Where to take the 96-hour Nebraska course
Both schools are on the Commission's approved pre-license provider list. Because the requirement changed on 1 January 2026, the question worth asking each of them is a simple one: is the package you are selling me 96 hours or 66?
The CE Shop
- Its Nebraska course is marketed at the current 96 hours, so you are not buying against the requirement Nebraska retired at the end of 2025
- On the Commission's approved list for the post-licence Course 7000 as well, which matters because you owe those 12 hours within 180 days and Nebraska has few approved providers for them
- Sells Nebraska exam prep and an 18-hour CE package too, so one account covers every education deadline you will hit in your first two years
- Free trial of the Nebraska course, useful when the commitment is 96 hours rather than 60
Colibri Real Estate
- On the Commission's approved pre-license provider list for internet delivery, so a correctly sized Colibri course will be accepted
- Four package tiers from basic upward, which gives you a finer choice of how much exam preparation to buy
- Check the hour count before you pay — its Nebraska course page still describes the requirement as 66 hours while its own requirements page says 96, and we could not confirm which the sold package contains
- Not approved for Nebraska's post-licence Course 7000, so you will need a second provider for the 12 hours due within 180 days
How to get your Nebraska licence
Five steps, and two of them run on clocks short enough to catch people out.
Complete 96 hours across four courses
Thirty hours of real estate principles and practices, 30 of Nebraska real estate license law, 30 in an approved pre-license course of your choosing, and six hours of professional practice and standards — Course 0003. The third block is a free choice, not a fixed subject, whatever a school's catalogue implies.
File the application, then get fingerprinted
In that order. The Commission is explicit that your application must be on file before you pursue the criminal history report. Fingerprinting is through the State Patrol and takes four to six weeks, so starting it early does not help if the application is not in yet.
Pass both portions with Pearson VUE
Eighty national questions in two and a half hours, 50 state questions in an hour and a half, 75 per cent on each. Nebraska moved from PSI to Pearson VUE in September 2023, and the $150 exam fee is paid to the Commission rather than to the test vendor.
Finish the paperwork within 30 days
The Commission requires the licensing process to be completed within 30 days of being notified you passed. You will also need errors and omissions cover — the Commission runs a group policy, and an active licence will not be approved without proof of insurance.
Do your 12 post-licence hours inside 180 days
Course 7000, 12 hours, within 180 days of your licence being issued. Miss it and the Commission places your licence on inactive status until you produce the certificate. Diary it the week you are licensed.
From the Nebraska Real Estate Commission — the Commission is at nrec.nebraska.gov — its pre-licence, post-licence, continuing education, background check and fee documents, Neb. Rev. Stat. § 81-885.13, §§ 81-885.14 and 81-885.55, and the Nebraska candidate handbook published by Pearson VUE, verified August 2026. The fingerprint fee is $55 until 31 August 2026 and $80 from 1 September, and is paid to the Nebraska State Patrol rather than the Commission. Note that the Commission still hosts an outdated page showing 60 hours and an outdated PSI handbook from 2019; the figures above come from its current pages. We have not published a shelf life for pre-licence coursework because the Commission does not state one.
Nebraska FAQs
Is Nebraska 66 hours or 96 hours?
Ninety-six, since 1 January 2026. It was 66 — two 30-hour courses plus the six-hour standards course — through the end of 2025, and Nebraska added a third 30-hour course. State law now requires "three courses in real estate subjects, approved by the commission, composed of not less than ninety class hours of study in total," plus the six hours of professional practice and standards. A great deal of published guidance still shows 66, including one national school's own Nebraska checkout page, so confirm the hour count of anything you buy.
What are the three 30-hour courses?
Real Estate Principles and Practices, Nebraska Real Estate License Law, and then any approved pre-license course you like. That third block is a genuine elective — the Commission describes it as "an approved Pre-License Education course," not a named subject. Some schools list property management as though the state mandated it; that is one valid option among several, and presenting it as the requirement is a school describing its own catalogue.
What is Course 7000 and what happens if I miss it?
Twelve hours of post-licence study that must be completed within 180 days of your licence being issued. It is separate from continuing education, not a part of it, and if the Commission does not receive evidence in time the statute says it "shall place his or her license on inactive status" until you produce it. Fewer providers are approved for Course 7000 than for pre-licensing, so check that your school carries it before you assume you can go back to the same place. A completion certificate stays valid four years.
Do I need continuing education at my first renewal?
No. The Commission's own example is unambiguous: if you are licensed in 2026 you must still renew in 2026 for a two-year term, but you are not required to complete continuing education until your next renewal in 2028. So the first renewal is a bill rather than a workload — and note it can arrive very soon, because salespersons renew in even-numbered years on a fixed cycle regardless of when in the cycle you were licensed. After that it is 18 hours every two years, at least six of them from the Commission's designated subject-matter list.
When do I get fingerprinted, and how old do I have to be?
Nineteen — not 18, which is the more common minimum, and the Commission advises being 19 before you test. On fingerprints, the order is unusual: your application must be with the Commission before you pursue the criminal history report, and the check takes four to six weeks. Doing it the other way round wastes over a month. The fee is paid to the Nebraska State Patrol and rises from $55 to $80 on 1 September 2026.