Becoming a Massachusetts real estate broker is a strong step forward in your career. Not only does this advanced license look great on a resume, it also allows you to work independently, open real estate brokerage firms, and manage other agents within these firms.

Getting the Massachusetts Real Estate Broker License is a fairly simple process, but it does require you to complete five steps, and have a few prerequisites before applying or taking the broker’s exam.

This guide covers all of these requirements in a simple, easy to understand way that will make it easier for you throughout this process.

Massachusetts Real Estate Agent vs Real Estate Broker

Massachusetts offers two different types of real estate license: Sales and Broker.

A sales agent’s license is the initial license that real estate agents get in order to sell real estate.

A broker’s license is an advanced license that allows the license holder to operate at a higher level within real estate businesses in Massachusetts.

People often confuse sales agents and brokers. A simple way to look at the difference is that holders of the sales agent’s license are called real estate agents, while holders of the broker’s license are called real estate brokers.

Massachusetts Real Estate Broker License Requirements

First, to be eligible for a real estate broker’s license, you must meet the prerequisites to become a real estate broker in Massachusetts.

These prerequisites are:

• Have been licensed and affiliated with a Massachusetts broker in the capacity of a Massachusetts real estate salesperson for three years
• Must have a work experience no more than two years old when the state examination is taken
• Obtain a completed Massachusetts Board of Real Estate Educational Certificate form to be completed by an approved real estate school
• Have a current Massachusetts salesperson license
• Have a $5,000 surety bond on the original enclosed form (a copy is not acceptable) completed and signed by the insurance agent, signed by the principal candidate/examinee, and witnessed
• Obtain three complete candidate endorsements from individuals unrelated to the applicant. They do not need to be Massachusetts residents. Classmates known by the applicant from only the real estate course may not sign the candidate endorsement

How to Become a Real Estate Broker in Massachusetts

Once you meet all the requirements listed above, you can follow these five steps to easily help you get your real estate broker license in Massachusetts.

Step 1: Complete a Massachusetts Broker Pre-Licensing Course

The first step to getting your real estate broker license in Massachusetts is to take 40 classroom hours of qualifying real estate courses.

These real estate courses mostly cover the fundamentals of working in real estate and must be completed within two years of your broker’s license application. This requirement is divided into two sections:

The required 40 classroom hours of qualifying real estate courses, including the following mandatory courses are:

• Property and Land Characteristics
• Air, Mineral, and Water Rights in Real Estate
• Types of Property Ownership
• Real Estate Land Use Controls & Regulations
• Property Valuation & Appraisal
• Basic Real Estate Financing Terms & Concepts
• Types of Real Estate Loans
• Lending & Underwriting Processes
• Agency Relationships & Agreements
• Disclosures of Property Conditions
• Real Estate Sales Contracts
• Massachusetts Real Estate Licensing & Statutory Requirements
• Massachusetts Real Estate Contracts & Laws

Your broker pre-license courses don’t end here. To fully satisfy your course requirements, you must take additional 12 credit hours in related qualifying education courses acceptable to the Board of Registration of Real Estate Brokers and Salespersons or approved continuing education (CE) courses.

The approved courses include:

• Fair Housing
• Access for Disabled
• Agency Law
• Environmental Issues in Real Estate
• Real Estate Appraisal and Finance
• Zoning and Building Codes
• Property Tax Assessments and Valuations
• Real Estate Board Regulations
• Evolution of Commercial Product

Massachusetts offers complete reciprocity for the states of Connecticut, Rhode Island, West Virginia, Nebraska, Iowa, Tennessee, Mississippi, Colorado, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and New Mexico. If you have a salesperson license in these states, your salesperson CE education credits may qualify towards your broker pre-license education.

After completing the courses, you must also pass the final broker course exam. The minimum passing grade is 70%. The final pre-license exam is to be supervised by a proctor, whether on-site or online. This is not the same as the state broker exam.

Step 2: Submit a Massachusetts Broker License Application

Massachusetts is unique in that you must first be approved before taking your examination.

The application fee is $52, plus the $54 exam fee (total fee is $106).

To submit your license application, sign up and log into the Massachusetts E-licensing & E-Permitting Portal. To be approved to take the broker exam, complete and forward this registration form to:

PSI Examination Services
ATTN: Examination Registration MA RE
3210 E. Tropicana
Las Vegas, NV 89121

Before submitting your application, you must also ensure you include the following documents:

• Appropriate work experience, documented and signed on your application
• Endorsements from three individuals
• $5000 surety bond
• CORI acknowledgment form, completed and attached to the application

Step 3: Get a Background Check

When submitting your application, you will need to fill out a criminal offender record information (CORI) form and send it in to PSI. The CORI form gives the Massachusetts Division of Professional Licensure permission to submit a CORI check for your information to the Massachusetts Department of Criminal Justice Information Services.

You will need to complete the CORI form in front of a notary who will sign acknowledging your willingness to undergo a background check.

Step 4: Pass the Massachusetts Real Estate Broker Exam

After completing the steps above, you must take the real estate broker licensing exam via PSI.

The fee for the broker exam is $106 ($54 for the exam and $52 for the application processing fee).

In Massachusetts, brokers take the national section which consists of 75 scored questions. The state-specific section of the broker’s exam consists of 40 scored questions. You must complete the Massachusetts real estate broker exam within 240 minutes (four hours total).

The passing rate is 70% for the Massachusetts real estate broker exam.

If you fail the exam, you can reschedule it but won’t be able to do so until after 24 hours following the examination. You can retest in as little as 48 hours depending on availability. Unfortunately, at this time, Massachusetts does not license applicants who are currently on probation or parole.

For more information on the exam, PSI provides a Candidate Handbook containing the Massachusetts Real Estate Broker Exam content outline.

Taking an exam prep course provides you helpful tools and materials, such as quizzes and specific state-only practice exams, to increase your chances of passing your broker license exam the first time.

Step 5: Application Review

After passing your broker exam, you will only need to wait for the review and approval of your application.

The process will take one to three weeks, as it must be mailed. Alternatively, you can speed up application approval times by emailing your forms to ma.applicationprocessor@psionline.com.

Congratulations!

Now that you’ve successfully passed the broker licensing exam and obtained your license, there are a few things you need to do to keep your broker license active and updated.

Massachusetts Real Estate Broker License Renewal and CE

In Massachusetts, you must renew your real estate broker license every two years but no more than three years after you obtain your license. The expiration date will be your date of birth. For instance, if you passed your exam on December 1, 2020, but your date of birth is December 10, then your license will need to be renewed on December 10, 2022.

To renew your license, you must use the Massachusetts E-licensing & E-Permitting Portal. The renewal fee is $142. Massachusetts charges convenience fees for specific transactions.

As part of renewing your broker license, you must also complete CE requirements that include 12 hours of approved courses.

Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Mailing Address:

Massachusetts Board of Registration of Real Estate Brokers and Salespersons
1000 Washington St., Suite 710
Boston, MA 02118

Phone: (617) 701-8661

Email: realestateboard@mass.gov 

Website: https://www.mass.gov/real-estate-brokers-and-salespersons-licensing