Where to take the 60-hour Iowa course
Both schools below are on the Commission's approved provider list and both sell the 60-hour course. Neither sells the three 12-hour courses, because Iowa requires those to be live instruction — you will be booking those separately with an Iowa school or REALTOR® board.
Colibri Real Estate
- Publishes the correct 96-hour figure on its own Iowa pages and states plainly that it supplies 60 of them — you find out about the other 36 before you pay, not after
- Explicitly says it does not offer the classroom courses Iowa requires, which is the single most useful thing an out-of-state school can tell an Iowa buyer
- Listed on the Commission's approved course provider register
- Self-paced online for the 60-hour half, which Iowa permits — it is only the three 12-hour courses that must be live
The CE Shop
- Also listed on the Commission's approved course provider register, and sells the 60-hour course in tiers so exam prep is optional
- Carries Iowa continuing education as well, useful later given Iowa asks for 36 hours every three years
- Self-paced online for the 60-hour half
- Check the hour count before you buy: its Iowa pre-licensing packages are sold as 60-hour products. Sixty hours will get you to the exam, but it will not get you licensed in Iowa
How to get your Iowa licence
Six steps — and the tightest part is fitting 36 hours of scheduled live classes into a six-month window after the exam.
Complete the 60-hour course
Sixty hours of real estate principles and practices, which the rule allows as live instruction or distance and online learning. This is all you need to sit the exam. An online course must be finished within six months of purchase.
Pass the PSI exam
Eighty national questions needing 56 to pass in 120 minutes, and forty state questions needing 28 in 60 minutes. $95. Bring your course completion certificate — you will not be admitted without it.
Book the three 12-hour live courses
Buying Practices, Listing Practices, and Developing Professionalism and Ethical Practices. These are live-instruction classes on someone else's timetable, so find out when the next ones run before you assume you have time.
Start the criminal history check early
State and national fingerprint checks routed through the Commission — you request a packet through the licensing portal rather than going to a commercial vendor. It costs $51 plus fingerprinting, takes five to six weeks, and the Commission rejects any application where the check is more than 210 days old.
Line up a broker and errors and omissions cover
An original Iowa salesperson licence cannot be issued inactive — you need a sponsoring broker's notarised certification on the application, and proof of errors and omissions insurance of at least $100,000.
Apply before the six-month deadline
The application is due no later than the last business day of the sixth month following your exam date, and every course certificate must be under twelve months old when it arrives. The $125 licence fee goes with it.
From the Iowa Real Estate Commission, which sits under the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing; Iowa Code § 543B.15; Iowa Administrative Code 481—2016.2, 481—2016.4, 481—2017.10 and 481—2019.2, which were transferred out of agency 193E in the 10 June 2026 code supplement; and the Commission's licensing information bulletin, verified August 2026. The Commission's own rules index still points to the old 193E numbering, so both schemes are in circulation. We have not printed a renewal fee, because no official figure could be confirmed. Iowa Code § 543B.15(8) sets a statutory floor of thirty hours — the 96-hour requirement comes from Commission rule, not from the Code.
Iowa FAQs
How many hours does Iowa actually require?
Ninety-six. Iowa Administrative Code 481—2016.2 requires a course of study of "60 live instruction or distance/online learning hours" for the licensing examination, and then requires an applicant for an original salesperson licence to provide evidence of three further live instruction courses: "12 hours of Developing Professionalism and Ethical Practices, 12 hours of Buying Practices and 12 hours of Listing Practices." The 60 hours is the exam prerequisite. It is not the licensing requirement, and pages that headline Iowa as a 60-hour state are describing only the first two-thirds.
Can I get an Iowa licence entirely online?
No. The 60-hour course can be taken online, but the rule describes the three 12-hour courses as "live instruction courses," and the Commission's applicant page marks each of them "(live instruction only)." That is 36 of the 96 hours that no self-paced provider can deliver. In practice those classes are sold by Iowa-based schools and REALTOR® boards. Some providers now run them as live-camera virtual sessions rather than in a physical classroom, so ask the provider what format their next session uses.
Does Iowa have a post-licensing requirement?
No. This one causes real confusion, because Iowa does require 36 hours beyond the 60 — but they are pre-licence, not post-licence. The three 12-hour courses sit in the prelicense chapter of the rules, they are keyed to the application date, and the Commission lists their completion certificates among the documents required with the original licence application. There is no education requirement between issuance and your first renewal other than ordinary continuing education.
What is the six-month deadline that catches people out?
You must apply no later than the last business day of the sixth month following your exam date. That sounds generous until you count what has to happen inside it: 36 hours of scheduled live classes from a small pool of Iowa providers, a criminal history check that takes five to six weeks and must be less than 210 days old when the application arrives, a sponsoring broker's notarised certification, and proof of errors and omissions insurance. Pass the exam, then discover the next Listing Practices class is two months away, and the window closes. Book the live classes before you sit the exam if you can.
Does Iowa require errors and omissions insurance?
Yes, and unlike several states where this is claimed but not true, Iowa's requirement is real and written down. The Commission states that all active licensees "must carry uninterrupted errors & omission (E & O) insurance coverage in Iowa," and the rules set minimums of not less than $100,000 per claim and $100,000 in the annual aggregate per licensee, with defence costs payable in addition to damages. The Commission has selected a group policy you may use, but you are free to buy equivalent cover elsewhere. Proof is required with an initial application, so it is a purchase to make before the licence issues rather than afterwards.
Can I get licensed and stay inactive until I find a brokerage?
No. Iowa's rules state that "an original application for a salesperson license cannot be issued to inactive status" and that a salesperson "is assigned to a licensed broker or firm and cannot conduct business independently." The application carries a notarised broker certification, so you need the brokerage lined up before you file — not after. Find the broker while you are working through the live courses, not once the paperwork is otherwise ready.