Residential Leasing Agents: Get Licensed

Yes. Real Estate Institute is approved by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. Education Provider #515.000001. We offer courses that are required as prerequisites for the Leasing Agent, Broker, and Managing Broker licensing examinations.

Our quality programs, dedicated and knowledgeable instructors, and outstanding service set our school apart. When you successfully complete our course, you will have all the knowledge you need to pass the state examination. Quizzes for each homework lesson allow students to see how they are doing as they progress through the course. Along with the reinforcing tools included with our programs, qualified instructors are available to provide additional assistance.

Real Estate Institute offers students all these additional resources for one simple reason: we want you to pass the state examination!

We recommend that you review our license comparison. We have designed well organized, high quality programs for each Illinois real estate license type. Please see additional FAQs for each license type.

We have partnered with Affirm, who offers financing options that enable our students to enroll today and pay later. This extends our traditional payment options, such as credit/debit cards and cash.

Click here to learn more.

No. We are an independent school, licensed and approved by the State, as is our coursework. We are not here to recruit you into the real estate business. We are here to help students obtain or meet their real estate education requirements.

No. To hold an Illinois real estate license, the state requires that you meet the age and education requirements, have a Social security number, and be of good moral character.

You will find a wealth of information throughout our website and frequently asked questions. Additional information may be available directly at Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation's website.

Illinois offers reciprocity if you are already licensed in some other states. Please view these details at the IDFPR website and contact the IDFPR to discuss your specific licensing requirements. IDFPR-approved coursework and examinations may still be required for you to earn a license in Illinois.

Anyone not licensed as a Broker or Managing Broker who is performing leasing activities for a person or entity other than the owner of the property.

State law requires that the applicant must:

• Be at least 18 years old
• Hold a high school diploma or equivalent
• Complete a 15-credit-hour state-approved pre-license program
• Pass the state license exam
• Have a Sponsoring Broker
  

Leasing activities include:

1. Leasing or renting residential property
2. Collecting rent for the use of residential property, and
3. Attempting, offering, or negotiating to rent, lease, or collect rent for the use of residential property.

No, the Residential Leasing Agent license only involves residential activities.  To lease commercial property, you must obtain a Real Estate Broker license.  You can find more information regarding our Broker Pre-License programs here.

Yes, if you are acting in a capacity that requires you to be licensed. To comply with current law, any agent required to hold a license should immediately register as a student and begin pursuing the process of obtaining a license.

Yes, our state-approved programs are specifically designed for individuals seeking to become licensed residential leasing agents in Illinois.

You will learn about real estate license law, fair housing, and contract law as applied to leases. 

Most importantly, our goal is to prepare you for the course final exam and the state final exam.

Yes. The Real Estate Broker License also allows leasing activities, so you will still be in compliance with Illinois license law if you choose to obtain a Broker license rather than a Leasing Agent license.  You can find more information on our Broker programs here.

No, a Broker license allows you to act as a leasing agent.

Yes, we do offer a leasing agent pre-license course that may be completed entirely through self-study. You would be required to go in-person for the course final exam.  Learn more about our self-study course.

Yes. We offer two convenient programs to meet your individual learning needs. You can satisfy your entire 15 credit-hour Illinois pre-license education requirement by completing our self-study or two-day class or webinar.

Click here to learn more about both options

Yes. This is an area where our school really stands out. Students in our real estate pre-license programs are strongly encouraged to call for one-on-one instructor assistance throughout the program. This one-on-one support is available to all students, including those who attend our classroom programs. We're committed to each student's success!

It’s typical for students to successfully complete our self-study course in two weeks or less. Students who attend our classroom program will finish in two days.  Students who attend our webinar program will complete the live online classes in two days, but will then make an appointment to schedule the course final exam.

We have on-site testing at our school locations on select dates or you may test online with our approved proctoring service.

We have partnered with a 3^rd party service to administer all online exams.  If you are interested in online testing, please visit our Online Proctor page for technical information and additional details.

All exams must be scheduled in advance.

Note: If you are attending the Residential Leasing Agent 2-day classroom course, your exam will be administered on day two of  your class.

The course final exam is 50 questions, multiple choice.

The passing score is 75%.

If you receive a lower score than 75%, you will be permitted one additional attempt to pass an alternate final exam.  A total of two attempts is included with your tuition.

If you do not pass the final examination on your second attempt, you can request a third and final attempt.  This is a $35 fee.

Failing all your attempts at the final exam will result in failure of the course.

After you pass our pre-license course final exam, you will be issued a transcript that authorizes you to attempt the state examination. The state examination is offered daily at locations throughout the state. We will provide detailed information regarding the state exam upon you successful course completion.

All courses expire six months after the date of enrollment. In some cases, expired pre-license course enrollments may be extended for a fee within a year of original enrollment. Courses cannot be extended beyond the 1-year anniversary of the original enrollment.

Any individual or firm engaged in leasing activities for properties in which it does not have an ownership interest, must hold a broker’s license. All active owners, partners, or officers, must hold broker’s licenses. All employees conducting any leasing activities must hold some type of real estate license (Leasing Agent, Broker, or Managing Broker).

Yes, under Illinois law the following individuals are exempt:

1. Those employed directly by the property owner.
2. Those employed by an entity owned by the property owner.
3. Leasing agents living at the property they are leasing, and are acting as residential manager.

The company must file a 120-day Leasing Agent Permit/Application with the IDFPR for the new employee. A copy of this document is available at the IDFPR website.

A sponsoring Broker is not required until after you have passed the state exam, but before you apply for the license. Leasing Agent and Broker licensees must have a Managing Broker sponsor to activate their license. A Managing Broker licensee may sponsor him or herself or may be sponsored by another Managing Broker.