How to become a real estate agent in Illinois

This page is independent of any school or brokerage. Requirements change (IDFPR's online application instructions date from 2018 and give an older minimum age; the PSI bulletin read for this guide is the newer document and governs the figures here), so each section names the official page it was read from and the date. If a figure below disagrees with IDFPR's page today, the board is right and this page is stale: the date tells you how stale.

1Illinois real estate licence requirements

• Age: at least 18 years old under the current PSI bulletin; IDFPR's 2018 application instructions still cite a minimum of 21, waivable at 18 with four semesters of full-time post-secondary study emphasising real estate.
• Education: graduation from high school or a GED.
• Courses: 75 class hours at an IDFPR-approved real estate school: Broker Pre-License Topics (60 hours) and Broker Pre-License Applied Real Estate Principles, an interactive course (15 hours); the education is valid for two years after completion.
• Exam: the IDFPR broker exam administered by PSI, passed with a minimum score of 75%.
• Alternatives: attorneys admitted by the Illinois Supreme Court sit the exam without the courses; licensees of other states in good standing qualify after a 30-hour Broker Pre-License Endorsement Course.
• Sponsorship: an Illinois broker licence is held under a sponsoring broker, and the application asks for the sponsoring brokerage's licence details.

Source: PSI, Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation Real Estate Candidate Information Bulletin, read September 9, 2026; IDFPR, Real Estate Broker Instructions for Online Licensing (rev. August 2018), read September 9, 2026.

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

1. Complete the 75-hour broker pre-licence curriculum

   Sixty hours of Broker Pre-License Topics and a 15-hour interactive Applied Real Estate Principles course at an IDFPR-approved school; the school's transcript is uploaded to PSI, and the education stays valid for two years.

2. Create a PSI account, upload your transcript and pay $58

   Eligibility to test is established at PSI's Illinois real estate portal; the $58 broker exam fee is not refundable or transferable and is forfeited if you do not test within a year of paying it.

3. Pass the exam with at least 75%

   Candidates get up to four attempts; after a fourth failure the 75-hour pre-licence education must be retaken before testing again.

4. Apply to IDFPR online with the $125 fee

   PSI transmits results to the Division of Real Estate; the online licence application carries a $125 fee under Illinois Administrative Code title 68 part 1450.130 and asks for a sponsoring brokerage.

5. Finish 45 hours of post-licence education before your first renewal

   New brokers complete 45 hours of post-licence education, in place of the usual continuing education, before their first renewal; the broker renewal deadline falls on April 30 of even-numbered years.

Source: PSI, Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation Real Estate Candidate Information Bulletin, read September 9, 2026; IDFPR, Real Estate Broker Instructions for Online Licensing (rev. August 2018), read September 9, 2026; IDFPR, Continuing Education Fact Sheet, 2026 Real Estate Broker License Renewal (revised February 2025), read September 9, 2026.

3How much a Illinois real estate licence costs

IDFPR's application fee is set in its administrative code and PSI's exam fee in the candidate bulletin; tuition for the pre-licence curriculum is set by the schools.

Source: PSI, Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation Real Estate Candidate Information Bulletin, read September 9, 2026; IDFPR, Real Estate Broker Instructions for Online Licensing (rev. August 2018), read September 9, 2026.

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

The fixed parts are 75 class hours and one PSI sitting; the pre-licence education stays valid for two years, so the pace is yours, and IDFPR publishes no typical application processing time on the documents read for this guide. Those parts come from IDFPR's documents and PSI's bulletin, not a school's marketing:

• Courses: 60 hours of Broker Pre-License Topics plus the 15-hour interactive Applied Real Estate Principles course, at the school's pace; valid for two years.
• Exam: scheduled through PSI once the transcript is uploaded; up to four attempts.
• Application: filed online with IDFPR after PSI transmits the result; no typical processing time is published.
• After licensing: 45 hours of post-licence education before the first renewal on April 30 of an even-numbered year.

Source: PSI, Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation Real Estate Candidate Information Bulletin, read September 9, 2026; IDFPR, Real Estate Broker Instructions for Online Licensing (rev. August 2018), read September 9, 2026; IDFPR, Continuing Education Fact Sheet, 2026 Real Estate Broker License Renewal (revised February 2025), read September 9, 2026.

