Broker Licenses, Company Licenses, and Place of Business
Area IV is worth 6 scored items — the most broker-specific block on the exam. It covers issuance of company and branch licenses, who may serve as qualifying broker, that broker's responsibilities, termination, serving more than one company, the temporary qualifying broker, associate broker status, and operating from home.
Who may qualify, and for how many companies
Section 34-27-34(a)(1) allows a broker to serve as qualifying broker only if licensed in Alabama, if his or her principal business is that of a real estate broker, and if he or she is in a position to actually supervise on a full-time basis. Since Act 2025-380, a broker may qualify more than one company only where every company consents in writing, a copy of the consent is filed with the commission, and all of the companies share the same company address. No person may serve as qualifying broker at more than one location, and each separate location needs its own company or branch office license.
What the qualifying broker is answerable for
Section 34-27-34(a)(2) makes the qualifying broker responsible to the commission and to the public for the acts of every salesperson and associate broker licensed under him or her, and "responsible to an injured party for the damage caused by any violation of this chapter" by those licensees — without relieving the licensee of his or her own liability. Subsection (a)(3) preserves independent-contractor status without switching that duty off. Rule 790-X-3-.15 lists thirteen concrete supervision failures, from allowing unlicensed activity to failing to reconcile trust accounts.
Temporary qualifying broker and place of business
A company license becomes invalid on the death or disability of its qualifying broker. Within 30 days the company may designate an officer, member or salesperson — a broker, or a salesperson of at least one year — to apply for a temporary qualifying broker license, and it may then operate for no more than six months after the commission issues that license, a start date Act 2025-380 moved from the death itself. A rural broker may work from home only in an office not used for living purposes, used by that broker alone, with a separate business telephone and separate entrance, properly identified as a real estate office. Act 2025-380 also added that an individual may use any office of a company under which he or she is licensed.
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State-specific details
State exam facts
- State regulator
- Alabama Real Estate Commission (AREC)
- Exam vendor
- Pearson VUE
- Prelicensing education
- 60-clock-hour broker pre-license course (minimum grade 70)
- Passing score
- 70 (scaled score, 0-100)
- Scored questions
- 120
- Time limit
- 210 minutes
Who regulates real estate brokers in Alabama?
The Alabama Real Estate Commission (AREC) licenses brokers, salespersons and companies under Title 34, Chapter 27 of the Code of Alabama. AREC contracts with Pearson VUE to schedule and deliver the licensing exams, and candidates must pre-register with the Commission before an exam authorization is sent to Pearson VUE.
What experience do I need before the Alabama broker exam?
An applicant who holds no out-of-state broker license must prove an active real estate salesperson license in any state for at least 24 of the 36 months immediately preceding application, high school graduation or the equivalent, and completion of a Commission-approved course of at least 60 clock hours (Ala. Code § 34-27-32). Applicants have six months after finishing the course to pass the exam.
How is the Alabama broker exam structured?
It is two multiple-choice portions taken in one 3.5-hour appointment: an 80-item national/general portion with 2.5 hours allotted, and a 40-item Alabama state portion with 1 hour. There is no simulation section. Ten to fifteen unidentified pretest items are also included and do not count. Candidates receive one overall scaled score, and a 70 or higher passes; fail the overall exam and the entire test must be retaken.
What is the biggest topic on the Alabama state portion?
Violations which may result in disciplinary action — 12 of the 40 scored state items, 30% of the state portion on its own. Pearson VUE's outline lists thirteen lettered violations under it, from misrepresentation and advertising to rebates, lotteries and the handling of documents, all drawn from the prohibited-acts list in Ala. Code § 34-27-36.
Sources: https://www.pearsonvue.com/content/dam/VUE/vue/en/documents/publications/093300.pdf, https://www.pearsonvue.com/us/en/al/realestate.html, https://arec.alabama.gov
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