Towards the end of 2020, the median home price in California surpassed the $700,000 mark. California’s real estate market may be pricey, but it continues to attract buyers who desire to own property in the Golden State. That means there’s plenty of sales commission for real estate agents in California.
The state of California follows a stringent process in approving real estate agents. It is one of several states that require applicants to first take a real estate pre-licensing course before being eligible to sit the Real Estate Salesperson Exam. Here’s what you need to know about the California Real Estate Pre-licensing Course.
How to Become a Real Estate Agent in California
The California Department of Real Estate (DRE) is the state’s regulatory body for real estate agents. To become a real estate agent in California, you must fulfill the following requirements:
Be 18 years older.
Have a high school diploma or GED certificate.
Be a U.S. citizen or a lawfully admitted alien.
Submit to a background check. If you have a criminal record, disclose it. If your background check reveals you have lied or omitted information about your criminal history, your application may be denied.
Complete the California Real Estate Pre-licensing Course.
Pass the California Real Estate Salesperson Exam.
What Does the California Real Estate Pre-Licensing Course Cover?
Taking a DRE-approved pre-licensing course is the first step in becoming a California real estate agent. You can take the pre-license course with an educational institution such as the University of California (UC), California State University (CSU), an accredited community college, or an online real estate school like Aceable Agent. The course is 135 hours and consists of college-level information. In particular, our course is comprised of three 45-hour modules:
Real Estate Principles
Real Estate Practice
Legal Aspects of Real Estate
Real Estate Principles and Real Estate Practice are both required by the state. However, other schools may have one of the following as their third module:
Real Estate Appraisal
Property Management
Real Estate Finance
Real Estate Economics
Real Estate Office Administration
General Accounting
Business Law
Escrows
Mortgage Loan Brokering and Lending
Computer Applications in Real Estate
Common Interest Developments
How Long Does the California Real Estate Pre-Licensing Course Take?
While you can work at your own pace with an online course, DRE stipulates that the first 45-hour course should not be completed in under 2.5 weeks. The second should not be completed in under 5 weeks. All three courses should take 7.5 weeks to complete.
At the end of each course, you’ll complete a two-hour exam. Once again, a time frame exists. You are only allowed to take the first exam 18 days after signing up for the course.
Take the California Real Estate Pre-licensing Course with Aceable Agent
Aceable Agent is a DRE-approved online real estate school. When you take the California Real Estate Pre-licensing Course with us, you’ll get:
Easy-to-follow course content that’s accessible on and offline. Each course comes in PDF format that you can download on any device and access offline.
Student support. If you have any course-related questions, you can contact our course experts by email Monday through Friday. We also have a dedicated student concierge team that’s available seven days a week.
The best chance of passing your pre-licensing exam the first time! To pass the California Real Estate Salesperson Exam, you need to score at least 70%. We’re confident that you’ll achieve this after taking our pre-licensing course. If you don’t pass after three attempts, we’ll refund your course fees.
To take the first step to become a California real estate agent, sign up for our California Real Estate Pre-licensing Course today.