General Requirements
New Hampshire's Office of Professional Licensure and Certification requires all salesperson applicants to be at least 18 years of age. If you meet this basic qualification, earn your New Hampshire salesperson license in five steps.
Step 1: Take the 40-hour Pre-license course
All New Hampshire salesperson applicants must take a 40-hour pre-licensing course before taking the exam. A pre-approved school must teach your course.
You'll learn about real estate topics pertinent to New Hampshire practice during the course, like New Hampshire RSA 331-A, Administrative rules, state-specific practices such as environmental issues, the Condominium Act, and Property Management. The course will also cover practices like listing property, selling property, property management, transfer of ownership, financing, and professional responsibilities.
Your course completion certificate is good for six months.
Step 2: Submit your Criminal Records Check
All New Hampshire real estate salespersons must submit a notarized criminal record release and the required fee of $25 to the Department of Safety, Division of State Police. Fill out the release form, which is already pre-filled in Section 2 by the New Hampshire Real Estate Commission. Your criminal record report is valid for six months. If you fail to apply for your license application while your record report is still valid, you will need to request and pay for a new report.
If you have a criminal record from any other jurisdiction showing a misdemeanor or felony offense, you must also provide a criminal record report.
Step 3: Schedule your state licensing exam
New Hampshire has contracted with PSI to administer the state licensing exam. New Hampshire's Real Estate Commission must approve you to take the exam. You will need to submit the exam registration form, proof of completing the pre-licensing course, and the examination fee. You have to take the exam within three months from the receipt of your exam registration (new rule 2021). If you do not take the exam inside this window, you must submit and pay for a new exam registration.
The exam fee is $155 paid to the Treasurer, State of New Hampshire, by check or money order.
PSI will notify you by email once the Real Estate Commission has approved your examination. Online scheduling is the fastest way to register for the exam. After you create an online account, you will be able to find your testing approval, search for testing centers, and select your date.
Telephone registration is also available by calling 855-340-3711.
If you have to cancel the exam, You must do so two days before your scheduled test, or you will forfeit your examination fee. Note that a voice mail is not an acceptable form of cancellation.
Step 4: Take and pass the real estate licensing exam
Bring to the PSI examination center two forms of identification. One of these must be a valid government-issued ID that has your signature and photograph like a driver's license, state ID, or a passport. The other must have at least your signature.
The New Hampshire real estate licensing exam has:
The Candidate Information Bulletin has content outlines and the percentage of questions asked in each topic area.
Immediately upon finishing the test, you will receive a score report on screen. Anyone with a failing score will also get a diagnostic report revealing their strengths and weaknesses by the exam type.
If you pass only one section of the test, you can have up to eight attempts within six months to pass the second portion. If you cannot pass the exam within that time, you'll have to complete an accredited pre-licensing course in addition to the previously submitted course. Each partial or full retake requires you to resubmit an exam registration and the total fee to the NHREC.
Step 5: Submit the real estate salesperson license application
Now that you have completed the steps above, it's time to fill out your real estate salesperson application. The New Hampshire Real Estate Commission gives candidates six months to submit and earn their license.
Before completing this application, you will need to be hired by a principal broker. They must sign part of your application attesting to your character. You also need three character affidavits signed by people who are not related to you and who can attest to moral character.
Include in your license application:
The license application fee is $90, made payable by check to the Treasurer, State of New Hampshire.
Once your license application is approved, the NHREC will issue your license to the managing broker. Congratulations, you are now a New Hampshire real estate salesperson!