How to Get a Real Estate License in Indiana (2026): Cost & Steps

What a Indiana real estate license costs

Exam

$55

Fingerprints

$38.20

License application

$60

Required fees, total

$153.20

Online processing fees from the state’s licensing system are extra. The state’s real estate licensing page lists the current fees.

Build your Indiana startup budget

Sources: Indiana Professional Licensing Agency real estate licensing information ($60 application, $60 renewal, postlicense and continuing education, application steps); Indiana Professional Licensing Agency criminal background checks ($38.20 fingerprint check); Pearson VUE Indiana real estate candidate handbook ($55 exam, 145 questions, 240 minutes, passing score); Indiana Code, Article 34.1 (age and diploma requirements). Fees and rules checked October 10, 2026. Exam and background-check prices can change, so confirm the total when you book.

Who can get a Indiana broker license

Most people call it a real estate agent license. In Indiana the first license you get is a broker license, and it lets you work under a managing broker or a broker company. You don’t need experience for it. Running a brokerage as a managing broker is a separate step that takes years of experience first.

Indiana law says you need to be at least 18 and have a high school diploma or equivalent. You also need to finish the 90-hour course and pass the exam. The application asks about criminal history and discipline, and a Yes answer means you send a written statement and court records. Gather them early.

Already licensed in another state? You can apply for recognition from the Indiana Real Estate Commission. If it approves you, you only take the state part of the exam. The state says this process takes a while.

The steps, in order

1. Take the 90-hour course. Use a provider the state approves. You have one year after you finish it to pass both parts of the exam.
2. Book the exam with Pearson VUE and pay $55. The exam has 145 questions and 240 minutes. You need a scaled score of 75. Candidates arrive 30 minutes early with proper ID. Your result is good for one year.
3. Apply to the state and pay $60. Apply online. Upload your course certificate and your score report. Your application is abandoned if you don’t finish everything within one year of filing.
4. Get fingerprinted. After the state receives your application, it emails you a service code. Use that code to book your IdentoGO appointment. The fee is $38.20.
5. Pick active, inactive or unassigned status. To be active you need a managing broker or broker company to approve you. If you leave the broker section blank, your license is issued unassigned, and unassigned licenses still need continuing education.

What Indiana agents earn

Median pay, Indiana agents on payroll

$46,880

Middle half earns

$37,790–$61,990

Top 10% earn over

$82,270

Indiana agents on payroll

3,680

The bottom 10% of Indiana payroll agents earn under $27,550. The national median is $52,830. Use the office's included tools when estimating startup spending. Then compare the amount you would retain per transaction with recurring brokerage and prospecting costs; the payroll benchmark above does not include a forecast of your own client pipeline.

Source: U.S. Labor Department pay survey, May 2025, Indiana real estate sales agents. Covers agents on a payroll only. Checked October 10, 2026.

Coordinate the application, fingerprints and managing broker

Meet managing brokers during the 90-hour course so you know where you intend to activate when the exam is finished. Ask which person reviews a new broker’s first contracts, how supervision works outside office hours and which fees come out of a commission.

Indiana sends the fingerprint service code after receiving your application. Keep that email, your course certificate and the score report together. Have your chosen managing broker or broker company ready to approve the active affiliation rather than leaving the broker section unresolved.

Set up your Indiana agent business

Register the business and organize payments

Build the financial side of your business while the license application is processed. Confirm with the managing broker the entity type and payee details you can use. Follow the Indiana LLC guide for the LLC route and choose ZenBusiness if you would like help preparing that filing.

Arrange errors and omissions (E&O) insurance

Set an E&O plan with the office before taking responsibility for client paperwork. Request E&O quotes from Simply Business, describe the services you expect to provide and compare the terms with the brokerage’s coverage. Save the policy details and the office’s reporting contact where you keep transaction procedures.

Keep business records from day one

Create a two-year training calendar for the 30-hour postlicense requirement, then a recurring reminder for the later July-to-June education year. Keep course receipts and certificates with the expense records from your first transactions.

See Indiana business registration and tax requirements for the wider registration and tax checklist.

Build a simple follow-up system before buying leads

Ask the office which client-management tools it already supplies. Set up a contact list, record each person’s next decision and schedule a specific follow-up date. Practice this with supervised appointments in a manageable local area before paying for a stream of leads you have not yet learned to serve.

Resources for preparing client conversations

• what homeowners insurance costs by state
• the cost of renting versus owning
• state comparison of agent and brokerage businesses
• mortgage lock-in study
• Plan your first client conversations and follow-up

Finish your 30-hour postlicense course and keep up your continuing education

If your license was issued after June 30, 2014, you must finish 30 hours of approved postlicense education within two years of the day it was issued. The state says it counts as your continuing education for those two years.

After that, you need 12 hours of continuing education each year, from July 1 to June 30. Licenses renew every three years for $60. You don’t send your certificates when you renew, but the state audits licensees at random, so keep them.

Indiana agent questions