Transfer a Real Estate License to Florida

Verified July 2026 · 23 official sources

Two doors in, 10-state recognition or 5 years anywhere

Florida opens two doors. Nonresidents with an active license earned by exam in one of the 10 mutual recognition states skip all education and the 100-question exam, leaving a 40-question Florida law exam. From any other state, 5+ years licensed opens licensure by endorsement (residents welcome, since July 2024). Either way the license arrives inactive, and working before a Florida broker activates you is a felony.

First year: $145Renewal: $64 / 2 yrsWait: 3 to 4 weeks typicalWork while waiting: No, nothingTravel required: Exam only, in person

What carries over to Florida, and what does not

Comes with you

An active license from a recognition state (waives education and the 100-question exam)
5+ years licensed in any state (opens the endorsement door)
Broker experience, 24 active months in the past 5 years, any jurisdiction
A 4-year real estate degree (waives the course, never the exam)
Florida Bar membership (waives the course and all CE)

New for this state

Fresh fingerprints, FDLE and FBI, ORI FL920010Z (kept only 12 months)
The Florida law exam, 40 questions, 30 to pass, in person
Certification of license history from your old commission
Activation under a Florida broker (the license arrives inactive)
Post-license course, 45 hours, before your first renewal

If you hold a broker license

Same doors at the broker tier, $70 application on form RE 2. Out-of-state experience counts in full, 24 active months in the past 5 years in any jurisdiction, proven by a license history dated within 30 days. Post-license rises to 60 hours; a broker who misses it can salvage a sales associate license with 14 hours of CE within 6 months.

Working in Florida without a Florida license

On a single deal No. Florida has no cooperative agreement, single-deal registration, or any mechanism letting an out-of-state licensee touch a Florida deal, remotely or in person; unlicensed practice is a third-degree felony.

Referrals Yes, the one open lane. A Florida broker may pay a referral fee to an out-of-state broker who hands over the client and stays out of the deal, paid through the referring broker's own brokerage.

Your send-off checklist

YOUConfirm you qualify. You need an active license earned by exam in Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Mississippi, Nebraska, Rhode Island, or West Virginia, and no Florida residency (4+ months there in the past year counts). Mutual recognition states

YOUNot from a recognition state? If licensed 5+ years anywhere with no pending discipline, apply by endorsement on the same RE 1 form instead; residents allowed, and whether the law exam applies here is confirming.

STATE BOARDSOrder a certification of license history from your current commission showing first licensure by exam, status, discipline, and active months over the past 5 years. varies

YOUFile DBPR RE 1 as Sales Associate, Mutual Recognition (code 1011), online or by mail, license history attached. $62.75 DBPR RE 1 application

YOUGet fingerprinted under ORI FL920010Z at or right after applying. In Florida use any approved Livescan vendor; from elsewhere, mail ink hard cards to a vendor that scans hard cards. $36 to $80 DBPR fingerprinting

STATE BOARDSDBPR processes the application (3 to 4 weeks, up to 90 days if FREC reviews your record) and notifies Pearson VUE. Watch for the exam authorization email.

YOUPass the Florida law exam, 40 questions, 30 to pass, 1.5 hours, at a physical Pearson VUE center. Confirm any seat outside Florida before planning on it. $15.75 Pearson VUE Florida

YOUThe license auto-issues inactive within about 48 hours of passing. Activate under a Florida broker (form RE 11 or the broker's online account) before any work, then print it from the portal.

YOUR SCHOOLBook the post-license course (45 hours) before your first renewal, 18 to 24 months in, ending March 31 or September 30. Miss it and the license is null and void. $100 to $400

The money

Application, form RE 1 (any route)	$62.75
Florida law exam at Pearson VUE	$15.75
Fingerprints (Livescan or mailed hard card)	$36 to $80
License history from your old state	varies
E&O insurance (not required)	$0
Post-license course (45 hrs), months 18 to 24	$100 to $400
TOTAL First year, typical	$145
Then: renewal every 2 years	$64

Watch out in Florida

No temporary license exists; any Florida real estate work before a broker activates you is a third-degree felony.
First renewal is a hard wall; skip the 45 post-license hours and the license goes null and void, back to the 63-hour course and the full exam.
Exam fees are confirming; the matrix shows $36.75 full and $15.75 law, but booklets flag a 2023 increase and the fee rule sunsets December 31, 2026. Confirm when scheduling.
DBPR pages disagree; the official mutual recognition page shows 10 states including West Virginia, another shows 9. Treat 10 as current.

Official links for Florida

Keep going

The real estate planner, which builds a plan across several states at once.
Errors and omissions insurance by state, the 15 states that mandate it.
All three professions we cover.

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