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How do I get a real estate license in Hawaii?

If you have never held a real estate license, you finish a prelicensing course that the Commission approves, or an equivalent it accepts. Then you pass the salesperson exam. You must be an adult. You need a high school diploma or its equivalent. Brokers have other rules.

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The rule, fact by fact

Who needs it
Citizen, national or authorized alien. Age of majority. High school diploma or equivalentThe statute asks for U.S. citizenship, U.S. national status or the right to work in the United States. It also asks for a diploma or its equivalent.
Verified. Hawaii State Legislature · Hawaii Revised Statutes 467-9.5, prerequisites for examination (opens state website) · checked Nov 13, 2026
Rule
A commission-approved prelicensing course, or its equivalent as the commission decidesThe Commission accepts the course, or an equivalent it decides on.
Same source and date as above
Agency
The real estate commissionThe statute provides for appointing a commission and gives it this name.
Verified. Hawaii State Legislature · Hawaii Revised Statutes 467-3, real estate commission (opens state website) · checked Nov 13, 2026

How to get it done

  1. Step 1. Check the basic rules. To sit for the exam you must be a U.S. citizen, a U.S. national or an alien authorized to work in the United States. You must be of the age of majority and have a high school diploma or its equivalent.

  2. Step 2. Finish a prelicensing course. For the salesperson exam, it must be a Commission-approved prelicensing course that includes real estate principles, or an equivalent the Commission decides on. Ask the school whether its course counts before you pay.

  3. Step 3. Certify your prerequisites. You certify that you have met them, or will have before the exam date. A score from an exam taken without them is voided.

  4. Step 4. Pass the exam. No salesperson license is issued unless you pass, with a grade satisfactory to the Commission, an exam appropriate to the license.

  5. Step 5. Plan the broker path later. For the broker exam, you need to have worked full time as a Hawaii-licensed salesperson, associated with a Hawaii-licensed broker, for at least three years of the five-year period immediately before you submit the experience application.

Before you pay

This page rests on the Hawaii statute on exam prerequisites. We haven't confirmed a course price, a fee, how many hours the course lasts, or whether a course can be taken online.

Before you pay a school, ask how long your access lasts. Ask whether the course counts with the Commission, and check that on its own pages.

Questions

Can other experience count for the broker exam?

Maybe. Subject to Commission approval, a candidate may ask for a ruling that other work counts toward the experience requirement. It can rest on salesperson license work. It can also rest on a current, unencumbered broker license from another state. A jurisdiction recognized by the Association of Real Estate License Law Officials counts too. Either way the licensing law must be equivalent. A $25 fee applies to that request.

Do I need a license before the broker exam?

Yes. You hold a current, unencumbered Hawaii salesperson license. Or you hold a current, unencumbered salesperson or broker license from another state. Its licensing law must be equivalent.

When must the Commission approve my broker experience?

Before the exam. The candidate must secure Commission approval of the experience application before the exam date.

What to do next

Start with the Hawaii statute on exam prerequisites. Then look for the real estate Commission's own pages on courses and fees.

www.capitol.hawaii.gov

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