How to Get a Real Estate License in Utah

In order to kickstart your real estate career in Utah, it’s essential to obtain a Utah Real Estate License. However, despite the fact that the application process is mainly completed online nowadays, many applicants can still find it quite confusing and complicated.

For this reason, this How to Get a Real Estate License in Utah article will break down the main steps involved in the licensing process, covering everything from educational requirements to exam preparation and having your fingerprints taken.

Utah Real Estate License

In order to get your Utah real estate license and start working in the real estate industry, there are several key steps you’ll need to complete. These include:

1. Ensuring You Meet the Licensing Eligibility Requirements
2. Completing the Mandatory Pre-Licensing Education
3. Passing the Utah Real Estate Exam
4. Passing the Background Check
5. Finding a Principal Broker
6. Submitting a License Application

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

Step 1: Meet the Utah Real Estate License Requirements

Before continuing ahead with your application for a Utah real estate license, you’ll first need to confirm that you’re actually eligible for it by ensuring you meet the following prerequisites under Utah Administrative Rules R162-2f-201:

• You must be at least 18 years of age
• You must have obtained at least a high school diploma, General Educational Development (GED) certificate, or an accepted equivalent
• You must provide evidence of your “honesty, integrity, and truthfulness”
• You must demonstrate your competency to work in the real estate industry

While being a felon isn’t something for which the Utah Division of Real Estate (DRE) will automatically deny you a license, it may serve as the basis for a rejection if it negatively impacts your ability to meet the character requirement noted above.

In particular, the statutes specifically mention things like convictions and jail terms for felonies and misdemeanors in the five years preceding your license application. However, any “past acts related to honesty or truthfulness” can serve as a legitimate basis to reject an application according to Utah law.

Step 2: Complete the Mandatory Pre-Licensing Education

In addition to the general requirements outlined above, there are certain educational prerequisites you’ll be expected to meet in order to be able to apply for a Utah real estate license.

In particular, you’ll be expected to complete 120 hours of approved prelicensing education from a certified Utah real estate school. This total time should be broken down accordingly:

• Ownership of Real Estate (12 hours)
• Real Estate Brokerage and the Law of Agency (12 hours)
• Contracts (16 hours)
• Property Management (4 hours)
• Settlement (8 hours)
• Federal Taxation (2 hours)
• Real Estate Finance (16 hours)
• Valuation and Appraisal (6 hours)
• New Construction (2 hours)
• Math Skills (4 hours)
• Federal Laws (6 hours)
• Utah Law (24 hours)
• Testing and Review (8 hours)

Once you complete this requirement and pass the pre-licensing course final exam, you’ll receive a Candidate Education Certifying Document completed by your real estate school. Remember to hold onto this document as it serves as proof that you satisfied this requirement, and you’ll need to present it at the testing site when you take your licensing exam (see Step 3).

After completing your pre-licensing real estate education, you must successfully pass the Utah real estate state exam (and finish the rest of the application process) within a year of the date on your completion certificate. Failure to do so will result in you having to complete all of the pre-licensing hours again.

Note: For a more detailed look at these course requirements, check out the Utah real estate pre-license education curriculum.

Step 3: Pass the Utah Real Estate Exam

The next step you’ll need to complete is to pass the Utah real estate sale agent exam. This four-hour exam, which is administered by Pearson VUE, includes 130 scored questions spread across two portions: a national/general portion and a state-specific portion.

The national/general portion contains 80 scored questions while the state-specific portion has 50 questions. In addition to this, the exam also includes between 10 and 15 “pretest” questions that don’t count toward your overall score.

In order to schedule your real estate exam, you’ll need to head over to the Pearson VUE website and make an online reservation as well as pay the $59 fee. If this is your first time using the platform, you’ll be required to create an account, after which you’ll be shown step-by-step instructions on how to complete the reservation.

You must obtain a minimum scaled score of 70 on both sections of the exam in order to pass. You’ll find out immediately after completing the exam if you achieved this in the score report you’ll receive before leaving the test center.

Note: After passing both portions of this real estate exam, you’ll have 90 days to submit a completed application to the DRE.

Step 4: Pass the Background Check

As part of the licensing process, you must undergo a criminal background check once you successfully pass the licensing exam per Utah Code 61-2f-204.

You can do this in one of two ways:

• At the Testing Center: If you take your exam at either the Bountiful, Draper, Ogden, or Orem test centers, you can use the on-site digital fingerprinting services to submit your prints by logging in to your Pearson VUE account and selecting “UTFP-Utah Fingerprint Appointment (Sales only)” from the options. After you submit your prints on exam day, you’ll receive a receipt that you’ll need to later upload alongside your application (see Step 6)
• At Home: If you instead take your exam at one of the test centers that don’t offer digital fingerprint services, you’ll need to fill out two fingerprint cards (Blue FD-258) and a signed fingerprint waiver you’ll receive from the test center. After this, you’ll need to use the fingerprint services of a third-party fingerprinting vendor or law enforcement agency before mailing your completed cards to the DRE

Note: If this background check reveals you failed to accurately disclose some aspects of your criminal history, the DRE is far more likely to reject your application. As such, it’s vital to ensure you’re as truthful and as accurate as possible when completing this step.

Step 5: Find a Principal Broker

The final step you’ll need to take before you can submit an application for your real estate license is to find a principal broker. This is a licensed real estate professional who supervises and mentors you, ensuring you comply with essential legal and ethical standards.

While it’s a legal requirement under Utah Code 61-2f-302 for new real estate licensees to work under a principal broker in Utah, it’s important you don’t treat this as just a rule you need to follow.

This is because these real estate brokers provide essential training, support, and access to valuable networks that will help you to learn the industry, avoid pitfalls, and grow your business effectively.

Step 6: Submit a License Application

After passing the state real estate exam and satisfying all other licensing requirements, you’ll be ready to move onto submitting your license application. You can do this quickly and easily through the DRE’s Utahid platform.

Alongside your application, you’ll also need to submit the following documentation:

• Your Pre-Licensing Candidate Education Certifying Document
• Your Passing Exam Score Report
• Your Completed Consent to Background Check Form
• Your Certification of Legal Presence (issued by the Pearson VUE testing center)

Finally, you’ll have to pay a total submission fee of $157. This includes a $100 application fee, a $40 fingerprint processing fee, a $12 recovery fund fee, and a $5 enrollment fee for FBI RAPBACK.

Note: The DRE only accepts applications made online, meaning it’ll deny any received by mail.

Step 7: 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 receive an email from the DRE within three to five business days containing instructions on how to print your license.

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, you can reach out directly to the DRE by phone or email.

Utah Real Estate License Renewal

In order to keep your license valid and continue working as a real estate sales agent, you’ll need to renew your license every two years.

In order to submit your renewal application, you must complete 18 hours of certified continuing education (CE) courses on real estate by the 15th day of your renewal month each cycle.

This total time must include at least six hours dedicated to core topics plus a three-hour mandatory course approved by the DRE.

For your first license renewal, your CE hours must be spent slightly differently:

• A 12-Hour New Agent Course
• A Three-Hour Mandatory Course
• Three Additional Hours of Any Core or Elective Courses

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.

Utah Division of Real Estate

Mailing Address:
PO Box 146711
Salt Lake City, UT 84114-6711

Physical Address:
Heber M. Wells Building
2nd Floor 160 East 300 South
Salt Lake City, Utah 84111

Phone: (801) 530-6747

Fax: (801) 530-6749

Email: realestate@utah.gov

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