Before starting the process to get your South Carolina real estate salesperson license, you must meet the following requirements and take the following steps.
General Requirements:
1) Must be at least 18 years of age.
2) Must have obtained a high school diploma (or certificate of equivalent).
3) Must be lawfully present and eligible to work in the U.S.
If you meet the above requirement, you will need to take the following five steps to complete the process for being issued a South Carolina real estate salesperson’s license.
Step 1: Successfully complete the 90-Hour South Carolina Real Estate Salesperson Pre-License Courses
The 90-hour pre-license education requirement consists of two courses:
1) 60-hour South Carolina Unit I Sales Course
2) 30-hour South Carolina Unit II: Advanced Real Estate Principles Course
Both the pre-license courses include a proctored final exam, which consists of 100 multiple-choice questions. You will need to achieve a passing grade of at least 70%.
As you pass each course’s final exam, you will receive your Certificate of Completion.
You will be eligible to sit for the state exam once you have successfully completed the 60-hour Unit I course.
The Commission allows you to complete the 30-hour Unit II course following the exam. You will, however, need to successfully pass the Unit II course prior to making your license application.
Step 2: Submit an Exam Application and Schedule Your State Real Estate Salesperson Exam
Once you have completed the 60-hour South Carolina Unit I Sales course and passed the course’s final exam, you can then apply to the South Carolina Real Estate Commission to receive eligibility to take the real estate salesperson state exam.
Your first step will be to submit an Exam Application For Real Estate, either online or via mail. Keep in mind that online applications help to expedite the process. The cost of the Exam Application For Real Estate is $25 (in the form of an Examination administration fee). This fee is paid to the South Carolina Real Estate Commission as you make your exam application.
As part of the exam application, you must submit the following supporting documents:
You will have the opportunity to upload your supporting documents online with your exam application.
Once the South Carolina Real Estate Commission approves your exam application, you will be emailed your Examination Eligibility Letter, which will enable you to schedule your state real estate exam.
Your Examination Eligibility Letter is valid for up to one year. If you do not pass the state exam within that one-year window, you must then submit a new exam application to the commission so that you can secure a new Examination Eligibility Letter before taking the exam again.
The South Carolina real estate salespersons state exam must be taken through PSI, the agency contracted by the commission to administer the exam. You can schedule your exam online through PSI’s website, or by phone at (800)733-9267.
PSI offers the exam Monday through Saturday in the following locations: Beaufort, Charleston, Columbia, Greenville, Myrtle Beach, and Charlotte, N.C.
The cost of the state exam is $63 per attempt. Unlike the exam application fee, this fee is paid directly to PSI.
Students must pass the state exam within five years of completing the 60-hour Unit I Sales course.
Step 3: Pass the State Licensing Exam
Your next step is to pass the state real estate salesperson licensing exam. The South Carolina state licensing exam is divided into a national and a state portion.
The national portion includes 80 multiple-choice questions, while the state portion includes 40 multiple-choice questions. You must answer 56 out of the 80 questions correctly (for a score of 70%) on the national portion and 28 out of the 40 questions correctly (70%) on the state portion in order to pass.
Unless you have received an exemption from the national portion of the exam, you are required to pass both portions of the state exam in order to pass the overall exam. If you do not pass one of the portions, you can schedule to retake only that portion for a fee of $55.
You are allowed 120 minutes for the national portion and 80 minutes for the state portion of the exam.
You will receive your exam results at the testing center right after you complete the exam.
Step 4: Apply for Your South Carolina Real Estate Salespersons License
After passing the state exam, it is time to make your application to receive your license. You will get an initial salesperson license application form from PSI after passing the state exam. You must submit your license application, as well as the $50 license application fee and a copy of your state exam score report.
You must also provide a copy of your Certificate of Completion for the 30-hour South Carolina Unit II: Advanced Real Estate Principles course.
Once your application has been received and is approved by the South Carolina Real Estate Commission, your license will be mailed to your managing broker. You will then be able to start practicing as a South Carolina real estate salesperson.
Step 5: Have Your Fingerprints Taken for a Criminal Background Check
All applicants must also get their fingerprints taken as part of a criminal background check before their license application can be approved.
Your fingerprints will be used to conduct a state and federal background check by the State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) and the FBI. The cost of the fingerprints varies per location. You will need to pay this fee, which is in addition to the application fee.
Instructions on how to obtain your fingerprints will be emailed to you by the South Carolina Real Estate Commission once your Exam Application For Real Estate application has been received.