Best Real Estate Courses & Schools in Washington (2026)

Washington eliminated the traditional entry-level “salesperson” license title. Instead, everyone enters the industry as a Real Estate Broker. When shopping for a real estate school, you need the 90-Hour Washington Broker Pre-Licensing Package approved by the Department of Licensing (DOL). You do not need prior industry experience to enroll, but as a new broker, state law requires you to work under the supervision of a licensed Managing Broker or Designated Broker at a firm.

Yes, you can complete all 90 hours 100% self-paced online. The DOL requires the 90 hours to be split into two specific courses: Real Estate Fundamentals (60 hours) and Real Estate Practices (30 hours). Most online schools allow you to work at your own pace through text, audio, or video modules. Once you pass the proctored final exams for both courses, your school will electronically transmit your completion records directly to PSI (the state testing vendor), allowing you to schedule your state exam.

Washington requires 90 hours split into two courses: a 60-hour Real Estate Fundamentals course and a 30-hour Real Estate Practices course. Washington’s entry-level license is called a “broker” license, not a salesperson license.

Studying online at your own pace, most students finish the 90 hours of coursework in a couple of months. Add time for fingerprinting, exam scheduling, and finding a managing broker to affiliate with, and most people are licensed within 3 to 5 months total.

Most agents describe it as challenging. The exam has 130 scored questions — 100 national and 30 Washington-specific — plus 10 unscored trial questions mixed in. You’ll need at least 70% correct on each section independently to pass.

You only need to retake the section you failed, not the whole exam — but you’ll pay the full $138.25 exam fee again for that attempt. You must pass both sections within 6 months of each other, or you’ll need to retake both.

Washington doesn’t publish a specific limit on retakes — you can keep retaking a failed section by paying the $138.25 fee each time, as long as you pass both sections within 6 months of each other.

130 scored questions total: 100 on the national section and 30 on the Washington-specific section, plus 10 additional unscored trial questions you won’t be able to identify. You’ll have 3.5 hours to complete it, administered by PSI.

70% on both sections independently — 70 of 100 correct on the national section and 21 of 30 correct on the state section.

Most Washington-approved pre-licensing courses include practice exams as part of the coursework. For additional free practice questions, check YouTube for study walkthroughs, or ask your course provider whether sample questions are available before purchasing standalone exam prep.

Take as many practice exams as you can — repetition is what turns recognition into recall. Since you need 70% on each section independently, budget your study time so the smaller 30-question state section gets real attention, not just leftover time after the national portion.

Yes. Your first renewal requires a larger 90-clock-hour education load, which includes Advanced Practices and Real Estate Law courses on top of the standard renewal requirements. After that, renewals settle into the standard 30-hour cycle every two years.

If you enroll in an online real estate school, you take your course final exams 100% online from home on your own computer.
How it works: Real estate schools use third-party remote proctoring services (like ProctorFree or MonitorEDU). You log into the school portal, show a government ID to your webcam, perform a 360-degree camera sweep of your desk/room to prove no notes or secondary screens are visible, and complete the test.
Equipment needed: A desktop or laptop computer with a working webcam, microphone, and stable internet access. Smart devices (phones, iPads, Android tablets) are almost never allowed for proctored course finals.

In Washington, they require all candidates to sit for the official state licensing exam at a physical testing center.

Complete your fingerprints only AFTER you pass your PSI exam. Washington State requires all applicants to undergo an electronic fingerprint background check through IdentoGO. The DOL explicitly recommends waiting until you have successfully passed both the national and state portions of the PSI exam before scheduling your fingerprint appointment. Fingerprints are only valid for 6 months, and waiting until after test day prevents your background check clearance from expiring while you study or complete coursework.