How to Get Your Real Estate License in Arizona

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: October 21, 2021 References

If you're interested in pursuing a career in real estate, you need to know where to start. The idea of being a real estate agent can be appealing, but there are several requirements you must meet before you can begin to sell homes. The process can be completed in as little as two months or as long as two years. Much like the sale of real estate itself, it depends on your drive, ingenuity, and will to succeed.

Part 1

Part 1 of 2:

Qualifying for the Examination

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Make sure you meet the basic qualifying conditions. There are educational, testing, age, and character prerequisites a person must meet in order to obtain a license. Make sure you meet or can meet all of the requirements before you attempt to get licensed. In order to become a realtor in Arizona, you must:^{[1]
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- Be 18 years of age or older.
- Have a record free of certain types of felony convictions, such as fraud, forgery, theft, a crime of violence, or a crime of moral turpitude.
- Not be imprisoned, under community supervision, or on parole or probation for a felony conviction.
- Fulfill the proper educational requirements, including a 90 hour in-person class on real estate and a six hour class on contract writing.
- Achieve a passing score on the Arizona Real Estate Licensing Exam.
2
Choose a real estate a school you like. In order to sit for the licensing exam, you must first complete a 90 hour in class course that covers the laws and procedures for selling real property in Arizona in addition to a 6 hour course on writing contracts. The school must be approved by the Arizona Department of Real Estate, and online schools do not qualify.^{[2]
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- Even if you already have a license from another state, you must take this course. Arizona is a non-reciprocal state.
- The Arizona Department of Real Estate maintains a listing of approved schools at http://services.azre.gov/publicdatabase/SearchSchools.aspx. You may search for schools by name, location, school number, or course.
- Many of the schools also offer the contract writing course as well, so you can save yourself some time by enrolling in one that does.
- The cost of the course varies, but is usually between $400-$500.^{[3]
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3
Complete the courses. The length of the courses ranges from as little as nine days (nine ten hour sessions) to as long as eight weeks (90 hours spread out over 8 weeks), with one extra day for the contract writing course. The school will have its own final examination it administers in order for you to receive your certificate of completion.^{[4]
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- Make sure you get your certificates of completion. Without them, you can’t sit for the state licensing exam.
- The certificates of completion must be signed by the instructor. Without the signature, the certificate is invalid.
4
Schedule an exam date. All exams are administered by PearsonVue. In order to register for the exam, you’ll need to go to http://www.pearsonvue.com/az/realestate/, create an account, pay the fee and schedule a date.^{[5]
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- Creating an account is easy. All it requires is an address, name, phone number, and Social Security number.
- The exams are only given in Flagstaff, Yuma, Phoenix and Tuscon, and you must make an appointment to take the test.
- The fee to take the exam is $75.
- Download the Arizona Real Estate Sales Candidate Handbook, as well as any subject outlines you desire, from http://www.pearsonvue.com/az/realestate/.
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Study for the exam. Make sure you know about the format of the test in advance. It will allow you to come to the testing center prepared, relaxed, and ready.
- The test is multiple choice format, divided into national and state specific sections. The national section will be 85 questions long and the state specific section will be 100 questions long. ^{[6]
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- Many of the schools where you take your pre-licensing course will offer practice tests for the state exam. If you would like to purchase one separately, PearsonVue, the company that administers the official exam, sells practice tests for less than $20, and content outlines are free.
- A passing grade for the exam is 75 on each section. So you need to score 75% correct on the national section and 75% correct on the state section. Those who failed will need to retake the test. If you fail on either section, you only have to retake the portion you failed. However, you have to repay the full exam fee.
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Take the exam. Arrive at the testing center at least thirty minutes before the exam starts. Do not bring cell phones, wallets or handbags into the testing center. While you are allowed to bring a calculator, it may not have an alphabetic keypad. The testing center will provide you with any other necessary materials, such as pencils and scratch paper, before the test begins.^{[7]
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- You’re going to need two forms of current ID with signatures. At least one of the IDs has to be a picture ID. Driver’s licenses, Passports, and Military IDs all qualify.
- The test takers who pass will receive a license application. If you’ve made it this far, congratulations!

Part 2

Part 2 of 2:

Applying for your License

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Submit to a background check. You’ll need to get fingerprinted on a government approved card and send your fingerprints off to the Arizona Department of Public Safety. They will conduct the background check.^{[8]
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- You can obtain a fingerprint card at your real estate school or local police department.
- You will need to submit a completed Fingerprint Clearance Card application along with your fingerprint card. The application fee is $67, and you can obtain a copy of the application form from your real estate school or by calling the Department of Public Safety at (602) 223-2279.^{[9]
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- Money orders and cashier’s checks are the only acceptable forms of payment.
- The Department of Public Safety will then send you a Fingerprint Clearance Card, which verifies that you submitted to the process and passed. The entire process can take up to eight weeks.
2
Send in your application packet. After you’ve passed the background check, you’ll need to send your application packet into the Arizona Department of Real Estate. They will send you an email with a link and login information to their online licensing portal. Then you will scan the documents in the application packet into one file and upload the file.^{[10]
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- Your completed license application that the test center gave you.
- The application fee. The application fee is $60, payable by check, money order, cash, Visa, Mastercard, Amex, and Discover cards.
- Signed course completion certificates for the general real estate course and the contract writing course.
- Proof of legal residence, like a driver’s license.
- A Disciplinary Actions Disclosure Form and Disclosure Document Checklist Form. The forms can be found at http://www.azre.gov/Lic/Forms/Form_LI-214-LI-244_Disciplinary_Actions_Disclosure.pdf and https://azre.gov/sites/default/files/Lic/Forms/Form_LI-400_Disclosure_Document_Checklist.pdf.
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Find a job. After you’re licensed, you’ll need to find work as a real estate agent—an agent must sell homes through an authorized broker. Try to find a brokerage firm with a good reputation and a lot of listings in your area.^{[12]
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- The broker gets a fee from what the agents sell. So understand that the agents are what make a brokerage firm tick.
- Look for a brokerage firm that offers lead support, training, good splits (low brokerage fees) and the opportunity to sell as a part of a team in the beginning. It will make it easier to get listings for yourself later.

Community Q&A

Question

Do I have to be an Arizona resident to get my real estate license there?

Community Answer

No, you don't have to be an Arizona resident. As long as you complete the tasks to be approved, it should be fine.
Question

Can I obtain my Arizona real estate sales license online?

Community Answer

Yes, Arizona now allows online pre-licensure courses. You can find approved schools on their website.