Minnesota Real Estate Brokerage License Law
PSI's Minnesota state content outline opens with Real Estate Brokerage License Law and lists nine cited subtopics: definitions (Minn. Stat. 82.55), licensing (82.57-82.63), trust accounts (82.75), standards of conduct (82.72-82.73), the commissioner's authority (45.011-45.43), the education, research and recovery fund (82.86), agency disclosure (82.67), other disclosures (82.68), and compensation (82.70). It is the largest of the four state areas.
Licensure and the primary broker
A "primary broker" is the broker on whose behalf a firm's salespersons are licensed to act under Minn. Stat. 82.63, subd. 4, and in an entity it is each officer or partner individually licensed to act as broker for the entity (82.55, subd. 15). A salesperson may not be licensed to act for more than one broker at a time, and when a salesperson terminates, the license becomes ineffective and the broker must notify the commissioner within ten days (82.63, subds. 4 and 6). Broker candidates must show three years of actual licensed salesperson experience within the previous five-year period, or be otherwise similarly qualified in the commissioner's opinion (82.59, subd. 4(b)), and complete a 30-hour broker course including three hours of fair housing within the 12 months before application (82.59, subd. 8(b)). A waiver of the experience requirement is available to a real estate graduate, a practicing attorney whose practice involves real estate law, or a public officer whose duties involve real estate, and it lapses if the examination is not passed within a year (82.59, subd. 5). Passing means 75 percent on the uniform portion and 75 percent on the state portion (82.59, subd. 6). Continuing education is 30 hours per 24-month period, at least 15 of them in the first 12 months (82.61).
Trust accounts
All trust funds received by a broker or the broker's salespeople go into a trust account maintained by the broker (Minn. Stat. 82.75, subd. 1). Unless the parties agree otherwise in writing the depositing broker is the listing broker, and if the written agreement is silent on timing the listing broker deposits earnest money within three business days of receipt or of final acceptance, whichever is later; if the offer is rejected the money goes back to the buyer not later than the next business day (82.75, subd. 5(b)-(c)). Trust funds may be disbursed only on a closing, a written agreement between the parties, an affidavit under section 559.217, or a court order, and within ten business days of consummation or termination if the agreements are silent (subd. 5(d)). Commingling is prohibited, with a single exception for an identified sum of the broker's own money used to pay service charges or meet a minimum balance (subd. 4). Interest on the required pooled trust account, less reasonable transaction costs, is paid to the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency for the housing trust fund (subd. 8).
Agency disclosure, the facilitator, and dual agency
In the sale and purchase of residential real property a licensee must give the consumer the statutory agency disclosure form at the first substantive contact; the requirement applies only to residential real property transactions, and the form is a disclosure, not a contract for representation (Minn. Stat. 82.67, subd. 1). The form describes four options. A seller's broker and a buyer's broker each owe the six listed fiduciary duties. A dual agency arises when one licensee represents both parties or when two licensees of the same broker each represent a party (82.55, subd. 6), requires the consent of all parties, and in a residential transaction that consent is taken in the purchase agreement in a boxed format (82.67, subd. 4). The facilitator is Minnesota's non-agency option, and the statutory form is explicit about its scope: a facilitator owes no fiduciary duty EXCEPT CONFIDENTIALITY unless further duties are written into a facilitator services agreement. A facilitator working with a buyer who shows a property the facilitator has listed must act as a seller's broker.
Records, conduct, discipline and the recovery fund
Brokers retain listings, representation and facilitator contracts, deposit receipts, purchase money contracts, canceled checks and trust account records for six years from closing, or from the document date if the transaction is not consummated (Minn. Stat. 82.72, subd. 3 — note that this is the RECORDS section, although PSI's outline labels the 82.72-82.73 range "Standards of Conduct"). Standards of conduct are in 82.73: a broker must adequately supervise, must review all trust account books and records, is responsible for the preparation, custody, safety and accuracy of documents even when the work is delegated, keeps a written complaint file for three years, and remains ultimately responsible even after designating another broker to run a branch. The commissioner may deny, suspend or revoke a license or censure a licensee on the grounds in 82.82, subd. 1, including failure to reasonably supervise so as to cause harm to the public, and may investigate and examine records under 45.027 — a chapter 82 licensee may not be charged the costs of an investigation that finds no violation. A person holding a final judgment against a licensee for a fraudulent, deceptive or dishonest practice or conversion of trust funds may apply to the education, research and recovery fund for up to $150,000 per claimant per transaction, capped at $250,000 per licensee (82.86, subd. 7).
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State-specific details
State exam facts
- State regulator
- Minnesota Department of Commerce
- Exam vendor
- PSI
- Prelicensing education
- 30-hour broker course, including 3 hours of fair housing, completed within 12 months before application (beyond the salesperson courses)
- Passing score
- 75% on the uniform portion and 75% on the state portion
- Scored questions
- 135
- Time limit
- 240 minutes
Who regulates real estate brokers in Minnesota?
The Minnesota Department of Commerce licenses real estate brokers and salespersons under Minnesota Statutes chapter 82. The Department contracts with PSI to deliver the licensing exams; PSI's Minnesota candidate information bulletin is number 10954.
What experience do I need before the Minnesota broker exam?
Minn. Stat. § 82.59, subd. 4(b) requires proof of at least three years of actual experience as a licensed real estate salesperson within the previous five-year period, in Minnesota or in another state with comparable requirements, or that you are otherwise similarly qualified in the commissioner's opinion by reason of education or practical experience. Subdivision 5 lets the commissioner waive the experience requirement for someone with a real estate degree from an accredited college or university, a licensed practicing attorney whose practice involves real estate law, or a public officer whose official duties involve real estate law or real estate transactions; a granted waiver lapses if you do not pass the broker examination within one year. You must also complete a 30-hour broker course, three hours of it fair housing, within the 12 months before you apply.
How is the Minnesota broker exam structured?
PSI's examination summary table gives the broker exam as a general portion of 75 items scored to 80 points in 2.5 hours plus a Minnesota state portion of 60 items worth 60 points in 1.5 hours — 135 scored items over 4 hours. The general broker exam includes some items scored up to two points, which is why 75 items are worth 80. You must score 75% on each portion to pass, and a candidate who passes one portion retakes only the other. Five to ten unscored experimental questions may also appear and will count against your time.
What does the Minnesota state portion cover?
PSI's Minnesota state content outline lists four areas: real estate brokerage license law (Minn. Stat. §§ 82.55–82.86 plus the commissioner's authority in chapter 45), interests in real property (conveyance by spouses, subdivided lands, common interest ownership under chapter 515B, property taxes, and landlord-tenant law), conveyance procedures and protection of parties (Torrens registration, mortgage registry and deed tax, statutory home warranties, the Minnesota Human Rights Act, the statute of frauds, and well, septic and storage-tank disclosures), and financial instruments (mortgage foreclosure and redemption, contracts for deed, homestead exemptions, and mechanic's liens). Note that PSI prints per-area numbers of 25, 10, 9 and 6 that add up to 50 rather than the 60 items it declares for the state portion, so treat those figures as relative emphasis rather than as item counts.
Sources: https://test-takers.psiexams.com/api/content/bulletin/10954, https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/82.59, https://mn.gov/commerce/licensing/list/real-estate/
In the Minnesota 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.