How to Get a Real Estate License in Mississippi 2024: All Requirements for Taking the Exam

If you have been looking for information on how to get a real estate license (sales or broker) in Mississippi, then you have come to the right place!

From this article, you will learn all requirements for getting a real estate license in Mississippi. We will go over the education classes you must complete, background check, costs involved, and other important details.

Let’s start with the requirements for becoming a real estate salesperson.

The first and most important step in getting a Mississippi real estate salesperson license is to take the required pre-license education.

A salesperson license requires sixty (60) hours of education.

One way to get those hours is to take a pre-license course from one of the approved providers on the Mississippi Real Estate Commission’s website (www.mrec.ms.gov).

The list is on the homepage of the site and titled “MREC Education Provider List.” There is a pre-license list and a post-license list, so be SURE you are choosing a school from the PRE-license list.

A second way to qualify for a license with the 60 hours of education is to have two (2) college real estate courses that are SPECIFIC to real estate.

The courses must be:

• taken from an accredited institution of higher learning
• at least 3 hours of credit or higher per course
• part of a degree-granting program (meaning they could be used as credit towards a college degree).

There is one more way to qualify for a sales license, though it is rarely used.

A person who has one 3-hour credit college course that is real estate specific but no other college real estate education CAN take a thirty (30) hour salesperson pre-license education course from a real estate school.

The applicant may use those two classes to meet the 60-hour minimum hours required to qualify.

As of the writing of this article, the only real estate school approved by MREC who offers a 30-hour-only pre-license salesperson course is ProEducate.

To decide between the real estate school path and the college path, consider education cost and the time required to get to the necessary 60 hours.

Once you have obtained the necessary education, it is time to apply for a license.

If you live in the state of Mississippi, you complete the Resident Salesperson application. If you do not live in Mississippi, complete the Non-Resident Salesperson application.

You are also required to be sponsored by a licensed real estate brokerage in the state. To know what to look for, read our article on how to choose the right real estate brokerage to work for.

Most people who become real estate brokers in Mississippi started as a real estate salesperson. When using this method, a salesperson must:

• Take a sixty (60) hour BROKER pre-license course from one of the approved providers on MREC’s website.
• Have a minimum of twelve (12) months of active experience. The experience does NOT need to be consecutive months. It is twelve months cumulative active experience.

However, ANY person who meets all of the requirements listed below can qualify for the broker license:

• twelve (12) months of active license experience
• sixty (60) hours of sales pre-license education
• sixty (60) hours of broker pre-license education.

What does that mean? It means an active salesperson can take the broker pre-license education and qualify for the broker license.

This is allowed even if their sales license was inactive in recent months. As long as that licensee has a TOTAL of twelve months’ worth of active sales license time, they can qualify.

It also means a person who was once licensed as a broker and had their license closed can immediately qualify for broker again.

They can directly qualify for the broker license as long as:

• the applicant had at least twelve months of active license experience, either as a salesperson or a broker.
• the sixty hours of salesperson and sixty hours of broker pre-license education are completed.

The only other way to get a broker license is to have at least ten (10) college credit hours in real estate specific courses that were at least 3 hours of credit PER CLASS or higher.

MREC does not have a list of college courses, but can review your transcript to tell you if you have any classes that can be counted towards a real estate license.

The MAIN thing to remember when considering college courses for credit is that the course MUST be specific to real estate.

General business courses do NOT count. Most attorneys have enough education from law school to qualify for broker.

Just as a person would consider time and cost in deciding which path to take to getting a sales license, the same is true for deciding on a path for the broker license.

College courses can be expensive and take months to complete.

If your goal is to be a broker, especially if you want to be your own broker, without putting in a year of time as a salesperson, then the college path is the only choice to go straight to broker.

If you don’t mind being a salesperson for at least a year, or currently have a sales license and want to obtain the higher license, then the 60-hour pre-license broker course is the better path.

Pre-Licensing Classroom Courses

Classroom real estate courses in Mississippi have a set schedule and at least one person teaching the material on site.

This type of course is best for someone who needs structure to complete their education or learns better in person rather than online.

It is also good for people who need to complete a pre-license course within a certain time period.

Real estate schools will give their students an exam at the end of the course to assess learning.

Once the exam is passed, the school gives the student a course certificate. A copy of this certificate must be sent to MREC with the license application.

Pre-Licensing Online Courses

Online courses are usually text slides you read through.

