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South Carolina State Requirements

Education Requirements

Salesperson Licensing Requirements

Age Individuals must be 18 to be licensed as a salesman and 21 to be licensed as a broker. Education A prospective licensee must be a high school graduate or hold a certificate of equivalency.

Sales license applicants - completion of a Commission-approved 60-hour (or more) course in the fundamentals of real estate. Within one year after passing the examination, the applicant must be sponsored by a broker-in-charge and apply for a provisional sales license, which is mailed to the broker-in-charge. During the first year of licensure, provisional salesmen must complete an additional 30 hours of Commission-approved post-licensing education. To upgrade a provisional license to permanent status, proof of the post-licensing course(s), application, and fee ($25) must be sent to the Real Estate Commission FAILURE TO MEET THESE REQUIREMENTS WILL RESULT IN THE CANCELLATION OF THE PROVISIONAL SALES LICENSE.

Processing Fees - Upon original application, each applicant must pay the following fees:

Sales - $25 (plus $10 for a credit report). After passing the examination, applicants must pay a license fee of $25 and to upgrade from provisional status, a fee of $25.

PSI's examination fee is $63.

Persons not currently licensed in South Carolina must submit certified funds for licensure.

Broker Licensing Requirements

Age Individuals must be 18 to be licensed as a salesman and 21 to be licensed as a broker. Education A prospective licensee must be a high school graduate or hold a certificate of equivalency.

For a broker's license, completion of 150 hours, 90 hours of which may be the hours required for a salesman's license, of classroom instruction in advanced real estate principles and practices and related topics, and three years of experience within the past five years with a salesman's license or evidence submitted to the Department of a Juris Doctor, Bachelor of Laws degree, or a baccalaureate degree with a major in real estate from an accredited college or university or the Commission may accept proof of related education and at least five years of experience immediately preceding license application in business activities equivalent to or closely related to real estate transactions. Experience There is no licensed experience requirement for a sales examination. For a broker's examination, however, the law requires three or more years of active licensure within the last five years preceding application. To receive recognition for out-of-state experience, the applicant must obtain a Certification of Licensure, including history, education, and disciplinary action from the real estate regulatory agency (commission, board, etc.) of all other states where he/she is or has been licensed before applying for examination. Examination Examinations are scheduled every Monday through Saturday in Beaufort, Charleston, Columbia, Greenville, Myrtle Beach, SC, and in Charlotte, NC. PSI is the examination provider for the Commission and they publish a Candidate Information Bulletin for approved candidates for the real estate examinations. Candidates receive this bulletin when they receive the examination eligibility letter from the Commission. Examinees must receive a passing score on both portions of the exam (general and state). Retesting may be scheduled quickly if one or both portions are failed. Miscellaneous I. Commission Review - Any applicant who has been convicted of a crime or sanctioned by any licensing agency or has adverse items on a credit report must reveal that fact on his/her application. The Regulatory Compliance Department may review the application and then conduct an investigation before an examination can be scheduled. This may result in a delay.

Processing Fees - Upon original application, each applicant must pay the following fees:

Broker - $25 (plus $10 for a credit report). After passing the examination, applicants must submit a separate two-year licensing fee of $250 for a broker-in-charge license or $125 for a broker license.

PSI's examination fee is $63.

Persons not currently licensed in South Carolina must submit certified funds for licensure.

Continuing Education Requirements

8 hours of CE are required in a 2 year period. Look at the expiration date on your license and count backwards 2 years. (If it shows 6/30/2007, then you have to have completed 8 hours of CE from July 1, 2005 to June 30, 2007) a minimum of 2 hours from a core area are required and 6 hours can be either core or elective hours.

Real Estate Licensees are required to obtain eight hours of continuing education every two years. The eight hours shall include a minimum of two hours of instruction in current federal and state laws affecting brokers and salesmen (core courses).

Reciprocity

Education And Licensure In Another State

SECTION 40-57-120. Reciprocity agreements with other jurisdictions.

  1. The commission may enter into reciprocal agreements with real estate regulatory authorities of other jurisdictions which provide for waivers of education requirements or examinations if the commission considers the education and examination requirements of another jurisdiction to be substantially equivalent to the requirements of this chapter.
  2. An individual applying for a license by reciprocity shall submit an application, license fee, and certification of licensure from the real estate regulatory authority of the jurisdiction where the current or previous license was held and shall comply with additional requirements as may be established by the commission. The applicant also shall provide copies of the records of any disciplinary actions taken against the applicant.
  3. A nonresident real estate salesman license may not be granted to an applicant unless that applicant is affiliated with a resident or nonresident broker-in-charge licensed by the commission. If a nonresident licensee terminates the affiliation with a broker-in-charge licensed by the commission, the license of the nonresident is canceled unless the licensee places the license on inactive status or affiliates with another broker-in-charge licensed by the commission.
  4. A nonresident is not required to maintain a place of business in this State if the nonresident maintains an active place of business in the state of domicile. A nonresident applicant shall file an irrevocable consent that suits and actions may be commenced against the applicant in the proper court in a judicial circuit of the state in which a cause of action may arise or in which the plaintiff may reside, by the service of process or pleading, authorized by the laws of this State, on the chairman of the commission or any authorized assistant or deputy appointed by the Director of the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation. The consent shall stipulate that the service of process or pleading must be taken and held in all courts to be as valid and binding as if service had been made upon the applicant in South Carolina. If the process or pleadings mentioned in this chapter are served upon the chairman of the commission or any authorized assistant or deputy appointed by the Director of the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, it must be by duplicate copies, one of which must be filed in the office of the commission and the other immediately forwarded by the commission by registered or certified mail to the applicant against whom the process or pleadings are directed, at the last known address of the applicant as shown by the records of the commission.
  5. A resident licensee who becomes a nonresident must notify the commission in writing, within sixty days, of the change in residency and comply with nonresident requirements or place his license on inactive status to avoid cancellation of the license.
  6. A nonresident licensee who becomes a resident of South Carolina must notify the commission in writing, within sixty days, of the change in residency and comply with the requirements of this chapter or place his license on inactive status to avoid cancellation of the license.
  7. Failure to notify the commission of the change in residency and compliance with the requirements of this subsection is a violation of this chapter and subject to the penalties provided for in Section 40-57-150.
  8. A nonresident applicant or licensee must comply with all requirements of commission regulations and of this chapter. The commission may adopt regulations necessary for the regulation of nonresident licensees.

South Carolina has written reciprocity agreements with the following states:

North Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky, West Virginia