How to Get a Missouri Real Estate License

The exact time you need to become a real estate agent in Missouri depends on how fast you finish the education and prep course as these are the most time-consuming parts. The educational courses can be finished in around two months, more or less, depending on your dedication and how soon you want to get licensed.

Scheduling the exam works on a first-come, first-serve basis, but you will be scheduled for an examination within five business days from the date you call or schedule online. 

The Missouri Real Estate Licensing Examinations are administered via computer at four PSI test centers: St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield and Jefferson City five days per week and one Saturday each month at each location.

You will also be required to provide a fingerprint scan for background checks, which usually take around 10 to 14 days.

The whole process of becoming a real estate agent in Missouri can be finished in a couple of months, depending on how fast you manage to complete the course and pass the exam.

Real estate agents in Missouri earn an above-average annual wage compared to the other states. The average mean wage in the US is $60,087, while agents in Missouri earn $65,040 per year. A top agent in Missouri can earn almost $99,480 or more per year. 

The area where real estate agents earn the highest wage in Missouri is the Central Missouri nonmetropolitan area. The average annual salary of real estate agents here is $64,260. However, the top 10% of paying agents are found in the Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers metro area and earn $138,010 or more per year.

If you work in Missouri, you will likely become very familiar with MREC, and will have to deal with the commission well after getting your real estate license.

They are the state’s one stop shop for all things licensing. The commission is also in charge of helping you to maintain your license with setting requirements for continuing education.

They also handle all disciplinary actions regarding licensed agents, and have the right to revoke a license at any time.

If an individual holds a current and active salesperson license in another state/jurisdiction at the time they apply for a Missouri salesperson license, they must do the following: 

• Pass the state portion of the Missouri salesperson exam 
• Take the 24-hour Missouri Real Estate Practice (MREP) Course. The MREP course can be taken before or after the exam date but must be taken before applying for licensure.
• Be fingerprinted for a Missouri and federal criminal history background check. 

The 48-hour Missouri salesperson pre-examination course is not required. Application for licensure must be submitted to the MREC within six months of passing the STATE portion of the Missouri salesperson exam.

A license (history) certification issued within three months from the real estate commission of the state/jurisdiction from where applying must be provided with the application for licensure. A copy of the license is not acceptable. Certifications that are more than three months old, or do not reflect that the individual holds a current and active license, will cause the application to be deemed incomplete.

The initial, most basic costs to obtain a license in Missouri are the following:

• The initial application fee is $50
• An original issuance of a license costs $40
• The fingerprinting scan fee is $41.75 
• PSI’s licensing examination fee is $62

Besides these fees, you would also need to account for the pre-licensing course from an accredited Missouri real estate school, which can cost around $200 to $800, depending on the course provider you choose. You can compare schools at the top of this web page.

There are no educational requirements to be eligible for a real estate salesperson license in Missouri. Moreover, licensed attorneys may be exempt from the educational requirements and only be required to pass the full Missouri licensing exam. 

You may register for an examination by one of the following methods:

• Online: You may schedule an examination appointment online at any time by using PSI’s Online Scheduling service.
• Telephone: Call PSI at 888-818-5829 to schedule an examination appointment from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Friday, and 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday. 

When you schedule an appointment, you will be asked to provide the following information:

• Social Security Number
• Full Given Name
• Mailing Address
• Physical Address, if different than mailing address
• Home Telephone Number/Business Telephone Number
• Date of Birth
• Gender
• School Name
• The examination you want to attempt 

To pass the exam, you need to answer 100 questions correctly, 70 from the national portion, and 30 from the state portion.  

If you fail only one portion of the exam, you can retake only that portion by paying the full exam fee. There are no limits to how many times you can take the licensing exam. You can retake it as many times as you need until you pass both portions. 

The Missouri Real Estate Salesperson Examination consists of a national and a state portion that should be answered within 4 hours. Unlike most other states, the questions on the two portions will be intermixed and will not appear as separate sections. 

