July 24, 2021
“How do I get a real estate license?” is the most common question people ask when they call Garden State Real Estate Academy. Even after people sign up for real estate school, many people are still not sure of all the requirements.
It is not very complicated, as this video shows: https://youtu.be/D89TZS6V79w
Minimum age.
To be issued a New Jersey real estate license, you must be at least 18 years old at the time you apply to the state. You can take the real estate classes prior to being 18, but you must have reached your 18th birthday when you submit your completed application to the NJ Real Estate Commission.
High school education.
You must have completed your high school education, having either graduated or been awarded a GED. For those who studied abroad, you must have completed the equivalent of a high school education.
You must be legally allowed to live and work here.
You do not have to be a US citizen to earn a NJ real estate license. However, you must be a lawful resident, permitted to work here, such as with a green card or the appropriate visa if you are not a US citizen.
No bank robbers!
Real estate agents handle vast sums of money and operate as fiduciaries—persons whom their clients must be able to trust. The New Jersey Real Estate Commission says a person will not be given a NJ real estate license if they have been indicted or convicted in the past five years of serious felonies, such as robbery, forgery, fraud, theft, etc.
If you were convicted of a lesser offense, or of one of the above serious offenses much earlier than five years ago, you must disclose those convictions or indictments, but the Commission has the discretion to still issue you with a license.
After graduating from the real estate school, you will be required to be fingerprinted and submit to a criminal background check.
Real estate school.
You must complete the required 75-hour pre-licensing course at an approved real estate school. New Jersey does not permit self-study online education. Garden State Real Estate Academy is New Jersey’s top-ranked real estate school, according to Google Reviews. Our classes start every two weeks for the day course, which then operate each weekday from 9AM to 5PM for two weeks. We also start evening classes every three weeks, and they run from 5:20 to 9:30PM every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday evening for about five weeks.
The law normally requires in-class tuition, but all schools are currently under the Governor’s orders not to do so, so we teach all our classes with live instructors, but delivery is by Zoom.
The State exam.
Only after finishing real estate school and being certified to the state are you then allowed to take the state real estate examination. It is a 110-question multiple-choice exam, and you need a 70% score to pass. If you fail, you may retake it as many times as you wish.
Then what?
Once you have graduated from real estate school, have passed the state exam and been fingerprinted, you have one year (from your school graduation date) to join a broker. The broker then applies to the Real Estate Commission for your real estate license. If you miss this one-year deadline, you must start all over again.
What does it cost?
Our pre-licensing course is only $369. We have no sneaky extras fees, such as service charges or admin fees. Your textbook is included. Then you pay $45 to PSI each time you take the state exam, and $66 for your criminal background check and fingerprinting. When you join a brokerage, you then must pay the State of New Jersey $160 for that initial license. The renewal is only $100 every two years.
Those are the costs from day one until your NJ real estate license is issued. There are extra costs once you join a broker, but brokers and local boards of Realtors and MLSs have varying charges. If you assume that ALL your costs for your first year as a Realtor® will be $2,500 to $3,000, you’ll be right on track.
Ready to register for real estate school? For information on the real estate school’s upcoming New Jersey licensing classes, click here: https://gsreacademy.com/pre-licensing-courses/
That is why we say a real estate license can “Open the door to a richer life.”™ Check out this quick video that makes the point: https://youtu.be/Muawpltf_eg
For real estate licensing classes in all other states, click here: https://gsreacademy.theceshop.com/pre-licensing
David C. Forward is a licensed real estate broker and instructor and was first licensed as a Realtor® 33 years ago. During his career, David and his business partner sold more than 500 homes in South Jersey. He is now School Director of Garden Real Estate Academy, has won numerous awards for real estate sales, is a much-requested public speaker who has addressed audiences on six continents and is the author of 19 books.
