Renowned for its amazing features and scenery, Hawaii represents every real estate agent’s potential ‘playground.’ However, there is a host of real estate license requirements that you as an aspiring real estate agent or broker need to meet.
The process of being a real estate agent in Hawaii is pretty straightforward. You can follow the steps rather easily if you stick to the outline we highlight below.
The first step is to complete a mandatory 60 hours of pre-licensing education from a Hawaii Real Estate Commission (HREC) accredited and recognized school.
After obtaining the pre-licensing education, you are required to pass the Hawaii real estate licensing exam, then find a sponsoring brokerage, and finally, submit your application.
Follow our comprehensive step-by-step guide below to get your real estate license in Hawaii. It won’t be long before you launch your real estate career and say “Aloha!” to all the success that awaits you in this industry.
As an aspiring real estate agent wishing to work in Hawaii, here are the basic prerequisites you need to meet:
Before you enroll in the prelicensing courses, you must complete the Request for Preliminary Decision Application. Then, you will be later required to provide and submit additional information highlighting any criminal offense(s) that are associated with your name.
The HREC body will establish if you qualify for licensing.
Hawaii lacks reciprocity agreements with any other state. This means that you will be required to qualify either for the Pre-license Education Requirement or the Uniform Examination. This is mandatory for all even if you have a real estate license in another state for more than a year.
Also, Hawaii is a physical state in terms of portability. Agents and brokers from other states can transact business in Hawaii but are restricted from entering Hawaii to conduct real estate business. They can only do their business remotely and are not allowed to enter the state for any form of real estate showings and property closings.
When you meet the legal requirements to become a real estate agent in Hawaii, the next step is to enroll in the real estate prelicensing courses.
The classes here will help you to prepare for the licensing exam in Hawaii and the overall success in your chosen career. You need to complete 60 hours of this course either physically or online at an accredited online real estate school.
The fees for prelicensing courses for all aspiring Hawaii real estate agents usually range from $300 to $849. Here is a snapshot of the Hawaii Pre-Licensing cost from The CE Shop. You will notice that the cost is highly dependent on the course package you choose.
For aspiring real estate agents with a law degree, a business, or a real estate bachelor’s degree from an accredited and recognized U.S. school, you can forego the prelicensing education requirements. You can go straight ahead and handle the application. You can do the real estate exam and then proceed further with the process of obtaining your Hawaii real estate.
The Hawaii real estate exam comes in two multiple-choice sections.
These sections comprise the national and state sections. You are required to pass both sections for you to obtain your real estate license in Hawaii.
The average pass rate for the national section of the exam is set at 56% while that for the state section for the exam is set at 46%.
You can take the real estate exam through the computer. Thereafter, whatever score you will get will be displayed immediately after you finish.
If you fail in any section, an analysis report that highlights your strengths and weaknesses will be emailed to you for future reference. If you happen to pass in one section of the exam but fail the other, you’ll only be required to retake the part you have failed in.
However, it is important to note that you are required to pass both sections of the exam within two years of your first examination date. To retake one or both sections of the exam, you can reschedule 24 hours after your first attempt.
70% to pass the Hawaii Real Estate Salesperson Exam, with at least 56/80 on the general/uniform portion and 35/50 on the state portion.
We recommend that before you take the Hawaii real estate state exam, you take an exam prep course such as PrepAgent or Real Estate Exam Scholar.
The Hawaii real estate salesperson exam is provided by PSI. This is the national provider for state licensing exams.
To schedule your exam, you’ll be required to create an account on the PSI website to gain access to the scheduling portal. After successfully accessing the portal, you will get a copy of the Hawaii Candidate Information Bulletin that comes with extra, testing information.
The fee required to take the Hawaii real estate exam through PSI is $61.
You can pay this directly on the PSI website using your credit or debit card. You ought to remember that the test results will only be valid for two years from the passing examination date. You should therefore apply for your Hawaii real estate license as soon as you can after passing.
