How to Get a Broker License in Maine

Obtaining a Maine 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 Maine 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.

Maine Real Estate Broker License

In order to get your Maine 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. 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 Maine Real Estate License guide instead.

Step 1: Meet the Maine Eligibility and Experience Requirements

Before proceeding with the application process for your Maine real estate broker license, you’ll need to first make sure that you meet the general prerequisites outlined under the Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 32, §13191:

• You must be at least 18 years of age
• You must have obtained a high school diploma (or accepted equivalent)
• You must have a reputation for honesty, truthfulness, and fair dealing
• You must be able to provide proof of legal residence

In addition to the general eligibility requirements outlined above, you’ll also be expected to have accumulated two years of experience as an associate broker linked with a real estate brokerage agency for two of the five years prior to application, according to Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 32, §13198(2)(A).

Step 2: Complete the Mandatory Pre-Licensing Education

Beyond the general requirements mentioned earlier, you must also fulfill specific educational prerequisites under Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 32, §13198(2)(B) to be able to apply for a Maine real estate broker license.

In particular, this will involve completing a Designated Broker Course that is at least 50 hours of instruction. Remember that none of the hours you completed as part of your sales agent course can count toward this hour requirement.

In particular, the course should cover the following specific concepts and issues:

• Business Plan
• Licensing the Office
• Designated Broker Job Description
• Policy Manual
• Trust Account
• Monitoring Compliance/Training
• Risk Management
• Problem Identification and Resolution
• Financing
• Other Laws
• Ethics
• Initial Contact to Under Contract
• Under Contract to Closing

In addition to all the topics identified above, the pre-licensing course that you complete must also include three quizzes and a final exam in order to qualify for the purposes of MREC’s licensing requirements.

After completing all the required hours of your course — and achieving a passing grade of at least 75% on its final exam — you should receive a Course Completion Certificate.

Make sure to hold onto this certificate, as you’ll need to submit the original alongside your application for a broker license (see Step 3) within one calendar year of the date you completed this course.

Remember that unlike real estate agents who need to complete the Maine sales agent licensing examination, you don’t need to pass any exam after completing this pre-licensing education in order to obtain a broker license.

Step 3: Submit a License Application

After completing a Designated Broker Course and ensuring that you satisfy all other licensing requirements, you’ll be ready to move on to submitting your license application.

This is typically done online through the Maine.gov portal by selecting “Apply for a License”, followed by “Broker License”. After this, you’ll be asked to input your Associate Broker license number (e.g. SA123456) as well as your 6-digit passcode.

If you’re not sure of your license number, you can quickly find it by conducting an Individual License Search on the Maine.gov online portal.

However, if you’d prefer to apply by mail or in-person, you can also do so by printing out an Individual License Application and submitting it to the following address:

State of Maine Department of Professional & Financial Regulation
Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation
35 State House Station
Augusta, Maine 04333 

Regardless of how you end up filing your application, you’ll need to include a $100 license fee plus a $21 fee for the mandatory background check that MREC will carry out once your application is received.

It’s also important to remember that you’ll need to attach the original course completion certificate for your Designated Broker Course.

Once all this is complete, you should receive a notification from the Commission containing instructions on how to schedule and take your broker licensing exam.

Note: The Commission asks candidates to wait until they’re within at least 30 days of the expiration date of their initial associate broker license before submitting their application for a broker license.

Step 4: Application Review

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

With your application submitted and all the other licensing requirements satisfied, in most cases you should shortly hear from the Maine Real Estate Commission regarding your application’s progress.

Even so, you should note that the biggest influence over how quickly your application will be processed is based on when MREC actually receives your criminal history report. If there are any problems with this, it can significantly increase the expected processing time.

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 MREC directly by phone.

Maine Real Estate License Renewal

In order to keep your real estate broker license valid, you’ll need to renew it every two years by December 31. In Maine, this step is completed online through the same Maine.gov portal that you used to submit your initial license application.

While you can submit your renewal up to ninety days after the deadline stipulated above, you’ll need to pay a late penalty fee of $50. Any licensees that submit renewals any later than this will need to pass the Maine real estate licensing exam in order to keep their broker license valid.

Additionally, you’ll also be required to complete 21 hours of continuing education (CE) during each renewal period according to Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 32, §13197.

As part of this biennial CE requirement, you’ll be required to complete a 3-hour mandatory core course chosen by the Commission. For the current renewal cycle, the mandatory core course for all real estate license types is the Buyer Relationships Core Course.

While you won’t need to provide proof that you’ve completed these CE requirements in order to renew, the Commission will randomly conduct audits each month in which you will be required to demonstrate this evidence.

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

State of Maine Professional & Financial Regulation

Mailing Address:
Maine Real Estate Commission
35 State House Station
Augusta, ME 04333-0035

Phone: (207) 624-8521

Fax: (207) 624-8637

Email: rlestate.com@maine.gov

Website: https://www.maine.gov/pfr/professionallicensing/professions/real-estate-commission