How to become a real estate agent in New York

This page is independent of any school or brokerage. Requirements change (the qualifying course was lengthened, and since July 1, 2021 every licensee, including long-standing brokers, must complete the same continuing education each term), so each section names the official page it was read from and the date. If a figure below disagrees with the Department of State's page today, the board is right and this page is stale: the date tells you how stale.

1New York real estate licence requirements

• Age: 18 years old.
• Education: 77 hours of approved qualifying education; people who finished the older 75-hour course can add a two-hour fair housing course, and those who took the 45-hour course before July 1, 2008 add a 30-hour remedial course plus two hours.
• Identification: a current New York State photo driver's licence or non-driver ID card.
• Sponsorship: sponsorship by a New York State licensed real estate broker.
• Residency: not required, but the exam and licence are New York's own: the Department has no reciprocity with any other state, though it may waive the 77-hour education requirement for equivalent education completed elsewhere on a written request.
• Exam: the New York State real estate salesperson examination, taken after the course; the application is then filed within two years of the pass.

Source: New York Department of State, Become a Real Estate Salesperson, read September 8, 2026; New York Department of State, Real Estate Salesperson Application instructions (DOS-0022-f-a, February 2023), read September 8, 2026; New York Department of State, Real Estate Salesperson Frequently Asked Questions, read September 8, 2026.

2Steps to get your New York real estate licence, in order

1. Complete the 77-hour qualifying course

   The course must be Department-approved and ends with a school-administered proctored exam, which is required in addition to the state exam.

2. Set up an eAccessNY account and take the state exam

   You register for the exam through the Department's online account system, choose an exam location, and pay the $15 written exam fee; the exam is multiple choice, based on the 77-hour curriculum, with an hour and a half allowed.

3. Find a sponsoring broker

   A salesperson works under a licensed broker's supervision and cannot operate independently, so the application names the sponsoring broker, who confirms it in their own online account.

4. Apply online within two years of passing and pay $65

   After passing, log in to the same account and complete the online salesperson application with the $65 nonrefundable fee; it must be filed within two years of the exam date.

Source: New York Department of State, Real Estate Salesperson Frequently Asked Questions, read September 8, 2026; New York Department of State, Become a Real Estate Salesperson, read September 8, 2026; New York Department of State, Real Estate Salesperson (licence overview), read September 8, 2026; New York Department of State, Real Estate Salesperson Application instructions (DOS-0022-f-a, February 2023), read September 8, 2026.

3How much a New York real estate licence costs

The Department's charges are small and published on its own pages; tuition for the 77-hour course is set by the schools and is the larger part of the bill.

Source: New York Department of State, Become a Real Estate Salesperson, read September 8, 2026; New York Department of State, Real Estate Salesperson Application instructions (DOS-0022-f-a, February 2023), read September 8, 2026.

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

The fixed parts are 77 course hours, one exam sitting of an hour and a half, and the Department's review of an application that must be filed within two years of the pass; the Department does not publish a typical processing time on the pages read for this guide. Those parts come from the Department's own pages, not a school's marketing:

• Course: 77 hours of approved qualifying education, ending in the school's proctored exam.
• Exam: one sitting of an hour and a half at a Department exam site, scheduled through eAccessNY.
• Application: filed online after the pass, within two years of the exam date, with the sponsoring broker's confirmation; no typical review time is published.

Source: New York Department of State, Real Estate Salesperson Frequently Asked Questions, read September 8, 2026; New York Department of State, Become a Real Estate Salesperson, read September 8, 2026; New York Department of State, Real Estate Salesperson Application instructions (DOS-0022-f-a, February 2023), read September 8, 2026.

5The New York real estate exam

The salesperson exam is a multiple-choice exam based on the 77-hour curriculum in 1.5 hours, written, multiple choice, at a Department of State exam site booked through eAccessNY. You need a pass on the Department's written exam; the Department's pages state no numeric passing score to pass. Results are posted to your eAccessNY account. Retakes: a new $15 fee for each attempt; the Department's pages set no waiting period or cap.

Pass rate

The Department of State publishes no pass rate for the salesperson exam on the pages read for this guide, so none is shown here.

Source: New York Department of State, Become a Real Estate Salesperson, read September 8, 2026; New York Department of State, Real Estate Salesperson Application instructions (DOS-0022-f-a, February 2023), read September 8, 2026.

6Reciprocity: already licensed in another state?

None. In the Department's words, it "does not currently have reciprocity with any other state." An applicant who completed qualifying education outside New York may submit a written waiver request for the education requirement, but the New York exam and application still apply.

Source: New York Department of State, Real Estate Salesperson Frequently Asked Questions, read September 8, 2026.

7Renewal and continuing education

The licence runs two years. To renew you complete 22.5 clock hours of approved continuing education within the licence period and pay $65.

First renewal: the same 22.5 hours as every other term: since July 1, 2021 there is no first-term or long-service exemption except for attorneys admitted to the New York bar.

Later renewals: 22.5 hours of approved continuing education every two years, which must include 2 hours of cultural competency, 2 hours of implicit bias, 2.5 hours of ethical business practices, at least 1 hour of recent legal matters, at least 3 hours of fair housing and discrimination, and at least 1 hour of agency law; a sponsoring broker is required to renew.

Source: New York Department of State, Real Estate Salesperson Frequently Asked Questions, read September 8, 2026; New York Department of State, Real Estate Salesperson Application instructions (DOS-0022-f-a, February 2023), read September 8, 2026.

8How much real estate agents make in New York

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

9After the licence: choosing a brokerage in New York

A new salesperson licence is only usable under a broker, so the next decision is which brokerage. On September 5, 2026, 24,210 New York agents had a published brokerage profile; the largest single company was Keller Williams with 3,831 of them, and the largest brand was Keller Williams with 3,831. Realty Census, which counts those profiles, also compares the brokerages a new New York agent can join, including which ones publish their commission split: see which New York brokerages publish their pay plan.

Source: Realty Census, New York count and brokerage ranking, September 5, 2026 (realtycensus.com/new-york/), read September 8, 2026.

10Pre-licence schools in New York

The Department of State approves the schools and the 77-hour course they teach; its salesperson pages point applicants to the approved course providers rather than naming them, and the course ends in the school's own proctored exam. The list is at the Department of State's real estate salesperson pages.

This page carries no affiliate links. If a schools page for New York 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: New York Department of State, Real Estate Salesperson Frequently Asked Questions, read September 8, 2026.

Questions people ask about becoming an agent in New York

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

The fixed parts are 77 course hours, one exam sitting of an hour and a half, and the Department's review of an application that must be filed within two years of the pass; the Department does not publish a typical processing time on the pages read for this guide. The course is 77 hours at the school's pace, the state exam is a single 90-minute sitting scheduled through eAccessNY, and the application must be filed within two years of passing. No processing time is published.

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

$80 to the state and its vendors ($15 exam, $65 application), plus tuition for the pre-licence course, tuition for the 77-hour course, which the schools set.

What is the pass rate for the New York real estate exam?

The Department of State publishes no pass rate for the salesperson exam on the pages read for this guide, so none is shown here.

How much do real estate agents make in New York?

The BLS May 2025 median for real estate sales agents in New York is $102,990 a year, with the middle half earning between $58,030 and $156,810. 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 New York have real estate licence reciprocity?

No. The Department of State has no reciprocity with any state. Out-of-state licensees can ask in writing for their education to be recognised in place of the 77-hour course, then sit the New York exam and apply like anyone else.

Sources and dates