Hawaii Real Estate License Requirements & Costs

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.

Hawaii Real Estate License Requirements

As an aspiring real estate agent wishing to work in Hawaii, here are the basic prerequisites you need to meet:

Hawaii Real Estate License Prerequisites

• You must be at least 18 years of age
• You must have a high school diploma or GED.
• You should be a lawfully admitted resident of the U.S.

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.

1. Complete the Required Hawaii Real Estate Pre-licensing Courses

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.

Top Hawaii Real Estate Pre-licensing Schools

• The CE Shop Hawaii Pre-Licensing Course
• Real Estate Express Hawaii Pre-Licensing

How Much Does Hawaii Real Estate Pre-Licensing Cost?

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.

The Hawaii Real Estate Pre-Licensing courses generally cover the following topics:

• Hawaii Property ownership
• Land use regulations
• Property valuations
• Financing
• Property disclosures
• Hawaii Real Estate Contracts
• Leasing management
• Transfer of title in Hawaii
• Types of Hawaii ownership
• Hawaii Property management
• Land utilization

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.

2. Take the State of Hawaii Real Estate Exam

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.

State of Hawaii Real Estate Exam Requirements

• 2 valid forms of identification (ID) and signatures; include a Primary ID that has a photograph and a signature. These can be either a U.S. driver’s license, learner’s permit, or a government-issued ID card like a passport card, military ID, green card, or permanent resident visa.
  
• A secondary ID that has a signature.
  
• Original school completion certificate
  
• U.S. Social Security card, ATM or credit card.

Hawaii Real Estate Exam Passing Score Requirements

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.

How to Schedule Your Hawaii State Real Estate Exam

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!

3. Pick a Hawaii Sponsoring Real Estate Brokerage to Work For

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:

4. Apply for Your Hawaii Real Estate License

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. 

Start Your Hawaii Real Estate Career!

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.

Hawaii Real Estate License Costs

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:

1. Coursework for Hawaii pre-licensing: $900+
   
   In Hawaii, the cost of pre-licensing schooling varies from year to year. The cost is normally roughly $1,026 during an odd-numbered year. However, in an even-numbered year, the cost can be as low as $963.
   
2. PSI tests are used to administer the real estate license exam in Hawaii. The cost to take the exam, regardless of license type, is $61.
   
3. In Hawaii, you will need to retake the exam if you do not pass the salesperson real estate license exam by 70% and more. Exam retakes are also $61
   
4. After passing the real estate license exam in Hawaii, you’ll be required to undergo a background check, which will cost you around $25.
   
5. Hawaii Real Estate License application fees range from $65 to $382.
   
   Payments for the broker license are fairly straightforward, with the fee typically being $65 regardless of when you submit your license application.
   
   The cost of a salesperson license, on the other hand, varies depending on the year. If you apply for a broker license in an even-numbered year, you must pay $282; in an odd-numbered year, you must pay $282.

Hawai Real Estate Broker Requirements

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:

1. Hawaii Salesperson License
   
   You will need to have an existing Hawaii real estate salesperson license or a current salesperson or broker license in another state. 
   
   
2. Real Estate Agent Experience
   
   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.
   
   
3. Education
   
   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. 
   
   
4. Hawaii Broker Examination
   
   Once you schedule and pass the exam for the broker’s license, you can apply directly at PSI.

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.

Hawaii Real Estate License Requirements – Final Thoughts

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.