Real estate license in North Carolina: cost, hours and steps
North Carolina starts new agents as provisional brokers, for $168 in fees if the exam is passed on the first sitting.
Real estate license fees in North Carolina
$168
paid to the state and its exam and fingerprint vendors
| Application and license | $105 |
| Exams | $63 |
| Training: 75 pre-licensing course hours | about 5 weeks |
| Renewals in 5 years, every 1 year | 5 × $50 = $250 |
Real estate broker license, provisional (entry-level; North Carolina has no salesperson license). Fees read on official pages, October 20, 2026.
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| License application fee (NCREC) | $105 |
| 2-part comprehensive exam (Pearson VUE) | $63 |
Compiled by Radif Partners · How the totals are built · North Carolina Real Estate Commission (NCREC) · read October 20, 2026
North Carolina has no salesperson license: a new agent receives a provisional real estate broker license from the North Carolina Real Estate Commission (NCREC). The fees total $168 for a candidate who passes at the first sitting, made of the $105 license application fee and $63 to Pearson VUE for the two-part comprehensive exam. That sits below the $203 median of the 20 states priced here. Retakes are expensive, because the Commission's April 2026 licensing booklet says the application fee is collected again each time an applicant retakes the exam, so a second sitting brings the total to $336. Education comes in two stages: the 75-hour Broker Prelicensing Course before the exam, then ninety hours of post-licensing courses within eighteen months to remove the provisional status. The license renews every year for $50 with 8 hours of continuing education.
A broker license from day one
The Commission issues one entry-level credential, the provisional broker license. Provisional means the licensee still owes post-licensing education after the license is issued. Before any of that, the 75-hour Broker Prelicensing Course has to be completed, and it includes an end-of-course exam, separate from the state test. At 15 hours a week, the course takes about 5 weeks.
North Carolina prelicensing hours at your pace
Real estate training in North Carolina
5 weeks
| Required hours | 75 |
| Months at that pace | 1.2 |
| First-license fees | $168 |
The two fees, and the retake rule
The application goes to the Commission with $105, and the Pearson VUE two-part comprehensive exam costs $63 per sitting. The same handbook prices a single exam section separately, at $53.
The rule that sets North Carolina apart is in the Commission's processing instructions: the $105 application fee is collected again every time an applicant retakes the exam. The calculator above adds it again with each extra attempt, and the table below shows the bill for one to three sittings of the full two-part exam.
| Sittings | Application fees | Exam fees | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $105 | $63 | $168 |
| 2 | $210 | $126 | $336 |
| 3 | $315 | $189 | $504 |
The background report
Instead of fingerprints, North Carolina asks for a criminal record report, prepared within six months before the application is filed. It is ordered from CriminalRecordCheck.com, and the booklet does not state its price, so it is not in the $168 total. Time it close to the filing date: a report prepared more than six months before the application does not meet the rule and would have to be ordered again.
Post-licensing and yearly renewal
Within eighteen months of licensure, a provisional broker completes three post-licensing courses of thirty hours each; finishing them removes the provisional status. Renewal is annual, with licenses expiring on June 30, at $50 plus 8 hours of continuing education each license period. Over five years that is 5 renewals, or $250. Because the fee returns every year, a short renewal fee can still add up; the renewal comparison sets it against states with two- and four-year cycles.
Every real estate fee in North Carolina, with its source
| Fee | Amount | In the total | Read on |
|---|---|---|---|
| License application fee (NCREC) | $105 per attempt | counted | source |
| 2-part comprehensive exam (Pearson VUE) | $63 per attempt | counted | source |
| Renewal | Value |
|---|---|
| Cycle | every 1 year |
| Fee | $50 |
| Continuing education | 8 hours per cycle |
| Required training | 75 pre-licensing course hours. 75-hour Broker Prelicensing Course with end-of-course exam; 90 hours post-licensing (3 x 30 h) within 18 months to remove provisional status. |