Becoming a Montana 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 Montana 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.

Montana Real Estate Agent vs Real Estate Broker

Montana 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 Montana.

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.

Montana 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 Montana.

These prerequisites are:

• Be a citizen and resident of Montana
• Have graduated from an accredited high school (or the equivalent)
• Have completed at least 60 hours of pre-licensing education in the last year and a half
• Have completed 30 experience points

You also have to complete 60 hours of pre-licensure coursework before you can apply for your license. You’ll need to pass the pre-license exam (which is not proctored) and a state exam before you can get your license.

Montana requires you to have 30 experience points for transactions within the last 36 months before you can seek a broker’s license.

How to Become a Real Estate Broker in Montana

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 Montana.

Step 1: Complete a Montana Broker Pre-Licensing Course

The first step to getting your real estate broker license in Montana is to take 60 hours of pre-licensing coursework.

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

There are 60 classroom hours of required qualifying real estate courses. Some of the classwork may cover:

• Leadership
• Management skills
• Brokerage relationships
• Broker agreements, contracts, and advertising
• Property management
• Residential landlord and tenant law 1977

Your broker pre-license courses must also include another 12 hours of approved Continuing Education (CE) courses.

Montana offers no reciprocity for previously earned broker licensing, but you can still submit an application with your license verification to see if it will be accepted. You will likely still need to pass the Montana portion of your licensing examination before you can get your license approved.

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.

After passing your broker course exam, your pre-license education provider will provide you with your course completion documents. You will submit your course completion documents during your license application.

Step 2: Submit a Montana 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 can apply via Montana’s eBiz Online system or mail. The application fee is $90.

When you submit your document, you will need to have met all licensing requirements. You’ll need to show that you completed approved pre-licensing courses, have the correct experience points and have passed the pre-licensing exam. Make sure to get your supervising broker’s certification verifying that you have closed the necessary successful transactions within the past 36 months.

Step 3: Get a Fingerprint-Based Background Check

After submitting your license application, you must have a fingerprint-based background check. You must submit your fingerprints to the Montana Business Standards Division online or on paper and submit a $30 fingerprinting service fee. You can get your fingerprinting done at any participating local law enforcement agency, which can send the prints on to your board or program within 4-8 weeks.

The other option is to visit the Montana Department of Justice, Division of Criminal Investigations – Criminal Records with an appointment. Your results can be sent within 3-5 business days if you go to Helena to get your fingerprints done.

Step 4: Pass the Montana Real Estate Broker Exam

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

The fee for the real estate broker exam is $106.

In Montana, there are two parts to the broker examination. The first is 90 minutes and covers state information. The second is a national exam that takes 120 minutes.

The passing rate is 75-80% for the Montana Real Estate Broker Exam. There are 115 questions, 40 on Montana law and 75 on national law.

The Montana Board of Realty Regulation (MBRR) doesn’t limit how many times you can take the examination, but you will need to pass within two years of your pre-licensure course. If you don’t, the previous coursework will expire.

For more information on the exam, PSI provides a Candidate Handbook containing the Montana 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 get your results right away to know if you passed or not. You will have to wait for your license to be issued.

Usually, it only takes between 5-10 business days to get your certification or license. If you haven’t seen it come through, contact MBRR at (406) 444-6880 or reach out by email to dlibsdhelp@mt.gov.

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.

Montana Real Estate Broker License Renewal and CE

In Montana, you must renew your real estate broker license every year by October 31. You have to complete an additional 12 hours of continuing education. You cannot receive duplicate credit for completing the same course within a licensing year. The coursework you may complete includes topics such as:

• Hot topics in real estate
• Property inspection issues
• Sex and real estate (sexual harassment, discrimination and fair housing)
• Breaking barriers, fair housing
• Ethical excellence
• Assistance animals and fair housing
• Safeguarding your transactions

Renewals open 60 days before the expiration of your license. You will submit your completed documentation through Montana’s eBiz system.

MTBRR – Montana Board of Realty Regulation

Physical Address:

Montana Board of Realty Regulation
301 S. Park Ave., Fourth Floor
Helena, MT 59601

Mailing Address:

P.O. Box 200513
Helena, MT 59620

Phone: (406) 444-6880

Email: dlibsdhelp@mt.gov 

Website: http://www.realestate.mt.gov/