The New York salesperson qualifying course is 77 hours, delivered in 20 numbered sessions. Start any day with any session and take them in whatever order suits you — the sessions are independent, you just can’t repeat one for credit.
When all 20 are done you sit two exams: REEDU’s proctored school exam, and the New York Department of State’s written examination. You can take them in either order. The state exam runs an hour and a half, is multiple choice, and costs $15 each time you sit it.
Pass both, line up a sponsoring broker, and you apply to the Department of State for $65. That license runs two years.
Both packages include the full 77-hour qualifying course and the proctored school exam — everything New York requires before you can sit the state exam.
Why most people choose Premium:
You’ll owe 22.5 hours of continuing educaton within two years regardless. The CE credit alone is $190 of the $500 difference.
Real Estate EDU gave me all the tools I needed to pass and get licensed, including practice quizzes. I appreciated how I could learn at my own pace without feeling lost.
I was nervous about taking a real estate course online, but Real Estate EDU blew me away. The instructors were knowledgeable, the support was responsive, and I felt fully prepared for the state exam.
The flexibility of Real Estate EDU’s online classes made it possible for me to study while working full-time. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a convenient path to licensing.
The course was easy to follow, and I passed my exam on the first try. Great company!
It’s the best decision I made to start my real estate career. Get this online course if you want to get licensed fast!
Six steps, and New York charges you $80 in total across the whole process. Here’s the order things happen in:
Step 1
Check if you’re eligible. You need to be 18 or older and hold a current New York photo driver license or non-driver ID card. That’s it; no high school diploma, no GED, and no previous sales experience required.
Step 2
Complete the 77-hour qualifying course. The course runs 77 hours across 20 sessions. Start any day, take the sessions in whatever order suits you — they’re independent of each other, you just can’t repeat one for credit.
Step 3
Pass the REEDU school exam. A proctored final exam, 70% to pass, with three attempts. You’ll get a completion certificate and we notify the Department of State that you passed.
Step 4
Pass the state examination. The Department of State’s written exam is multiple choice and runs an hour and a half. It costs $15, and you pay that each time you sit it. Reserve your seat through your eAccessNY account.
Step 5
Line up a sponsoring broker. A New York salesperson works under a sponsoring broker who supervises your work and accepts your listings — you can’t operate independently.
Step 6
Apply to the Department of State. Submit your application online. The fee is $65, and the license runs two years. There’s no fingerprinting fee, New York doesn’t fingerprint real estate salespersons. If you’ve seen $75 to $100 quoted for that elsewhere, it belongs to a different kind of license entirely.
New York charges $15 for the written examination and $65 for the license application, which covers a two-year license — $80 in state fees in total.
On top of that you need the 77-hour qualifying course, which is $495 with REEDU. There is no fingerprinting fee, because New York does not require fingerprinting for a real estate salesperson license.
The 77 hours of coursework is the fixed part — most people finish in two to six weeks depending on how much time they give it. After that, the timing depends on exam availability in your area and how quickly your sponsoring broker authorises your application. Plan for a couple of months end to end rather than a couple of weeks.
No. New York does not require fingerprinting or a criminal history record check for a real estate salesperson license. The Department of State’s fingerprinting requirement applies to a specific list of license types (security guards, private investigators, alarm installers and similar) and real estate is not among them.
If you have seen a $75 to $100 fingerprinting fee quoted for a New York real estate license, that figure belongs to a different license entirely.
Possibly, yes. A conviction is not an automatic bar. Real Property Law §440-a requires the Secretary of State to review each case under Article 23-A of the Correction Law rather than refusing licensure outright, and you can submit a Certificate of Relief from Disabilities, Certificate of Good Conduct or Executive Pardon in support.
You are also not required to disclose sealed convictions or charges that were resolved in your favour.
No. You can complete the course and pass both exams without one. You need a sponsoring broker at the point of application — you name them on your application and they authorise it through their own eAccessNY account, and the Department of State won’t issue an active license until they do.
No. New York sets no education prerequisite for a salesperson license and no prior sales experience is required. You need to be 18 and hold a New York photo driver license or non-driver ID.
A salesperson works under the supervision of a sponsoring broker, who accepts the listings the salesperson negotiates. A broker can operate independently, run a brokerage and supervise salespeople.
You have to hold a salesperson license first — the broker license requires two years of licensed experience on top of a further 75 hours of qualifying education.
An hour and a half. It is multiple choice and based on the 77-hour curriculum. You reserve your seat through eAccessNY, and the $15 fee applies each time you sit it.
You need a two-hour continuing education course on fair housing and implicit bias to bring you up to the current 77-hour requirement. Once qualifying courses have been applied toward a licence they don’t expire, so nothing you’ve already completed is wasted.
