Licensure: Who Needs a License and How It Is Kept
Area II is five of the forty state items. Its printed subtopics are activities requiring a license, licensing procedures, eligibility, bonds, renewal, change of license status and continuing education.
Activities Requiring a License, and the Exemptions
RSA 331-A:2, III defines a broker by a list of acts done for another for compensation - selling, exchanging, purchasing, renting or leasing real estate, negotiating or attempting to negotiate any of those, listing, dealing in options, collecting rent, holding oneself out as in the business, assisting or directing in procuring prospects, assisting or directing in negotiation, and charging an advance fee. RSA 331-A:3 makes it unlawful to act as a broker or salesperson without a license. RSA 331-A:4 then exempts nine classes, including a non-licensee owner dealing with the owner's own property, an attorney-in-fact under a power of attorney, an attorney at law performing duties as an attorney, a licensed auctioneer, a public official, a court-appointed or testamentary fiduciary, a manufactured housing park operator selling or leasing park homes, a corporate site-search consultant paid under a written contract, and a condominium unit owners' association renting units for 30 days or less through its own on-site office.
Broker Eligibility and the Bond
RSA 331-A:10, II sets the broker credential above the salesperson credential in three ways. Education: 60 hours of approved study completed before the examination date, against 40 for a salesperson. Experience: one year of full-time employment by an active principal broker within five years of application, or at least 2,000 part-time hours as a licensed salesperson in this state within five years, or proof of equivalent experience. Transactions: evidence of at least six separate real estate transactions in which the applicant was actively involved and compensated. RSA 331-A:14 adds the surety bond - not less than $25,000, payable to the state for the benefit of any aggrieved person and conditioned on faithful accounting for entrusted funds. RSA 331-A:10, II(f) applies the bond to principal and managing brokers only, not to associate brokers or to the entity itself, and RSA 331-A:14 lets the Commission revoke a license when the bond lapses.
Renewal, Lapse and Continuing Education
RSA 310:8 now governs the renewal cycle for this board: licences run two years, they expire when a complete renewal application, fee and supporting documents have not been filed by the expiration date, and an expired license lapses one year after expiration - at which point it can no longer be renewed, only reinstated. The office must send a renewal notice at least two months out, but failing to receive it excuses nothing. Rea 401.01 sets out the renewal forms, the attestations, and the requirement that principal and managing brokers file the $25,000 bond concurrently with the license dates. Rea 403.01 sets the education: a minimum three-hour accredited core course for every active and inactive renewal, plus 12 hours of accredited electives for anyone renewing on active status or moving from inactive to active. A salesperson's first renewal spends those 12 hours on designated post-licensing courses drawn from the four required topics in Rea 302.03 - purchase and sale agreements, ethical behavior, disclosure forms and agency. RSA 331-A:12-b, added in 2024, sets out inactive status and how to return to active.
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State-specific details
State exam facts
- State regulator
- New Hampshire Real Estate Commission (Office of Professional Licensure and Certification)
- Exam vendor
- PSI
- Prelicensing education
- 60 hours of approved study
- Passing score
- 56 of 80 points (national); 28 of 40 points (state)
- Scored questions
- 115
- Time limit
- 240 minutes
Who regulates real estate brokers in New Hampshire?
The New Hampshire Real Estate Commission, which sits within the Office of Professional Licensure and Certification (OPLC) in Concord, licenses real estate salespersons and brokers. The Commission has contracted with PSI Services LLC to conduct the examination program at test centers in Concord, Keene, Manchester, Nashua, Newington, and Portsmouth, as well as out-of-state locations. Note when you study that the 2023 OPLC consolidation act repealed RSA 331-A:15, :17, :18, :19, :28, :29, :30, :31, :33, :34, and :35 effective September 1, 2023: renewal, expiration, discipline, and hearing procedure for this board now live in RSA 310, while the prohibited-conduct grounds in RSA 331-A:26 are unchanged.
What experience do I need before the New Hampshire broker exam?
Under RSA 331-A:10, broker applicants must have been employed full-time by an active principal broker for at least one year within the five years before application, or have at least 2,000 part-time hours as a licensed salesperson in New Hampshire within that same five-year window. In addition, every broker applicant must submit evidence of at least six separate real estate transactions in which they were actively involved and compensated, and must show 60 hours of approved study. Candidates who believe they have equivalent experience can request a waiver from the Commission.
How is the New Hampshire broker exam structured?
The broker exam has a national portion and a New Hampshire state portion, taken in a combined session of 240 minutes. New Hampshire scores in points rather than a straight percentage, and the counts differ: the national broker portion is 75 items worth 80 points, because national broker exams include items scored up to two points, with 56 points needed to pass. The state portion is 40 items worth 40 points with 28 points needed to pass, giving 115 items and 120 points overall. New Hampshire publishes one state content outline for salespersons and brokers alike, and it splits the 40 state items into five areas: Real Estate Commission (3), Licensure (5), Regulation of Licensee Conduct (11), Regulation of Agency Conduct (11), and New Hampshire Principles and Practice (10).
Sources: https://www.oplc.nh.gov/find-board/nh-real-estate-commission/real-estate-examination-information, https://test-takers.psiexams.com/api/content/bulletin/6529
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