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Real Estate Licensing and Education FAQS

New Licensees

Please review the General Information Sheet and the instructions and application for a real estate corporation/partnership/LLC/LLP license .

Please review review the real estate salesperson’s Flowchart and General Information Sheet for general steps on becoming a Hawaii licensed real estate salesperson on active status.

Qualified individuals may also apply for an equivalency to the prelicense education requirement and/or the equivalency to the Uniform Section of the Examination.

Broker candidates must have a current Hawaii real estate salesperson’s license and meet the experience requirements.  The Application for Broker Experience Certificate contains detailed information on the experience requirements. Please review the real estate broker’s Flowchart and General Information Sheet for general steps on becoming a Hawaii licensed real estate broker on active status. Qualified individuals may also apply for an equivalency to the prelicense education requirement and/or the equivalency to the Uniform Section of the Examination . Individuals with a current and unencumbered real estate broker’s or salesperson’s license in another state may become a Hawaii real estate broker with the approval of the proper applications (see the real estate broker Flowchart above for additional information).

Application processing time may vary.  Upon receipt of the Notice of Licensure email, which indicates an active status, you may begin to work.

Those with potentially disqualifying factors can apply to the Commission for a preliminary, non-binding decision and receive an indication of whether the Commission would approve an application before undertaking the expense of completing a prelicense course and taking the license examination. You may review and download the instructions and application to request for preliminary decision.

Also, please review the General Information Sheet for further requirements.

Please contact the State in which you are interested in obtaining a license.  See our links to other regulatory agencies.

We are not reciprocal with any other State, however, a salesperson may qualify for an equivalency to the prelicense education requirement and/or the equivalency to the Uniform Examination.

Please review the real estate salesperson’s Flowchart and General Information Sheet for general steps on becoming a Hawaii licensed real estate salesperson on active status.

Individuals with a current and unencumbered real estate salesperson’s license in another state may become a Hawaii real estate broker with the approval of the proper applications (see the real estate broker Flowchart for additional information).

We are not reciprocal with any other State, however, the submission and approval of the Application for the Broker’s Experience Certificate , application for prelicensing education equivalency , and the application for equivalency of the Uniform  Section will allow brokers in other states to sit for the Hawaii portion of the broker’s examination.  The individual must have a current and unencumbered broker’s license in another state.  The broker’s license also needs to be active to qualify for the prelicensing education equivalency.

Please review the real estate broker Flowchart for general steps on becoming a licensed Hawaii real estate broker on active status.

No.  Please review the General Information sheet for minimum requirements.

You must wait 24 hours before rescheduling an examination.

You may review and download the instruction and application for the prelicensing education equivalency .

Salesperson candidates must meet the education requirement prior to the examination.  Broker candidates must meet the education and experience requirements prior to the examination.

For more information or to schedule an exam, contact PSI Services, LLC at 855-579-4640 or visit www.psiexams.com/hire.  Walk-in testing is not available.

Upon passing the examination, the test center personnel will give you the instructions and application form, along with the score report and any other documentation as required per the instructions.

You may file your complete application, with proper fees, and the required documents by mail to:

Real Estate Commission
DCCA/PVL
Licensing Branch
P. O. Box 3469
Honolulu, HI  96801

Or hand deliver to:

Licensing Branch
335 Merchant Street, Room 301
Honolulu, HI  96813

Active Licensees

Please see the Real Estate Commission’s memorandum outlining the procedures for handling difficulties in obtaining an experience statement from your broker

An individual with an inactive license may not conduct real estate activity.

Please review the General Information Sheet.

Please read the information on the continuing education requirements .

Please visit the Online Real Estate Continuing Education system

Please see the Real Estate Commission’s memorandum outlining the procedures for handling difficulties with a releasing broker.

Please contact the State in which you are interested in obtaining a license.  See our links to other regulatory agencies.

Verification of licenses can be done on-line at no cost using our license search site at https://pvl.ehawaii.gov/pvlsearch. You or the requesting agency will be able to obtain information such as original license date, license expiration date, license status, disciplinary action, etc. The information downloaded from this site is official license information which state boards or other individuals can download for themselves.

If the above is not acceptable, please submit a written request that includes the complete address of the location that the verification is to be mailed to along with a $15 fee ($30 if requesting both Sales and Brokers license history).

Check payable to:
Commerce and Consumer Affairs

Mailing address:
Licensing Branch – License Verification
P. O. Box 3469
Honolulu, Hawaii 96801

Office location:
335 Merchant Street, Room 301
Honolulu, Hawaii 96813

Be very specific and complete in your request. Please allow twenty (20) business days from receipt of your request for PVL standard verification reports to be mailed out. Should you have any questions regarding your license history, you may contact the Professional and Vocational Licensing Division’s Licensing Branch at (808) 586-3000, Monday through Friday, 7:45 am to 4:30 pm, Hawaiian Standard Time.

Inactive Licensees

All changes must be reported by using the Change Form – Real Estate.  Your real estate license must be current and you must have met the continuing education requirements.

You may remain on inactive status indefinitely, however, you must renew your license prior to the end of the licensing biennium in order to maintain a current status.

To request your license history, please submit a written request and $15 fee per license ($30 if requesting both Sales and Brokers license history.

Check Payable to :  Commerce and Consumer Affairs

By Mail :  Licensing Branch – License Verification
Professional and Vocational Licensing Division
Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs
P.O. Box 3469
Honolulu, HI 96801

Office Location :  335 Merchant Street, Suite 301
Honolulu, HI 96813

Be very specific and complete in your request.