How to become a real estate agent in Kansas

This page is independent of any school or brokerage. Requirements change (krec.ks.gov refuses automated readers, so its pages come from Internet Archive captures dated in the sources, and Pearson VUE's handbook is its April 2025 edition), so each section names the official page it was read from and the date. If a figure below disagrees with the Commission's page today, the board is right and this page is stale: the date tells you how stale.

1Kansas real estate licence requirements

• Age and education: at least 18 years of age with a high school diploma or the equivalent.
• Principles course: the 30-hour Principles of Real Estate course, taken within the year before passing both portions of the exam; the certificate expires 12 months from the course date.
• Practice course: the 30-hour Kansas Practice Course, with the application and certificate reaching the Commission within six months of the course date.
• Exam: a pass on both the national and state portions of the Pearson VUE salesperson exam before the course certificate expires.
• Background: fingerprints on a card or by livescan in Kansas for a criminal history report, which is valid for six months; the Commission's background fee is $70.
• Sponsor: affiliation with a licensed Kansas broker, whose supervising or branch broker certifies your honesty, trustworthiness and reputation on the application; an original licence cannot be issued inactive.

Source: Kansas Real Estate Commission, Salesperson Requirements (Internet Archive capture of May 24, 2025), read September 9, 2026; Kansas Real Estate Commission, Pre-License Education (Internet Archive capture of May 24, 2025), read September 9, 2026; Pearson VUE, Kansas Real Estate Candidate Handbook, April 2025 (#091700), read September 9, 2026.

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

1. Complete the 30-hour Principles of Real Estate course

   From a KREC-approved provider; the Commission also publishes exam pass rates by school on its education page.

2. Pass both portions of the Pearson VUE exam at $70 per exam

   The general portion has 80 scored items and the Kansas portion 30, each with pretest items; a scaled score of 70 passes each, and the fee is $70 for each exam scheduled.

3. Get fingerprinted

   By livescan at a Kansas law enforcement centre, the KBI office or a Pearson VUE centre in Overland Park, Topeka or Wichita ($16 to Pearson by advance reservation), or by mailed fingerprint cards from outside Kansas; the Commission processes livescan prints only after the online pre-licensure application is in.

4. Complete the 30-hour Kansas Practice Course

   Required of every salesperson applicant, with the application received within six months of the course date.

5. Apply within six months of the exam with $210 under a supervising broker

   The $15 application fee, $70 background fee and $125 licence fee; if the portions were passed on different dates the six months run from the earlier one, and the $125 is refunded if the application is incomplete or denied.

Source: Kansas Real Estate Commission, Pre-License Education (Internet Archive capture of May 24, 2025), read September 9, 2026; Pearson VUE, Kansas Real Estate Candidate Handbook, April 2025 (#091700), read September 9, 2026; Kansas Real Estate Commission, Fingerprinting (Internet Archive capture of March 6, 2026), read September 9, 2026; Kansas Real Estate Commission, Frequently Asked Questions (Internet Archive capture of May 19, 2026), read September 9, 2026.

3How much a Kansas real estate licence costs

The Commission's FAQ totals its three fees and Pearson VUE's handbook gives the exam fee; fingerprinting is paid to the printing agency and tuition to the providers.

Source: Pearson VUE, Kansas Real Estate Candidate Handbook, April 2025 (#091700), read September 9, 2026; Kansas Real Estate Commission, Frequently Asked Questions (Internet Archive capture of May 19, 2026), read September 9, 2026; Kansas Real Estate Commission, Salesperson Requirements (Internet Archive capture of May 24, 2025), read September 9, 2026.

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

The fixed parts are two 30-hour courses, one Pearson VUE sitting, fingerprints, and an application within six months of the exam and of the practice course; the Commission publishes no typical processing time on the pages read for this guide. Those parts come from the Commission's own pages and the exam vendor's handbook, not a school's marketing:

• Principles course: 30 hours at an approved provider, within a year before the exam.
• Exam and fingerprints: one Pearson VUE sitting, with digital fingerprinting available at three Kansas centres.
• Practice course: 30 hours, within six months before the application.
• Application: within six months of the exam; no processing time is published.

Source: Kansas Real Estate Commission, Pre-License Education (Internet Archive capture of May 24, 2025), read September 9, 2026; Kansas Real Estate Commission, Fingerprinting (Internet Archive capture of March 6, 2026), read September 9, 2026; Pearson VUE, Kansas Real Estate Candidate Handbook, April 2025 (#091700), read September 9, 2026.

