How do you become a real estate broker in Virginia?

To become a real estate broker in Virginia, you need three things: experience, education and an exam. You must have been actively engaged as a salesperson, averaging at least 40 hours a week, for 36 of the 48 months before you apply. You must complete 180 hours of board-approved broker pre-license courses. And you must pass the state and national portions of the broker exam, then apply to the Virginia Real Estate Board through DPOR. A Virginia salesperson upgrading to broker pays a $134.50 application fee on DPOR’s current form.

Keeton & Co publishes this article, and we recruit agents. The requirements below come from Virginia law, the Real Estate Board’s regulations and DPOR’s own forms, linked near each point.

What are the requirements for a Virginia broker license?

Requirement	Details	Source
Age and education	At least 18, with a high school diploma or equivalent	18VAC135-20-30
Experience	Actively engaged as a salesperson for 36 of the 48 months immediately before applying	18VAC135-20-35(C)
Pre-license education	180 class/clock hours of board-approved broker courses	DPOR Pre-License Education
Exam	Pass the state and national portions of the broker exam	DPOR Pre-License Education
Application timing	Apply within 12 months of passing the exam	18VAC135-20-35(D); broker application
Background	Disclose disciplinary actions and certain convictions; fingerprints for initial applicants	18VAC135-20-30; broker application

What does “actively engaged” mean?

This is the requirement most agents underestimate. The regulation in 18VAC135-20-10 defines “actively engaged” as active licensure with a licensed firm, doing licensed real estate activity, “for an average of at least 40 hours per week.” DPOR’s broker application asks you to confirm exactly that, for 36 of the 48 months before you apply, and to submit an Experience Verification Form. Under 18VAC135-20-35(C), the principal or supervising broker you worked under at the time verifies your experience.

So a part-time agent who has held a license for three years may not qualify yet. And if you’ve switched firms, you may need verification from more than one broker. Ask for it before you leave, while the relationship is easy.

What broker courses do you have to take?

Va. Code § 54.1-2105 requires broker applicants to complete at least 12 semester hours of real estate courses, with content in real estate brokerage, finance, appraisal, law and related subjects the board approves. DPOR expresses that as 180 class/clock hours of board-approved courses. Courses from an accredited college that are equivalent to board-approved courses can count.

Pick a provider from DPOR’s approved list, and confirm which specific courses your provider says satisfy the 180 hours before you enroll.

How much does it cost to get a broker license?

DPOR’s current broker license application (form A490-0225BLIC, version dated July 1, 2026) lists:

Application type	Fee
Virginia salesperson upgrading to broker	$134.50
Broker license by examination (new applicant)	$299.50, including the Real Estate Transaction Recovery Fund assessment
Broker license by reciprocity	$299.50

The form notes a technology fee of $7.25 per year under 2026’s House Bill 30. Course tuition and the exam fee are separate and set by your school and the testing vendor (DPOR directs applicants to PSI for exam information). Once licensed, the board’s fee schedule in 18VAC135-20-15 sets broker renewal at $120 every two years.

On the application, a Virginia salesperson upgrading can mark that they don’t need to submit new fingerprints. Initial applicants who submit fingerprints have 90 days from when the board receives the results to get a completed application in.

What changes after you’re a broker?

Item	Salesperson	Broker
CE per 2-year term	16 hours	24 hours, including 8 on supervision and brokerage management (§ 54.1-2105.03)
Renewal fee	$100	$120
Can serve as principal or supervising broker	No	Yes, if a firm designates you
Can open your own firm	No	A firm license is a separate application

Most new brokers become associate brokers. The regulations define an associate broker as any broker other than the one designated as the firm’s principal broker. You can keep doing the same work under your firm, with a broker license that lets you take on a supervising role later. The principal broker is the person each firm designates to make sure it complies with Virginia’s real estate law and regulations. A supervising broker oversees agents at a branch office or on a real estate team.

Should you get your broker license?

It depends on what you want the next five years to look like.

Get it if you want to…	It may not be worth it yet if…
Lead a team, branch or office someday	You love selling and don’t want to supervise anyone
Open your own brokerage	You’re still building consistent production
Show clients and peers a higher credential	You’re not yet actively engaged full time
Be ready when a leadership role opens	You’d rather put the time and tuition into lead generation now

My take: a broker license is a career option, not a pay raise. What it changes is what you’re eligible to do. If leadership is in your plans, start tracking your full-time months and lining up course hours a year before you’re eligible.

Where does brokerage choice fit in?

Your experience has to come through a licensed firm, and your principal or supervising broker verifies it. Pick a firm where your broker knows your work well enough to sign that form, and where you’ll learn to supervise, not just sell.

At Keeton & Co, we have a managing broker in each major market, broker and sales hotlines, and about one staff member for every 4.5 agents, per our join page as of Nov. 9, 2026. Our Individual Agent Commission Plan runs from 70/30 to 92/8 with a $20,000 annual cap, then 100% with a $200 transaction fee per deal, plus $387 per deal for transaction coordination and $0 E&O and office fees. Leads are available through a separate leads plan. We don’t promise any level of income or leads, and the right fit depends on your business.

Related reading: what a managing broker actually does for a Virginia agent, team vs. brokerage in Virginia and what CE Virginia agents need.

The bottom line

A Virginia broker license takes 36 of 48 months of full-time activity, 180 hours of broker courses, a passed state and national exam, and a DPOR application ($134.50 if you’re upgrading from salesperson). The hardest part is usually documenting the 40-hours-a-week experience, so plan ahead.

If you’re thinking about your next step and want to compare brokerages, book a confidential brokerage-fit conversation with our team, contact us or call (804) 556-1228.

Sources: Va. Code §§ 54.1-2105 and 54.1-2105.03; 18VAC135-20-10, -15, -30 and -35; DPOR Pre-License Education page; DPOR Broker License Application (A490-0225BLIC v16, 07/01/2026). All accessed Nov. 9, 2026. Keeton & Co details from keetonco.com/join, Nov. 9, 2026. By Daniel Keeton, Broker & Founder, Keeton & Co Real Estate. Updated Nov. 9, 2026.