ILLINOIS LICENSING PROCESS

Once you’ve completed the 75-hour Broker Pre-license Course, and passed the Illinois Real Estate Exam, it’s time to get your license!

The first step is to find a Sponsoring Broker – in other words, to “get hired”. You have up to one year to do so, and CRES will help you find one – in fact, we guarantee it! Your Sponsoring Broker will help you to get registered for your license online – you’ll upload your Transcript from CRES and pay the licensing fee. If you ever need a copy of your CRES Transcript, simply email [email protected].

Once you have your Illinois real estate license, you may practice Real Estate anywhere in Illinois. If you want to practice in another state, you must fulfill that state’s requirements. There is one exception: for those states which have reciprocity with Illinois, you merely need to take and pass that state’s exam, without taking any further education. Illinois has reciprocity with the following states: Florida, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Iowa, Indiana, Georgia, Connecticut, and Colorado.

*As of January 1st, 2025, Illinois will cease the use of Reciprocity Agreements and shift to the Endorsement Process. This streamlined approach will allow real estate professionals in the other 49 states to obtain an Illinois license without the need for Illinois to have a specific reciprocal agreement with their home state, making it easier for out-of-state licensees to transition to Illinois. Note that this change does not alter the process that Illinois licensees must follow when seeking to become licensed in another state. Requirements are determined by the state issuing the license.*