The National Salesperson Examination is based upon 11 major content areas: 

• Property Ownership 
• Land Use Controls and Regulations 
• Valuation and Market Analysis 
• Financing 
• General Principles of Agency 
• Property Disclosures 
• Contracts 
• Leasing and Property Management 
• Transfer of Title 
• The practice of Real Estate
• Real Estate Calculations 

The Salesperson State Portion Examination is based on six content areas:

• General Rules
• Licenses
• Educational Requirements
• Business Conduct and Practices
• Disciplinary Proceedings
• Brokerage Relationships

Multiple-Choice Examination

The minimum score required to pass the multiple-choice portions is determined by using a process known as the Angoff method. In it, subject-matter experts estimate the difficulty of each item on the examination for the “minimally competent practitioner” (MCP). These judgments are averaged to determine the minimum passing score, representing the amount of knowledge an MCP would likely demonstrate on the examination.

Simulation Examination

The passing score for the simulation examination is determined using a method similar to that described for multiple-choice portions. Each section in a simulation was evaluated by content experts when the problem was developed. A minimum passing level (MPL) was established for the section using the scoring weights assigned to the options in that section. It also represents the level of performance expected of a “minimally competent practitioner.” The overall examination has an Information Gathering (IG) MPL and a Decision Making (DM) MPL, representing the sums of the MPLs of all IG and DM sections on the examination.

Equating

A statistical process called equating is used to ensure consistency in the meaning of the score required to pass an examination. If the raw passing score varies slightly between different versions (or “forms”), the level of knowledge required to achieve the passing score remains the same, assuring that all candidates are treated fairly.

There are no official pass rates issued by the Missouri Real Estate Commission, but unofficial websites inform about pass rates moving in the 50-60% range.

The National Salesperson Examination is composed of 100 questions that test your knowledge of real estate rules, regulations, and principles that apply across all of the US. The state portion of the exam has 40 questions that test knowledge areas that a Missouri real estate professional should know before being eligible to practice real estate. 

To be allowed to enter the licensing examination, you must present two forms of identification. 

• The primary form must be government-issued and include your name, signature, and photograph. You will also be required to sign a roster for verification of identity. Examples of valid primary forms of identification are driver’s license with photograph; state identification card with photo; passport; military identification card with photograph.
• The secondary form of identification must display your name and signature for signature verification (e.g., a credit card with signature, social security card with signature, employment/student ID card with signature).

The name on your registration form and your IDs must be the same. If you’ve changed your name in the meantime, you must bring proof of your name change (e.g., marriage license, divorce decree, or court order).

Certain convictions result in an automatic denial of a real estate license, specifically the following:  

(1) Specific dangerous felonies or murder in the first degree;

(2) A list of sexual offenses 

(3) Offenses against the family and related offenses 

(4) Offenses involving child pornography and related offenses 

(5) Specific mortgage fraud 

You can find a list of the specific felonies and offenses that result in automatic denial of a licensing in the Information about Criminal Convictions bulletin.

Additionally, the Commission may refuse to issue a license to any person known to have been found guilty of forgery, embezzlement, obtaining money under false pretenses, extortion, criminal conspiracy to defraud, or other offense. 

If the applicant has been convicted of an offense other than those that result in an automatic denial of a license, the MREC will conduct a background investigation and gather information about the applicant, such as education, work experience, and residence history. 

A statement will also be obtained regarding the circumstances that led up to the charges being filed, the court proceeding, and what the individual has done since being convicted of or pleading guilty to the charge. Certified copies of records will be obtained from the court. The applicant’s sponsoring broker will be contacted to ensure they are aware of the offense(s) and are willing to continue sponsorship. The applicant’s probation officer will also be contacted if they are currently under supervision or have been recently released.

The Commission makes its decision of criminal conviction investigations on a case-by-case basis by using all information obtained during the investigation to determine the issuance or denial of the license.