How to Get a Broker License in Alaska

Obtaining an Alaska Real Estate Broker License is crucial if you’re looking to advance your real estate career. Despite the streamlined online application process, many aspiring real estate brokers find the requirements and procedures complex and challenging.

This How to Get a Broker License in Alaska article will guide you through each step of the process, ensuring you have a clear understanding of what it takes to achieve this license and elevate your real estate career as quickly as possible.

Alaska Real Estate Broker License

In order to get your Alaska real estate broker license and take your career to the next level, there are several key steps you’ll need to complete, including:

1. Ensuring You Meet the Eligibility and Experience Requirements
2. Completing the Mandatory Pre-Licensing Education
3. Passing the Alaska Broker Licensing Exam
4. Obtaining Errors and Omissions (E&O) Insurance
5. Submitting a License Application

In the sections below, we’ve explored each of these steps in more detail.

Note: If you’re just starting out, you’ll need to check out our Alaska Real Estate License guide instead.

Step 1: Meet the Alaska Eligibility and Experience Requirements

Before proceeding with the application process for your Alaska real estate broker license, you’ll need to first make sure that you meet the general prerequisites outlined under the AS 08.88.171(a), which include:

• Having a minimum of 36 months of “active and continuous experience” as a real estate licensee in the 60-month period prior to your application
• Not being indicted for a felony or any crime that the Commission deems would impair your ability to competently and safely work as a broker
• Being one of the following:
  1. A real estate business owner
  2. Employed as a real estate broker

As an example of some of the crimes that might prevent you from being able to get licensed, the Commission specifically mentions conspiracy to defraud creditors, extortion, forgery, fraud, and theft.

If you’ve been convicted of a felony, or any of these qualifying crimes, you’ll have to wait at least seven years after completing the sentence before you’ll be able to apply for an Alaska real estate broker license according to AS 08.88.171(a).

Step 2: Complete the Mandatory Pre-Licensing Education

Beyond the general requirements mentioned earlier, you must also fulfill specific educational prerequisites under AS 08.88.091(c) to be able to apply for an Alaska real estate broker license.

In particular, this will involve completing a total of 30 hours of broker upgrade education broken down as follows according to 12 AAC 64.064(c):

• Recovery Fund, Trust Account, and General Accounts (7 hours)
• Practical Office Management (8 hours)
• Practical Supervision (8 hours)
• Risk Management (7 hours)

Once you complete the appropriate education requirements and successfully pass your course’s final exam, you should receive a Certificate of Completion from your course provider. Be sure to hold onto this, as you’ll need it later on in the licensure process to be able to submit your application (see Step 5).

Keep in mind that, according to 12 AAC 64.063(2), you must have completed these minimum education requirements within the 18-month period immediately preceding your application for an Alaska broker license.

Step 3: Pass the Broker Licensing Exam

In Alaska, this four-hour professional licensing exam is administered by Pearson VUE and comprises 140 questions divided across two sections: a National portion (80 questions) and a State-Specific portion (60 questions).

In order to schedule your real estate broker exam, you’ll need to make an online reservation using the Pearson VUE website. Note that you’ll need to create an account for this service if this is your first time using it, after which you’ll be shown step-by-step instructions on how to complete your reservation.

Keep in mind that you’ll be required to pay a $100 fee at the time of reservation, as payment will not be accepted at the exam center.

In order to pass, you’ll need to obtain a scaled score of at least 75 on each of the exam’s portions. You’ll find out how you performed on this exam immediately after finishing and will walk out of the exam center with an official score report in hand.

Note: It’s important to be aware that your passing score in this exam will only be valid for six months — if you take any longer than this to finalize your application, you’ll need to pay the appropriate fees and pass the Alaska real estate exam again.

Step 4: Obtain Errors and Omissions Insurance

As you prepare to obtain your Alaska real estate broker license, one of the key requirements you’ll need to ensure you satisfy is holding valid Errors and Omissions (E&O) insurance under 12 AAC 64.600.

If you have a valid real estate salesperson license in Alaska, you should already have valid E&O insurance in place. However, if you don’t currently have this coverage, it’s imperative to obtain it before applying for your broker license.

