Virginia real estate licensing is administered by the Real Estate Board within the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR). The state portion of the exam tests these rules specifically — and the broker exam weights licensing and supervision more heavily than the salesperson exam.
Salesperson path (first license)
- Eligibility: age 18+, high school diploma or GED, fingerprint-based background check.
- Pre-license: 60 hours of Board-approved Principles of Real Estate (with a monitored final).
- PSI exam: National 80 Q (pass 56) + State 40 Q (pass 30). Fee $60. Reciprocal salespersons take the state portion only.
- Apply to DPOR within 1 year of the initial exam date and affiliate with a principal broker to go active.
- First cycle: 30-hour Post-License Education (PLE) before first renewal — not the same as CE. Missing PLE inactivates the license.
Broker path (upgrade)
- Experience first: actively engaged (licensed, §54.1-2100 work, avg. ≥40 hrs/week) for 36 of the 48 months before application — verified on Board forms. Unlicensed industry work does not count.
- Education: 180 clock hours including a 45-hour Real Estate Brokerage course plus a prescribed Appraisal/Finance/Law (or approved substitute) package. Salesperson Principles and CE do not count toward the 180.
- PSI broker exam: National 75 Q / 80 pts (pass 60) + State 50 Q (pass 38). Same $60 fee. Apply within 1 year of the initial exam date.
- Application A490-0225BLIC: $134.50 if upgrading from a VA salesperson license; $299.50 by exam or reciprocity. Statuses: Associate Broker, Principal Broker, or broker-owned sole proprietor.
Virginia-specific terms
- Actively engaged
- Active licensure with a firm or sole proprietorship, performing §54.1-2100 activities for an average of at least 40 hours per week (18VAC135-20-10).
- Principal broker
- The individual broker designated to ensure the firm's compliance and to receive Board notices; has signatory authority on escrow accounts.
- Associate broker
- A broker licensee who is not the firm's principal broker and still practices under that principal's supervision.
- Escrow/earnest money handling
- Client funds go in a labeled, federally insured escrow account; the principal broker is responsible.
- Agency disclosure
- Virginia requires timely written disclosure of the brokerage relationship.
Exam trap: salesperson CE is 16 hours; broker CE is 24 hours (19 mandatory + 5 elective as of April 1, 2026). Do not use '12 hours' for brokers. Always confirm current hours, fees, and clocks with DPOR and PSI.