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

What a Texas real estate license costs

License application, paid to the state

$206

Exam, both parts

$58

Fingerprints

$37

Required fees, total

$301.00

Not sure whether a past conviction would keep you from a license? You can ask the Commission for a fitness determination before you apply; it costs $50 plus an online fee. See the Commission’s fee schedule.

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Sources: Texas Real Estate Commission: Become a Real Estate Sales Agent (180 hours, steps, fingerprints, exam, sponsor, renewal and continuing education); Texas Real Estate Commission fee schedule, effective December 15, 2025 ($206 application, $43 exam, $37 fingerprints, $110 renewal); Pearson VUE Texas real estate candidate handbook ($58 exam, question counts, passing scores). 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 Texas sales agent license

Most people call it a real estate agent license. In Texas it is a sales agent license, and it lets you work under a sponsoring broker. Opening your own brokerage is a separate broker license that needs experience first.

The Texas Real Estate Commission says you need to be a U.S. citizen or a lawfully admitted alien, be at least 18, and meet its standards for honesty, trustworthiness and integrity. Fingerprints go to the Texas Department of Public Safety, and prints on file for other agencies won’t count. If you have a background history, you can ask for a fitness determination before you apply.

Already licensed elsewhere? If you hold an active license in a state that takes part in the national exam accreditation program, you can skip the national part of the exam. Send a license history from that state with your application.

The steps, in order

1. Create an account in the Commission’s online portal. If you don’t have a Texas license number, register for a portal account. You get an education application number by email, and you give it to your course provider.
2. Take the 180 hours of courses. Use a provider on the Commission’s qualifying course list. Don’t submit your license application until you’ve finished all six courses, because you upload the certificates with it.
3. Apply online and pay $206. Your application stays open for one year from the day you file. You have to finish every requirement in that year.
4. Get fingerprinted. After your status changes from Submitted to In Review, you get an email to schedule your fingerprints. Don’t book before that email arrives.
5. Pass the exams. After the Commission reviews your education, it emails you how to schedule the state and national parts with Pearson VUE. The exam fee is $58. Your result for each part is good for one year. If you fail either part three times, you need more education before you can test again. The national part has 85 questions in 150 minutes and you need 56 right. The Texas part has 50 questions in 90 minutes and you need 28 right.
6. Find a sponsor and activate. Once you meet every requirement, you are issued an inactive license. You or your sponsoring broker request sponsorship in the Commission’s portal. You can’t do licensed work until you are active.

What Texas agents earn

Median pay, Texas agents on payroll

$45,740

Middle half earns

$36,920–$74,660

Top 10% earn over

$120,050

Texas agents on payroll

22,250

The bottom 10% of Texas payroll agents earn under $29,110. The national median is $52,830. Budget the full path through the first renewal, including additional qualifying education. Compare a sample commission after the sponsoring broker's deductions with the recurring costs of your business, rather than using the gross closing amount as income.

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

Choose a sponsoring broker while completing the six courses

The 180-hour course sequence gives you time to compare sponsoring brokers before filing the license application. Ask how each office trains new sales agents on buyer consultations, contracts and transaction management, and who will supervise your first files.

Compare the complete fee agreement, including mentoring and transaction charges, with the split. Plan the sponsorship alongside the exam and fingerprint process. When your license is issued, confirm active sponsorship before accepting clients, and put the additional first-renewal education on your calendar.

Set up your Texas agent business

Register the business and organize payments

Coordinate your business structure with the sponsoring broker before registering an entity. Confirm the commission-payee and licensing arrangements that apply to your planned work. The Texas LLC guide covers the Texas LLC route and ongoing responsibilities; ZenBusiness can handle the filing when that structure fits the business you are setting up.

Arrange errors and omissions (E&O) insurance

Treat E&O as an operating decision alongside your brokerage agreement. Compare E&O quotes from Simply Business for your real estate services with the office’s coverage, including exclusions, claim limits and deductible. Know the reporting procedure before you take responsibility for client documents.

Keep business records from day one

Keep certificates for all six courses and budget for the extra qualifying education before the first renewal. Track commissions, mileage, listing expenses and office charges in dedicated business records, then plan tax reserves with your accountant.

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

Turn course knowledge into a supervised first transaction

Pick a local property and ask your sponsoring broker to review a practice buyer meeting and offer. Work through the deadlines and the information the client needs before each decision. Use supervised open houses or appointments to improve that process before spending heavily on lead generation.

Resources for preparing client conversations

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

Renew every two years and finish your first-term courses

Texas sales agent licenses renew every two years for $110 if you renew on time. Each renewal needs 18 hours of continuing education: Legal Update I and II (4 hours each), 3 hours of contract-related courses and 7 hours of electives.

Your first renewal works differently. The Commission says a new sales agent has to have 270 qualifying course hours in total before the first renewal, plus the Legal Update I and II courses. You can’t defer those. If you are short on continuing education at a later renewal, the Commission charges a $200 deferral fee or you can renew inactive. See the Commission’s sales agent page for current details.

Texas agent questions