What Is the Cost of a Real Estate License in Texas?
In previous blogs, we’ve outlined the six steps required to get your Texas real estate license. We also explored roughly how long the process should take (a year or less, usually). But that might leave you with one outstanding question, and it’s a fairly important one. What is the cost of a real estate license in Texas?
To help you get a good idea of how much you’ll pay to get your Texas real estate license — including completing pre-license courses and paying the relevant Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) fees — we built this guide. Here’s a quick rundown of the cost of a real estate license in Texas.
The cost of a Texas real estate license
Unfortunately, there isn’t just one cost to consider when getting your license. Instead, many of the steps of the process come with things you need to buy (like education courses) or certain fees. So let’s look at each step and how much it will cost you.
Pre-license courses
You need to complete 180 hours of TREC-approved pre-license education as part of the Texas real estate agent application process. And that means you need to plan for your real estate school cost.
Fortunately, you can take these education hours online to make them both more convenient and more affordable. In fact, you can find the Texas real estate pre-license education you need for just $149.
Testing, application, and processing fees
When you submit your sales agent application to the TREC, you’ll need to pay a $205 application fee.
Additionally, you’ll need to take — and pass — the Texas real estate exam, which comes with a testing fee of $54.
There’s one more part of getting your application processed. You’ll also need to get fingerprinted, which costs roughly $40.
Who pays for your real estate license? In most cases, all of these costs will come out of your own pocket. But you’re going to need to find a broker to sponsor you as part of the application process. In some cases, your brokerage may be willing to help with these expenses.
Total cost of your real estate license
Now, let’s look at all of those costs together:
- Fitness determination (optional, to determine if anything in your past could prevent you from getting approved by the TREC): $50
- Fingerprinting: $38.25
- Pre-license education: $149
- Texas initial sales agent application: $205
- Texas real estate exam cost: $43
- Grand total: $446.25 (or $496.25 with the fitness determination)
Other costs to becoming a real estate agent in Texas
While the above should cover the cost to get a real estate license in Texas, there are other real estate license fees you’ll need to pay on a recurring basis.
For example, every two years, you’ll need to renew your license. That process includes taking continuing education (this usually costs about $55) and paying the TREC’s $110 renewal fee.
Clearly, the cost of being a real estate agent can add up. But it all comes down to balancing how much to get your real estate license against what real estate jobs pay. A recent Forbes article pointed out that real estate agents in Texas rank high on the list of top earners in the industry. In fact, Texas holds the #2 spot for top real estate jobs by pay. They say you can expect to earn more than $70,000 a year once you’re an established agent. So, is getting a real estate license worth it in Texas? Since the cost of a real estate license in Texas is only about $400, most people say the answer is definitely yes. 
Is a Texas real estate license worth the cost?