How to become a real estate agent in Arizona

This page is independent of any school or brokerage. Requirements change (the ADRE's fee page and the February 2026 candidate handbook are the versions read on the date shown, and the exam fees differ between the two), so each section names the official page it was read from and the date. If a figure below disagrees with the ADRE's page today, the board is right and this page is stale: the date tells you how stale.

1Arizona real estate licence requirements

• Age: at least eighteen years of age before any licence is issued.
• Character: evidence of honesty, truthfulness, good character and competency, with no licence denied within the past year or revoked within the past two.
• Prelicensing course: at least 90 classroom hours in a Commissioner-approved salesperson course, with the school's final exam passed, completed no more than ten years before applying.
• Contract writing: six hours of instruction in real estate contract law and contract writing, completed within two years before applying.
• Background: a valid Level 1 non-IVP Fingerprint Clearance Card from the Arizona Department of Public Safety, plus proof of authorized legal presence in the United States under A.R.S. 41-1080.
• Deadline: the licence application must be submitted within one year of passing the exams.

Source: Arizona Revised Statutes 32-2124, Qualifications of licensees, read September 9, 2026; Pearson VUE, Arizona Real Estate Candidate Handbook, February 2026, read September 9, 2026; Arizona Department of Real Estate, Salesperson License (required documents), read September 9, 2026.

2Steps to get your Arizona real estate licence, in order

1. Complete the 90-hour course and the 6-hour contract writing class

   Both come from schools approved by the Commissioner; the 90-hour certificate is good for ten years and the contract writing certificate for two.

2. Pass both Pearson VUE exams

   The general exam is 80 scored questions in 150 minutes and the state exam 60 scored questions in 90 minutes, each with five unscored pretest items; 75% correct passes, and a passing score report with a link to the licence application is issued at the test centre.

3. Get a fingerprint clearance card

   The Level 1 non-IVP card is issued by the Arizona Department of Public Safety and must be valid at the time of application.

4. Apply online within a year of the exams and pay $60

   Upload the score reports, application form, disciplinary disclosure, course certificates, clearance card and proof of legal presence; once the ADRE deems the application complete it requests the fee online, $50 for the licence plus $10 to the Real Estate Recovery Fund.

5. Activate under an employing broker

   After payment the application is approved on eligible status, and the licensee starts the activation from their online home page, pending the broker's acceptance.

Source: Arizona Department of Real Estate, Salesperson License (required documents), read September 9, 2026; Pearson VUE, Arizona Real Estate Candidate Handbook, February 2026, read September 9, 2026; Arizona Department of Real Estate, Fees, read September 9, 2026.

3How much a Arizona real estate licence costs

The ADRE publishes its fees on one page and Pearson VUE lists exam fees in its handbook; the fingerprint clearance card is bought from the Department of Public Safety and tuition from the schools.

Source: Pearson VUE, Arizona Real Estate Candidate Handbook, February 2026, read September 9, 2026; Arizona Department of Real Estate, Fees, read September 9, 2026; Arizona Department of Real Estate, Salesperson License (required documents), read September 9, 2026.

4How long it takes to become a real estate agent in Arizona

The fixed parts are 96 class hours, two exam sittings that can be taken back to back, and the DPS clearance card; the ADRE publishes no typical application review time on the pages read for this guide, and gives applicants one year after the exams to file. Those parts come from the ADRE's own pages, the statute and the exam vendor's handbook, not a school's marketing:

• Courses: 90 hours of prelicensing plus six hours of contract writing, at the school's pace.
• Exams: 150 minutes for the general exam and 90 for the state exam at a Pearson VUE centre, bookable back to back.
• Clearance card: issued by the Department of Public Safety and required at application.
• Application: filed online within one year of the exams; the fee is requested once the ADRE deems it complete, and no typical review time is published.

Source: Arizona Revised Statutes 32-2124, Qualifications of licensees, read September 9, 2026; Pearson VUE, Arizona Real Estate Candidate Handbook, February 2026, read September 9, 2026; Arizona Department of Real Estate, Salesperson License (required documents), read September 9, 2026.

5The Arizona real estate exam

The salesperson exams is 140 questions in 4 hours, two exams, general (150 minutes) and Arizona state-specific (90 minutes), multiple choice at a Pearson VUE test centre. You need 75% of the questions on each exam answered correctly to pass. A passing score report, with a link to the licence application, is issued at the test centre. Retakes: a failed exam is retaken at the same fee as the first sitting; the pass must fall within the year before the licence application.

