California Real Estate License FAQs

Minimum Time. Per the Department of Real Estate, a single course may not be completed in less than 2 1/2 weeks. No more than two courses may be completed in any five-week period.

The courses must be DRE approved – like the courses offered by WRG San Diego Real Estate School.

The actual time it takes to get a California real estate license can vary depending upon a number of factors. It may take a few months to complete the required 135 hours of Pre-Licensing coursework, find a sponsoring broker, go through the application process, and take the California Salesperson examination.

The MAXIMUM time allowed for completion of the course(s) is one year from the date of enrollment. If you do not complete all of the courses in your package within one year, re-enrollment for another year would be required at the full course fee to continue.

Course Completion: Completion of a course includes taking and passing the course final examination. The final examination must be taken no later than the last day of the course enrollment period.

California fees to obtain a real estate salesperson license are $450, which includes a $100 exam fee and $350 licensing fee.

Other costs include Pre-Licensing course tuition, which can range anywhere from $145 up to $700 depending on the package and the provider.

The WRG San Diego Real Estate School offers all three courses for as little as $145.

Examinations are generally administered throughout the state and include locations in San Diego, Los Angeles, Oakland, Fresno, and Sacramento. For more information about times and locations, go to the California Department of Real Estate website.

There are three 45-hour courses that make up the required 135 hours of Pre-Licensing coursework. Those three courses are Real Estate Principals, Real Estate Practices, and one elective. For the elective, we recommend Legal Aspects of Real Estate.

We offer low-cost packages of all three courses, with the option of adding an exam prep course.

Yes. If you have already taken approved classes elsewhere, you may finish your individual course requirements or take our exam prep course.

For background check information, please see Avoid Potential Denial of Your License Application:

Didn’t pass? Don’t worry, it happens. You can retake the exam as many times as you need to within two years after submitting your application.

Per the DRE, you may apply to re-take the examination after notification of failure of a prior test.

Do NOT submit a new application and fee or otherwise attempt to obtain a new examination date prior to receiving the results of this examination. You must wait until you receive your results before re-applying for a new test date.

Failure to follow these instructions will cause your exam record to be flagged and your test results to be withheld while additional fees are assessed. Further, rescheduling prior to receiving the results of this exam can cause any new dates obtained to be changed, delayed, or cancelled.

If you fail an examination, you may apply to re-take the examination using the eLicensing online system (to expedite processing) or your Examination Result Notice (RE 418A, Salespersons).

If you wish to take additional examinations after the two-year period, you will be required to submit a new application, requalify by meeting all statutory requirements, and the appropriate fee.

The California Department of Real Estate provides detailed statistics about the number of people who take the exam and the number of licenses issued (which broadly equates to the number of people who passed.)

There’s always the chance that a few people pass the exam but do not go on to get their license, but this number is negligible.

Pass rates vary month to month, quarter to quarter, and year to year. Generally, they hover around 50%. Sometimes they’re as high as 53% and sometimes as low as 45%.

So while the exam is not easy, but you can definitely pass the first time if you Prepare and Study!

For the current numbers, see DRE Licensee and Examinee Statistics.

California has no agreements with other States to waive its licensing requirements for someone already licensed in another state.

But if you have a real estate salesperson’s or broker’s license in another state, you may have already completed some equivalent courses that fulfill your California Real Estate Licensing requirements.

In applying for the California real estate broker or salesperson examination, evidence of completion (i.e. transcripts) of the statutory courses in out-of-state institutions is acceptable if the institution is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges or a comparable regional accrediting entity, and each course provided for three semester-units credit or four quarter-units credit.

Each applicant must qualify for the appropriate written examination in California and meet all other requirements. Residency in the state is not a requirement to become licensed.

Courses completed through foreign institutions of higher learning must be evaluated by a foreign credentials evaluation service approved by the Department of Real Estate. See Examination Applicant Foreign Education Information (RE 223).

Unless prior approval has been granted by the California Real Estate Commissioner, no private vocational real estate school outside the State of California may grant credit for the required pre-license courses

For more information please contact California DRE directly.

No. If you already have a broker lined up to work with or prefer to work with another broker, you may order the Online Courses Only Package.

If you do not have a Broker lined up and wish to work with Watkins Realty Group, you may order one of the WRG Opportunity Packages.

The California Sales Agent exam consists of 150 multiple-choice questions. The applicant is given 3 hours to complete the examination. A passing score is 70% or better, which is a minimum of 105 correct answers.

If the course was taken through an approved school, your Certificate of Completion is still valid. 

There is no expiration date on Real Estate Pre-license course certificates, and there is no deadline required to be met before you apply to take the California State Exam.

There are however, exceptions. For example, any Real Estate Practice course certificate that does not include the Implicit Bias component will no longer be valid after January 1, 2024. If you have an outdated Real Estate Practice certificate, you will need to re-take the course.

For a detailed explanation of how to obtain your license, see our page Steps to Become a Licensed Real Estate Agent.

Once you decide to get your California real estate license, it’s understandable that you may want to make it happen as quickly as possible.

Completing the Required Real Estate Courses = 7.5+ Weeks
The DRE requires that all applicants take three college-level real estate courses. You can speed things up by taking the online courses at WRG San Diego Real Estate School.

While correspondence courses are the quickest path, the DRE mandates that a single course can’t be completed in less than 2.5 weeks. So 3 courses x 2.5 weeks minimum = 7.5 weeks.

Wait Time for Application Processing = 6+ Weeks
As soon as you complete the required real estate courses, you should submit your Exam Application submitted.

You’ll need to gather your certificates of completion to prove you fulfilled the education requirement. Applicants must also submit fingerprints from a live scan service provider when applying for a license.

Take a few days to gather all the documents you need to provide along with the application. If anything is missed your application approval will be delayed. It typically takes the DRE between 4-8 weeks to process applications.

If there are any discrepancies, that will slow things down even more. For example, make sure the name on your application matches the name on your certificates of completion.

To find out what the current processing time is, check the DRE website.

If you want to speed things up, submit the Combination Exam and License Application. You’ll have to pay both the exam and license fee at once, but you won’t have to submit a separate license application after taking the exam. You’ll also need to have a sponsoring broker lined up.

For a detailed explanation of how to obtain your license, see our page Steps to Become a Licensed Real Estate Agent.

Getting the Exam Scheduled – 0 Days
When you submit your application, you can choose to have the DRE schedule your exam for the earliest date available, or you can self-schedule after getting approval my mail. We recommend you self-schedule using the DRE eLicensing system. 

The DRE also notes that choosing to self-schedule can cut down on the application processing time.

Exams are held in five locations across the state and are typically given weekly.

In San Diego, Exams are held at the:

San Diego Electronic Exam Center (located off Miramar Road)
7630 Carroll Road, Suite 100
San Diego, CA 92121

Passing the Exam – 1+ Week
While the DRE is processing your application, you can be diligently studying! So you can schedule your exam as soon as a week or so after the application approval.

You’ll be given three hours and 15 minutes to take the test. As soon as you’re done, you’ll find out whether you passed.

Anything that’s a 70% or higher is considered a passing score.

Congratulations, you’re now a licensed California real estate agent!

So, how long does it take to get your real estate license in California?
If you really make earning a California real estate license your top priority, you can do it in as little as 14.5 weeks. Good luck!