How to become a real estate agent in Vermont

This page is independent of any school or brokerage. Requirements change (OPR's pages are the versions read on the date shown; its application and renewal instructions and fee chart are served from a host that refuses automated readers, so they come from Internet Archive captures dated in the sources; PSI's Vermont bulletin could not be reached, so no exam question count, time or fee is stated, and the fee chart's renewal column could not be read for the salesperson row), 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.

1Vermont real estate license requirements

• Course: a 40-hour pre-licensing course from a provider on OPR's online course search, with the completion certificate uploaded.
• National exam: a pass on the national salesperson examination given by PSI, taken within the two years preceding the application; the state exam is separate.
• State exam: the Vermont state exam, provided as a link inside the online application and uploaded as an answer sheet; every applicant takes it, with no exceptions.
• Affiliation: affiliation with a Vermont-licensed principal broker and a Vermont registered office, shown on the verification of employment and supervision form.
• Post-licensure: 8 hours of approved post-licensure education within 90 days of the license being issued, with the certificate kept for upload at the first renewal.
• Disclosure: a written explanation and all court documents for any conviction, and all documentation for any prior discipline.

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

Source: Vermont Office of Professional Regulation, Real Estate Salesperson and Broker FAQs, read September 9, 2026; Vermont Real Estate Commission, Application Instructions for real estate salespersons and brokers (Internet Archive capture of August 3, 2025), read September 9, 2026.

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

1. Complete the 40-hour course

   With an approved provider found through OPR's course search.

2. Pass PSI's national exam

   Schedule through PSI's Vermont real estate page; the pass must fall within the two years before you apply, and PSI's bulletin with the fee and format could not be read for this guide.

3. Apply online with $100 and take the state exam

   OPR accepts only online applications: pay the non-refundable $100 processing fee, upload the course certificate, national exam result and the verification of employment and supervision, then complete the state exam from the link in the application and upload the answer sheet.

4. Complete 8 post-licensure hours within 90 days

   OPR processes applications and each added document in three to five business days; the post-licensure certificate is uploaded with the first renewal.

Source: Vermont Office of Professional Regulation, Real Estate Salesperson and Broker FAQs, read September 9, 2026; Vermont Real Estate Commission, Application Instructions for real estate salespersons and brokers (Internet Archive capture of August 3, 2025), read September 9, 2026; Vermont Office of Professional Regulation, Initial Licensing and Renewal Fees and Dates, 90 Day Initial Licensing Policy (updated July 1, 2025; Internet Archive capture of April 14, 2026), read September 9, 2026.

3How much a Vermont real estate license costs

OPR's fee chart sets the application fee by statute and PSI charges its own exam fee; tuition for the 40 hours and the 8 post-licensure hours is set by the providers.

Source: Vermont Office of Professional Regulation, Initial Licensing and Renewal Fees and Dates, 90 Day Initial Licensing Policy (updated July 1, 2025; Internet Archive capture of April 14, 2026), read September 9, 2026; Vermont Real Estate Commission, Application Instructions for real estate salespersons and brokers (Internet Archive capture of August 3, 2025), read September 9, 2026.

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

The fixed parts are 40 course hours, PSI's national exam within the two years before applying, the state exam inside the online application, OPR's three to five business days to process each submission, and 8 post-licensure hours within 90 days of the license. Those parts come from OPR's own pages and instructions, not a school's marketing:

• Course: 40 hours at an approved provider, at its pace.
• National exam: at a PSI center, within two years before the application.
• Application and state exam: online; processed in three to five business days.
• Post-licensure: 8 hours within 90 days of the license.

Source: Vermont Office of Professional Regulation, Real Estate Salesperson and Broker FAQs, read September 9, 2026; Vermont Real Estate Commission, Application Instructions for real estate salespersons and brokers (Internet Archive capture of August 3, 2025), read September 9, 2026.

5The Vermont real estate exam

The salesperson exam is a national portion given by PSI and a Vermont state exam given inside OPR's online application; PSI's bulletin could not be read for this guide, so no question count is stated, the national exam at a PSI test center, scheduled through PSI's Vermont page, and the state exam as a link inside the online application with an uploaded answer sheet. You need a pass on PSI's national exam and on the state exam; the passing standards were not on the documents read for this guide to pass. The national exam result is uploaded as proof of passing with the application; the state exam answer sheet is uploaded from the application itself. Retakes: the documents read for this guide set no waiting period or attempt limit for either exam; a national pass older than two years must be repeated.

Pass rate

Neither OPR nor PSI publishes a pass rate for the Vermont salesperson exam on the pages read for this guide, so none is shown here.

