Transfer a Real Estate License to Idaho

Verified July 2026 · 41 official sources

No agreements, big waiver, everyone sits the state exam

Idaho has no reciprocity and no recognition agreement with any jurisdiction, and the Commission says so in print. What it runs instead is a waiver. Hold an ACTIVE license in another state and Idaho drops the 90 prelicense hours (180 for broker), drops the 80-item national exam portion, and drops the broker experience test, for a $135 application and about $434 all in. Nobody skips the Idaho state law exam, 40 scored items in 90 minutes at $83 through Pearson VUE. The one trap that costs real money is sequencing, because the exam waiver has to be sitting in your Pearson VUE account before you book, and waivers are never issued retroactively.

First year: about $434Renewal: $0 / 2 yrs, fee holidayWait: 8 to 14 weeks, history and printsWork while waiting: No, no temporary permit existsTravel required: None, any US test center

What carries over to Idaho, and what does not

Comes with you

Your active out-of-state license, the whole qualification
90 prelicense hours waived, 180 for broker
The 80-item national exam portion, waived by certificate
Broker experience, waived, no 15 sales or $2 million showing
An existing E&O policy if the carrier signs Idaho's form

New for this state

The Idaho state law exam, 40 items in 90 minutes
Fingerprints through Pearson VUE to OHTI in Texas
Certified license history on ACTIVE status, needed twice
High school diploma proof and irrevocable consent to service
E&O certification before the license can go active

If you hold a broker license

An arriving broker gets the same waiver plus the Idaho experience test waived, which is a real gift, since a homegrown Idahoan owes 15 completed sales or listings totaling $2 million. The exam is harder, 50 scored items and a scaled pass mark of 75 instead of 70. Idaho maps by capacity and not by title, so a Washington entry-tier 'broker' should expect an Idaho SALESPERSON license and only a Washington managing broker gets the Idaho broker tier. A designated broker also adds a $50 entity application, the Business Conduct and Office Operations course, Secretary of State filings, a trust account notification, and separate firm E&O at $500,000 per occurrence and $1,000,000 aggregate, which is the big unpriced item.

Working in Idaho without a Idaho license

On a single deal Commercial only, and there the answer is a clean yes. Idaho Code 54-2011(2) and 54-2017 issue an actual cooperative LICENSE, not just an agreement, making the out-of-state broker and each named associate full Idaho licensees for one commercial transaction, $100, good 12 months, not renewable but reissuable, notarized, with the Idaho broker in charge start to finish and the commission check written to the Idaho brokerage. Commercial means anything other than property improved by 1 to 4 residential dwelling units, and it expressly excludes agricultural property, so on a house or a farm there is no co-broker mechanism at all and the Idaho broker who tries it is license lending.

Referrals Yes. 54-2054(2) bars splitting a fee only with someone not actively licensed in Idaho or in another state or jurisdiction, and Guideline 2 says a referral fee to an out-of-state brokerage is not regulated by the Commission. Separately, Idaho does not license property management, leasing or renting at all, so you can manage Idaho rentals from out of state unless the lease carries a purchase option, a lease-purchase, or a right of first refusal.

Your send-off checklist

STATE BOARDSOrder the certified license history from your primary state, and order two copies. It must show ACTIVE status, it is good only 6 months, and you need it twice. The old state takes 3 to 6 weeks and this is usually the first bottleneck. varies Waiver and history page

YOUCreate a Pearson VUE account for Idaho Real Estate and note your six-digit candidate ID beginning IDREL. Do not schedule anything yet. Pearson VUE Idaho

YOUEmail the Exam Waiver Request Form REE-047-15 with the license history to IREC-Licensing@dopl.idaho.gov. Tick broker or salesperson, give the candidate ID, allow up to 10 business days. The certificate comes back by email. Waiver form REE-047-15

YOUOnly once the waiver shows in your Pearson VUE account, book the Idaho state exam. Book a day early and you either sit the full 4-hour two-portion exam or forfeit the fee, because waivers cannot be issued retroactively. $83

YOUBook and pay fingerprinting through the same Pearson VUE account. Electronic capture at Boise, Pocatello or Spokane Valley WA, otherwise hard card code IDREFPHC mailed to OHTI in Texas. ORI must read ID920050Z, reason exactly 'IDC 54-2012-Real Estate License', OCA blank, or you pay twice. Start early, prints run 1 to 12 weeks. $61.25 Fingerprint process

YOUSit the Idaho state portion, 40 scored items in 90 minutes, scaled pass mark 70. You leave the test center with the score report. Retakes are unlimited at $83 each and the pass is good 12 months.

YOUBuy E&O through the Commission group plan at RISC, or have your carrier sign REE-141. Minimum $100,000 per occurrence and $300,000 aggregate, carrier rated A.M. Best B+ and Class VI or better and authorized in Idaho. $155 RISC Idaho

YOUApply through DOPL Online Services with a fresh license history if the first has aged past 6 months, plus diploma proof, a legal presence document, and the E&O certification. Minimum 10 business days and applications are never expedited. $135 DOPL Online Services

YOULine up an Idaho designated broker. The license issues on inactive status and only your broker can add you to the company to activate it. No temporary permit exists, so a single act before that is a misdemeanor.

The money

Application, salesperson	$135
Idaho state exam, per sitting	$83
Fingerprint hard card, Pearson VUE	$61.25
Local print rolling fee	varies
E&O, group plan full year	$155, prorated as low as $39, confirming
Recovery fund assessment	$20, whether it sits inside the $135 is confirming
Old state license history, order two	varies
Prelicense education, 90 hours	$0, waived
National exam portion	$0, waived
Post license education, 12 hours	provider-set, before the first active renewal
TOTAL First year, typical	about $434
Then: renewal every 2 years	$0 under the fee holiday, plus $155 E&O

Watch out in Idaho

Sequence is everything. The exam waiver must be applied to your Pearson VUE account BEFORE you book, and Pearson VUE will not issue one retroactively. Waiver processing takes up to 10 business days and sits behind a license history that takes 3 to 6 weeks, so the order is history, then waiver, then book. Get it backwards and you sit the full 4-hour exam or lose the $83.
Renewals cost $0 right now. DOPL waived renewal fees for broker, branch office, company and salesperson licenses effective 2026-01-01. It is a fee holiday of indefinite length, not a permanent change, and DOPL says it will reinstate fees once cash balances drop, so re-check before budgeting. Initial licenses are not included and still cost $135.
The E&O group policy year ends October 1 with a hard September 30 cliff. Join in July, August or September and you pay a small prorated premium and then the full $155 within weeks. A late insurance renewal counts as failure to maintain insurance regardless of any backdating, and that means denial or inactivation of the license.
Salespersons owe 12 hours of post license education before the first active renewal, being 8-hour Post License Fundamentals plus one 4-hour elective. Whether that reaches someone who arrived by exam waiver rather than by Idaho prelicense hours is confirming, since the rule is written for new licensees but carries no waiver exemption. Budget the hours. Idaho also has no nonresident CE affirmation, so the two Idaho Commission Core courses at every active renewal can never be satisfied elsewhere.

Official links for Idaho

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