Transfer a Real Estate License to Virginia

Verified July 2026 · 15 official sources

Classes and national exam waived; state test, prints remain

Virginia gives an arriving licensee two doors. Universal license recognition (they honor your license) takes a clean license from any state held at least 1 year, cut from 3 years effective July 1, 2026, with no wait for the six neighboring states; the classic reciprocity checkbox on the standard application catches anyone who misses a ULR condition. Either way you skip every Virginia classroom hour and the national exam, but you still pass the state portion at PSI and submit fresh fingerprints. Every new salesperson, reciprocal arrivals included, owes the 30-hour curriculum of post-license classes within year one or the license goes inactive.

First year: $304.50 plus extrasRenewal: $114.50 / 2 yrs, confirmingWait: 2 to 4 weeks reportedWork while waiting: No, wait for issuanceTravel required: One trip likely, confirming

What carries over to Virginia, and what does not

Comes with you

Your current license itself, which powers every waiver
The national exam portion, waived at both doors
All pre-license education (ULR asks for zero proof)
Education transcripts and broker experience, reciprocity door

New for this state

Fresh Virginia fingerprints and FBI check
State law exam at PSI, 40 questions in 45 minutes
Certification of licensure from every state, under 60 days old
30 hours of post-license classes in year one
A sponsoring Virginia broker, or take the license inactive

If you hold a broker license

Brokers pay $299.50 and face a 50-question state portion (pass mark 38), and ULR skips even the experience verification. The reciprocity door instead wants 180 hours of equivalent education plus 36 of the last 48 months active, provable with out-of-state records. No post-license course for brokers, just the normal 24 hours of CE each 2-year term.

Working in Virginia without a Virginia license

On a single deal For commercial property only, yes. If your client is located outside Virginia, Code section 54.1-2103 A 10 exempts you for that commercial deal and a Virginia broker may pay you, no agreement required. Residential has no cooperative mechanism at all, so referring or getting licensed are the only channels.

Referrals Yes. Paying a licensee of another jurisdiction a referral fee is permitted, but route it broker to broker, since Virginia agents may only be paid through their own principal broker.

Your send-off checklist

YOUPick your door. ULR if your license is 1 year old or older (DC, MD, NC, KY, TN, WV skip the wait) and your record is clean beyond fines; otherwise check the reciprocity box and prove 60 education hours. DPOR ULR page

YOURegister online with PSI, upload your current unexpired license, and pass the Virginia state portion, 40 questions in 45 minutes, 30 to pass. Remote proctoring exists; whether it covers the state-only registration is confirming. $60 PSI Virginia

YOUGet fingerprinted with Fieldprint code FPDPORRES or walk into a Virginia PSI site 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Out-of-state Fieldprint capture is confirming; call the board at (804) 367-8526 if you cannot print in Virginia. confirming Fieldprint scheduling

STATE BOARDSEvery state where you ever held a license issues a certification of licensure, each valid only 60 days. Under ULR the old board sends it straight to reboard@dpor.virginia.gov.

YOULine up a Virginia principal broker to sign the Broker's Statement, or answer no to the active-status question and the license issues inactive with no broker needed.

YOUMail Form A490-0225S-ULR (or A490-0225SLIC with the reciprocity box) with payment to the Treasurer of Virginia, arriving within 90 days of your fingerprint results. Paper only, no online option. $244.50 Salesperson forms

STATE BOARDSThe board reviews the file. No official turnaround is published; schools report 2 to 4 weeks. No practice of any kind until the license is issued.

YOUR SCHOOLFinish the 30-hour curriculum of post-license classes within one year of licensure, active or inactive, or the license goes inactive until it is done.

The money

Application, ULR or reciprocity	$244.50
PSI exam, state portion only	$60
Fingerprints via Fieldprint	confirming
Certification of licensure, each old state	varies
30 hours post-license classes	varies
E&O insurance	$0, not required
TOTAL First year, typical	$304.50 plus prints, certs, and course
Then: renewal every 2 years	$114.50 expected, confirming

Watch out in Virginia

The whole regulatory chapter was rewritten effective April 1, 2026, so most third-party guides cite section numbers that no longer exist.
The 1-year ULR holding period took effect July 1, 2026; the regulation text still prints three years, but the statute controls.
The clocks stack. Your exam pass lives 12 months, the application must arrive within 90 days of fingerprint results, and certifications expire in 60 days.
Let any Virginia license lapse past one year and it is dead for good, no reinstatement allowed.

Official links for Virginia

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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