Some courses may have a virtual instructor for all or part of the course, or a video to watch in the course, but anything else is written.

Some schools give access for an unlimited amount of time after the course is paid for.

Others require you complete the sixty hours within a certain time frame (for example, three months).

You are able to do an online course at your pace on your time schedule. They provide great flexibility for anyone who is not able to set aside time to sit in a classroom.

However, they do require self-motivation, persistence, and attention to be completed timely.

Most online education providers give small chapter quizzes through the course. All of them give an exam at the end of the course to assess learning.

Once the exam is passed, the school gives the student a course certificate. A copy of this certificate must be sent to MREC with the license application.

What Is Real Estate Reciprocity?

Reciprocity is an agreement between the MREC and a real estate regulatory authority in another state (usually also a Commission) to recognize license requirements (including testing) between the two states.

Full reciprocity means that a licensee from another state wanting to obtain an equivalent license in Mississippi would not be required to take any education or exam for Mississippi.

Reciprocal requirements change often and usually with very little notice.

The number of states having full reciprocity with each other has declined since the Great Recession. That is certainly true for Mississippi.

If the agreement is a partial one, then a reciprocal licensee will likely need to take the Mississippi portion of the licensing exam and possibly some education before the license can be issued.

Anyone wishing to know about reciprocal requirements for their state should contact the MREC at [email protected].

US States Having a Reciprocal Agreement with Mississippi

At the time of this writing, the only states with full reciprocity with Mississippi are:

• Connecticut
• Georgia
• Iowa
• Louisiana
• Massachusetts
• Utah
• New York (for broker licensees ONLY)

There are several states that have a partial reciprocity agreement with Mississippi. The licensing requirements for these states vary widely.

You must contact MREC for specific instructions on how to reciprocate a license from these states. States having a partial agreement with MREC are:

• Alabama
• Alaska
• Arizona
• Arkansas
• Colorado
• Delaware
• Florida
• Hawaii
• Idaho
• Indiana
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Maine
• Minnesota
• Missouri
• New Mexico
• North Carolina
• Nebraska
• Ohio
• South Dakota
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Virginia
• Washington
• West Virginia
• Wyoming
• The District of Columbia

Any states not listed do not have a reciprocity agreement with Mississippi.

Reciprocity for Puerto Rico and any other United States territories should contact MREC for specific information.

Anyone wanting to become licensed in Mississippi from a state that does not have reciprocity will need to take the Mississippi pre-license education, just like those not having a real estate license at all.

The only difference is someone living in another state would use the non-resident application. Anyone living in Mississippi uses the resident application.

MREC currently contracts with PSI Services, LLC to administer all real estate licensing exams.

Once your application has been approved by MREC, you will be sent a test approval letter explaining how to contact PSI to schedule your exam and the deadline to complete all testing.

PSI has testing facilities around the country. The applicant pays testing fees to PSI directly and chooses the testing site.

The current main testing locations for a Mississippi license are Jackson, MS; Memphis, TN; Mobile, AL; and Metairie and Baton Rouge, LA.

Be fully prepared before you schedule your exam.

These tips on how to pass the real estate exam the first time will help you know the steps to take to ensure that you pass the test on your first attempt.

There is no need to notify MREC that you have passed your exam. MREC receives exam results regularly directly from PSI.

If you listed a responsible broker on your salesperson application, your license will be mailed to the broker once background check clearance is confirmed.

If you did not list a broker on your salesperson application, you will be sent a form for a broker to complete with a letter explaining the process.

Broker applicants will all be sent a letter and form to complete after passage of the licensing exam.

Any current salesperson upgrading to broker will be required to return their sales license with the form to finish the process.

If you pass the full licensing exam and have not received either paperwork or a license from MREC within two weeks of passing the full exam, contact MREC.

The first step to receiving a real estate license in Mississippi is to submit the proper application. Your application will be reviewed and either approved or not approved.

If it is approved, you will be sent a test approval letter. If it is not approved, you will be sent paperwork to complete and return to MREC.

Once that has been reviewed and your application is complete, you’ll be sent a test approval letter.

You have 60 days to pass the real estate exam.

Once you pass the exam and you have passed the background check, your license will be sent to your broker or to you if you are your own broker.

With your real estate license, you are now ready for joining a real estate team.

Being part of one can help jumpstart your career as one of the top real estate agents in the state of Mississippi.

Courses in the classroom have a definite schedule. You will know exactly when you will finish the 60 hour pre-license course.

