Licensing: Who Needs One, and How a Broker Gets It
Area II is four scored items on the license itself — which activities require one, who is exempt, how a business entity holds one, and what a broker applicant must show in education and experience.
Activities requiring a license, and the exemptions
Section 1101.351(a) says that unless a person holds a license, the person may not act as or represent that the person is a broker or sales agent, or act as a residential rental locator; § 1101.351(c) adds that a sales agent may not engage in brokerage unless sponsored by a broker and acting for that broker. Section 1101.005 then lifts the chapter entirely off a list of people, including an attorney licensed in this state, an attorney-in-fact authorized to conduct not more than three real estate transactions annually, a licensed auctioneer conducting a sale by auction who performs no other act of a broker, an on-site manager of an apartment complex, and an owner or the owner's employee leasing the owner's real estate.
Business entities and the designated broker
A business entity must designate one of its managing officers as its broker (§ 1101.355(a)(1)) and may not act as a broker unless that designated broker is a licensed individual broker in active status and good standing (§ 1101.355(b)). The designated broker must be an individual, never another entity, and must have managing authority for the entity (22 TAC § 535.53). Where the designated broker owns less than 10 percent of the entity, the entity must carry errors-and-omissions insurance of at least $1 million for each occurrence.
Education, experience and renewal
22 TAC § 535.56 requires a broker applicant to complete 270 hours of qualifying real estate courses (including the 30-hour real estate brokerage course taken within two years of applying), a further 630 classroom hours of related education, and the six-hour Broker Responsibility Course; a bachelor's degree is deemed to satisfy 300 of the related hours. On the experience side the applicant needs four years of active licensure during the five years preceding the application and not less than 720 points of qualifying practical experience — the points figure rose from 360, so older study material understates it. Renewal takes 18 hours of continuing education under § 535.92: Legal Update I (4), Legal Update II (4), three contract hours, and for a broker or delegated supervisor the six-hour Broker Responsibility Course.
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State-specific details
State exam facts
- State regulator
- Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC)
- Exam vendor
- Pearson VUE
- Prelicensing education
- 900 classroom hours (270 qualifying + 630 related)
- Time limit
- 240 minutes
Who regulates real estate brokers in Texas?
The Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) licenses brokers and sales agents under the Texas Real Estate License Act (Occupations Code Chapter 1101) and the TREC rules at 22 Texas Administrative Code Part 23. TREC contracts with Pearson VUE to schedule and deliver the licensing exams at test centers across Texas.
What experience do I need before the Texas broker exam?
Broker applicants must have four years of active experience as a license holder during the 60 months preceding the application (Occupations Code § 1101.356(a)(1)) and must document not less than 720 qualifying experience points on TREC's Qualifying Experience Report (22 TAC § 535.56(b)(2)) — the points floor rose from 360, so older study material understates it. The education requirement is 270 hours of qualifying real estate courses plus 630 classroom hours of related education, and the six-hour Broker Responsibility Course is now required of every broker applicant.
How is the Texas broker exam structured?
Pearson VUE delivers a national portion of 80 scored questions and a Texas state portion of 50 scored questions in a single 4-hour session. Content outline #094401 splits the 50 state items into seven areas: TREC's duties and powers (3), licensing (4), standards of conduct (9), agency and brokerage (10), contracts (8), special topics (6) and case studies (10). Each portion is scored separately and you must pass both; confirm the current scored-question counts in TREC's Candidate Handbook.
What are the Texas case-study questions?
A fifth of the Texas state portion is case studies. Pearson VUE's outline says these "include both narrative cases and contract cases. Narrative cases require candidates to read a case study and respond to multiple associated items. Contract cases require candidates to respond to items based on use of TREC-promulgated contracts" — so expect fact patterns worked on forms such as TREC No. 20-19, the One to Four Family Residential Contract (Resale).
Sources: https://www.pearsonvue.com/content/dam/VUE/vue/en/documents/publications/094401.pdf, https://www.trec.texas.gov/agency-information/rules-and-laws/trec-rules, https://www.trec.texas.gov/exam-topic-reports, https://www.pearsonvue.com/us/en/tx/realestate.html
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