What is required to get a license in Alabama?
For salespersons:
- Completed salesperson license application along with your passing exam score report, both of which are provided by the examination site
- Proof of high school graduation or the equivalent
- Proof of completion of required pre-licensing courses and/or experience requirements
- Fingerprint-based background check (you can view more information on the AREC website)
- Payment of fees ($210)
- Not have had a real estate application or license rejected or revoked in any state within the past two years
- Not have been convicted of a felony or a crime involving moral turpitude
- Proof of age 19 or above (driver’s license, U.S. Passport, birth certificate, any other documentation acceptable to the Alabama Real Estate Commission)
- Proof of U.S. citizenship, permanent resident alien, or legal presence in the United States
- Proof of bona fide residency in any state in the U.S
The completed applications, additional materials and fees must be completed and submitted to the Alabama Real Estate Commission within 90 days of your exam date. The 90-day timeframe starts with the examination date and ends with the postmark for those applications mailed into the Commission. Failure to meet this deadline nullifies your exam score.
For brokers:
- Completed broker license application along with the passing exam score report, both of which are provided by the examination site
- Proof of high school graduation or the equivalent
- Proof of completion of required pre-licensing courses and/or experience requirements
- Fingerprint-based background check ( you can view more information on the AREC website)
- Payment of fees ($210)
- Not have had a real estate application or license rejected or revoked in any state within the past two years
- Not have been convicted of a felony or a crime involving moral turpitude
- Proof of age 19 or above (driver’s license, U.S. Passport, birth certificate, any other documentation acceptable to the Alabama Real Estate Commission)
- Proof of U.S. citizenship, permanent resident alien, or legal presence in the United States
- Proof of bona fide residency in any state in the U.S
- Must have held an active real estate salesperson license in any state for at least 24 months of the 36-month period immediately before the date of application
- If you currently hold an active salesperson license, have your qualifying broker return it to the Commission with the broker license application
- If you will be the qualifying broker, include a company or branch office application for license and the appropriate fee; if you will be replacing a qualifying broker, you will need to submit the appropriate form
The completed applications, additional materials and fees must be completed and submitted to the Alabama Real Estate Commission within 90 days of your exam date. The 90-day timeframe starts with the examination date and ends with the postmark for those applications mailed into the Commission. Failure to meet this deadline nullifies your exam score.
What score do I need to pass?
The Alabama real estate licensing exam has national questions and state-specific questions. All exams require a "scaled" score of 70 to pass. You can view pages 11-12 of the Candidate Handbook for more information on exam scoring.
For salespersons:
The state portion consists of 40 multiple-choice questions and the national portion consists of 100 multiple-choice questions, mixed together into a single exam.
For brokers:
The state portion consists of 40 multiple-choice questions and the national portion consists of 10 simulation questions. The state and national portions are presented separately. You can read page 8 of the Candidate Handbook for more information on simulation questions.
There can be 5-10 "Pre-Test" questions in each category. These questions are being tested by Amp/PSI and don't count against a passing grade. Pre-test questions are not identified on the exam, so examinees must answer every question on the exam.
There are multiple versions of each real estate exam administered in Alabama and each version can vary slightly in difficulty. To determine a score, Amp/PSI uses a statistical procedure known as equating to help correct for differences in exam difficulty. The exam score is reported as a scaled score from 0-100, but that number doesn't represent the percentage or number of questions answered correctly. A passing score is 70, while any score below 70 indicates how close the candidate came to passing- not the actual number or percentage of questions answered correctly.
You will receive your score immediately after you complete your exam.
How much time do I have to complete the exam?
After you have taken a practice examination to give you a general idea of how the exam works, you will have the following time frames (depending on the license you are testing for):
- Salesperson (national and state portion) 3½ hours
- Broker (national and state portion) 3½ hours
- Broker (multiple-choice portion) 1 hour
- Broker (simulation portion) 2½ hours
- Reciprocal Salesperson (state portion) 1 hour
- Reciprocal Broker (state portion) 1 hour
What should I bring with me for the exam?
- 2 Forms of identification
- A government-issued current ID that includes your name, signature, and photograph like a driver’s license with photograph, state identification card with photograph, passport, or military identification card with photograph
- A secondary form of identification that displays your name and signature for signature verification, like a credit card with signature, social security card with signature or employment/student ID card with signature
- If your name on your registration is different than it appears on your identification, you must bring proof of your name change
- Silent, non-programmable calculator without alpha keys or printing capabilities
What is the format of the exam?
The exam is given on a computer as either multiple-choice questions or simulation problems, depending on the license you are testing for.
What is on the exam?
You can view each exam's Content Outline on pages 5 through 8 of the Candidate Handbook.