West Virginia Real Estate Salesperson Exam — All Questions

To qualify for a West Virginia salesperson license, an applicant must first complete:

• a.A four-year college degree in real estate
• b.A 30-hour ethics course only
• c.The required 90-hour pre-license course from an approved provider✓
• d.A two-year apprenticeship under a broker

West Virginia requires an applicant to complete the required 90-hour pre-license course from an approved provider before taking the salesperson licensing examination. After passing the exam and meeting eligibility requirements, the salesperson must associate with a supervising broker to activate the license.

A West Virginia salesperson who already holds an active West Virginia salesperson's license applies for a broker's license. The prelicense education the Commission requires of that applicant is:

• a.the full 180 clock-hours, with no credit given for the salesperson coursework
• b.no further coursework at all, only the broker examination
• c.an additional 90 clock-hours of approved courses✓
• d.an additional 30 clock-hours of approved courses

A broker applicant generally must show at least 180 clock-hours (12 college semester credit hours). The statute and the Commission's rule both carve out the applicant who already holds a West Virginia salesperson's license: that person shows an additional 90 clock-hours, equivalent to six semester hours. Cite: W. Va. Code §30-40-14(a); W. Va. C.S.R. §174-1-6.4.1 (Series 1 effective April 7, 2026).

Prelicense coursework offered in support of a West Virginia license application must have been completed:

• a.within the three-year period preceding the date of application✓
• b.within the five-year period preceding the date of application
• c.at any time before application, provided the applicant passes the examination
• d.within the 12 months preceding the date of application

West Virginia puts a shelf life on prelicense credit. Coursework older than three years at the date of application is not accepted, and the applicant must retake it. Cite: W. Va. Code §30-40-14(c); W. Va. C.S.R. §174-1-6.4.3.

West Virginia's experience requirement for a broker's license is satisfied by an applicant who has:

• a.held an active salesperson's license for five continuous years
• b.completed 20 hours of broker-level continuing education
• c.managed a real estate brokerage company for three years
• d.represented a buyer or seller in 20 closed transactions during the two years before application✓

The statute gives two routes: 20 closed transactions in the two years immediately preceding application, or 40 closed transactions regardless of how long the applicant has been licensed. Leasing-only and management-only applicants meet the same counts on their own terms. Cite: W. Va. Code §30-40-12(a)(1).

A West Virginia real estate license certificate is valid for a period that:

• a.runs two years from the date the license was issued
• b.coincides with the fiscal year beginning July 1 and ending June 30✓
• c.coincides with the calendar year, running from January 1 through December 31
• d.runs three years from the month of the licensee's birthday

West Virginia licenses are not anniversary-dated. Every certificate runs with the state fiscal year, July 1 to June 30, and the Commission's rule adds that fees are not prorated. Cite: W. Va. Code §30-40-17(c)(5); W. Va. C.S.R. §174-1-3.1.

A West Virginia licensee who has not renewed by December 31 of the year in which the license expired:

• a.may still renew at any time by paying a late fee
• b.is placed on inactive status automatically
• c.has a cancelled license and must requalify, examination included✓
• d.receives a 90-day extension on written request

The Act distinguishes 'expired' (not renewed by July 1) from 'cancelled' (not renewed by December 31). A late fee cures an expired license only through December 31; after that the licensee starts over, including the examination. Cite: W. Va. Code §30-40-4 (definitions of "expired" and "cancelled"); W. Va. C.S.R. §§174-1-8.2, 174-1-8.3.

A newly licensed West Virginia licensee who qualified by passing both the national and the state examinations is:

• a.required to complete 14 hours of continuing education before the first renewal is accepted
• b.exempt from continuing education for the first three renewals
• c.required to take the broker-level curriculum in the first year
• d.exempt from continuing education for that first renewal if it is made by June 30✓

The Commission's rule exempts recent examinees from the continuing education requirement for their first renewal, but only if the licensee renews on or before June 30 of that fiscal year. Cite: W. Va. C.S.R. §174-1-8.5.a.

West Virginia continuing education for a licensee renewing on active status is:

• a.seven hours a year, three of them broker-level for brokers and associate brokers✓
• b.14 hours every two years, with no subject restriction
• c.seven hours a year for salespersons and none at all for brokers
• d.three hours a year drawn from an approved law curriculum

Each licensee completes seven hours of continuing professional education for each fiscal year, with an hour counted as 50 minutes of instruction; brokers and associate brokers must draw three of those seven from the Commission's broker-level curriculum. Cite: W. Va. Code §30-40-16(a); W. Va. C.S.R. §174-1-8.4.

An attorney at law applying for a West Virginia real estate license may substitute which document for the state and national criminal history record check?

• a.an affidavit of good moral character signed by two licensed brokers
• b.a letter of good standing from the West Virginia State Bar✓
• c.a letter of recommendation from a circuit court judge
• d.nothing; the record check is required of every applicant without exception

Every applicant must submit fingerprints for a state and national criminal history record check, with one statutory exception: an applicant who is an attorney at law may file a letter of good standing from the West Virginia State Bar instead. Cite: W. Va. Code §30-40-11(f); W. Va. C.S.R. §174-1-4.1.1.f.

An applicant's approval to sit for the West Virginia licensing examination remains valid for:

• a.six months and an unlimited number of attempts
• b.one year and no more than three attempts
• c.three months and an unlimited number of attempts
• d.three months and at most two attempts✓

Approval expires at three months or on the second unsuccessful attempt, whichever comes first; after that the examinee submits a new application good for another three months and two more examinations. Cite: W. Va. C.S.R. §174-1-4.3.

After passing the West Virginia examination, an applicant must pay the license fee and submit all supporting documents within:

• a.three months, extendable once by up to three months for good cause✓
• b.30 days, with no extension available under any circumstances
• c.one year from the date of the examination
• d.six months, which the Commission may extend once for six additional months

The Commission cancels the application of anyone who does not pay the license fee within three months of passing, and that applicant must reapply and pass the examination again. A single extension of up to three months is available for good cause. Cite: W. Va. C.S.R. §174-1-4.7.