How to Get a Broker License in West Virginia

Obtaining a West Virginia 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 West Virginia 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.

West Virginia Real Estate Broker License

In order to get your West Virginia 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
4. Passing a Background Check
5. Passing the West Virginia Broker Licensing Exam

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 West Virginia Real Estate License guide instead.

Step 1: Meet the West Virginia Eligibility and Experience Requirements

Before proceeding with the application process for your West Virginia real estate broker license, you’ll need to first make sure that you meet the general prerequisites outlined under the West Virginia Code § 30-40-11:

• You must be at least 18 years old
• You must hold a high school diploma or an equivalent qualification
• You must have a minimum of two years of work experience as a licensed salesperson

You will need to submit a list of completed real estate transactions (Closed Transactions form) and a letter from your supervising broker (Affidavit of Broker’s Recommendation form) to the West Virginia Real Estate Commission in order to verify your professional experience.

Note: Although West Virginia does not have full reciprocity agreements with any other state, licensed real estate professionals from outside of West Virginia may qualify for a partial exam waiver. For more information on this, you can contact the West Virginia Real Estate Commission directly via phone.

Step 2: Complete the Mandatory Pre-Licensing Education

Beyond the general requirements mentioned earlier, you must also fulfill specific educational prerequisites to be able to apply for a West Virginia real estate broker license.

In particular, this will involve completing 90 hours of broker prelicensing education through Commission-approved courses.

These courses will need to be structured into three key areas:

• Brokerage Operation and Management (30 hours)
• Human Resources Management & Interpersonal Skills (25 hours)
• West Virginia Specific Real Estate for Brokers (35 hours)

Each course segment concludes with an examination — you will need to score at least 70% in each area to receive your course completion certificate.

Keep in mind that the course completion certificate will remain valid for five years. After this period, if you have not yet applied for your broker license, you will need to retake the entire pre-licensing education from the start.

Step 3: Submit a License Application

After completing your pre-licensing education and ensuring that you satisfy all other licensing requirements, you’ll be ready to move on to submitting your license application.

To do this, you will need to visit the West Virginia Real Estate Commission’s application portal and select the Application For Exam option — this process is conducted entirely online, as paper applications are no longer accepted.

You will need to include the following documents in order for your application to be processed:

• Official Course Completion Certificates
• Copy of your driver’s license
• Broker’s Recommendation Form
• Broker Closed Transactions Form

Please note that submitting your application incurs a $25 processing fee — this is separate from the licensing fee that you will need to pay to issue your license.

Step 4: Pass the Background Check

Before you can register for the licensing exam, you will need to complete a criminal background check — covering both state and national records — through IdentoGO, the designated state fingerprinting vendor.

To do this, you will need to visit the IdentoGO website and schedule your fingerprinting appointment using the service code 228Q6K — this code authorizes the transmission of your background check results directly to the West Virginia Real Estate Commission.

Keep in mind that this process incurs a non-refundable and non-transferable fingerprinting fee of $45.75, which is paid directly to IdentoGO.

Please note that your criminal background check results will remain valid for a period of 90 days — if you do not complete the licensing process within this timeframe, you will need to be fingerprinted again.

Note: Once the Commission processes your background check results and confirms that all other aspects of your application are in order, you will receive authorization to schedule your licensing exam.

Step 5: Pass the Broker Licensing Exam

In West Virginia, this four-hour exam is administered by Pearson VUE and includes 140 questions divided across two sections: a National portion and a State-Specific portion.

In order to schedule your real estate broker exam, you’ll need to make an online reservation using the Pearson VUE website. Note that you’ll need to create an account for this service if this is your first time using it, after which you’ll be shown step-by-step instructions on how to complete your reservation.

Keep in mind that you’ll be required to pay a total of $110 to Pearson VUE — $55 per exam section — at the time of reservation, as test centers do not currently process payments.

In order to pass, you’ll need to obtain a minimum scaled score of 75% on both the National and the State portions. If you fail one section of the exam, you will need to retake and pass it within either 90 days or two additional attempts, whichever comes first.

You’ll find out how you performed on this exam immediately after finishing and should receive your passing exam score sheet with a full breakdown a few days afterwards.

Note: After passing both portions of the state licensing exam, the final step you will need to complete will be logging into the West Virginia Real Estate Commission’s licensing portal, selecting “Application for License,” and submitting your application along with a $150 licensing fee.

Step 6: Application Review

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

The West Virginia Real Estate Commission will typically take around 10 business days to process your submission, after which your licensing document will be issued.

Be sure to take some time to celebrate your accomplishment. You’ve put in a lot of work and effort and deserve a celebration!

West Virginia Real Estate License Renewal

In order to keep your real estate broker license valid, you’ll need to renew it each year between May 1st and June 30th.

The renewal process is completed online with a $150 fee through the West Virginia Real Estate Commission’s renewal portal.

As part of the renewal process, you will need to complete seven hours of continuing education annually in Commission-approved courses.

Of these, at least 3 hours must focus on broker-level education, which covers advanced topics like brokerage management, supervising agents, and legal compliance.

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.

West Virginia Real Estate Commission

Mailing Address:
300 Capitol St, Suite 400
Charleston, WV 25301

Phone: (304) 558-3555

Fax: (304) 558-6442

Email: Contact Us Form

Website: https://rec.wv.gov/Pages/default.aspx