Louisiana Licensing Requirements
Area II is worth 7–9 items. It asks which activities need a license, who is exempt, what an applicant must show, and how licenses are renewed and moved between brokers.
Activities Requiring a License, and Who Is Exempt
R.S. 37:1436(B) makes it unlawful to engage in real estate activity for another for a fee, or in the expectation of one, without a license, and Subsection D provides that a single such act is itself a violation — there is no free allowance of a few transactions. Violation is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to five hundred dollars per day or up to three months' imprisonment. R.S. 37:1438(A) then sets out who falls outside the chapter: an owner or lessor performing acts of ownership over his own property; an entity selling, leasing or managing its own property; an attorney rendering legal services to a client; a receiver, trustee in bankruptcy, administrator, executor, tutor, or civil sheriff; a salaried employee of a licensed broker doing the narrow leasing and clerical tasks listed in Paragraph (6); a housing-authority employee; and a person managing agricultural property. R.S. 37:1445 adds the practical sanction — an unlicensed person cannot sue to recover a brokerage fee.
Eligibility and Education
R.S. 37:1437(C) bars a license to anyone under eighteen and to anyone who is not a high school graduate or the holder of an equivalency certificate. A salesperson applicant needs ninety hours of approved prelicense instruction — LAC 46:LXVII §5331(A) calls it Real Estate 101. A broker applicant must first have been licensed four years, with two of the four immediately preceding submission of the application, and must complete 150 hours, at least thirty of them emphasizing broker responsibilities. §5331(B) delivers those 150 hours as Real Estate 201 (90 hours of fundamentals), Real Estate 202 (30 hours on license law, commission rules, the law of agency in Title 9, civil law as it relates to real estate, and ethics) and the mandatory Real Estate 203 Broker Responsibilities course (30 hours). Every new licensee, broker or salesperson, must then complete forty-five post-license hours within 180 days of the initial license date, and every active licensee must complete twelve hours of continuing education each year, at least four of them in subjects the commission specifies.
Renewal and Change of Status
R.S. 37:1442(A)(1) makes a license effective for one year, renewable timely on or before September thirtieth annually, and expiring on the December thirty-first that follows issuance — the renewal deadline and the expiration date are deliberately different days. Under R.S. 37:1441(A) the terminating party must file a form with the commission within five calendar days when an associate broker's or salesperson's sponsorship ends; from that filing the license is no longer in force and the licensee may conduct no real estate activity until a new sponsoring broker is obtained. R.S. 37:1466 requires all active licensees to carry errors and omissions insurance, though a licensee may go inactive without it.
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State-specific details
State exam facts
- State regulator
- Louisiana Real Estate Commission (LREC)
- Exam vendor
- Pearson VUE
- Prelicensing education
- 150 hours (Real Estate 201 – 90h, Real Estate 202 – 30h, Real Estate 203 Broker Responsibilities – 30h)
- Passing score
- 75 scaled (of 100) on each portion
- Scored questions
- 135
- Time limit
- 240 minutes
Who regulates real estate brokers in Louisiana?
The Louisiana Real Estate Commission (LREC) licenses brokers and salespersons under the Louisiana Real Estate License Law, La. R.S. 37:1430 et seq. LREC's exams are delivered by Pearson VUE, which replaced PSI.
What experience do I need before the Louisiana broker exam?
La. R.S. 37:1437(C)(1) requires a broker applicant to have first been licensed for four years, with two of those four years occurring immediately preceding submission of the broker license application, plus 150 hours of approved broker education — at least 30 hours of it on broker responsibilities (the Real Estate 203 course).
How is the Louisiana broker exam structured?
135 scored questions in 240 minutes: an 80-question national portion in 150 minutes and a 55-question Louisiana state portion in 90 minutes, plus 5–10 unscored pretest items. Brokers must reach a scaled score of 75 out of 100 on each portion (salespersons need 70). That scaled score is not a percentage of questions answered correctly.
What does the Louisiana state portion actually test?
Pearson VUE content outline #091901 splits the 55 items five ways: the Commission's duties and powers (4–6), licensing requirements (7–9), statutes governing licensee activities (13–15), the Louisiana civil law system (13–15) and the Louisiana law of agency (13–15). Because Louisiana is a civil-law state, half the exam is civil-law and agency material — immovables, usufruct, servitudes, lesion beyond moiety, redhibition, bond for deed, reconduction, the authentic act and La. R.S. 9:3891–3899.
Sources: https://lrec.gov, https://www.pearsonvue.com/content/dam/VUE/vue/en/documents/publications/091900.pdf, https://www.pearsonvue.com/content/dam/VUE/vue/en/documents/publications/091901.pdf, https://legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=93259
In the Louisiana Real Estate Broker guide: A 60-question national practice exam, with a key that explains all four options and not just the right one. Practice here stays free.