The Board of Registration of Real Estate Brokers and Salespersons licenses qualified individuals, businesses, and schools who meet the requirements to engage in the practice of real estate brokering and sales in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Licensed real estate brokers and salespersons assist consumers wishing to purchase, sell, lease or exchange real property. This assistance encompasses a host of services including appraising property for basic valuations, negotiating purchase, sale or lease agreements, maintaining escrow accounts, and advertising properties for sale, rent or lease.

The Board also protects consumers by investigating and disciplining licensees who violate the laws and regulations governing the practice of real estate brokering and sales.

Massachusetts law has established the requirements for qualification for a real estate salesperson, broker or instructor license.

REAL ESTATE EXAMINATION REQUIREMENTS

SALESPERSON APPLICANTS MUST:

▪ Be at least eighteen (18) years of age.

▪ Complete forty (40) hours of pre-licensure salesperson education.

▪ Obtain a completed Massachusetts Board of Real Estate Educational Certificate form to be completed by a Board approved Real Estate School (found at the end of this Candidate Information Bulletin).

▪ Obtain three (3) complete candidate endorsements from individuals unrelated to the applicant. They do not need to be Massachusetts residents. Classmates known by the applicant from only the real estate course may NOT sign the candidate endorsement.

BROKER APPLICANTS MUST:

▪ Be at least eighteen (18) years of age.

▪ Complete forty (40) hours of pre-licensure broker education.

▪ Have been licensed and affiliated with a Massachusetts broker in the capacity of a Massachusetts real estate salesperson for three (3) years. The experience requirement must be no more than two (2) years old when the examination is taken.

Obtain a completed Massachusetts Board of Real Estate Educational Certificate form to be completed by a Board approved Real Estate School (found at the end of this Candidate Information Bulletin).

▪ Have a current Massachusetts salesperson license.

▪ Have a $5,000 surety bond on the original enclosed form (a copy is not acceptable) completed and signed by the insurance agent, signed by the principal candidate/examinee, and witnessed.

▪ Obtain three (3) complete candidate endorsements from individuals unrelated to the applicant. They do not need to be Massachusetts residents. Classmates known by the applicant from only the real estate course may NOT sign the candidate endorsement.

THREE-YEAR AFFILIATION REQUIREMENT

▪ To be completed only by employing broker. All dates must be clearly indicated as Month/Day/Year.

▪ Any date indicated beyond the broker’s signature date will not be accepted

Applicants for the broker examination must have completed three (3) years of affiliation as an active Massachusetts salesperson under an active Massachusetts broker. The Broker must endorse the Employing Broker Certification located on the back of the Educational Certificate included in this CIB. The Employing Broker Certification form must be completed in its entirety by only the employing broker. Only the original completed form will be accepted. Copies are not permitted.

The applicant must have worked a minimum of twenty-five (25) hours per week for a minimum of three (3) years. An applicant for a broker’s license may use prior salesperson experience so long as the experience is not over two (2) years old and/or there has not been a two (2) year gap in time between the current and past salesperson experience. In the event that a salesperson affiliates with more than one broker at various times, two (2) employing broker certification forms are provided. If more than two (2) forms are required, signed and dated letter(s) must be obtained from the additional broker(s), preferably using their business letterhead(s), and MUST include all features of the original Employing Broker Certification.

Instructor Applicants Must:

Pursuant to G.L. c. 112, §§ 87PP - 87DDD, the Board is permitted to issue a Real Estate Instructor Permit to any person who has satisfied the requirements of 254 CMR 4.00(7)(a)1. through 4. or the equivalent in lieu thereof as determined by the Board. 

Requirements 1. through 4. are as follows:

1. Instructors must hold a current brokers license issued by the Board.

2. Instructors must have a minimum of two years of work experience as a real estate broker involving at least 25 hours per week.

3. Instructors must have co-taught or audited the curriculum in an authorized school before they may teach it.

4. Instructors must have a minimum of 30 hours of instruction in an instructor training program which has been approved by the Board.

To complete an application, enter all required information and upload the following documents:

• A Medical Certificate indicating freedom of tuberculosis
• A notarized Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) Authorization Form completed and signed by the applicant.
• A recent, color photograph of the applicant (passport-style headshot).
• A Related Real Estate Field Experience Form
• If applicable, the original score report of the Teaching Methods Examination
• If applicable, an explanatory document detailing all prior or pending disciplinary actions against any professional license held by the applicant in any jurisdiction, foreign or domestic. Please include certified copies of any disciplinary documents or official records of the disciplinary action.
• If applicable, an explanatory document detailing all prior felony or misdemeanor convictions against the applicant in any jurisdiction, foreign or domestic. Please include copies of certified court records related to the conviction.

For information on the PSI exam, consult the PSI Candidate Handbook