LicensedAnywhere

Transfer a Real Estate License to Kentucky

Verified July 2026 · 48 official sources

Open on paper, a 5-state program in practice

Kentucky's statute reads as open recognition for any active US license, but the only path KREC publishes covers five states, Florida, Mississippi, Tennessee, Illinois, and Ohio, each wanting 1 year active as a sales associate first. A 40-hour Kentucky reciprocal license law course replaces the state's 96-hour course, the national exam drops away, and you sit only the 40-item Kentucky law exam before paying $130. Errors and omissions insurance is mandatory, about $256 plus taxes for two years, and nothing goes active without it. Whether a non-agreement state can apply at all is confirming, since the rule defines the education substitute only by agreement.

First year: $504 + courseRenewal: $130 / 2 yrs + E&OWait: Confirming, KREC publishes noneWork while waiting: No, Kentucky has no temporary licenseTravel required: None

What carries over to Kentucky, and what does not

Comes with you

  • Your active license, which waives the national exam
  • The 96-hour pre-license course, swapped for the 40-hour one
  • Broker years, qualifying by definition under the agreements
  • Education never expires here, so old coursework counts

New for this state

  • 40-hour reciprocal license law course, online is fine
  • FBI criminal history check, valid 90 days
  • License history from every state, under 90 days old
  • Kentucky law exam, 40 items, 75 percent to pass
  • E&O coverage, plus Form 205 if you live out of state

If you hold a broker license

Same $130 and the same 40-hour course, but the bar rises to 2 years active for Florida, Ohio, Illinois, and Mississippi, 3 years for Tennessee, and 21 academic credit hours or the agreement equivalent. File Form 207 for a $10 education review before you schedule, then sit the broker law exam. Brokers owe no post-license education, but a principal broker needs a Kentucky office and escrow account, so most arrivals affiliate as a non-principal broker.

Working in Kentucky without a Kentucky license

On a single deal Commercial yes, residential no, so the turf label on national lists is wrong here. KRS 324.235 to 324.238 let an out-of-state licensee work a Kentucky commercial deal unlicensed, under a written cooperation agreement with a Kentucky broker who supervises, co-lists, and holds every dollar in a Kentucky account. Residential has no such route, remote or in person, since the law follows the property, not your desk.
Referrals Yes, broker to broker. KRS 324.020(4)(a) lets a Kentucky broker pay a referral fee to a broker licensed elsewhere for sending a client in. Soliciting it is itself a licensed act, so a sales associate is paid through their own broker.

Your send-off checklist

YOUConfirm your minimum, 1 year active for Florida, Tennessee, Ohio, Illinois, or Mississippi. From anywhere else call KREC at 502-564-7760, since whether they take you is confirming.
YOUR SCHOOLTake the 40-hour reciprocal license law course from a KREC-approved provider. Online is fine, but the provider list is unpublished, so ask KREC for names. confirming, school sets price
YOUOrder the FBI check at edo.cjis.gov, about a week, or IdentoGO code 27GJR5, plus a license history from every state that ever licensed you. Both are good 90 days. $18 or $51.25 Background checks
YOURegister with PSI for the license recognition exam, school code 9999, and bring your license so they give you the state portion only. 40 items, 80 minutes, 75 percent to pass. $100 PSI
YOUBuy E&O first, the RISC group policy at $256 plus taxes through April 2028 or private coverage on Form 203, then apply within 60 days of passing with the course certificate, E&O proof, license histories, and Form 205 if nonresident. $130 active, $120 inactive
YOUName a Kentucky principal broker or the license issues inactive and you cannot work. Then open eServices within 10 days of getting your license number. eServices
YOUR SCHOOLFinish 48 hours of post-license education within 2 years of activating. CE is waived for your first two cycles. school sets price

The money

40-hour reciprocal law courseconfirming, school sets price
FBI Identity History Summary$18
PSI recognition exam, per sitting$100
License history from each old statevaries
Initial license, active$130
Recovery fund and E&O processing feesinside the $130
E&O insurance, mandatory, 2-year term$256 plus taxes
48-hour post-license courseschool sets price
TOTAL First year, typical$504 + course
Then: renewal every 2 years$130 plus E&O

Watch out in Kentucky

  • The principal broker trap. A principal broker needs a definite Kentucky place of business, no PO box, no virtual office, records in Kentucky, and a Kentucky escrow account. The KRS 324.115(2) exemption is unavailable in practice, so affiliate as a non-principal broker if you stay out of state.
  • The 48-hour post-license requirement follows recognition sales associates in. The 2-year clock starts when you affiliate, cannot be paused, and missing it cancels the license the next day. Brokers are exempt.
  • The 90-day background check is the binding constraint. Course, prints, exam, and application all have to land inside it, and a passing score is good only 60 days.
  • Whether KREC will take an applicant from a non-agreement state is confirming, and the Illinois MOU may be stale now that Illinois moved to endorsement on January 1, 2026.

Official links for Kentucky

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