California broker

Who can sit this exam

Two years of full-time licensed salesperson experience within the preceding five years, or a four-year degree with a major or minor in real estate, plus eight broker-level courses.

Five of those courses are required and three are electives, which is a substantially larger commitment than the three courses a salesperson completes.

What changes when you become a broker

You may operate independently, employ salespersons, and hold trust funds. Each brings obligations the exam tests closely. Reasonable supervision is a statutory duty, and a broker who was unaware of a salesperson's misconduct often finds that unawareness is itself the evidence supervision failed.

Trust fund administration deepens: separate beneficiary records, the columnar record of all receipts, monthly reconciliation of both against the bank balance, and a bonded signatory if an unlicensed employee has access.

Where broker candidates lose

Trust fund questions, consistently. Shortages, commingling, the $200 personal funds allowance, and the three business day deposit rule appear repeatedly because they are where real discipline happens.

Supervision and secret profit are close behind. Any benefit the broker receives in connection with a transaction must be disclosed to the principal, and an undisclosed benefit is a fiduciary breach regardless of whether the client was harmed.

Common questions

Can a degree replace the experience requirement?

A four-year degree with a major or minor in real estate can substitute for the two years of experience, but the eight broker courses are still required.

How long must I keep records?

Three years from closing, or from the listing date if no transaction resulted. That is shorter than Texas at four years and Florida at five.

What is a desist and refrain order?

An order the Commissioner may issue to stop ongoing unlawful conduct immediately, against licensees and unlicensed persons alike, with a hearing available afterward.