California real estate license exam is one of the crucial steps in the licensing process which endeavor that most real estate agents are most agitated about. With the right preparation, you can essentially increase your chances of passing the California real estate license exam. And if you do not pass on your first attempt, it’s okay! You can always have a chance to retake your exam. Understanding how the real estate exam works and what is included in the real estate exam will benefit you to prepare for your big day.
Basics of California Real Estate License Exam
The California real estate license exam may consist of 150 multiple-choice questions. These multiple-choice questions need to be completed over a stipulated time of three hours at an in-person testing center. To pass the real estate exam, you need to score 70% or higher in your exam. If the testing center endeavors electronic exams, then you will know your real estate exam result before you leave the testing center. If the testing center still uses pen-and-paper exams. Then you will get your results by mail about a week after giving your real estate exam.
How one can get a Real Estate Agent License in California?
One can get a California real estate agent license by following these requirements set forth by the state. You must be at least 18 years and need to have a Social Security number or an individual taxpayer identification number. Some of the steps by following which one can pass the California real estate license exam are such as –
Step 1 – Complete a 135 Hour pre-licensing course
One needs to complete 135-course hours through a state-approved real estate school such as Real Estate Express to become a real estate agent in California. Your classes will envelop the topics such as property management, real estate finance, and mortgage loan brokering and lending. To get through this weighty material, you will need the assistance of a highly rated California real estate school. Most people appoint a real estate school based on the cost and the educational format of the real estate course.
Step 2 – Complete the Application of real estate California Exam
The next step to becoming a real estate agent in California is to fill out all the details in the California Department of Real Estate’s Salesperson Examination Application. The form will ask for your home address, Social Security Number (or ITIN), and driver’s license number. So make sure you have all these handy. Apart from this, there is also a $60 fee for your exam application. You will need to wait for your real estate application to get processed. So as to receive the date, time, and location of your real estate exam.
Step 3 – Passing the California Real Estate Salesperson Exam
The California real estate exam testing sites are located in the following cities such as –
- Los Angeles
- Fresno
- Oakland
- Sacramento
- San Diego
One needs to arrive 30 minutes early at the real estate exam site. To review the types of government-issued identification they will accept, and their lengthy list of items you are restricted from bringing to the exam room. One needs to visit the website of the State of California’s Department of Real Estate. After completing the multiple-choice California real estate license exam, you will learn whether you have passed or failed upon completion of the real estate exam. In case you do not pass the real estate exam. Then you will be given a detailed score report that will benefit you to prepare for the retake of the real estate exam. You can retake the real estate exam as many times as you like within two years following the real estate exam date you sent in your original exam application.
Step 4 – Joining a California Real Estate Brokerage
The State of California requires that after passing the real estate salesperson exam. You need to work for some period of time under a mortgage broker. A mortgage broker has received additional training. One needs to work successfully in the real estate industry for a minimum period and has passed the broker’s license exam. Once you have landed some broker interviews, you will want to ask each broker about the split. You will find that some brokerages will ask for a 50/50 split on real estate commissions. As a commissioned real estate salesperson, your income commonly depends on your abilities and effort. Some brokerages may endeavor you 70% of your commissions, which may rise to 100% after you have met a specific sales goal for the year.
Step 5 – Complete the Licensing Process
You will need to complete the California real estate license exam application form to get licensed as a real estate agent in California. The form will ask you for additional background information and requires a $245 exam fee. You will also need to locate and visit a live scan fingerprint service provider as a part of your background check. There is an exam fee of $45 fee for this service. After fulfilling all the requirements of the California real estate license. You will need to interim for your license application to get processed.
Wrap Up
Well, the California real estate license exam certainly is not easy. This exam is the only way by which you can prove to the California DRE that you know enough about the real estate industry to be awarded a real estate license to practice real estate. The exam is hard to arbitrate which applicants know their stuff and deserve to be working as a real estate professional. If you do not pass the exam on your first try, do not worry, you can retake the real estate exam test. Once you pass the real estate exam test, you will be licensed as California real estate agent.