5The Kansas real estate exam

The salesperson exam is 110 questions, general and Kansas state portions, scheduled separately or together, at a Pearson VUE test centre; the time allowed was not in the handbook read for this guide. You need a scaled score of 70 on each portion to pass. Scores are scaled; a numeric score is reported only to failing candidates. Retakes: the handbook sets no waiting period or attempt limit, but both portions must be passed within a year of the principles course and the application filed within six months of the earlier pass; each exam scheduled costs $70.

Pass rate

The Commission publishes exam pass rates by school on its pre-licence education page (for fiscal 2024) rather than a single statewide figure, so none is shown here.

Source: Pearson VUE, Kansas Real Estate Content Outlines (#091705), read September 9, 2026; Pearson VUE, Kansas Real Estate Candidate Handbook, April 2025 (#091700), read September 9, 2026; Kansas Real Estate Commission, Pre-License Education (Internet Archive capture of May 24, 2025), read September 9, 2026.

6Reciprocity: already licensed in another state?

By recognition. A salesperson currently licensed in another state skips the 30-hour principles course and may have the general portion of the exam waived, but still takes the 30-hour Kansas Practice Course, passes the state portion, is fingerprinted and files a licence history from every state; a non-resident must hold a current licence in their state of residence.

Source: Pearson VUE, Kansas Real Estate Candidate Handbook, April 2025 (#091700), read September 9, 2026; Kansas Real Estate Commission, Frequently Asked Questions (Internet Archive capture of May 19, 2026), read September 9, 2026.

7Renewal and continuing education

The licence runs two years. To renew you complete 12 clock hours of approved continuing education within the licence period and pay $125 on time, or $125 plus a $100 late fee after the expiry date; a licence not renewed within six months of expiry is forfeited late.

First renewal: the same 12 hours as every renewal; there is no separate post-licence course in the documents read for this guide.

Later renewals: 12 hours of continuing education per two-year term to renew active, including at least 3 hours of the Kansas Required Core course, limited to one three-hour appraisal course; renewal to inactive status needs no CE, but the hours must be made up before reactivation, and reactivation after five years inactive means retaking the exam.

Source: Kansas Real Estate Commission, License Renewal (Internet Archive capture of May 24, 2025), read September 9, 2026; Kansas Real Estate Commission, Continuing Education (Internet Archive capture of April 18, 2026), read September 9, 2026.

8How much real estate agents make in Kansas

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

9After the licence: choosing a brokerage in Kansas

A new salesperson licence is only usable under a broker, so the next decision is which brokerage. On September 5, 2026, 2,887 Kansas agents had a published brokerage profile; the largest single company was Keller Williams with 940 of them, and the largest brand was Keller Williams with 940. Realty Census, which counts those profiles, also compares the brokerages a new Kansas agent can join, including which ones publish their commission split: see which Kansas brokerages publish their pay plan.

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

10Pre-licence schools in Kansas

The Commission approves the pre-licence and continuing education providers and publishes directories of both, plus exam pass rates by school, on its site. The list is at the Commission's pre-licence education page.

This page carries no affiliate links. If a schools page for Kansas 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: Kansas Real Estate Commission, Pre-License Education (Internet Archive capture of May 24, 2025), read September 9, 2026.

Questions people ask about becoming an agent in Kansas

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

The fixed parts are two 30-hour courses, one Pearson VUE sitting, fingerprints, and an application within six months of the exam and of the practice course; the Commission publishes no typical processing time on the pages read for this guide. The principles course is 30 hours and must be within a year of passing the exam; the exam is one Pearson VUE sitting; fingerprints can be taken at the test centre; the practice course is 30 more hours; and the application must reach the Commission within six months of both the exam and the practice course. No typical processing time is published.

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

$280 to the state and its vendors ($70 exam, $15 application, $70 background, $125 licence), plus tuition for the pre-licence course, fingerprinting (for example $16 at a Pearson VUE centre) and tuition for the two 30-hour courses, which the providers set.

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

The Commission publishes exam pass rates by school on its pre-licence education page (for fiscal 2024) rather than a single statewide figure, so none is shown here.

How much do real estate agents make in Kansas?

The BLS May 2025 median for real estate sales agents in Kansas is $39,770 a year, with the middle half earning between $36,990 and $51,000. 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 Kansas have real estate licence reciprocity?

Partly. An out-of-state licensee skips the principles course and can have the national exam waived, but still takes the 30-hour Kansas Practice Course and the state exam.

Sources and dates