How to become a real estate agent in Michigan

This page is independent of any school or brokerage. Requirements change (LARA's current licensing guide could not be retrieved from michigan.gov when this page was built, so the figures come from the September 2022 revision preserved by the Internet Archive; LARA's own site should be checked for later changes), so each section names the official page it was read from and the date. If a figure below disagrees with LARA's page today, the board is right and this page is stale: the date tells you how stale.

1Michigan real estate license requirements

• Age: not less than 18 years of age.
• Character: good moral character: the ability to serve the public fairly, honestly and openly, with rehabilitation shown for any past criminal or civil judgment.
• Education: 40 hours of approved prelicensure education courses, including at least 4 hours of civil rights law and equal opportunity in housing, from a sponsor on LARA's approved list.
• Exam: a pass on the Real Estate Salesperson examination administered by PSI Services; the exam candidate ID arrives by email after the application is submitted.
• Sponsorship: a licensed individual broker or broker company must sponsor you; the license issues once the employing broker approves the request in MiPLUS.
• Identification: a Social Security number, or an SSN affidavit if exempt; non-residents also file a Consent to Service of Process.

See how Michigan compares with every other state on the requirements by state table.

Source: LARA, Michigan Real Estate Salesperson Licensing Guide (revision of September 1, 2022; Internet Archive capture of March 25, 2023), read September 9, 2026.

2Steps to get your Michigan real estate license, in order

1. Complete the 40-hour prelicensure course

   Approved sponsors are listed on LARA's real estate pages; the 40 hours must include at least 4 hours of civil rights law and equal opportunity in housing.

2. Apply online in MiPLUS and pay $88

   The online application at michigan.gov/miplus carries the application fee plus the three-year license fee, $88 in all, paid by Visa, Mastercard or Discover; veterans may request a fee waiver.

3. Pass the PSI exam

   After the application is submitted, LARA emails an exam candidate ID; the exam is scheduled with PSI Services and results go back to LARA.

4. Add your employing broker in MiPLUS

   After passing, you enter the employing broker's 10-digit license number as a modification to the application; once the broker approves it the license issues and LARA notifies you by email.

Source: LARA, Michigan Real Estate Salesperson Licensing Guide (revision of September 1, 2022; Internet Archive capture of March 25, 2023), read September 9, 2026.

3How much a Michigan real estate license costs

LARA's guide lists a single combined application and license fee; PSI's exam fee is paid at scheduling and tuition is set by the course sponsors.

Source: LARA, Michigan Real Estate Salesperson Licensing Guide (revision of September 1, 2022; Internet Archive capture of March 25, 2023), read September 9, 2026.

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

The fixed parts are 40 course hours, LARA's issue of an exam candidate ID after the online application, one PSI sitting, and the employing broker's approval in MiPLUS; LARA publishes no typical review time in the guide read for this page. Those parts come from LARA's own licensing guide, not a school's marketing:

• Course: 40 hours including 4 hours of civil rights law, at the sponsor's pace.
• Application: filed online in MiPLUS before the exam; LARA emails the exam candidate ID needed to register.
• Exam: one sitting with PSI Services.
• License: issues after the employing broker approves the request online, with notification by email.

Source: LARA, Michigan Real Estate Salesperson Licensing Guide (revision of September 1, 2022; Internet Archive capture of March 25, 2023), read September 9, 2026.

5The Michigan real estate exam

The salesperson exam is 115 questions in 3 hours, administered by PSI Services after LARA emails an exam candidate ID. You need 70%, a raw score of 80 of the 115 questions to pass. Results go to LARA; after a pass you add your employing broker online to have the license issued. Retakes: the guide read for this page sets out no retake rules; PSI's scheduling terms apply.

Pass rate

LARA publishes no pass rate for the salesperson exam in the guide read for this page, so none is shown here.