Pass rate

Neither the ADRE nor Pearson VUE publishes a pass rate for the Arizona salesperson exams on the pages or handbook read for this guide, so none is shown here.

Source: Pearson VUE, Arizona Real Estate Candidate Handbook, February 2026, read September 9, 2026.

6Reciprocity: already licensed in another state?

By recognition rather than reciprocity. A salesperson licensed for at least one year in another state applies under Out-of-State License Recognition: only the state-specific exam is required, along with a licence history, the 6-hour contract writing course, a fingerprint clearance card and proof of legal presence, plus either proof of Arizona residency or a 27-hour prelicensure education certificate for non-residents.

Source: Arizona Department of Real Estate, Out-of-State License Recognition Salesperson License, read September 9, 2026.

7Renewal and continuing education

The licence runs two years, renewed by the last day of the month in which the licence was issued. To renew you complete 24 clock hours of approved continuing education within the licence period and pay $60 on time, or $125 for a late renewal, and within one year of expiry the ADRE renews without an exam late.

First renewal: the same 24 credit hours as every renewal; the statute sets no separate first-renewal course for salespersons.

Later renewals: 24 credit hours of continuing education in each 24-month licence period, with the content set by the Commissioner's rules; renewal is $60 on time.

Source: Arizona Revised Statutes 32-2130, Renewal of licenses; continuing education, read September 9, 2026; Arizona Department of Real Estate, Fees, read September 9, 2026.

8How much real estate agents make in Arizona

The only independent, dated wage figure for agents is the Bureau of Labor Statistics' occupational survey. For Arizona, release May 2025:

BLS counts agents paid as employees and reports wages, not the commissions of self-employed agents, so these are a floor for the occupation rather than what a typical commissioned agent takes home.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025, Real Estate Sales Agents (41-9022), Arizona, read September 8, 2026.

9After the licence: choosing a brokerage in Arizona

A new salesperson licence is only usable under a broker, so the next decision is which brokerage. On September 5, 2026, 17,477 Arizona agents had a published brokerage profile; the largest single company was HomeSmart with 7,375 of them, and the largest brand was HomeSmart with 7,375. Realty Census, which counts those profiles, also compares the brokerages a new Arizona agent can join, including which ones publish their commission split: see which Arizona brokerages publish their pay plan.

Source: Realty Census, Arizona count and brokerage ranking, September 5, 2026 (realtycensus.com/arizona/), read September 9, 2026.

10Pre-licence schools in Arizona

The ADRE's Commissioner approves the schools and the 90-hour and contract writing courses; the Department publishes the exam curriculum on its resources page and the course certificates must come from an approved school. The list is at the ADRE's How to Obtain a License page.

This page carries no affiliate links. If a schools page for Arizona is added with affiliate links, it will say so at the top, and schools will be ordered by what the state publishes or alphabetically, never by commission.

Source: Arizona Department of Real Estate, How to Obtain a License, read September 9, 2026.

Questions people ask about becoming an agent in Arizona

How long does it take to become a real estate agent in Arizona?

The fixed parts are 96 class hours, two exam sittings that can be taken back to back, and the DPS clearance card; the ADRE publishes no typical application review time on the pages read for this guide, and gives applicants one year after the exams to file. The course is 90 hours plus a 6-hour contract writing class at the school's pace; the two exams take 150 and 90 minutes and can be booked back to back; the clearance card comes from DPS; and the application must be filed within a year of the exams. The ADRE publishes no typical review time.

How much does it cost to get a real estate licence in Arizona?

$190 to the state and its vendors ($70 general exam, $60 state exam, $60 licence), plus tuition for the pre-licence course, the DPS fingerprint clearance card and tuition for the 90-hour course and the contract writing class, which the schools set.

What is the pass rate for the Arizona real estate exam?

Neither the ADRE nor Pearson VUE publishes a pass rate for the Arizona salesperson exams on the pages or handbook read for this guide, so none is shown here.

How much do real estate agents make in Arizona?

The BLS May 2025 median for real estate sales agents in Arizona is $58,780 a year, with the middle half earning between $41,250 and $94,330. BLS counts agents paid as employees and reports wages, not the commissions of self-employed agents, so these are a floor for the occupation rather than what a typical commissioned agent takes home.

Does Arizona have real estate licence reciprocity?

Partly. Arizona recognises out-of-state licences held for at least a year: you sit only the state-specific exam and skip the 90-hour course, but still need the 6-hour contract writing class, a clearance card, and either Arizona residency or 27 hours of prelicensure education.

Sources and dates