How to become a real estate agent in Washington

This page is independent of any school or brokerage. Requirements change (the DOL's fees page and renewal rules are the versions read on the date shown; the education courses were restructured in recent years), so each section names the official page it was read from and the date. If a figure below disagrees with the DOL's page today, the board is right and this page is stale: the date tells you how stale.

1Washington real estate licence requirements

• Age: at least 18 years old.
• Education: a high school diploma or equivalent.
• Courses: 90 hours of approved real estate education: a 60-hour Real Estate Fundamentals course and a 30-hour Real Estate Practices course, with the exams taken within two years of completing them.
• Exams: a pass on both the state and national broker exams, within six months of each other, or both are retaken.
• Background: fingerprints through IdentoGO in Washington, or the equivalent out-of-state process, for a Washington State Patrol and FBI check; results can take up to 14 business days to reach the DOL.
• Deadline: the licence application must be filed within one year of passing the final exam.

Source: Washington State Department of Licensing, Get your license: Real estate brokers, read September 9, 2026.

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

1. Complete the 60-hour Fundamentals and 30-hour Practices courses

   Both must be approved courses, and the broker exams must be applied for and completed within two years of finishing them.

2. Apply to test and pass both exams with PSI

   PSI Testing Excellence administers the state and national exams; you must pass both within six months of each other, and PSI's system will not schedule a retake more than six months after the other part was passed. Results are valid for one year.

3. Get fingerprinted

   Fingerprints go to the Washington State Patrol and the FBI through IdentoGO; the DOL says it can take up to 14 business days to receive the results.

4. Apply for the licence within one year of your final exam and pay $233

   The original licence fee is $233, which includes a mandatory $20 research fee; the DOL emails a confirmation within 72 hours of receiving the application.

Source: Washington State Department of Licensing, Get your license: Real estate brokers, read September 9, 2026; Washington State Department of Licensing, Exam: Real estate brokers, read September 9, 2026; Washington State Department of Licensing, Fees: Real estate, read September 9, 2026.

3How much a Washington real estate licence costs

The DOL publishes its fees on one page; tuition for the 90 hours is set by the schools and the fingerprint vendor sets its own charge.

Source: Washington State Department of Licensing, Fees: Real estate, read September 9, 2026.

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

The fixed parts are 90 course hours, two exams that must be passed within six months of each other, and a background check the DOL says can take up to 14 business days to come back; the application itself is acknowledged by email within 72 hours. Those parts come from the DOL's own pages, not a school's marketing:

• Courses: 60 hours of Real Estate Fundamentals and 30 hours of Real Estate Practices, at the school's pace.
• Exams: state and national portions with PSI, passed within six months of each other and within two years of the courses; results valid for one year.
• Background check: up to 14 business days for the DOL to receive Washington State Patrol results.
• Application: filed within one year of the final exam; the DOL emails confirmation within 72 hours of receiving it.

Source: Washington State Department of Licensing, Get your license: Real estate brokers, read September 9, 2026; Washington State Department of Licensing, Exam: Real estate brokers, read September 9, 2026.

5The Washington real estate exam

The broker exams is a state exam and a national exam, two separately scheduled exams, state and national, administered by PSI Testing Excellence. You need a pass on each portion; the DOL's exam page states no numeric score to pass. Results are valid for one year. Retakes: only the failed portion is retaken, but PSI will not schedule it more than six months after the other portion was passed; miss that window and both are retaken.

Pass rate

The DOL publishes no pass rate for the broker exams on the pages read for this guide, so none is shown here.

Source: Washington State Department of Licensing, Exam: Real estate brokers, read September 9, 2026.

6Reciprocity: already licensed in another state?

Not read. The DOL's licensing page read for this guide sets out the standard route only; if it publishes terms for licensees from other states, they were not on the pages read, so this page makes no claim about reciprocity.

Source: Washington State Department of Licensing, Get your license: Real estate brokers, read September 9, 2026.

7Renewal and continuing education

The licence runs two years. To renew you complete 30 clock hours of approved continuing education within the licence period and pay $233 on time, or $273 for a late renewal, and during the two-year cancellation period a $40 late fee, a $100 reinstatement fee and all previous renewal fees late.

First renewal: at least 90 hours of continuing education: a 30-hour Advanced Practices course, a 30-hour Real Estate Law course, the 3-hour Current Issues in Washington Residential Real Estate course, and at least 27 hours of other approved courses, plus the initial 6-hour Fair Housing course.

Later renewals: at least 30 hours each two years: the 3-hour Current Issues in Washington Residential Real Estate course and at least 27 hours of other approved continuing education, including the 3-hour Washington Real Estate Fair Housing course each renewal; renewal opens 120 days before expiry.

Source: Washington State Department of Licensing, Renew or reinstate your license: Real estate brokers, read September 9, 2026; Washington State Department of Licensing, Fees: Real estate, read September 9, 2026.

8How much real estate agents make in Washington

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

9After the licence: choosing a brokerage in Washington

A new broker licence is only usable under a broker, so the next decision is which brokerage. On September 5, 2026, 8,356 Washington agents had a published brokerage profile; the largest single company was Keller Williams with 1,757 of them, and the largest brand was Keller Williams with 1,757. Realty Census, which counts those profiles, also compares the brokerages a new Washington agent can join, including which ones publish their commission split: see which Washington brokerages publish their pay plan.

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

10Pre-licence schools in Washington

The DOL approves the schools and courses for the 60-hour Fundamentals and 30-hour Practices courses and for continuing education; its licensing pages direct applicants to approved courses rather than naming schools. The list is at the DOL's real estate broker pages.

This page carries no affiliate links. If a schools page for Washington 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: Washington State Department of Licensing, Get your license: Real estate brokers, read September 9, 2026.

Questions people ask about becoming an agent in Washington

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

The fixed parts are 90 course hours, two exams that must be passed within six months of each other, and a background check the DOL says can take up to 14 business days to come back; the application itself is acknowledged by email within 72 hours. The two courses are 90 hours at the school's pace; the state and national exams must be passed within six months of each other and within two years of the courses; fingerprint results take up to 14 business days to reach the DOL; the application must be filed within a year of the final exam.

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

$443 to the state and its vendors ($210 exams, $233 licence), plus tuition for the pre-licence course, the fingerprint vendor's fee and tuition for the 90 hours, which the schools set.

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

The DOL publishes no pass rate for the broker exams on the pages read for this guide, so none is shown here.

How much do real estate agents make in Washington?

The BLS May 2025 median for real estate sales agents in Washington is $79,130 a year, with the middle half earning between $63,010 and $100,360. 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 Washington have real estate licence reciprocity?

This guide does not say. The DOL pages read for it describe the standard route only, so no reciprocity terms are stated here.

Sources and dates