The classes range from two weeks in length to a month depending on the days and times class is held.

Once you receive your education completion certificate and complete an MREC application, send it to MREC for review.

Approved applicants have up to 60 days to take the exam. The license is sent to the broker when the exam is passed and the background check is passed.

Read our article on how long to get a Mississippi real estate license to get an idea of the time commitment involved in completing the licensing process.

Courses taken online vary widely on time length. Most providers allow you to take the class at your pace.

That means you can go through it quickly or you can draw it out over weeks.

Some providers may give you access for a certain period of time (example: 90 days) to complete your course.

Regardless, it will be up to you to dedicate time to the course to finish it.

Once you receive your education completion certificate and complete an MREC application, send it to MREC for review.

Approved applicants have up to 60 days to take the exam. The license is sent to the broker when the exam is passed.

If you are in doubt whether online courses would work better for you than the in-class option, watch our video guide on this topic.

It compares the pros and cons of online real estate classes vs classroom courses.

Yes. When your application is received by MREC, you will be sent a fingerprint kit.

This kit includes a fingerprint card (with MREC’s authorization code), an authorization to release, instructions on how to complete the documents, and an envelope to return it to MREC.

There is a $50.00 fee to process your background check.

A salesperson application fee (resident or non-resident) is $120.00. A broker application fee (resident or non-resident) is $150.00.

The testing center charges $75.00 per exam. The application fee is the only fee paid to MREC. Testing fees are paid directly to the testing center.

For a complete breakdown of licensing expenses, refer to our article – How Much Does It Cost to Get a Real Estate License in Mississippi?

There is no waiting period or maximum number of attempts allowed for retaking an exam within the 60 day approval window.

But if you do not pass the exam in the 60 day approval window, you must wait to reapply.

A salesperson applicant must wait at least 3 months from the date they failed the state portion of the exam the second time.

A broker applicant must wait at least 6 months from the date they failed the state portion of the exam for the second time.

It is important to note that you must pass both the state and national portion of the exam in the SAME 60 day approval window to become licensed.

If you pass one part of the exam, but not the other and your time to test expires, the passed portion of the exam does NOT carry over to a future application.

During one 60-day approval period, you have two chances to pass the state portion of the exam and unlimited chances at the national portion.

If you pass the state portion of the exam and fail the national portion of the exam, you can keep taking the national portion as many times as you need.

If you fail the state portion twice, you CAN keep taking the national portion for practice if you want.

However, remember it will not carry over to a new application. So, be sure you want to spend the money (the testing fee) before you decide to keep going for practice.

If you pass the national portion of the exam and fail the state portion, definitely take your second chance at the state portion if you still have time in your 60-day testing window.

One thing is for sure — if you fail the exam once, you have at least one more chance to take it.

To avoid taking retakes, read our guide on how to pass the Mississippi real estate exam the first time.

Yes, the testing center charges $75.00 every time you take a test.

Mississippi law does not allow someone to obtain any type of professional license if the person has a felony conviction that is less than five years old.

If you have a felony and it has been more than five years since you had the felony conviction, it IS possible to get a Mississippi real estate license.

However, if your felony falls in the category of a violation of public trust, it may be something that does keep you from getting a Mississippi real estate license.

If you have a felony on your record, you are strongly encouraged to call MREC and speak with the attorney about your criminal history to determine if you are eligible for licensure.

It is also strongly recommended you do this first before spending money and time on a real estate pre-license course.

Yes, you can. If you have questions about your conviction, call MREC and speak to the attorney.

Refer to our tips for applying for a Mississippi real estate license with criminal record or misdemeanor to know what to do to be eligible to apply.

No. You can get a real estate license if you have a DUI.

Yes. A high school diploma is NOT required to obtain a real estate license in Mississippi.

After you get licensed, there will still be some preparation work to be done before you can start working as an agent.

Find out what to do after you get your real estate license from another article in our blog.

Know how industry experts balance the pros and cons when working as a realtor. This will let you know what to avoid and what to do more of to be successful in the role.

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 a REALTOR® with over 20 years of professional experience. She actively practices real estate in Ohio but also has practiced real estate in California and Texas. Conducting her real estate business in three states has allowed her to gain unique experiences that make her a well-rounded realtor. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Business Management and her MBA with a concentration in Banking and Finance. Prior to real estate, Kristina had an extensive corporate career in banking and treasury. She ended her finance career as an Assistant Treasurer at a publicly traded oil & gas company in Houston, TX.