Source: LARA, Michigan Real Estate Salesperson Licensing Guide (revision of September 1, 2022; Internet Archive capture of March 25, 2023), read September 9, 2026; PSI Services, State of Michigan Real Estate Salesperson and Broker Examinations Candidate Information Bulletin (Copyright 2026, Updated 7/6/2026), the Candidate Bulletin linked from PSI's MI Real Estate Salesperson test page, read October 19, 2026.

6Reciprocity: already licensed in another state?

Not read. LARA's guide covers the standard route and the relicensure of expired Michigan licenses; if LARA publishes terms for licensees of other states, they were not in the documents readable when this page was built, so no reciprocity claim is made here.

Source: LARA, Michigan Real Estate Salesperson Licensing Guide (revision of September 1, 2022; Internet Archive capture of March 25, 2023), read September 9, 2026.

7Renewal and continuing education

The license runs three years. To renew you complete 18 clock hours of approved continuing education within the license period and pay $78 on time, or $78 plus a $20 late fee during the 60-day late renewal period after expiry; a license expired longer than that is relicensed for $108 with six hours of CE for each year missed, and after three years by exam or a fresh 40-hour course late.

First renewal: the same 18 clock hours as every cycle; the guide sets no separate first-renewal course.

Later renewals: 18 clock hours of continuing education per three-year cycle on subjects relevant to real estate practice, with at least 2 hours in each cycle year on law, rules and court cases; the hours must be completed before the online renewal, and LARA tracks them through CE Marketplace.

Source: LARA, Michigan Real Estate Salesperson Licensing Guide (revision of September 1, 2022; Internet Archive capture of March 25, 2023), read September 9, 2026.

8How much real estate agents make in Michigan

The only independent, dated wage figure for agents is the Bureau of Labor Statistics' occupational survey. For Michigan, 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.

Every state is ranked on the same survey on the salary by state page.

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

9After the license: choosing a brokerage in Michigan

A new salesperson license is only usable under a broker, so the next decision is which brokerage. On September 5, 2026, 53,241 Michigan agents had a published brokerage profile; the largest single company was Keller Williams with 2,365 of them, and the largest brand was Keller Williams with 2,365. Ask each brokerage for its commission split and fees in writing before you sign.

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

One thing worth knowing before your profile goes live: a brokerage profile page is public, and the contact details on it get collected and sold as marketing lists, such as the Michigan list from US Realtor List, which is why vendor email tends to start the week an agent's profile first appears. Any list of this kind should tell you how to come off it, and a reputable one acts on that request.

10Pre-license schools in Michigan

LARA approves the sponsors that may offer the 40-hour prelicensure course and publishes the list on its real estate pages; continuing education is tracked through CE Marketplace, the Bureau of Professional Licensing's partner. The list is at LARA's real estate brokers and salespersons page.

This page carries no affiliate links. If a schools page for Michigan 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: LARA, Michigan Real Estate Salesperson Licensing Guide (revision of September 1, 2022; Internet Archive capture of March 25, 2023), read September 9, 2026.

Questions people ask about becoming an agent in Michigan

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

The fixed parts are 40 course hours, LARA's issue of an exam candidate ID after the online application, one PSI sitting, and the employing broker's approval in MiPLUS; LARA publishes no typical review time in the guide read for this page. The course is 40 hours at the sponsor's pace; the application goes in online first and LARA emails an exam candidate ID; the exam is one PSI sitting; and the license issues once the employing broker approves the request in MiPLUS. No typical review time is published.

How much does it cost to get a real estate license in Michigan?

$88 to the state and its vendors ($88 application and license), plus tuition for the pre-license course, PSI's exam fee and tuition for the 40-hour course, which the sponsors set.

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

LARA publishes no pass rate for the salesperson exam in the guide read for this page, so none is shown here.

How much do real estate agents make in Michigan?

The BLS May 2025 median for real estate sales agents in Michigan is $57,880 a year, with the middle half earning between $40,140 and $78,190. 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 Michigan have real estate license reciprocity?

This guide does not say. The LARA documents readable when it was built cover the standard route only, so no reciprocity terms are stated here.

Sources and dates