How to become a real estate agent in Ohio

This page is independent of any school or brokerage. Requirements change (the Division's requirement page lists course hours that differ from older candidate bulletins, and its site addresses change often; the figures here are from the page as read on the date shown), so each section names the official page it was read from and the date. If a figure below disagrees with the Division's page today, the board is right and this page is stale: the date tells you how stale.

1Ohio real estate license requirements

• Age and status: at least 18 years old and a U.S. citizen or a legal alien with proof.
• Education: a high school diploma or its equivalent as recognized by the Ohio Department of Education, for anyone born after 1950.
• Character: honest and truthful, with no conviction for a disqualifying offense under Ohio Revised Code section 9.79 and no final court finding of a civil-rights violation relevant to real estate buyers or sellers within the last two years.
• Courses: four courses from a postsecondary institution that awards at least an associate degree: Real Estate Principles and Practices (40 hours), Ohio Real Estate Law including civil rights, housing discrimination and desegregation (40 hours), Real Estate Appraisal (10 hours) and Real Estate Finance (10 hours); anyone not licensed within the past four years must have completed them within the ten years before applying.
• Background: state and FBI criminal records checks, with instructions on the Salesperson Examination Application.
• Sponsorship: sponsorship by an Ohio broker.

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

Source: Ohio Division of Real Estate and Professional Licensing, Requirements for an Ohio Real Estate Salesperson's License, read September 8, 2026.

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

1. Complete the four pre-licensing courses

   Principles and Practices, Ohio Real Estate Law, Appraisal and Finance, at an institution that awards at least an associate degree, with official transcripts or completion certificates to prove it.

2. File the Salesperson Examination Application with the $81 fee

   The application goes to the Division with proof of education, the results of state and FBI criminal records checks, and a detailed explanation for any "Yes" answer to an ethical-conduct question, which the Division's legal staff review.

3. Wait for the Division to accept the application and forward it to PSI

   Once the application is accepted, the Division sends the applicant's information to the testing vendor, which sends a Candidate Information Bulletin with scheduling instructions.

4. Pass both portions of the exam with a score of 70

   The Ohio Real Estate Salesperson exam has a State and a National portion, and the Division requires a pass on both.

5. Finish 20 hours of post-licensing education within a year

   Ohio Revised Code 4735.09 requires proof of twenty hours of instruction at commission-approved schools not later than twelve months after the license is issued; a license suspended for missing it can be reactivated within a further twelve months once the hours are shown.

Source: Ohio Division of Real Estate and Professional Licensing, Requirements for an Ohio Real Estate Salesperson's License, read September 8, 2026; Ohio Revised Code section 4735.09, Salesperson's application; license qualifications, read September 9, 2026.

3How much a Ohio real estate license costs

The Division publishes its application fee on the requirements page; the exam fee is charged by the testing vendor and was not on any Division page readable when this guide was built, and tuition is set by the schools.

Source: Ohio Division of Real Estate and Professional Licensing, Requirements for an Ohio Real Estate Salesperson's License, read September 8, 2026.

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

The fixed parts are the four courses (100 classroom hours as the Division lists them), the Division's review of the application and background checks before it forwards you to PSI, and one exam sitting; the Division publishes no typical review time on the page read for this guide. Those parts come from the Division's own page, not a school's marketing:

• Courses: Principles and Practices 40 hours, Ohio Real Estate Law 40 hours, Appraisal 10 hours, Finance 10 hours, at the school's pace.
• Application: the Division reviews the application, education proof and background checks, then sends your information to the testing vendor; no typical review time is published.
• Exam: scheduled with PSI after its Candidate Information Bulletin arrives; both portions must be passed.
• After licensing: twenty hours of post-licensing instruction within twelve months of the license date.

Source: Ohio Division of Real Estate and Professional Licensing, Requirements for an Ohio Real Estate Salesperson's License, read September 8, 2026; Ohio Revised Code section 4735.09, Salesperson's application; license qualifications, read September 9, 2026.

