A real estate license is an authorization issued by a government body to give agents and brokers the legal authority to represent a home seller or buyer in a real estate transaction.

Real estate agents Real estate agents and real estate brokers are people who represent sellers or buyers of real estate or real property. While a broker may work independently, an agent usually works under a licensed broker to represent clients. Brokers and agen ...

and

real estate brokers Real estate agents and real estate brokers are people who represent sellers or buyers of real estate or real property. While a broker may work independently, an agent usually works under a licensed broker to represent clients. Brokers and agen ...

are required to be

licensed A license (American English) or licence (Commonwealth English) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another part ...

when conducting real estate transactions in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and in a small number of other countries.

In the United States

In the United States, each state specifies a mandatory education - completing this allows prospective agents to become eligible to receive a real estate license. This involves completing a pre-licensing education from an institution accredited by the state and passing an exam. The real estate exam is often considered difficult by many aspiring real estate agents and brokers. This is because the exam is intentionally designed to be difficult to pass, as a way to filter out those who may not have the required skills and knowledge to be successful as a real estate professional. Additionally, to maintain a real estate license, states require a continuing education program to be completed by licensees typically every two years. Each state has their own timeline requirements. Through a complicated arrangement, the

National Association of Realtors The National Association of Realtors (NAR) is an American trade association for those who work in the real estate industry. it had over 1.5 million members, making it the largest trade association in the United States including NAR's institute ...

(NAR), a trade and lobbying group for agents and brokers, sets policies for most of the multiple listing services. As the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...

gained widespread use in the late 1990s, NAR created regulations allowing ''Information Data Exchanges'' (or '' Internet Data Exchanges'') ''(IDX)'' whereby brokers would allow a portion of their data, such as listings of homes for sale, to be seen online via brokers' or agents' websites. The association attempted to limit online access to some or all of that data, particularly by brokers operating solely on the Internet. The

Department of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

brought an

antitrust Competition law is the field of law that promotes or seeks to maintain market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies. Competition law is implemented through public and private enforcement. It is also known as antitrust l ...

lawsuit against the NAR trade group in 2005. The complaint accused the association of unfairly limiting access to the multiple listing service (MLS), which effectively prevented online brokerages from competing with traditional brick-and-mortar offices. The Justice Department accused the NAR of conspiring to restrain trade.

License reciprocity agreements

Some U.S. states have reciprocity agreements in place allowing licensees from other states to become licensed in that state. Details of each reciprocal agreement vary from state to state. States vary greatly, each State has its own definition of "reciprocity," along with their own requirements for obtaining a reciprocal license. Some states have

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

requirements that must be met by the agent while others require only that the agent fills out a reciprocal license application with the State.

References

External links

National Association of Realtors
{{DEFAULTSORT:Real Estate License Real estate in the United States

In the United States

License reciprocity agreements

See also

References

External links