requires at least four years of active experience as a licensed real estate agent or broker during the 60-month period immediately before you apply.1State of Texas. Texas Occupations Code Chapter 1101 – Real Estate Brokers and Sales Agents Active means actively licensed and working; time spent on inactive status does not count.
On top of the four years, TREC measures experience through a point system under Rule §535.56(c), and you need a minimum of 720 points from documented transactions.2Texas Real Estate Commission. Become an Individual Real Estate Broker Values vary by transaction type:
- Closed residential purchase or sale: 30 points each
- Commercial sale: 50 points each
- Executed residential lease: 5 points each
- Executed commercial lease: 10 points per year, capped at five years per transaction
- Property management: 2.5 points per residential property per year; 15 points per commercial property per year
- Delegated supervision of other agents: 3 points per transaction
The math matters. A residential-only agent would need 24 closed sales to hit exactly 720 points, so most applicants build the number from a mix of transaction types.3Texas Real Estate Commission. TREC Rules You submit a transaction identification list for every deal you claim, and TREC verifies your logs against its records.
If you accumulate more than 720 points, the surplus is useful. Every two points above the minimum substitutes for one classroom hour of elective education, up to 300 hours.2Texas Real Estate Commission. Become an Individual Real Estate Broker
900 Hours of Approved Education
The total education requirement is 900 classroom hours, split into 270 hours of core qualifying courses and 630 hours of related coursework.2Texas Real Estate Commission. Become an Individual Real Estate Broker TREC prescribes the core, and each listed course runs 30 hours:
- Principles of Real Estate I
- Principles of Real Estate II
- Law of Agency
- Law of Contracts
- Promulgated Contract Forms
- Real Estate Finance
- Real Estate Brokerage
Those seven courses total 210 hours. The remaining 60 hours in the core block come from additional qualifying real estate courses on TREC’s approved list, and the 630 elective hours come from related qualifying courses or approved continuing education. One timing rule to watch: the Real Estate Brokerage course must be completed within two years of your application date.
Two shortcuts cut down the elective load. A bachelor’s degree or higher from an accredited college or university satisfies up to 300 of the 630 elective hours when you submit an official transcript showing the award. And as noted above, extra experience points substitute for up to 300 more. If you qualify for both, you can trim the 630-hour obligation from two directions at once.
Application, Background Check, and Fees
Applications go through TREC’s online REALM portal. Have these ready before you start:
- Application for Individual Broker License, including disclosures about your professional history and any past discipline
- Course completion certificates or transcripts for all qualifying coursework
- Your experience report and transaction identification list, with supporting documentation for the deals you are claiming
- Fingerprints on file with the Texas Department of Public Safety, scheduled through IdentoGO by IDEMIA; if you live outside IdentoGO’s service area, request a Hard Card from TREC to complete the process2Texas Real Estate Commission. Become an Individual Real Estate Broker
The application fee for an individual broker license is $235. The background check adds $28.25, and fingerprinting through IdentoGO costs approximately $38.25, so plan on roughly $300 before exam fees. None of it is refundable. Lock in your experience points and education hours before you submit.
If you have any criminal history or prior discipline from a licensing board, consider requesting a Fitness Determination first. The separate review lets TREC evaluate whether your background would disqualify you before you spend application and exam fees.
The Broker Exam
Once TREC approves your application, you receive an exam eligibility notification by email with an identification number, and you schedule the exam through Pearson VUE. The broker exam has two sections taken in a single sitting with a combined time limit of 240 minutes:4Pearson VUE. Texas Real Estate Candidate Handbook
- National portion: 85 questions, 150 minutes, 60 correct to pass. General real estate principles, contracts, financing, and ownership concepts.
- State portion: 60 questions, 90 minutes, 38 correct to pass. Texas law, TREC rules, and state contract forms.
Both sections mix scored and unscored pretest questions, and you will not know which is which. You must pass both. If you fail one, you can retake just that section without redoing the other. Bring valid government-issued ID; Pearson VUE will turn you away without it.
Activating the License
Passing the exam does not open you for business. TREC issues your broker license in inactive status. To activate it, you either designate yourself as the broker of your own firm or associate with an existing brokerage as a broker.
If you plan to operate through an LLC or corporation, the entity itself needs its own separate broker license. Under Texas Occupations Code Section 1101.355, the entity must designate one of its managing officers as its broker, and if that designated broker owns less than 10 percent of the entity, the company must carry errors and omissions insurance with a minimum annual limit of $1 million per occurrence.5State of Texas. Texas Occupations Code 1101-355 – Additional General Eligibility Requirements for Business Entities TREC does not require individual brokers to carry E&O coverage, but many do because the liability exposure is substantial.
What You Take On as a Broker
Running a brokerage is not just the agent job with more autonomy. Texas Occupations Code Section 1101.803 makes a broker liable to TREC, the public, and clients for conduct under the chapter by the broker and by any sales agent acting for the broker.1State of Texas. Texas Occupations Code Chapter 1101 – Real Estate Brokers and Sales Agents That reaches everything from advertising errors to mishandled earnest money.
Trust accounts are where brokers most often get into trouble. Under TREC Rule §535.146, any trust money you receive (earnest money, security deposits, and similar funds belonging to others) must be deposited into a designated trust account by the close of business on the second working day after you receive it, unless the parties agree in writing to a different timeline.6Legal Information Institute. 22 Texas Admin Code 535.146 – Maintaining Trust Money The account must be clearly labeled and held at a banking institution authorized to do business in Texas. Mixing trust funds with personal or operating money, even briefly, is commingling and is one of the fastest ways to lose a license.
Advertising sits under the same umbrella. Every ad run by your sponsored agents must include your brokerage name and cannot imply that a sales agent independently operates the business.
Keeping the License: Renewal and CE
Texas broker licenses renew every two years. Each cycle requires 18 hours of continuing education:7Texas Real Estate Commission. Renewal Education Information
- Legal Update I: 4 hours
- Legal Update II: 4 hours
- Contract-related coursework: 3 hours
- Elective CE: 7 hours
Brokers who sponsor one or more sales agents or serve as a delegated supervisor must also take the six-hour Broker Responsibility Course, which counts within the 18-hour total rather than adding to it. Missing CE or your renewal deadline drops the license into inactive status, and reactivation requires making up the missed education before you can practice. A license left inactive long enough can eventually require retaking the exam, so treat the renewal cycle as fixed.