The Hawaii real estate exam is a bit difficult and all candidates are advised to embark on rigorous preparation.
Fortunately, there is the PrepAgent Hawaii real estate exam prep platform that provides you with the best study tools like videos, live webinars, flashcards, etc. that can assist you to enhance your study experience.
With all this rich variety of study materials at your disposal, there is no reason why you should not pass the Hawaii real estate exam and get your successful real estate career off to a fast start!
To activate your real estate license in Hawaii, it is important to find a sponsoring brokerage under which you will be working.
If you do not know where to get started with this, the information we have outlined below will help you to decide on how to choose a sponsoring brokerage to work for.
The details highlighted include the different types of brokerages you can target and the approximate volume of revenues they generate.
There are many successful brokerages in the Aloha State. Listed below are the top five brokerages in 2022 as recommended by Real Trends:
After you pass this exam, you will get the Hawaii real estate license application and instructions detailing how you can submit it.
You must also submit your official school transcripts online by creating a Hawaii account. Thereafter, the rest of your application and your associated fees can be submitted in person or you can mail the HREC body.
Your application will take roughly three to five business days to be processed. When it is successfully approved, you’ll immediately get your Hawaii real estate license.
Now that you’ve known how to become a real estate agent in Hawaii, you’re ready to kick start your professional real estate journey.
Simply ensure you have all the above requirements we have highlighted in our post and have the necessary drive and passion to start and finish the process of getting the license.
If you want to get a real estate license in Hawaii, you should have a good idea of how much money you’ll need. The following are some of the costs involved:
Payments for the broker license are fairly straightforward, with the fee typically being $65 regardless of when you submit your license application.
After a period of practicing your trade as a licensed real estate sales agent, you qualify to ‘graduate’ to the position of a real estate broker. Some of the requirements include:
You will need to have an existing Hawaii real estate salesperson license or a current salesperson or broker license in another state.
Before taking the licensing exam, you must possess at least three (3) years of full-time experience as a Hawaii real estate agent. Here, you’ll be required to apply for an experience certificate.
If you hold a license from another state, you have to request a determination of equivalency of experience. Last but not least, it is mandatory to provide the original experience certificate together with your application at the examination site you plan to take your examination.
The experience certificate is normally valid for 2 years from the date of issuance.
All applicants for a broker license will also be required to take a pre-licensing course. Here, the course completion certificate is valid for 2 years.
Luckily, equivalency education also counts when you are considering the factors that will help you meet the pre-license course requirement.
Does Hawaii have a current Reciprocity Agreement for Broker License with the Other States?
Unfortunately, Hawaii does not have a current reciprocity agreement with any other state. However, if those with a current real estate license from another state want to apply for a real estate license, they will be only examined on the Hawaii section of the exam.
If you have always dreamt of launching a real estate career, Hawaii is one place you should consider.
Best known for its amazing scenery and lovely features. Becoming a real estate agent in Hawaii, therefore, is one career that can be very lucrative.
However, the industry has its set of requirements that you are required to meet for you to qualify to launch your real estate career.
There are courses for you to complete and exams you need to pass. Therefore, before embarking on this promising yet challenging career, you need to go through our step-by-step instructions in the guide we have outlined above.
This will help you to improve your chances of conquering the real estate field in Hawaii. Good luck!
Looking for more information for another U.S. state? View the real estate license requirements for each state on our website! Here are also some online real estate schools you can consider.
About The Author: This article was researched and published by Tim Schroeder. As a husband and wife real estate team residing in Florida, Tim Schroeder brings deep expertise with over 8 years of experience as a licensed real estate agent.
Deb and Tim Schroeder have earned numerous real estate industry awards and recognitions. They have been recognized by Orlando Magazine as a “Top 100 Real Estate Professional” as well as earned Top Producer Designations with the Orlando Realtor Association for 6 years straight.
