License Maintenance
Four items. Iowa runs a single shared calendar: every individual license is issued for a three-year term and expires on December 31 of the third year. What follows the deadline - grace period, penalty, reinstatement, inactive status - is heavily tested because the numbers are specific.
Terms, Renewal and the Thirty-Day Grace Period
Rule 481-2003.3(2) issues broker, salesperson, trade name, branch office and firm licenses for a three-year term counting the remaining portion of the year of issue as a full year, and rule 481-2016.4(1) confirms expiry on December 31 of the third year. Section 543B.28 lets a licensee who misses that date renew within thirty days, and rule 481-2003.5(2) fixes the penalty at $25 for an application received after midnight December 31 but before midnight January 30. Renewal requires disclosure of completed continuing education and of errors and omissions coverage. Failure of the commission to mail its November reminder does not excuse a late renewal, and a broker whose authority lapses automatically terminates the authority of every salesperson assigned to that broker (rule 481-2003.5).
Reinstatement, Inactive Status and Starting Over
An application arriving after January 30 is treated as reinstatement under rule 481-2003.6: the regular renewal fee plus $25 for each partial or full month since expiration, available for three years, with the broker unauthorized to practice for the whole gap. Reinstatement also requires that all continuing education be satisfied, or that the applicant retake and pass the broker examination. A broker who has not reinstated by December 31 of the third year following expiration "is treated as if the former broker had never been licensed in Iowa" and must start over by qualifying for a salesperson license. A licensee who is short on continuing education but otherwise timely is renewed in inactive status instead (rule 481-2003.5(4)); an inactive license may not be used for any act requiring a license, and reactivation requires evidence that the deficient hours are complete.
Errors and Omissions Insurance
Section 543B.47 makes errors and omissions insurance a condition of licensure for every licensee except those holding inactive licenses, with a group policy the commission puts out for competitive sealed bid and a right for any licensee to buy equivalent coverage independently. Rule 481-2019.2(4) sets the group minimums at a per-claim limit of not less than $100,000 and an annual aggregate of not less than $100,000, applied per licensee per claim, with defense costs payable in addition to damages. Independently carried firm umbrella coverage must carry aggregates of at least $250,000 for two to ten licensees, $500,000 for eleven to forty, and $1,000,000 for forty-one or more. Rule 481-2019.3(10) states that self-insurance does not comply. Proof must be furnished within twenty calendar days of a commission request (section 543B.47(6)), and failure to provide proof within thirty days of written notice places the license on inactive status.
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State-specific details
State exam facts
- State regulator
- Iowa Real Estate Commission (DIAL)
- Exam vendor
- PSI
- Scored questions
- 115
- Time limit
- 180 minutes
Who regulates real estate brokers in Iowa?
The Iowa Real Estate Commission, now within the Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing (DIAL), licenses brokers and salespersons. The Commission contracts with PSI to deliver the exams.
What experience do I need before the Iowa broker exam?
Iowa Code § 543B.15(7) requires 24 months as a licensed salesperson actively engaged in real estate (or substantially equal experience) plus 60 contact hours of Commission-approved broker education completed within the 24 months before the broker exam — on top of the salesperson pre-license course.
How is the Iowa broker exam structured?
PSI bulletin 120 sets the broker exam at 115 scored questions in 180 minutes: a 75-question national portion scored to 80 points (pass 60 points, 120 minutes) and a 40-question Iowa portion worth 40 points (pass 30, 60 minutes). Both portions must be passed. The national portion is scored by points because some national broker items are worth two points.
Sources: https://dial.iowa.gov/licenses/other-professional-licensure/real-estate-licensees, https://test-takers.psiexams.com/api/content/bulletin/120
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