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How do I get a real estate license in Rhode Island?

Rhode Island's regulations ask an applicant for a real estate salesperson's license to show 45 classroom hours, finished within two years before applying. Remote instruction must be live and interactive. A licensed salesperson must also be affiliated with a licensed principal broker to do any real estate work that needs a license.

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The rule, fact by fact

Course hours
45 classroom hours, completed within two years before the applicationThe 45 hours come from R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-20.5-4(b).
Verified. rules.sos.ri.gov (opens state website) · checked Nov 13, 2026
Online accepted
Remote instruction must be live and interactive; on-demand and pre-recorded is prohibitedVideos can still be part of a course if most of it is real-time work with the instructor.
Same source and date as above
Cost
$25.00 before issuance, deposited into the Real Estate Recovery Fund AccountThe rule sets this fee for an original license.
Same source and date as above
Valid for
Licenses issued after January 1, 2020 renew every two years on the issue anniversaryRenewing on time is your job, even if no notice from the Department arrives.
Same source and date as above

How to get it done

  1. Step 1. Check the course rule. An applicant for a salesperson's license, including a former licensee whose license has expired for more than one year, must show evidence of at least 45 classroom hours. Classroom hours finished more than two years before the application will not count.

  2. Step 2. Take the courses in a classroom. All pre-licensing courses must be taken in a classroom as the regulations define it. A live-virtual school must keep remote instruction live and interactive, and on-demand or pre-recorded instruction is prohibited. Students may still watch videos as part of a course if most of it is real-time work between instructor and students. The school must also require students to be on video and visible to the instructor and other students at all times.

  3. Step 3. Line up a principal broker. A licensed salesperson must be affiliated with a licensed principal broker to engage in any real estate activity that needs a license. A licensed salesperson may not operate, supervise or manage a real estate brokerage.

  4. Step 4. Know the exam format. Exams may be written or oral. You can ask the Department for an oral exam or more time, and it grants such requests at its discretion.

  5. Step 5. Pay before the license is issued. Before the Department issues an original license, you pay a fee of $25.00. It goes into the Real Estate Recovery Fund Account.

  6. Step 6. Mark your renewal. A license issued after January 1, 2020 is renewed every two years, on the anniversary of the date it was issued.

Before you pay

We haven't confirmed the exam fee, any course price or which schools offer the 45 hours from a source.

Before you pay a school, ask whether its course meets the classroom rules above, and whether its remote classes are live and interactive.

The regulations may change. Check them yourself on the day you apply.

Questions

My license expired. Do I start over?

It depends on how long ago it expired. If a license has expired for more than one year, the former licensee must complete a new application and retake the exam.

What if I fail one section of the exam?

You may retake that section within one year. If the one-year limit runs out, you must retake the entire exam. The limit covers any section of the broker or salesperson exam.

Do the 45 hours count toward a broker license later?

No. The regulations say the 45 classroom hours used to qualify for a salesperson's license can never be used to qualify for the 90 hours required for a broker's license.

How do I pay a fee set by statute?

By check or money order made payable to the Rhode Island General Treasurer.

What to do next

Start with Rhode Island's regulations for real estate brokers and salespersons. Then read the parts on education and licensing.

rules.sos.ri.gov

Sources we read