How Much Does It Cost to Get a Real Estate License in Wyoming?
Calculating the total price of getting a Wyoming real estate license means looking at the individual costs of many steps, but understanding the investment can help with your budget.
To make it easier to understand the financial commitment, we’ve compiled all your expenses for licensure into this article.
Keep reading to get a clear picture of how getting a Wyoming real estate license may impact your bottom line.
Obtaining Your License
Pre-Licensing Education: $600-$2,000
Whether you’re getting a salesperson or broker license in Wyoming, there are a series of classes you must complete as your pre-licensing education requirement.
For a salesperson license, this totals three classes — Salesperson I, Salesperson II, and Wyoming Law.
For a broker license, you have to take four classes — Broker I, Broker II, Wyoming Law, and Wyoming Broker Management.
Individually, course prices range between $200-$500 each, but you can often save with a package which typically starts at around $700 for all.
Purchasing the courses in a package may also entitle you to additional resources that can help you prepare for the exam.
Fingerprints for Background Check: $39+
Submitting two blue fingerprint cards directly to the Wyoming Real Estate Commission is a required part of the licensing process. This is part of the background check.
You can find complete instructions on the fingerprinting process here, but you’ll need to contact a local law enforcement agency to schedule an appointment.
They’ll then complete two blue fingerprint cards which must be sealed into a 9×9 manila envelope at the fingerprinting location. These must be signed and filled out completely.
Mail them, along with your $39 fee, to the Commission.
You may incur additional costs in order to get fingerprints.
We discuss this topic in detail in our article on background check for a Wyoming real estate license.
Exam Fee: $160 for Onsite; $180 for Online
After finishing your pre-licensing classes, and spending ample time studying, you’ll be ready to schedule your real estate license exam.
This is done through Pearson VUE. You can either call 866-600-5442 or create an online account.
The exam is $80 per portion if you take the test in person at a testing site. If you’re taking both the state and national portions, you’ll have to pay $160.
You also do have the option to take an online, remote version of the exam through OnVUE. The exam is still a proctored solution, but with a little more flexibility. You’ll pay $90 for taking one portion, and $180 for both.
The exam itself is broken into two parts—a national section and a state section.
You’ll have 2.5 hours to answer the 80 questions on the national exam regardless of license type.
You’ll have 1.5 hours to complete the state section, consisting of 40 questions for the salesperson exam and 50 for the broker exam.
To fully prepare for your testing day, make sure you review the required materials to bring with you to your testing site.
To pass, you’ll need a score of 75. Make sure not to schedule your exam before you’re ready to increase your chances of passing on your first attempt.
Read our tips on how to pass the real estate exam to fully prepare you for this important test.
Exam Retake: $160 for Onsite; $180 for Online
While there is no limit to how many attempts you have to pass the exam, you have six months to pass both sections before having to retake the entire exam.
This is beneficial if you pass one section, but fail the other.
Even though the testing fee is the same regardless, you may only have to retake one section in order to pass.
You can schedule retakes the same way you scheduled your initial exam, but must wait 24 hours before contacting Pearson VUE.
Errors and Omissions Insurance: $225
The state of Wyoming partners with Rice Insurance Services Center to provide group coverage for E&O insurance.
This is a required policy for real estate professionals. It protects you against claims of inadequate work or negligence.
Pricing for the first year is based on what month you get your license in, decreasing as the year goes on. This means you’ll pay less for a policy in November than March.
After that, for all subsequent years, you’ll pay $225 annually for the minimum amount of required coverage. You can add more coverage if you want but for an additional cost.
License Application: $300
Regardless of license type, you’ll need to file your license application within 90 days of passing the exam and pay a $300 fee.
To access the appropriate application, check out the Wyoming Real Estate Commission website.
You’ll also find a link to a credit card authorization form to submit with your application.
Once complete, you can either email the documents to [email protected] or mail them into the Commission.
As you wait to hear back, spend a little time preparing yourself for your career as a real estate professional. Check out this article on the next step after passing the real estate exam.
You will also need to be employed by a licensed real estate broker (responsible broker) to be issued an active license.
Our guide on how to choose the right brokerage to work for can help you understand how real estate companies work, the types of brokerages you can work for, and the commission structures.
Then, look for one from our vetted list of top real estate brokerages in Wyoming.
Maintaining Your License
Continuing Education: $200-$480
The continuing education (CE) requirement for real estate agents in Wyoming is broken down into two parts.
You must complete 21 elective hours and 24 required hours of classwork within each renewal period.
The Commission provides lists of both approved electives and approved required classes to use as a reference.
Classes vary by hours as well as by price, so your total out-of-pocket expense can change from renewal period to renewal period.
Plan on spending between $40-$80 per course if you break it down à la carte, though you may be able to save a little by packaging classes.
Tracking your CE credits is all done online through the Business Portal.
License Renewal: $350
Both a salesperson and a broker license run on a three-year renewal cycle. All licenses expire on December 31 in their renewal year.
You’ll have to pay a $350 fee each time you renew your license. There’s an additional $75 for late renewals, so make sure to renew your license on time.
Refer to our guide discussing Wyoming real estate license renewals to know the time it takes to complete the renewal process, as well as the other steps in obtaining your license in the state.
How to Reduce Real Estate License Education Costs
With a better understanding of all the costs associated with how to get a real estate license in Wyoming, it’s nice to know where you may have the ability to reduce expenses.
Most costs are fixed, it’s true, but when it comes to your required Wyoming real estate classes, there’s some space to cut back on this very big expense.
One strategy may be to shift from taking classes in person to doing so online. This could offer up financial savings and even allow you to complete the requirement faster.
You’ll have to weigh the pros and cons of online real estate classes vs classroom courses to truly decide which format is best for you.
Another strategy for reducing costs is to look at class packages. Not only can these offer extra resources and give a cheaper price-per-class rate, but they may guarantee a higher pass rate.
Taking all of this into consideration, along with your budget, will help you make the best decision on how to meet the educational requirements of your real estate license.
Keeping track of your budget is just one aspect that gets you to your Wyoming real estate license.
Once you’re there though, make sure you take advantage of our resources designed to help guide your career:
To help you build and grow your real estate career quickly, we at Real Estate Bees created a directory for real estate professionals.
It’s designed to help you get more exposure for your business, including receiving leads. Create a free profile by signing up here.
__
If you want to contribute your expert advice on a topic of your expertise, feel free to apply to our Expert Contributor Program.
__
About the Author
Kristina Morales is both a licensed mortgage loan originator and real estate agent in the State of Ohio. Inspired by her years of working with buyers and sellers and seeing a need for more consumer education, Kristina created loanfully.com, an online educational resource for borrowers and industry professionals. In addition to real estate sales and mortgage lending, Kristina had an extensive corporate career in banking, treasury, and corporate finance. She ended her corporate career as an Assistant Treasurer at a publicly traded oil & gas company in Houston, TX. Kristina obtained her MBA from the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University and her B.A in Business Management from Ursuline College.