5The Illinois real estate exam

The broker exam is a national and an Illinois portion, a national portion and an Illinois portion, multiple choice, at a PSI test centre or by PSI's online proctoring; a few unscored experimental questions count against the time. You need a minimum score of 75% to pass. PSI transmits results directly to the Division of Real Estate. Retakes: up to four attempts; after the fourth failure the 75-hour pre-licence education must be retaken before testing again, and each sitting costs $58.

Pass rate

Neither IDFPR nor PSI publishes a pass rate for the Illinois broker exam on the documents read for this guide, so none is shown here.

Source: PSI, Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation Real Estate Candidate Information Bulletin, read September 9, 2026; IDFPR, Real Estate Broker Instructions for Online Licensing (rev. August 2018), read September 9, 2026.

6Reciprocity: already licensed in another state?

By endorsement rather than reciprocity. A broker licensed and in good standing in another state or jurisdiction qualifies for the Illinois exam after a 30-hour Broker Pre-License Endorsement Course from an IDFPR-approved provider, valid for two years, and must show proof of licensure in good standing from every jurisdiction where an equivalent licence is held.

Source: PSI, Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation Real Estate Candidate Information Bulletin, read September 9, 2026.

7Renewal and continuing education

The licence runs two years, with broker licences renewing by April 30 of even-numbered years. To renew you complete 12 clock hours of approved continuing education within the licence period.

First renewal: 45 hours of post-licence education for anyone first licensed after the previous renewal, in place of continuing education; the fact sheet also notes an 8-hour elective requirement in some cases, so the fact sheet for the current cycle should be read.

Later renewals: 12 hours of continuing education each cycle, a 6-hour Core course plus 6 hours of electives, with sexual harassment prevention training included; attorneys admitted to practise law are exempt from CE but must still certify compliance. The renewal fee is not stated on the fact sheet read for this guide.

Source: IDFPR, Continuing Education Fact Sheet, 2026 Real Estate Broker License Renewal (revised February 2025), read September 9, 2026.

8How much real estate agents make in Illinois

The only independent, dated wage figure for agents is the Bureau of Labor Statistics' occupational survey. For Illinois, 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), Illinois, read September 8, 2026.

9After the licence: choosing a brokerage in Illinois

A new broker licence is only usable under a broker, so the next decision is which brokerage. On September 5, 2026, 14,250 Illinois agents had a published brokerage profile; the largest single company was RE/MAX with 2,147 of them, and the largest brand was Coldwell Banker with 2,846. Realty Census, which counts those profiles, also compares the brokerages a new Illinois agent can join, including which ones publish their commission split: see which Illinois brokerages publish their pay plan.

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

10Pre-licence schools in Illinois

IDFPR licenses the real estate schools and instructors that may teach the pre-licence, post-licence and continuing education courses, and keeps a list of approved education providers on its Division of Real Estate pages. The list is at IDFPR's real estate brokerage page.

This page carries no affiliate links. If a schools page for Illinois 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: IDFPR, Real Estate Brokerage (profession page), read September 9, 2026.

Questions people ask about becoming an agent in Illinois

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

The fixed parts are 75 class hours and one PSI sitting; the pre-licence education stays valid for two years, so the pace is yours, and IDFPR publishes no typical application processing time on the documents read for this guide. The curriculum is 75 hours at the school's pace and stays valid for two years; the exam is one PSI sitting with up to four attempts; IDFPR publishes no typical review time for the online application. The 45-hour post-licence education then falls due before the first renewal.

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

$183 to the state and its vendors ($58 exam, $125 application), plus tuition for the pre-licence course, tuition for the 75-hour curriculum, which the schools set.

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

Neither IDFPR nor PSI publishes a pass rate for the Illinois broker exam on the documents read for this guide, so none is shown here.

How much do real estate agents make in Illinois?

The BLS May 2025 median for real estate sales agents in Illinois is $59,220 a year, with the middle half earning between $38,060 and $61,790. 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 Illinois have real estate licence reciprocity?

Illinois uses endorsement, not reciprocity: an active out-of-state broker takes a 30-hour endorsement course instead of the 75-hour curriculum, then sits the Illinois exam and applies with proof of good standing from every state where they are licensed.

Sources and dates