How to Become a Real Estate Broker in Michigan

Ready to get your real estate broker license in Michigan? You’re in the right place! We’ve broken the process of becoming a broker into five simple steps:

Step 1: Get Your Michigan Real Estate Salesperson License

Step 2: Gain Experience

Step 3: Complete Broker Coursework

Step 4: Pass the Michigan Real Estate Broker Exam

Step 5: Apply for your Michigan Real Estate Broker License

Below, we explain each step in more detail and explain what you will need to get your Michigan broker's license!

Step 1: Get Your Michigan Real Estate Salesperson License

Before you can become a real estate broker, you need to spend some time working as a licensed real estate salesperson. In Michigan, real estate salespersons can only work under the supervision of a broker (people in the biz call this the sponsoring broker).

This is why it’ll be essential for you to gain experience before becoming a broker yourself! As a broker, you’ll have a whole team of folks that work under you and depend on your expertise. It would be challenging to have that expertise without some experience, am I right?

To get your real estate salesperson license, you’ll need to:

1. Meet the basic requirements (be at least 18 years old and of good moral character).
2. Complete a 40-hour pre-license real estate course from an approved real estate school.
3. Complete your real estate license application online.
4. Find a sponsoring broker.
5. Pass the Michigan real estate exam.

And voila! With your salesperson license, you’ll be able to represent clients with purchasing and selling real estate.

Step 2: Gain Experience

According to State law, to become a broker you must have at least three years of full-time experience as a real estate salesperson or equivalent experience. Equivalent experience includes real estate-adjacent fields, such as time spent as a/an:

• Licensed builder who built and sold residential, commercial, or industrial properties
• Investor who also negotiated the purchase or sale of real properties
• Land or condominium developer
• Attorney who represented someone in at least six real estate transactions per year
• Loan or trust officer of a federal or state-regulated depository institution
• Loan or trust officer of a mortgage company
• Unlicensed real estate officer of a corporation
• Title insurance company officer who worked in the closing of escrow accounts and real estate closings
• Real property appraiser

Step 3: Complete Broker Coursework

Before you get that Michigan broker license, you’ll need to complete a state-approved 90-hour real estate course specifically for brokers. This course is more detailed and more advanced than the real estate salesperson course, and it will prepare you for the next step: your Michigan broker exam.

Step 4: Pass the Michigan Real Estate Broker Exam

This is the part that almost everyone dreads the most – the exam! I feel confident that you’ll be prepared, especially if you keep reading.

Here are some main points about the Michigan broker exam:

• It consists of 115 questions
• You get three and a half hours (aka 210 minutes) to complete it
• You need to score 75% or higher to pass
• If you don’t pass on your first try, you can retake the exam
• There is a $79 fee charged for each attempt to take the exam

If you’d like more information, the exam proctor, PSI, publishes a helpful Candidate Information Booklet to give test-takers an overview of the testing process.

Step 5: Apply for your Michigan Real Estate Broker License

After you pass your broker exam, you can apply for your Michigan broker license online. You’ll complete the application and pay the $143 application fee (at this point you should also celebrate your amazing accomplishment!).

Upon approval of your application, you’ll officially be a licensed real estate broker!

Now that you know how to become a real estate broker in Michigan, don’t wait another day to start your new career. Find a course provider that will help you ace your exam and get started now!