Transfer a Real Estate License to New York
Start over, $80 in fees, one NY trip per exam attempt
New York ended all reciprocity on February 1, 2023; every arriving licensee starts over on its own education and state-run exam, given only at in-state sites. The one concession is an education waiver; document equivalent out-of-state coursework in writing and DOS can excuse the 77 hours (152 for broker), but never the exam. Fees are cheap ($65 license, $15 exam), and New York takes no fingerprints, screening by application questions alone. You need a New York sponsoring broker before issuance, and an exam pass dies after 2 years, so line up the brokerage early.
What carries over to New York, and what does not
Comes with you
- Equivalent education, via written waiver request
- Deal history toward broker points; licensed out-of-state years confirming
- A bachelor's degree with a real estate major (covers the hours)
- Your record as is; New York never fingerprints
New for this state
- The New York exam, $15, in person at 1 of 11 state sites
- A sponsoring broker with a New York broker license
- $65 application via eAccessNY (paper DOS-0022 for waiver holders)
- Consent to New York court jurisdiction (nonresidents)
- 22.5 hours of approved CE per 2-year term; out-of-state CE never counts
If you hold a broker license
A prior broker license earns nothing by itself. New York wants 152 education hours (waivable the same way) plus points, 2 years as a licensed salesperson with 3,500 points (a residential sale is 250, so 14 sales), 3 years of equivalent experience with 5,250, or a mix with salesperson points doubled. Out-of-state licensed years toward the 2-year track are confirming; self-sourced deal history fits the equivalent track regardless. Paper application, $185; attorneys admitted to the New York bar skip education, experience, and exam.
Working in New York without a New York license
Your send-off checklist
The money
| State exam (per attempt) | $15 |
|---|---|
| Application and 2-year license | $65 |
| 77-hour course, unless waived | school sets price |
| Education waiver request | $0, no fee published |
| Trip to a New York test site | varies |
| Fingerprints and background check | $0, none exists |
| E&O insurance | $0, not required |
| Recovery fund | $0, no fund ($10 surcharge inside the $65) |
| TOTAL First year, typical | $80 plus travel, and courses unless waived |
| Then: renewal every 2 years | $65 |
Watch out in New York
- Clocks stack. An exam pass dies at 2 years, a waiver application must land within 2 years of passing, unused courses expire at 8, and a lapse past the 2-year late window means retaking the exam.
- The waiver never accepts CE, home-study, or paralegal courses; only accredited college transcripts or an original certificate from a recognized real estate school.
- RPL 442-g(1) still orders DOS to recognize licenses from states that license New Yorkers without an exam, yet DOS says no reciprocity exists; whether it is honored today is confirming.
- Under the FARE Act (June 11, 2025) the landlord's broker cannot charge an NYC tenant a fee, reshaping NYC rental economics.
Official links for New York
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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