The Alaska Real Estate Commission (AREC) has a close working relationship with Rice Insurance Services Center (RISC), making it a convenient option for obtaining your insurance. However, you are not required to use RISC as any AREC-approved provider is acceptable.

Be aware that if you choose any provider other than RISC, you’ll need to report your coverage by submitting the Affidavit of E&O Insurance Equivalent Coverage form.

Step 5: Submit a License Application

After completing your pre-licensing education and ensuring that you satisfy all other licensing requirements, you’ll be ready to move on to submitting your license application.

The quickest and easiest way to do this is generally through the Commission’s MyAlaska online portal. While the Commission will continue to add the ability to apply for different license types to this platform throughout 2024, brokers licenses cannot yet be submitted online.

This means that, at least for the moment, you’ll be required to file a paper Real Estate Broker by Examination to the following address alongside a $120 license fee:

Real Estate Commission
550 West 7th Avenue, Suite 1500
Anchorage AK 99501

It’s important to be aware that, regardless of how you decide to file, the Commission must have received all of the following documents for your application to be considered complete:

• An Authorization for Release of Records form
• Certificates of Completion for your broker upgrade education
• A passing exam score sheet for the Alaska real estate broker exam
• An Affidavit of Real Estate Licensee Experience with your supervising broker’s signature
• A Verification of Licensure from any jurisdiction you’ve ever held a real estate license (if applicable)
• Proof of E&O insurance
• A Real Estate Office Registration Application
• A Business License Application
• An Employing Broker Information form

Finally, you’ll need to complete your application by signing it and certifying that the information and documentation it contains is true and correct to the best of your knowledge. Be sure to double-check at this point, as false statements may result in the immediate denial of your application.

Note: As mentioned earlier on in this article, you’ll need to complete this final step and submit your application within six months of the date you passed your broker examination.

Step 6: Application Review

If you’ve managed to get this far, congratulations!

Once AREC has received your request, you can typically expect a response within 10 to 15 business days (assuming that there are no glaring issues with your application).

Be sure to take some time to celebrate your accomplishment. You’ve put in a lot of work and effort and deserve a celebration!

Note: If you’re not sure what’s happening with your license and it’s been longer than expected, we recommend reaching out to AREC directly, either by phone or email.

Alaska Real Estate License Renewal

In order to keep your real estate broker license valid, you’ll need to renew it every two years. This is typically done through AREC’s MyAlaska online portal by January 31 of each even-numbered year for a fee of $140.

For each renewal period, you’ll also be expected to complete a minimum of 20 hours of continuing education (CE) according to AS 08.88.091(d). Out of this total time, 12 hours can be spent on elective topics, while 8 hours must be spent on the following CE Core Curriculum:

• Environmental Issues & Land Use (2 hours)
• Fair Housing & Property Management (2 hours)
• Required Licensee Disclosures (2 hours)
• Counseling Consumers (2 hours)

On top of these CE requirements, all newly-licensed real estate professionals in Alaska must complete 30 hours of post-licensing education (PLE) within one year of the date they were initially licensed under 12 AAC 64.064.

This total time must be broken down as follows:

• Contracts and Agreements (10 hours)
• Property Management (4 hours)
• Licensee Law (6 hours)
• Paperwork and Risk Management (6 hours)
• Evaluation and Pricing (2 hours)
• Financing to Closing (2 hours)

Once you’ve completed all these PLE requirements, the last thing you’ll be required to do is to fill out and submit an Affidavit of Post licensing Education form (#08-4326) to AREC within a month of the 1-year period following the date you first obtained your broker license.

We always encourage our readers to think of the post licensing course they take as an investment for a successful real estate career — higher quality, more reliable course content is a central part of ensuring you continue to grow professionally.

Note: You won’t be expected to complete these continuing education requirements if you’re initially granted your broker license within 90 days of the expiration date.

Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development

Mailing Address:

Division of Corporations, Business, and Professional Licensing
Real Estate Commission
Robert B. Atwood Building
550 W. 7th Avenue, Suite 1500
Anchorage, AK 99501

Phone: (907) 269-8168

Email: RealEstateCommission@Alaska.Gov 

Website: https://www.commerce.alaska.gov/web/cbpl/ProfessionalLicensing/RealEstateCommission