South Carolina real estate license: the official requirements
Age, pre-licensing hours, the exam, background check, broker sponsorship, fees and renewal, from the South Carolina Code of Laws, Title 40 Chapter 57 (South Carolina Legislature) (the state's own statute and rules).
To get a real estate license in South Carolina (the associate license): Minimum age: At least 18, and a high school graduate or holder of a recognized certificate of equivalency. Pre-licensing education: 90 classroom hours within five years before you apply: 60 hours of real estate principles and practices and 30 hours of advanced principles; you may take the exam before finishing the 30 advanced hours. Certain law or real estate degrees can substitute. Licensing exam: A passing grade on both the state and national portions; you have twelve months to pass all portions and must apply within one year of passing. Sponsoring broker: An active associate must be licensed under a broker-in-charge licensed by the Commission, and under only one at a time. Your licensing authority is the South Carolina Real Estate Commission.
Requirements for the South Carolina associate license
| Requirement | South Carolina |
|---|---|
| License you apply for | The associate license (the classification that replaced "salesperson" under 2024 Act No. 204, effective May 21, 2024). |
| Minimum age | At least 18, and a high school graduate or holder of a recognized certificate of equivalency. |
| Pre-licensing education | 90 classroom hours within five years before you apply: 60 hours of real estate principles and practices and 30 hours of advanced principles; you may take the exam before finishing the 30 advanced hours. Certain law or real estate degrees can substitute. |
| Post-licensing education | Not stated in the official source we read. Check with the South Carolina Real Estate Commission. |
| Licensing exam | A passing grade on both the state and national portions; you have twelve months to pass all portions and must apply within one year of passing. |
| Background check | A state fingerprint-based check by SLED, a national fingerprint-based FBI check and a Social Security number-based check. |
| Sponsoring broker | An active associate must be licensed under a broker-in-charge licensed by the Commission, and under only one at a time. |
| State fees | Not stated in the official source we read. Check with the South Carolina Real Estate Commission. |
| License term | Two years: licenses renew biennially, with the continuing education deadline. |
| Continuing education | 10 hours every two years, including at least 4 hours of mandated topics; an associate who completes a post-licensing course is exempt for that renewal period. |
Where the official source we read does not state something, the table says so rather than guessing. Fees shown are the licensing authority's own. Fees charged by exam vendors, schools and course providers, and fingerprint vendors are not included.
How to get licensed in South Carolina
- Complete the 60-hour fundamentals course (and the 30-hour advanced course, which may come after the exam).
- Apply on the Commission's form with the fees, and submit to the criminal background checks.
- Pass both the state and national portions of the exam within your twelve-month eligibility period.
- Apply for the license within one year of passing, and activate it under a broker-in-charge.
Go further
Requirements state by state.
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Questions people ask
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How this page is built
Each fact on this page comes from the South Carolina Code of Laws, Title 40 Chapter 57 (South Carolina Legislature) (sources named below), read on the dates shown, with the exact wording we relied on kept on file. Requirements and fees change; the South Carolina Real Estate Commission's current instructions govern. We re-read each state's sources every six months (next review by May 6, 2027).
- Not legal advice.
- Licensing rules can change. Verify current requirements with the issuing agency.
- Fees shown are the licensing authority's own. Fees charged by exam vendors, schools and course providers, and fingerprint vendors are not included.
- This page covers the entry-level license. Broker, nonresident and reciprocal licenses have their own rules.
- South Carolina Code of Laws, Title 40 Chapter 57 (Real Estate Brokers, Brokers-in-Charge, Associates, and Property Managers), South Carolina Legislature, official source, read Nov 5, 2026.