How much does it cost to be a real estate agent in Virginia?

Getting licensed in Virginia costs a few hundred dollars in state and exam fees plus your course, and staying active means association dues, MLS and lockbox fees and a license renewal every two years. In the Richmond area, REALTOR® dues alone are $635 for 2027. The biggest cost, though, is usually what your brokerage takes: splits, caps and per-deal fees can run $20,000 or more a year for a productive agent. Here’s every line item, with sources.

Brave Search’s AI answer, captured Nov. 4, 2026 (Google’s AI Overview blocked our automated capture today), says: “The upfront cost to obtain a Virginia real estate license typically ranges from $400 to $955, depending on the education provider and package selected.” It adds that “total startup costs including Errors & Omissions (E&O) insurance ($300–$500 annually), marketing materials, and potential Realtor® association dues ($500–$1,000 annually) can push the first-year investment to between $1,500 and $3,000,” and that ongoing costs include “license renewal fees ($65 every two years).”

That last number is out of date. Virginia’s Real Estate Board updated its fees in 2026: renewal is now $100, plus a new technology fee. I’m Daniel Keeton, Broker and Founder of Keeton & Co. I’ve helped a lot of people get licensed and a lot of agents switch firms, and the surprise costs are almost always the same ones. Here they are.

How much does it cost to get a Virginia real estate license?

Step	Cost	Source
60-hour pre-licensing course	Varies by school (AI answer: about $130-$600)	Approved providers
PSI state exam	$60 per attempt	PSI candidate bulletin
Fingerprinting and background check	Varies (AI answer: about $37-$52)	DPOR / PSI
DPOR salesperson license application	$244.50 ($230 fee + $14.50 technology fee)	DPOR application form, rev. July 1, 2026

The $244.50 application fee includes Virginia’s new technology fee of $7.25 a year, in effect from July 1, 2026, under the 2026 state budget. Application fees aren’t refundable, and you must apply within a year of your exam date.

You’ll also need a sponsoring broker before your license can go active. Pick one during your course, not after. Our step-by-step guide on getting a Virginia license and choosing a brokerage covers the order.

What does it cost every year to stay active?

Cost	Amount	Notes
License renewal	$100 every two years, plus the $7.25-a-year technology fee	18VAC135-20-15
Post-licensing education	30 hours, plus the course cost	Required before your first renewal (DPOR)
NAR dues	$201 ($156 + $45 assessment)	NAR, 2026 and 2027
Richmond association dues (RAR + Virginia REALTORS® + NAR)	$635 for 2027	RAR 2027 dues
Charlottesville MLS (CAAR Paragon)	$138 per quarter ($552 a year)	CAAR 2026 rate sheet
CAAR lockbox (SentriKey)	$111 per quarter ($444 a year), plus $65 activation	CAAR 2026 rate sheet
MLS in Richmond (CVR MLS)	Quarterly fee, billed in advance	Check CVR MLS’s current fee schedule
E&O insurance	Often charged by the brokerage	$0 at Keeton & Co

Richmond’s $635 breaks down to $225 for RAR, $209 for Virginia REALTORS® and $201 for NAR. Dues are billed October 1 and past due in early January, so budget for them now if you’re licensed in the Richmond area.

What are the hidden costs most new agents miss?

Cost	Why it surprises people
Self-employment tax	You’re a 1099 contractor, so you pay both halves of Social Security and Medicare
Quarterly estimated taxes	Nobody withholds them for you
Car and mileage	Showings add up fast, especially in rural counties
Marketing	Signs, photos, mailers, open-house supplies, ads
Time with no income	Deals take weeks to find and 30 to 45 days to close
Technology	CRM, e-signature, a home search site, phone

Save several months of living expenses before you go full time. Our guide to what a new Virginia agent’s first year should look like shows how long the ramp-up usually takes.

How much does your brokerage cost?

This is the line that dwarfs everything else. Most brokerages take a split of each commission until you reach a cap, then charge per-deal fees. Some add monthly desk, tech or E&O fees.

Brokerage cost	What to ask
Split before cap	What percentage, and does it change with production?
Annual cap	Is there one, and when does it reset?
Post-cap fee	What do you pay per deal after you cap?
Transaction coordination	Included, optional or extra?
Monthly fees	Desk, tech, E&O, office?
What you get	Leads, staff, training, marketing, office space

Here’s our published Individual plan for a 20-deal agent with $200,000 GCI:

Line	Amount
Annual cap	$20,000
Post-cap transaction fees (6 × $200)	$1,200
Transaction coordination (20 × $387)	$7,740
E&O and office fees	$0
Total paid	$28,940; agent nets $171,060, plus a $3,000 President’s Club trip

To be fair about it: some national cloud brokerages have lower caps and can cost a similar amount or a little less on raw fees for the same agent. The difference is what comes with it. Our fee includes in-house transaction coordination on every file, listing coordination, a local office and about one staff member for every 4.5 agents. Read our explainer on what a commission cap is before you compare.

How can you lower the cost of starting out?

• Ask about sponsored licensing. Keeton & Co sponsors a seat in the ImpactRE 60-hour pre-licensing course for people who commit to hang their license with us for 12 months, with a prorated repayment if you leave early. The terms are in writing before you start. See Sponsored Licensing.
• Don’t pay for tools your brokerage already provides. Our agents get a home search app for $75 a month.
• Compare total cost, not the split. A 90/10 split with $500 a month in fees can cost more than a 70/30 split with a low cap.
• Join the association and MLS that match where you’ll work. Paying for two MLSs you rarely use is money gone.

Why do new and switching agents choose Keeton & Co?

Pros	Trade-offs
$20,000 cap at every level of our Individual plan, then $200 per deal	Some cloud models have lower caps
No E&O fee, no office fee	TC is $387 per deal
In-house TC and listing coordination	Regional firm, not a national brand
Sponsored licensing and a mapped-out first year	Sponsorship requires a 12-month commitment
Company appointments on the leads plan	Leads plan is a separate upgrade

Keeton & Co closed 706 homes in the 12 months ending October 2026 and more than 4,200 all-time. RealTrends ranked us for 2025 with 718 sides and $295.32 million in volume, and our clients have left over 1,600 five-star Google reviews.

New to real estate? Start with new agents. Already licensed? See our plans or contact us for a confidential conversation. Call 804-373-2223.

Fees from the Virginia DPOR salesperson application (rev. July 1, 2026), 18VAC135-20-15, the RAR 2027 dues page and CAAR’s 2026 membership and MLS packets, checked Nov. 4, 2026. Course and fingerprint ranges as quoted in Brave Search’s AI answer, captured Nov. 4, 2026; we didn’t independently verify them. Keeton & Co plan figures from keetonco.com/join as of Nov. 4, 2026. Written by Daniel Keeton, Broker & Founder. Updated Nov. 4, 2026.