LicensedAnywhere

Transfer a Real Estate License to Wisconsin

Verified July 2026 · 34 official sources

$125 in fees, and a 13-hour course replaces 72

An active license in any other jurisdiction within the past 2 years cuts Wisconsin's education from 72 hours to one 13-hour course, and entry runs about $125. The exam is not cut. Wisconsin never split its test into national and state portions, so nothing can be waived and you sit the full salesperson exam, 140 questions in 4 hours, scaled 75 to pass. No fingerprints and no background check, but nothing moves until Form 2688 reaches DSPS from every state that ever licensed you, and a nonresident file waits on Form 813.

First year: $125 plus the courseRenewal: $75 / 2 yrsWait: 60 business days max, usually lessWork while waiting: No, no temporary license existsTravel required: None

What carries over to Wisconsin, and what does not

Comes with you

  • Your old state's education, via the 2-year active license trigger
  • 10 semester hours of college real estate credit, as a substitute
  • Out-of-state salesperson or broker experience, at the broker tier
  • Nothing on the exam, there is no national portion to transfer

New for this state

  • The full Wisconsin exam, 140 questions in 4 hours, 75 to pass
  • A 13-hour Wisconsin course from a board-approved provider
  • Form 2688 from every state that ever licensed you, plus Form 813
  • All 18 CE hours per biennium, since out-of-state CE never counts

If you hold a broker license

Brokers add a 6-hour Wisconsin business management course on top of the 13-hour salesperson course, and by statute must pass BOTH the salesperson exam and the broker exam, so budget about $190 ($60 plus two $65 sittings). New rule REEB 12.017(5), effective 2026-03-01, lets the board waive the experience requirement of 2 years under a supervising broker plus 40 transaction points when out-of-state salesperson or broker experience is equivalent. The waiver is discretionary, and brokers get no first-biennium CE exemption.

Working in Wisconsin without a Wisconsin license

On a single deal Yes, and unusually the cooperative statute covers residential as well as commercial. Wis. Stat. 452.137 lets an out-of-state broker sign a cooperative agreement with the Wisconsin listing firm on board form WB-28 for any property type, one listing per agreement, or WB-29 on the buyer or tenant side of a commercial deal. File Form 813 Section B, route client funds into the Wisconsin firm's trust account, and expect no payment for brokerage services without it.
Referrals Yes. Wis. Stat. 452.19(1m)(a) names out-of-state licensees explicitly, so a Wisconsin firm may pay a referral fee to anyone lawfully in the brokerage business elsewhere. The money goes to your firm, not to you, and keep a pure referral pure, since paying an unlicensed person for brokerage work is void from inception.

Your send-off checklist

YOUConfirm you held an ACTIVE license elsewhere at some point in the past 2 years. That single fact drops your education from 72 hours to 13. It need not still be active.
YOUR SCHOOLTake the 13-hour Wisconsin salesperson course from a board-approved provider. Distance format is widely offered and it stays good for 4 years. school-set Approved providers (PDF)
YOUBook and pass the Wisconsin salesperson exam at any Pearson VUE center in the country. 140 questions, 4 hours, 75 to pass, results before you leave. Book 48 hours out. $65 Pearson VUE Wisconsin
YOUSend Form 2688 to every regulator that ever licensed you, returned by them straight to DSPS. Nonresidents also file Form 813 Section A, since no nonresident application is processed until it lands. old state may charge
YOUApply in LicensE with the credential fee, course certificate, and Pearson pass certificate. Fully online, no notarization, no original documents. $60 (confirming) LicensE portal
STATE BOARDSREEB reviews. The board gets 60 business days from the date your file is COMPLETE, which in practice means the day Form 2688 lands.
YOURegister your firm before doing any work, free on Form 3036 at application or $10 on Form 812 later, then calendar December 14 of the next even year for renewal and 18 CE hours. $0 or $10

The money

13-hour Wisconsin courseschool-set, distance format ok
DSPS credential fee$60 (confirming, fees moved August 2025)
Pearson salesperson exam, per sitting$65
Form 2688 verificationset by old state
Form 813 nonresident consent$0
Fingerprints and background check$0, not required
E&O insurance and recovery fund$0, neither exists here
Firm association, Form 812$10, or free on Form 3036
TOTAL First year, typical$125 plus the course
Then: renewal every 2 years$75

Watch out in Wisconsin

  • Two clocks run at once. Your exam pass is good for 1 year and your education for 4, both measured when the application reaches DSPS.
  • The $60 credential fee is the last published figure. DSPS adjusted fees in August 2025 and reviews them every 2 years, so the amount is confirming.
  • Illinois and Indiana reciprocity is doubtful since Illinois replaced its reciprocal process on 2026-01-01. It never waived the Wisconsin exam anyway, so endorsement costs only the 13-hour course.
  • 2025 Wisconsin Act 69 lands 2027-01-01 and bars a firm from taking compensation from another firm in 1 to 4 unit residential deals. Referral fees are carved out, but forms and CE shift mid-cycle.

Official links for Wisconsin

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