Module 10 of 13 / Pennsylvania rules
Pennsylvania licensure and eligibility
Separate education, examination, issuance and active practice, including modern wholesale rules.
Outline allocation: 8 of 40 scored questions. Reviewed October 15, 2026.
What you will learn
- Explain the standard salesperson path.
- Recognize licensed activity and narrow exemptions.
- Maintain an active, properly affiliated license.
Education, exams and issuance are separate
For the standard salesperson path, applicants must be at least 18 and have a high school diploma or equivalent, with 75 hours of qualifying prelicensing education unless a recognized alternative applies. The standard course structure is 30 hours of fundamentals and 45 hours of practice. Both national and Pennsylvania exam portions must be passed as required. The Commission’s guide addresses education recency and a properly completed license application. A salesperson works under a licensed broker; course completion and an exam pass do not themselves authorize practice.
Work through an example
A learner who passes both exams on Friday still must complete the application and obtain the required license status before practicing.
Remember: Education complete, exams passed, application submitted and license active are four different statuses.
Activities and exemptions
Listing, negotiating, selling, leasing or performing other statutorily defined brokerage activities for others for compensation generally requires the appropriate license. Unlicensed assistants must stay within permissible administrative work. Exemptions are specific: an owner handling the owner’s property is not a universal exemption for someone marketing another person’s property or conducting defined wholesale transactions. Court-appointed fiduciaries and other listed categories have limited statutory exemptions. Analyze the actual activity and compensation, not a job title.
Work through an example
Calling a paid negotiator a consultant does not remove the licensing requirement if the work is brokerage.
Remember: The substance of the work controls.
Renewal, affiliation and reporting
Standard licenses renew biennially. The general continuing-education requirement is 14 approved hours per renewal period, with special first-renewal and current-cycle requirements to verify. A salesperson cannot independently operate as a broker or assume that a job change automatically changes the licensing record. Follow the required broker-affiliation and reactivation processes before practicing. The Commission must be notified of covered felony or misdemeanor convictions or pleas within 30 days, and of specified out-of-state discipline within 30 days.
Work through an example
An inactive salesperson can study and seek affiliation, but cannot negotiate licensed transactions simply because the old license number still exists.
Remember: Verify current status, affiliation and current-cycle education, not just the original issue date.
Wholesale transactions after Act 52
Pennsylvania’s amended RELRA includes defined wholesale activity within broker and salesperson definitions. A wholesale transaction involves promoting the transfer of an equitable or other interest in residential property for consideration without taking title as owner of record. Required contract disclosures explain the intended transfer, independent advice and cancellation rights. With compliant disclosures, cancellation runs to midnight of the 30th day after execution or conveyance, whichever occurs first; without them, cancellation can occur any time before conveyance. The right cannot be waived.
Work through an example
An assignment fee does not by itself turn a transaction into an unregulated owner sale. Apply the statutory definition and licensing rules to the actual transaction.
Remember: An equitable interest is not a blanket exemption from Pennsylvania licensing.
Check your understanding
Close your notes and explain the rule in your own words. Change one fact in an example: does the answer change? Use topic practice in the study room, then return to any rule you missed.
Sources and further reading
Supplemental study only. State rules and transaction details matter; consult the linked official sources for the complete requirements. This lesson provides no prelicensing credit.