Texas Real Estate School: Choose the Right Path to Your License
Sales agent, broker, continuing education, or exam prep — every Texas real estate school path starts with a decision most sites don't actually help you make. Here's where they lead, what they cost, and how they're different at School Estate.
A Texas real estate school is a TREC-approved provider of the coursework required to get and keep a real estate license in Texas — 180 hours across six courses for a new sales agent license, additional coursework for a broker license, 18 hours every two years for continuing education (CE), and exam prep to get ready for the state exam. School Estate is one such TREC-approved school (QE Provider #4546QP, CE Provider #31-CEP), operating online across Texas since 2004. See the full cost breakdown, the step-by-step licensing process, what's in exam prep, or an honest comparison of Texas real estate schools before choosing a path below.
Every reason someone searches "real estate school" leads somewhere different.
Starting a new career, renewing a license, or moving up to broker? Pick the one that matches where you actually are right now.
Sales Agent License
180 hours of pre-licensing courses and one mentor instructor. The standard path to becoming a licensed real estate agent in Texas.
Learn moreBroker License
Qualify with 4+ years of active sales agent experience, then build your own brokerage business.
Learn moreContinuing Education (CE)
18 hours every 2 years to keep your license active, including TREC Legal Update I & II.
Learn moreApprentice Education (SAE)
The required course for a sales agent's very first license renewal.
Learn moreExam Prep
2,000+ practice questions, video review, and live weekend Exam Cram sessions.
Learn moreSingle Courses
Buy any one of the 10 individual TREC-approved courses on its own, no package required.
Learn moreAnswer a few quick questions — no contact info needed.
Most real estate schools hand you the hours and disappear. We don't.
You're personally assigned to one licensed Texas broker with 25+ years of experience — their welcome email and cell number land in your inbox within hours of enrolling, and you can reach them by phone, text, or email 7 days a week.
Live Zoom study groups led by licensed Texas brokers run 2-3 times a day, including weekends, plus weekend Exam Cram sessions on top of standard exam prep.
We've been a TREC-approved provider since 2004 — before most online real estate schools existed.
How our online real estate school works.
Texas real estate schools teach in classrooms, online, or a mix of both. Our online real estate courses are fully online and self-paced, with a live team behind them. Here's what pre-licensing students actually get, and what the path to a Texas real estate license looks like once you enroll.
Six required courses, 180 hours
Course final exams: open book, two attempts
Each course ends with an online, open-book final exam. You need 70% to pass, and you get two attempts. That's different from the state licensing exam, which is proctored and closed book at a Pearson VUE test center.
Course expiration date and TREC's daily limit
Your course access runs 6 months from enrollment. TREC limits how much course time counts each day, so plan on 3 days per 30-hour course before its final exam. You can work on several courses at once, but each final needs its own 3 days, which puts the fastest pace for all six courses at about 18 days. Most students take around 7 weeks.
Exam prep for the state and national exams
Both Success Packs include our full exam prep course: 2,000+ practice questions, unlimited practice exams, and live weekend Exam Cram sessions on Zoom, so you feel confident on exam day. The state licensing exam is 125 multiple-choice questions: a national portion (85 questions, 150 minutes, 56 correct to pass) and a Texas state portion (50 questions, 90 minutes, 28 correct to pass).
Materials for your learning style
Watch the video lessons, read along in PDF course material, or go print: the X6+ Accelerator adds printed textbooks, study guides, and 700 printed flashcards, plus the Language of Real Estate audio review with a printed book.
How to get a Texas real estate license, in five steps.
- 1
Check your eligibility
You must be 18 or older, a U.S. citizen or lawfully admitted alien, and meet TREC's standards for honesty, trustworthiness, and integrity. Worried about your background? You can request a Fitness Determination from TREC before you apply.
- 2
Complete the six required courses
180 hours of TREC-approved pre-licensing education, at your own pace, around your job and a busy schedule. Pass each course's final exam and you receive your course completion certificates.
- 3
Submit your license application and background check
Apply through TREC's REALM portal ($206 application fee) and complete fingerprinting for your background check ($37).
- 4
Pass the Texas real estate exam
Schedule your state exam with Pearson VUE ($43). You'll take both the national and state portions, graded separately.
- 5
Find a sponsoring broker
Every Texas sales agent works under a sponsoring broker. Texas brokers actively seek School Estate graduates, and we connect every graduating student with one.
Every step in detail, including timing and what to upload, is in our Texas real estate licensing steps guide. Want the bigger picture first? Read whether real estate is a good career.
Enrollment to licensed and placed with a broker: about 10 weeks.
180 hours across six courses, typically completed in around 7 weeks, then TREC processing, your state exam, and a sponsoring broker. See the full breakdown of every step in order.
Serving students in Austin, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Fort Worth, Plano, and everywhere in between.
Serving students throughout Texas — no matter where you live, you can enroll and complete your courses online. See what each city looks like for a School Estate student.
Don't see your city, or wondering why there's no campus nearby? See how School Estate works if you're searching for a real estate school near you.
Questions people ask before picking a Texas real estate school.
Not sure which path fits your situation?
Call and a real mentor instructor — not a call center script — will walk through your background and tell you exactly where to start.
Make a Nest builds working agents a professional website, built around your actual production, live in 72 hours. School Estate students and alumni get the $595 setup fee waived with code SCHOOLESTATE.
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