LicensedAnywhere

Transfer a Real Estate License to Texas

Verified July 2026 · 16 official sources

Start over, only the national exam can be waived

Texas honors no license from any state. You retake 180 hours of education, apply for $185, get TREC-specific fingerprints, and pass at least the state exam at a Texas test center, since no online proctoring exists. If your current license is active and from a state in the ARELLO national exam accreditation, TREC may waive the national portion; submit a certified license history with your application. You cannot work while the application is pending, and everything must be finished within one year of filing.

First year: $266 + coursesRenewal: $110 / 2 yrsWait: Months, courses firstWork while waiting: NoTravel required: Yes, exam is in Texas only

What carries over to Texas, and what does not

Comes with you

  • National exam pass, while your outside license stays active in an ARELLO exam state
  • Licensed years in any state, toward the broker four-year requirement
  • Transactions closed anywhere, toward the broker 720 points
  • College real estate coursework, evaluated case by case

New for this state

  • 180 hours of Texas qualifying education
  • TREC fingerprints, $38.25; prints on file elsewhere are rejected
  • State exam portion, taken at a Texas test center
  • Certified license history from your current state
  • Consent to service of process for nonresidents

If you hold a broker license

Brokers file the paper out-of-state application for $235 and need 900 education hours, with a bachelor's degree now covering only 300 of the related hours. The experience math effective 2026-01-01 requires 720 points, doubled from 360, plus four years actively licensed within the preceding five, and your out-of-state licensed years and transactions closed anywhere count, documented on the certified Supplement A form. Every broker applicant now takes the 6-hour Broker Responsibility Course; filings before 2026-01-01 run under the old rules.

Working in Texas without a Texas license

On a single deal One deal works only through a co-brokerage with a Texas broker, who may share the earned commission with you. The line is geography; only Texas license holders may handle negotiations physically conducted inside Texas, and remote brokerage into Texas outside a cooperative deal still counts as acting within Texas. No registration exists; the compensation rule is the whole mechanism.
Referrals Yes. A Texas broker may pay a referral fee to a broker licensed in another state as long as you conduct none of the negotiations inside Texas. Referral fees to unlicensed people are prohibited, even a gift card worth $50 or more.

Your send-off checklist

YOUComplete 180 hours of TREC-approved qualifying education (Principles 60, Agency 30, Contracts 30, Promulgated Forms 30, Finance 30). Online providers count; courses approved by another state's commission do not. varies Sales agent steps
STATE BOARDSYour current state's commission issues a certified license history. Request it early; TREC uses it to decide the national exam waiver.
YOUApply online in REALM, upload all six course certificates as PDFs, and attach the license history. $185 REALM portal info
YOUAfter TREC's eligibility letter arrives with your TREC ID, get fingerprinted through IdentoGO. Outside Texas, use a participating location or email information@trec.texas.gov for the TREC Hard Card; generic FBI cards are rejected. $38.25 Fingerprint FAQ
YOUBook Pearson VUE at least 24 hours ahead and travel to a Texas test center. Pass the state portion, 50 items, 28 correct; add the national portion unless waived. $43 Candidate handbook
STATE BOARDSTREC emails the license after passing and a cleared background check, quoted at 5 to 10 business days but currently slower from REALM integration delays. Processing times
YOUThe license issues inactive. Have your sponsoring Texas broker file the sponsorship request in REALM to activate it.
YOUCalendar the first renewal; 90 SAE hours including the 30-hour Real Estate Brokerage course plus Legal Update I and II, no deferral allowed. $110

The money

180 hrs qualifying educationvaries
Application, online in REALM$185
Fingerprints, IdentoGO$38.25
Exam at Pearson VUE, per attempt$43
Travel to a Texas test centervaries
Fitness Determination, optional$52
TOTAL First year, typical$266.25 + courses and travel
Then: renewal every 2 years$110

Watch out in Texas

  • One year from the filing date to finish education, exam, and fingerprints; each passed exam portion also expires after one year.
  • REALM integration problems with Pearson VUE and DPS are delaying processing as of 2026-07-26.
  • SAE cannot be deferred or waived; miss it and the license cannot renew active.
  • Broker math changed 2026-01-01; points doubled to 720 and the degree credit capped at 300 hours, with earlier filings grandfathered.

Official links for Texas

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