DC Licensing Requirements
Area II is 6 of the 40 state items: which activities require a license, who is eligible for the broker license, what license types the District issues, and how a license is maintained through continuing education, renewal, reinstatement and change of status.
Activities requiring a license, and the exemptions
D.C. Official Code § 47-2853.161(1) defines the broker's scope: for a fee or other valuable consideration, listing, selling, exchanging, purchasing, renting or leasing real property, collecting rent, or negotiating a loan secured by an interest in real estate. Section 47-2853.181 and 17 DCMR § 2624.3 exempt court-appointed receivers, executors, guardians and trustees acting in that capacity and "attorneys-at-law in the ordinary practice of their profession"; owners and lessors managing their own property; trustees and auctioneers acting under a power of sale; purely stenographic or clerical staff; government officers on official duties; a person who merely identifies available rental units for a fee; and qualifying nonprofit housing organizations. Under 17 DCMR § 2624.2 an exempt person may not hold themselves out as a broker, salesperson or property manager.
Eligibility and license types
A broker applicant must first meet the salesperson requirements and then, under D.C. Official Code § 47-2853.162(2) and 17 DCMR § 2601.7, have been licensed and actively engaged as a broker or salesperson in the District or elsewhere for the two years immediately preceding the application, or hold equivalent experience the Commission accepts. 17 DCMR § 2601.3 requires 135 clock hours of approved coursework across nine named subjects, § 2601.4 sets the passing score at 75, and § 2601.5 gives the candidate six months after passing to file or face reexamination. The District issues broker, associate real estate broker, salesperson and property manager credentials; § 47-2853.182(d) defines the associate real estate broker as a licensed broker employed by a firm who is not a partner, officer or principal broker.
Maintaining the license
17 DCMR § 2605.3 requires 15 hours of Commission-approved continuing education in the two-year period preceding expiration — 9 mandated hours plus 6 general electives — with a first renewal after a license granted by examination exempt under § 2605.1. Broker and property manager licences run to February 28 of the odd year and salesperson licences to August 31 of the odd year (17 DCMR § 2620). A license not renewed on time may still be renewed within 60 days on payment of a late fee (§ 2621.5); after that it is treated as lapsed and needs reinstatement, and § 2622.6 and D.C. Official Code § 47-2853.15(b) bar reinstatement entirely more than five years after expiration. A license may never be transferred to another person (§ 47-2853.182(a)); a broker moving to associate broker status notifies the Board by certified mail (§ 47-2853.182(c)), and every licensee reports an address change within 30 days (§ 47-2853.16(b); 17 DCMR § 2621.3).
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State-specific details
State exam facts
- State regulator
- District of Columbia Real Estate Commission (Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection)
- Exam vendor
- PSI
- Prelicensing education
- 135 hours of broker pre-licensing education
- Passing score
- 75%
- Scored questions
- 115
- Time limit
- 210 minutes
Who regulates real estate brokers in Washington, DC?
The District of Columbia Real Estate Commission licenses brokers, salespersons, and property managers in the District. The Commission now sits within the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (DLCP), which took over the licensing functions of the former Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) — older PSI bulletins and study guides still reference DCRA. The Commission contracts with PSI to deliver the licensing exams.
What experience do I need before the DC broker exam?
Broker applicants must complete 135 clock hours of approved broker pre-licensing education covering nine named subjects (17 DCMR § 2601.3) and must have been licensed and actively engaged as a real estate broker or salesperson, in the District or elsewhere, for the two years immediately preceding the application (D.C. Official Code § 47-2853.162(2); 17 DCMR § 2601.7). 17 DCMR § 2601.9(b) allows equivalent experience — two continuous years in the real estate business with at least six verified transactions a year as a builder, investor, developer, attorney, or in a closely related occupation. The separate 3-hour DCREC-approved DC Fair Housing course is required of reciprocity and endorsement applicants, not of first-time DC broker applicants; there is no separate property-management course requirement. 17 DCMR § 2601.5 gives a candidate six months after passing to pay the fee and file, or be reexamined.
How is the DC broker exam structured?
PSI bulletin 5587 (updated 6/3/2026) gives the broker exam as a 75-item national portion scored to 80 points in 120 minutes plus a 40-item DC state portion worth 40 points in 90 minutes — 115 scored items and 120 points in 210 minutes. The 120 is the POINTS total, not the item count: a note in the same table explains that national broker items can be scored up to two points. The 80-item general portion belongs to the salesperson exam. You must score at least 75% and pass both portions; up to 10 unscored pretest items may also appear, with extra time added for them.
What does the DC state portion actually test?
PSI bulletin 5587's State Portion Content Outline splits the 40 broker items four ways: Duties and Powers of the Real Estate Commission (5 items, 12.5%), Licensing Requirements (6 items, 15%), Statutory Requirements Governing the Activities of Licensees (24 items, 60%) and Responsibilities Specific to Brokerage Practice, which is broker-only (5 items, 12.5%). Agency is not a top-level area — it is sub-item III.I, alongside advertising and technology, the broker/salesperson relationship, commissions, disclosure and conflict of interest, handling of documents, handling of monies, fair housing and ADA, the tenant's right to purchase, property disclosures and environmental issues. The tenant's right to purchase (TOPA) is one lettered sub-item, not a quarter of the exam.
Sources: https://dlcp.dc.gov/page/real-estate-commission, https://test-takers.psiexams.com/api/content/bulletin/5587
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