Real estate license in Texas: cost, hours and steps
Texas asks for 180 hours of courses, the most of any state priced here, and $301 in fees at the first attempt.
Real estate license fees in Texas
$301
paid to the state and its exam and fingerprint vendors
| Application and license | $206 |
| Exams | $58 |
| Fingerprints and background check | $37 |
| Training: 180 pre-licensing course hours | about 12 weeks |
| Renewals in 5 years, every 2 years | 2 × $110 = $220 |
Real estate sales agent license. Fees read on official pages, October 20, 2026.
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Sales agent original application (150 base + 6 Texas Online + 40 Texas A&M Research Center + 10 Real Estate Recovery) | $206 |
| Real estate sales examination (Pearson VUE), paid to exam provider | $58 |
| Fingerprinting (IDEMIA / IdentoGO) | $37 |
Compiled by Radif Partners · How the totals are built · Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) · read October 20, 2026
A Texas sales agent license costs $301 in fees paid to three payees: $206 to the Texas Real Estate Commission for the original application, $58 to Pearson VUE for the state exam and $37 to IDEMIA for fingerprints. That ranks Texas 15th cheapest of the 20 states priced here, against a median of $203. The commission's fee schedule took effect on September 1, 2026, and the exam costs $58 per attempt. Before applying you need 180 hours of qualifying courses, six courses of thirty hours each, which is more than any other state in our table and the main reason a Texas license takes months rather than weeks. The license runs two years and renews for $110 with 18 hours of continuing education.
What the $301 is made of
The largest line is the commission's original application, $206. It is not one fee but four collected together: the base application, a charge for the state's online services, a contribution to the Texas A&M Real Estate Research Center and a payment into the Real Estate Recovery Trust Account, which compensates consumers harmed by a licensee. You pay it once, when you file, and the application then stays open for one year.
The exam is booked separately with Pearson VUE, which prices each sitting at $58 in its Texas handbook. Fingerprints come third: $37 paid to IDEMIA, unless the commission already has your prints on file from an earlier application. Nothing else is required by the state for a first sales license, so a candidate who passes the exam on the first try pays exactly the total shown in the calculator.
Texas exam fees if you need more than one sitting
Real estate exam fees in Texas
$116
| First attempt | $58 |
| Each retake adds | $58 |
| All first-license fees | $359 |
The 180 hours, course by course
Texas is the heaviest state for pre-licensing education among those priced here. The six courses are Principles of Real Estate I and II, Law of Agency, Law of Contracts, Promulgated Contract Forms and Real Estate Finance, each of thirty hours, taken from a provider the commission has approved. At 15 hours a week, that is roughly 12 weeks of study before you can sit the exam. The bill does not stop at licensure: sales agents must complete further sales apprentice education before their first renewal, so the course budget of a Texas agent is larger than the pre-licensing price suggests.
Sponsorship and the first two years
A sales agent works under a sponsoring broker, and the commission issues an active license only with that sponsorship. The license runs two years. The renewal fee in the current schedule is $110, with 18 hours of continuing education each cycle. Over five years, the calculator counts 2 renewals, or $220 on top of the first license. Compare that with California, where a four-year license spreads a larger fee over a longer period, on the California page.
Every real estate fee in Texas, with its source
| Fee | Amount | In the total | Read on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sales agent original application (150 base + 6 Texas Online + 40 Texas A&M Research Center + 10 Real Estate Recovery) | $206 | counted | source |
| Real estate sales examination (Pearson VUE), paid to exam provider | $58 per attempt | counted | source |
| Fingerprinting (IDEMIA / IdentoGO) | $37 | counted | source |
| Renewal | Value |
|---|---|
| Cycle | every 2 years |
| Fee | $110 |
| Continuing education | 18 hours per cycle |
| Required training | 180 pre-licensing course hours. 6 courses x 30 hours: Principles of Real Estate I and II, Law of Agency, Law of Contracts, Promulgated Contract Forms, Real Estate Finance. Sales Apprentice Education (total 270 qualifying hours) needed before first renewal. |