Real estate license in Washington: cost, hours and steps
Washington licenses new agents as brokers and charges $443 for the exam and original license, one of the higher totals here.
Real estate license fees in Washington
$443
paid to the state and its exam and fingerprint vendors
| Application and license | $233 |
| Exams | $210 |
| Training: 90 pre-licensing course hours | about 6 weeks |
| Renewals in 5 years, every 2 years | 2 × $233 = $466 |
Not counted, amount set by a vendor and not published: fingerprinting fee charged by the fingerprint vendor. Real estate broker license (entry-level; Washington has no salesperson license). Fees read on official pages, October 20, 2026.
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Broker exam (PSI) | $210 |
| Original broker license | $233 |
Compiled by Radif Partners · How the totals are built · Washington State Department of Licensing, Real Estate · read October 20, 2026
Washington has no salesperson license; the entry-level credential is a real estate broker license issued by the Washington State Department of Licensing. Its fees total $443 for a first-time pass: $210 for the broker exam, given by PSI, and $233 for the original license, both from the Department's fee page. Only California and Connecticut cost more among the 20 states priced on this site, where the median is $203. Education before the exam is 90 hours: a sixty-hour Real Estate Fundamentals course and a thirty-hour Real Estate Practices course. Deadlines are tight: the exams within two years of the education, both exams within six months of each other, and the license application within one year of passing. Fingerprints are required after the exam, at a vendor fee not read here. The license renews every 2 years for $233, and the first renewal requires ninety hours of continuing education instead of the usual 30.
Why Washington costs $443
Washington has only two fees, but both are large. The broker exam costs $210 per attempt, more than the whole first-license bill in 12 of the 20 states priced here. The original broker license costs $233. The Department's fee table marks these amounts with an asterisk whose footnote was not read, and it shows a second, higher column for the original license; the figure used here is the first one. Check the current fee page before paying.
Each retake adds the full exam fee, so two sittings bring the fees to $653.
Ninety hours in two courses
The education requirement splits into Real Estate Fundamentals, sixty hours, and Real Estate Practices, thirty hours. At 15 hours a week, the 90 hours take about 6 weeks.
Three deadlines in sequence
Washington's rules run on a chain of windows. The exams must be taken within two years of finishing the education. The two exams must be passed within six months of each other, so a candidate who passes one and fails the other cannot wait indefinitely. Then the license application, with fingerprints, is due within one year of passing.
A heavy first renewal
The broker license renews every 2 years at $233, the same amount as the original license. The first renewal is the demanding one: ninety hours of continuing education, including thirty hours of Advanced Practices and thirty of Real Estate Law. Later cycles drop to 30 hours. Over ten years, the fees alone come to 5 renewals and $1,165.
Washington broker renewals over time
Real estate license in Washington, 10 years
$1,608
| First license | $443 |
| Renewals | 5 × $233 |
| Continuing education | 150 hours |
Brokers licensed elsewhere
The Department publishes a separate path for brokers already licensed in another state, on its reciprocity page. Its details were not read for this record, so they are not summarized here. On the cost side, only 2 priced states are more expensive than Washington: California and Connecticut. The California page shows how a 4-year license spreads a large fee differently.
Every real estate fee in Washington, with its source
| Fee | Amount | In the total | Read on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broker exam (PSI) | $210 per attempt | counted | source |
| Original broker license | $233 | counted | source |
| Fingerprinting fee charged by the fingerprint vendor | not read on an official page | set by the vendor |
| Renewal | Value |
|---|---|
| Cycle | every 2 years |
| Fee | $233 |
| Continuing education | 30 hours per cycle |
| Required training | 90 pre-licensing course hours. 60-hour Real Estate Fundamentals + 30-hour Real Estate Practices; first renewal requires 90 hours CE incl. 30 h Advanced Practices and 30 h Real Estate Law. |