Source: Vermont Office of Professional Regulation, Real Estate Salesperson and Broker FAQs, read September 9, 2026; Vermont Real Estate Commission, Application Instructions for real estate salespersons and brokers (Internet Archive capture of August 3, 2025), read September 9, 2026.

6Reciprocity: already licensed in another state?

By endorsement, with the state exam for everyone. An active licensee from a state OPR treats as equivalent skips the 40-hour course and the national exam, though OPR does not treat Indiana or Rhode Island as equivalent for the course, or California, New York, Puerto Rico or West Virginia for the national exam; every applicant takes the Vermont state exam, files verifications from the first and most recent states of licensure, and a licensee in good standing for three or more years can use Fast Track endorsement with a verification of licensure and the state jurisprudence exam.

Source: Vermont Office of Professional Regulation, Real Estate Salesperson and Broker FAQs, read September 9, 2026; Vermont Real Estate Commission, Application Instructions for real estate salespersons and brokers (Internet Archive capture of August 3, 2025), read September 9, 2026.

7Renewal and continuing education

The license runs two years, expiring in even-numbered years on the date in OPR's fee chart. To renew you complete 16 clock hours of approved continuing education within the license period.

First renewal: no 16-hour CE requirement at the first renewal, but proof of the 8 post-licensure hours completed within 90 days of the license; a license issued within 90 days of the renewal date stays valid until the next renewal date.

Later renewals: 16 hours of continuing education credit for each renewal, including the 4-hour mandatory course, with the non-refundable renewal fee paid online; the salesperson renewal amount could not be read from OPR's fee chart layout for this guide.

Source: Vermont Real Estate Commission, Salesperson Renewal Instructions (Internet Archive capture of August 6, 2025), read September 9, 2026; Vermont Office of Professional Regulation, Initial Licensing and Renewal Fees and Dates, 90 Day Initial Licensing Policy (updated July 1, 2025; Internet Archive capture of April 14, 2026), read September 9, 2026.

8How much real estate agents make in Vermont

The only independent, dated wage figure for agents is the Bureau of Labor Statistics' occupational survey. For Vermont, release May 2025:

BLS published an employment estimate of 70 real estate sales agents in Vermont but suppressed the wage figures for this release, so no Vermont wage is shown; BLS counts only agents paid as employees, not the commissions of self-employed agents.

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), Vermont, read September 8, 2026.

9After the license: choosing a brokerage in Vermont

A new salesperson license is only usable under a broker, so the next decision is which brokerage. On September 5, 2026, 417 Vermont agents had a published brokerage profile; the largest single company was Coldwell Banker Hickok & Boardman with 89 of them, and the largest brand was Coldwell Banker with 125. Ask each brokerage for its commission split and fees in writing before you sign.

Source: Realty Census, Vermont count and brokerage ranking, September 5, 2026 (realtycensus.com/vermont/), 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 Vermont 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 Vermont

OPR approves the pre-licensing, post-licensure and continuing education courses and providers, and its online course search lists them; the salesperson post-licensure courses and the mandatory course outline are linked from the forms page. The list is at OPR's forms and instructions page.

This page carries no affiliate links. If a schools page for Vermont 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: Vermont Office of Professional Regulation, Real Estate Brokers and Salespersons Forms and Instructions, read September 9, 2026.

Questions people ask about becoming an agent in Vermont

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

The fixed parts are 40 course hours, PSI's national exam within the two years before applying, the state exam inside the online application, OPR's three to five business days to process each submission, and 8 post-licensure hours within 90 days of the license. The course is 40 hours at the provider's pace; the national exam is scheduled with PSI and stays valid two years; the state exam is taken inside the online application; OPR processes each submission in three to five business days; and 8 post-licensure hours are due within 90 days of the license.

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

$100 to the state and its vendors ($100 application), plus tuition for the pre-license course, PSI's national exam fee, which could not be read, and tuition for the 40-hour course and the 8 post-licensure hours, which the providers set.

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

Neither OPR nor PSI publishes a pass rate for the Vermont salesperson exam on the pages read for this guide, so none is shown here.

How much do real estate agents make in Vermont?

BLS did not publish a wage figure for real estate sales agents in Vermont in its May 2025 release. BLS published an employment estimate of 70 real estate sales agents in Vermont but suppressed the wage figures for this release, so no Vermont wage is shown; BLS counts only agents paid as employees, not the commissions of self-employed agents.

Does Vermont have real estate license reciprocity?

Yes, by endorsement. Licensees from equivalent states skip the course and national exam but still take Vermont's state exam; three years of good standing qualifies for Fast Track endorsement.

Sources and dates