Real estate license in New York: cost, hours and steps
At $80, New York charges the least of the 20 states priced here for a first real estate salesperson license.
Real estate license fees in New York
$80
paid to the state and its exam and fingerprint vendors
| Application and license | $65 |
| Exams | $15 |
| Training: 77 pre-licensing course hours | about 6 weeks |
| Renewals in 5 years, every 2 years | 2 × $65 = $130 |
Real estate salesperson license. Fees read on official pages, October 20, 2026.
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Initial application (2-year license) | $65 |
| Written exam (administered by NY Department of State) | $15 |
Compiled by Radif Partners · How the totals are built · New York Department of State, Division of Licensing Services · read October 20, 2026
New York's real estate salesperson license costs $80 in state fees, the lowest total among the 20 states priced on this site, where the median is $203. Only two payments are involved, both made to the New York Department of State: $65 for the initial application, which buys a two-year license, and $15 for the written exam, which the Department runs itself rather than through a testing company. The education requirement is 77 hours, made of the 75-hour qualifying course plus two hours on fair housing and implicit bias. A license renews every 2 years for $65, the same as the initial application, with 22.5 hours of continuing education. New York has no reciprocity with any other state, so an agent licensed elsewhere goes through the same route as a newcomer.
Why the New York total is so low
Most states route the exam through a testing company such as PSI or Pearson VUE, which sets its own price per sitting. New York keeps the exam in house. The Department of State lists the written exam at $15, a small fraction of what vendors charge elsewhere, and the initial application at $65. No fingerprint fee is counted because the Department pages read do not mention a fingerprint requirement for salespersons. Put together, New York undercuts Florida, the next cheapest state here at $95, by $15.
Where New York sits among the priced states
Real estate license fees, median of 20 states
$203
| Lowest: New York | $80 |
| Highest: Connecticut | $709 |
| States priced | 20 |
The 77 hours
The qualifying education has two parts: the 75-hour salesperson course and a separate two-hour unit on fair housing and implicit bias, both approved by the Department. The course is where most of the time and money goes, since tuition is set by the provider and is not part of the $80. At 15 hours a week, the whole requirement takes about 6 weeks.
Applying and testing
After the coursework, you schedule the state exam with the Department and pay its $15 fee; each additional attempt costs the same again. Once you pass, the $65 application is filed for a license that is valid two years. The Department's fee list shows no separate issuance charge after the exam, so those two payments are the whole state bill; in practice the course tuition is by far the larger expense.
No reciprocity
The Department's frequently asked questions state that it does not currently have reciprocity with any other state. A licensee moving in from New Jersey or Pennsylvania therefore completes the New York education and exam like any first-time applicant.
Renewals over ten years
Each renewal costs $65 and requires 22.5 hours of continuing education. Over ten years of practice that is 5 renewals and $325, with 112.5 hours of courses in total.
Every real estate fee in New York, with its source
| Fee | Amount | In the total | Read on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial application (2-year license) | $65 | counted | source |
| Written exam (administered by NY Department of State) | $15 per attempt | counted | source |
| Renewal | Value |
|---|---|
| Cycle | every 2 years |
| Fee | $65 |
| Continuing education | 22.5 hours per cycle |
| Required training | 77 pre-licensing course hours. 77 hours of approved qualifying education (75-hour course plus 2 hours fair housing / implicit bias). |