Real estate license in Ohio: cost, hours and steps
Ohio asks for 100 hours in four set courses and $147 in fees, then renews the salesperson license every 3 years.
Real estate license fees in Ohio
$147
paid to the state and its exam and fingerprint vendors
| Application and license | $81 |
| Exams | $66 |
| Training: 100 pre-licensing course hours | about 7 weeks |
| Renewals in 5 years, every 3 years | 1 × $182 = $182 |
Not counted, amount set by a vendor and not published: background check fee charged by a webcheck provider. Real estate salesperson license. Fees read on official pages, October 20, 2026.
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Salesperson examination application | $81 |
| Salesperson exam, state & national at same time (PSI) | $66 |
Compiled by Radif Partners · How the totals are built · Ohio Department of Commerce, Division of Real Estate and Professional Licensing · read October 20, 2026
An Ohio real estate salesperson license costs $147 in the fees counted here: $81 for the Salesperson Examination Application filed with the Ohio Division of Real Estate and Professional Licensing, and $66 to PSI for the state and national exam portions taken at the same sitting. 5 of the 20 states priced on this site cost less, and the median is $203. The education is fixed by subject: forty hours of Real Estate Principles and Practices, forty hours of Ohio Real Estate Law, ten of Appraisal and ten of Finance, 100 hours in all. Both exam portions must be passed within twelve months. A state and FBI fingerprint background check is required within ten days of applying; its fee is set by the vendors and was not read on an official page, so it is not counted. The license renews every 3 years for $182, with 30 hours of continuing education.
Four courses, 100 hours
Ohio does not leave the curriculum open. The Division lists the courses one by one:
- Real Estate Principles and Practices, 40 hours
- Ohio Real Estate Law, 40 hours
- Real Estate Appraisal, 10 hours
- Real Estate Finance, 10 hours
The two forty-hour courses carry most of the load, and one of them, Ohio Real Estate Law, is about the state's own statutes and rules. At 15 hours a week, 100 hours take roughly 7 weeks.
Fees in the order you pay them
The first payment is the Salesperson Examination Application, $81, filed with the Division after the coursework. PSI then administers the exam, which has a state portion and a national portion; taking both at the same sitting costs $66. If one portion is failed, it has to be passed before the twelve-month window for both portions closes, and each new sitting is paid again. A candidate who needs two full sittings pays $213 in total, because among the fees read only the PSI exam fee is tied to each attempt.
The background check is the third step: Ohio requires state (BCI) and FBI fingerprint checks within ten days of applying. The price is set by BCI and the webcheck vendors and does not appear on the official pages read, which is why the $147 total leaves it out. The Division's pages also did not confirm whether a separate issuance fee is due after passing, so none is counted.
A three-year cycle
Ohio renews salesperson licenses every 3 years at $182, according to the Division's renewal application, and each cycle requires 30 hours of continuing education including three required courses. Over nine years, that is 3 renewals and $546. Per year of license, the 3-year term is lighter on paperwork than the two-year cycles of Pennsylvania or New York.
Ohio renewal fees over the years you plan to keep the license
Real estate license in Ohio, 9 years
$693
| First license | $147 |
| Renewals | 3 × $182 |
| Continuing education | 90 hours |
Every real estate fee in Ohio, with its source
| Fee | Amount | In the total | Read on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salesperson examination application | $81 | counted | source |
| Salesperson exam, state & national at same time (PSI) | $66 per attempt | counted | source |
| Background check fee charged by a WebCheck provider | not read on an official page | set by the vendor |
| Renewal | Value |
|---|---|
| Cycle | every 3 years |
| Fee | $182 |
| Continuing education | 30 hours per cycle |
| Required training | 100 pre-licensing course hours. Real Estate Principles and Practices 40 h, Ohio Real Estate Law 40 h, Real Estate Appraisal 10 h, Real Estate Finance 10 h. |