5The Ohio real estate exam

The salesperson exam is 120 questions in 3 hours, State and National portions administered by PSI at computer test centers in Ohio. You need a passing score of 70 on both portions to pass. The Division's page lists the passing score as 70 and requires both portions to be passed; question counts and timing come from the Candidate Information Bulletin PSI sends after your application is accepted. Retakes: the Division's requirements page does not set out retake rules; PSI's bulletin, sent to accepted applicants, governs scheduling.

Pass rate

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

Source: Ohio Division of Real Estate and Professional Licensing, Requirements for an Ohio Real Estate Salesperson's License, read September 8, 2026; PSI Services, Ohio Real Estate Salesperson and Broker Candidate Information Bulletin (Copyright 2026, 7/1/2026), linked from the Ohio Division of Real Estate and Professional Licensing, read October 19, 2026.

6Reciprocity: already licensed in another state?

Not read. The Division's out-of-state salesperson application page could not be retrieved when this guide was built, so this page makes no claim about reciprocity; the requirements above are what the Division lists for every applicant it has not otherwise exempted.

Source: Ohio Division of Real Estate and Professional Licensing, Requirements for an Ohio Real Estate Salesperson's License, read September 8, 2026.

7Renewal and continuing education

The license runs three years. To renew you complete 30 clock hours of approved continuing education within the license period.

First renewal: twenty hours of post-licensing instruction within twelve months of the license date, under Ohio Revised Code 4735.09, before the ordinary continuing-education cycle begins.

Later renewals: thirty hours of continuing education every three years, including at least three classroom hours each on civil rights law, current state and federal legislation affecting real estate, and the Ohio real estate commission's canons of ethics; the renewal fee was not on any Division page read for this guide.

Source: Ohio Administrative Code 1301:5-7-02, Continuing education requirements (Cornell LII; effective February 10, 2019), read September 8, 2026; Ohio Revised Code section 4735.09, Salesperson's application; license qualifications, read September 9, 2026.

8How much real estate agents make in Ohio

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

9After the license: choosing a brokerage in Ohio

A new salesperson license is only usable under a broker, so the next decision is which brokerage. On September 5, 2026, 10,865 Ohio agents had a published brokerage profile; the largest single company was Keller Williams with 2,834 of them, and the largest brand was Keller Williams with 2,834. Ask each brokerage for its commission split and fees in writing before you sign.

Source: Realty Census, Ohio count and brokerage ranking, September 5, 2026 (realtycensus.com/ohio/), read September 8, 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 Ohio 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 Ohio

Ohio's pre-licensing courses must come from a postsecondary institution that awards at least a two-year associate degree, which is a narrower field than the private schools most states allow; the Division's page names the four courses and the institution type rather than listing providers. The list is at the Division's real estate licensing pages.

This page carries no affiliate links. If a schools page for Ohio 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: Ohio Division of Real Estate and Professional Licensing, Requirements for an Ohio Real Estate Salesperson's License, read September 8, 2026.

Questions people ask about becoming an agent in Ohio

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

The fixed parts are the four courses (100 classroom hours as the Division lists them), the Division's review of the application and background checks before it forwards you to PSI, and one exam sitting; the Division publishes no typical review time on the page read for this guide. The four courses total 100 hours as the Division lists them, taken at the school's pace; the Division reviews the application and background checks before forwarding you to PSI, and publishes no typical turnaround; the exam is one sitting. Twenty hours of post-licensing education must follow within twelve months of licensure.

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

$81 to the state and its vendors ($81 application), plus tuition for the pre-license course, the testing vendor's exam fee, the cost of the state and FBI records checks, and tuition for the four courses, which the schools set.

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

The Division 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 Ohio?

The BLS May 2025 median for real estate sales agents in Ohio is $46,240 a year, with the middle half earning between $36,460 and $59,290. 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 Ohio have real estate license reciprocity?

This guide does not say. The Division has an out-of-state salesperson application, but its page could not be read when this guide was built, so no reciprocity terms are stated here.

Sources and dates