To start, you must successfully complete 75 clock hours of approved Pre-Licensing courses. In North Carolina, you can now complete your Pre-Licensing education online. You no longer have to go to a physical classroom.

After you complete all the course materials, you’ll need to pass the final exam issued by your Pre-Licensing real estate school. North Carolina requires this exam to be proctored, and you can find out more about the online proctoring process here.

Pre-Licensing students must submit an application to the Commission before attempting to schedule the license exam.

On The North Carolina Real Estate Commissions website, you can apply for your North Carolina Broker License. You’ll need to create a log-in profile with the commission to being the application process & submit your application.

At the same time, you’ll need to complete a criminal background check. You can submit your background check online via the North Carolina Real Estate Commission.

Once your license application & criminal record check is approved, you will receive a Notice of Exam Eligibility by email. Upon receiving this email, you will have 180 days to take the exam.

You’ll need to travel to a Pearson VUE testing facility to take this test. To find the location nearest you and schedule an exam, you can visit the Pearson VUE website. This exam takes 4.5 hours and consists of 140 questions with both state and national portions. You’ll need at least 75% score to pass. The 75% score is based on a weighted scale which considers question difficulty rather than a simple number of questions answered correctly.

If you didn’t pass your state licensing exam the first time, you are allowed to retake the exam.

Do you need help passing your North Carolina real estate exam? The CE Shop also offers comprehensive Exam Prep tailored to North Carolina. If you have any additional questions, visit our North Carolina real estate exam frequently asked questions page.

After passing your licensing exam, you must become associated with a current and active sponsoring broker. This broker will be a career and education mentor providing you with an inside view into the day-to-day operations of a real estate agent.

Here are some questions to consider when searching for the right broker:

• What is their reputation, both locally and nationally?

• What kind of real estate agents are they looking for?

• Are they technologically advanced and up-to-date with the latest systems?

• How do they support their agents with education and training?

• What kind of commission structure do they offer?

• Do they offer benefits?

• Do they provide their agents with leads and marketing material?

• Is there room to grow with the brokerage?