Becoming a Minnesota 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 Minnesota 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.

Minnesota Real Estate Agent vs Real Estate Broker

Minnesota 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 Minnesota.

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.

Minnesota 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 Minnesota.

These prerequisites are:

• Be an actively licensed real estate broker
• Be licensed to act on behalf of a licensed broker, and you may not be licensed to act on behalf of more than one broker in Minnesota during the same period of time
• Have three years of experience as a real estate salesperson within the past five years of submitting your brokerage application

How to Become a Real Estate Broker in Minnesota

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 Minnesota.

Step 1: Complete a Minnesota Broker Pre-Licensing Course

The first step to getting your real estate broker license in Minnesota is to take 30 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 one year of your broker’s license application. This requirement is divided into two sections:

The required 30 classroom hours of qualifying real estate courses, including the following mandatory courses are:

• Agency
• Planning
• Personnel
• Accounting
• Legal liabilities
• Fair housing

Your broker pre-license courses don’t end here. To fully satisfy your course requirements, you must take an additional 15 credit hours in related qualifying education courses acceptable to the Minnesota Department of Commerce (MDC) or approved continuing education (CE) courses.

The approved courses include:

• Laws or regulations on agency representation and disclosure (“Agency Laws”)
• At least one hour of courses in state and federal fair housing laws, regulations, and rules
• Anti-discrimination laws, or courses designed to help licensees to meet the housing needs of immigrant and other underserved populations (“Fair Housing”)

Minnesota offers reciprocity to certain states. Your CE course credits may count towards your broker pre-license requirements.

After completing the courses, you must also pass the final broker course exam. The minimum passing grade is 75. 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.

After passing your broker course exam, your pre-license education provider will provide you with your course completion documents. MDC recommends submitting your completion documents via its Pulse Portal.

Step 2: Submit a Minnesota Broker License Application

Once you meet the broker pre-licensing education requirements and pass the course exam, you can now apply for your license.

To submit your broker license application, you must use the Pulse Portal system. The application fee is $180, plus a $15 technology surcharge.

Make sure to also email a copy of the department approval letter and a copy of your application confirmation page to the department with “Real Estate Licensing” in the subject line.

Step 3: Get a Fingerprint-based Background Check

After submitting your license application, you must have a fingerprint-based background check. You must schedule your fingerprints through Pearson VUE.

To begin the fingerprinting process, sign into your Pearson VUE account or create a new Pearson VUE account. Choose “Available Exams” and choose MNFP: MN Department of Commerce Fingerprint Appointment The fingerprint fee of $67.25.

A license will not be issued if you do not submit to a fingerprint-based background check.

Step 4: Pass the Minnesota Real Estate Broker Exam

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

The fee for the broker exam is $63.

In Minnesota, brokers take a general exam, which consists of 80 scored questions. The state-specific section of the broker’s exam consists of 60 scored questions. You must complete the Minnesota real estate broker exam within 240 minutes (four hours total).

The passing rate is 75 for the Minnesota real estate broker exam.

For more information on the exam, Pearson VUE provides a Candidate Handbook containing the Minnesota 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 MDC to review and approve your application.

The process can be as little as six weeks from start to finish (taking courses and then taking the exam). However, you can track your application on the Pulse Portal and update your application as needed.

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.

Minnesota Real Estate Broker License Renewal and CE

In Minnesota, you must renew your real estate broker license every year on June 30. In general, real estate brokers must complete 30 hours of real estate CE before their June 30 license renewal deadline, and at least 15 of those hours must be completed before the previous June 30.

CE must be taken in the appropriate license period; extra hours or courses do not carry over into the next period or satisfy future renewal requirements. Required courses.

Use the Pulse Portal to submit your application for renewal online. The renewal fee is $120 plus a $15 technology fee. For questions on renewing your license, you can contact licensing.commerce@state.mn.us or call (651) 539-1500.

MNDC – Minnesota Department of Commerce

Mailing Address:

Minnesota Real Estate
85 Seventh Place E., Suite 280
St. Paul, MN 55101

Phone: (651) 539-1500

Email: Licensing.Commerce@state.mn.us 

Website: https://mn.gov/commerce/licensees/real-estate/