Where to take the 75-hour New Jersey salesperson course
Your school has to be licensed by the Commission, which publishes a readable list of licensed real estate schools. Both schools below appear on it.
The CE Shop
- On the Commission’s licensed schools list as “THE CE SHOP, LLC”, so you can confirm its standing at the source before you pay
- Sells the full 75 hours in four tiers — course-only, value, standard and premium — so you can leave out exam prep if you do not want it
- On-demand self-paced, which is exactly the format New Jersey legalised permanently in 2023; check the course carries ARELLO Distance Education Certification, which the state requires for on-demand delivery
- Also sells a 15-hour New Jersey remedial course, which maps to the out-of-state education waiver route rather than to anything you need as a first-time candidate
Colibri Real Estate
- On the Commission’s list as “COLIBRI REAL ESTATE SCHOOL”, with a New Jersey address in Clinton
- Sells the 75 hours as self-paced and as scheduled livestream, so it is the option if you would rather have set class times than pace yourself
- Livestream runs in several patterns — full weekdays, or Tuesday and Thursday evenings — which suits people fitting the course around a job
- Note before you rely on its guidance: its New Jersey page states a “3 years” renewal cycle. New Jersey is biennial, and the same page correctly gives 30 June of odd years
How to get your New Jersey licence
Four steps — and everything hangs off a single one-year clock that begins the day your course ends, not the day you pass.
Complete 75 hours, attending at least 80% of them
N.J.S.A. 45:15-10.1 requires 75 hours in the aggregate, including at least three hours on ethics and one on fair housing, both inside the 75 rather than on top. N.J.A.C. 11:5-2.2(s) then adds a condition that survives the move online: to satisfactorily complete the course you must receive a passing grade and attend at least 80 percent of the class session hours.
Line up your sponsoring broker now, not later
This is the step to move earlier than feels natural. The Commission lets Brokers of Record submit and pay for original salesperson applications electronically, using the Applicant ID from your exam score card. Your broker is the filer. If you finish the course, pass at month ten and then spend two months interviewing brokerages, your eligibility can lapse through someone else’s inaction.
Pass the PSI exam
One combined 110-question paper — New Jersey does not split national and state portions — with four hours to complete it and 70% to pass, which is 77 correct. The fee is $38 per registration. You cannot rebook the same day, but you can call the next day and re-sit as soon as the day after.
Get fingerprinted immediately after you pass
IDEMIA runs it and the total cost is $66.05. The Commission tells candidates to complete fingerprinting as soon as possible after passing the state examination — which, given the one-year clock has to also cover your broker filing, is not advice to leave for later.
From the New Jersey Real Estate Commission, its fingerprinting page, fee schedule and continuing education instructions, DOBI Bulletin No. 22-10, N.J.S.A. 45:15-9 and 45:15-10.1, N.J.A.C. 11:5-2.1, 11:5-2.2 and 11:5-12.3, and the New Jersey candidate bulletin published by PSI, verified August 2026. One conflict flagged rather than smoothed: the same PSI bulletin states in capitals that eligibility expires one year to the day and that candidates must pass and apply before that date, then elsewhere refers to submitting materials “within one year of the eligibility expiration date”, which reads as two years. We publish the one-year rule, which the Commission’s own fingerprinting page states independently.
New Jersey FAQs
Can I take a self-paced online course in New Jersey?
Yes, and this is the most commonly out-of-date fact about New Jersey licensing. DOBI Bulletin No. 22-10, signed 30 November 2022, states that “effective August 29, 2023, prelicensure courses may be offered online on a permanent basis” and that “courses may be offered online via on-demand and live-remote instruction.” The COVID-era allowance was not merely extended — it was made permanent and widened from live-remote only to include fully on-demand study. There is one condition almost nobody mentions: the bulletin also requires that “courses delivered by on-demand instruction must also receive Distance Education Certification by the Association of Real Estate License Law Officials.” So ask a school whether its New Jersey course is ARELLO-certified, not merely whether it is online. Worth knowing where the bad information comes from: the Commission’s own Licensing and Education page still says the 75 hours are available “in both live remote and in-person formats”, omitting on-demand entirely. We treat the Commissioner’s bulletin as controlling and the page as stale.
When does my one-year clock actually start?
When your course ends — not when you pass the exam. The Commission’s own fingerprinting page states that candidates have one year from the completion date of their pre-licensure education to take and pass the state examination and to file a fully completed application, and the PSI bulletin says the same thing in capital letters. Combine that with the fact that your Broker of Record files the application, not you, and the practical consequence is stark: a candidate who finishes the course, passes comfortably at month ten and then starts looking for a brokerage can run out of eligibility because of a delay that is not theirs. Find the broker before you finish the course, and get fingerprinted the week you pass.
Who submits my licence application?
Your sponsoring broker. The Commission provides Brokers of Record the ability to electronically submit and pay for salesperson original applications, and the broker needs the Applicant ID number that appears on your exam score card. The Commission also warns that completing the online application “DOES NOT RESULT IN AN ACTIVE REAL ESTATE LICENSE” — it still has to be reviewed and approved before you can transact.
Does the 80% attendance rule apply to an online course?
It is written to apply to any prelicensure course. N.J.A.C. 11:5-2.2(s) says that to satisfactorily complete any prelicensure course, “a student must receive a passing grade and attend at least 80 percent of the class session hours required for the course.” The school then issues a Course Completion Certificate. How a school evidences attendance in an on-demand course is a matter for its ARELLO certification, but the underlying obligation is not waived by the format.
Does New Jersey require errors and omissions insurance?
No. There is no errors and omissions provision in N.J.S.A. 45:15, none anywhere in N.J.A.C. Chapter 11:5, none in the Commission’s renewal or continuing education instructions, and no E&O line on its fee schedule. Individual brokerages very commonly require it as a condition of taking you on — that is a private contract term between you and the firm, not New Jersey licensing law, and it should be described that way.
Does New Jersey have post-licensing education?
No. There is no post-licensing requirement in N.J.S.A. 45:15-10.1, in N.J.A.C. 11:5-2.1 or 11:5-12.3, or on any of the Commission’s licensing pages. New Jersey goes straight from initial licence into the biennial continuing education cycle.
Am I exempt from continuing education at my first renewal?
It depends which half of the two-year term you were licensed in, and that is a finer rule than the usual “first renewal is free”. N.J.A.C. 11:5-12.3 exempts a person initially licensed as a salesperson in the second year of a biennial licence term, but a person initially licensed during the first year “shall complete all applicable continuing education requirements.” The current term began 1 July 2025, so the twelve hours are due by 30 April 2027 with the licence renewal itself due 30 June 2027 — two separate deadlines, with a $200 late continuing education processing fee sitting between them.
What is in the 12 hours of continuing education?
At least six of the twelve must be in core topics, and within those the Commission mandates two credits of ethics, one of Fair Housing and the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, and one of agency. The remaining six can be any combination of core and elective. Credits do not roll over into the next term.