Two different clocks to track: you have 3 years from your application date to pass the exam, and once you're licensed as a Provisional Broker, you have 18 months to complete the required 90-hour postlicensing program. Miss that 18-month window and your license can be suspended until you catch up.

Right after you finish your 75-hour prelicensing course — you can't request the criminal record report until that's complete, and NCREC only accepts a report dated within 6 months of your application. Order it too early and it can expire before you apply; wait too long and you'll delay your Notice of Exam Eligibility.

Not in the traditional sense anymore — North Carolina replaced its old state-by-state reciprocity list with "limited license recognition," open to licensees from any state, U.S. territory, or Canadian province. If your license has been active for 3+ years, you can typically skip the prelicensing course and the national exam section, but you'll still need to pass the North Carolina-specific portion.

North Carolina only has one license type — broker — but two status levels. Everyone starts as a Provisional Broker, working under a supervising Broker-in-Charge (BIC). You shed the "provisional" label only after completing the 90-hour postlicensing program.

Beyond the 75-hour prelicensing course, expect a $56 PSI exam fee, a separate NCREC application fee, and the cost of your criminal record report — which can run higher if you've lived in multiple states or used a different legal name.

Not to apply or test — but you can't actually practice once licensed until you're supervised by a Broker-in-Charge, since Provisional Brokers aren't allowed to operate independently.

75% on each section, passed separately: at least 57 of 80 questions on the national portion and 29 of 40 on the North Carolina-specific portion.

Every year between May 15 and June 30, regardless of when you were originally licensed — so even a brand-new May or June license is due for renewal almost immediately. Continuing education isn't required for your very first renewal, but is every year after.