South Carolina § 40-57-320 - Conditions for license application; education; examination; fees.

§ 40-57-320. Conditions for license application; education; examination; fees.

(A) As a condition for and before applying to the commission for licensure, an applicant for an associate, broker, or broker-in-charge license shall provide proof to the commission of having met the following educational requirements, in addition to the other requirements of this chapter:

(1) for an associate license:

(a) completion of sixty hours of classroom instruction in fundamentals of real estate principles and practices and thirty hours of classroom instruction in advanced real estate principles within five years before the application, provided an applicant may take the license examination before completing the required thirty hours of advanced instruction; or

(b) evidence of holding a juris doctor degree, a bachelor of law degree, a baccalaureate degree or a master's degree with a major in real estate from an accredited college or university, or completion of another course of study approved by the commission; and

(2) for a broker license:

(a) completion of sixty hours of commission-approved real estate classroom instruction, to include completion of the thirty hour Unit III A Broker Management and of the thirty-hour Unit III B Brokerage Principles courses in advanced real estate principles and practices and five years active associate licensure within the past seven years; or

(b) evidence of holding a juris doctor degree, a bachelor of law degree, a baccalaureate degree or a master's degree with a major in real estate from an accredited college or university.

(B)(1) As a condition of licensure, an applicant shall submit to an examination which must be conducted by the commission or a designated test provider at a time and place specified by the commission.

(2) The applicant must receive a passing grade on both the state and national portions of the examination, in accordance with a cut-score determination or a raw-score determination established by the commission.

(3) An applicant who applies to take the examination is granted a twelve-month eligibility period to complete successfully all portions of the examination. An applicant who fails to complete successfully both the state and national portions of the examination may reapply to become eligible for the examination if applicable qualifying courses were completed fewer than three years before applying for the examination.

(4) An applicant who passes both the state and national portions of the examination must apply for a license within one year, or the applicant must reapply and retake all portions of the examination.

(5) An applicant who is denied licensure by the commission may not reapply for licensure for a period of twenty-four months from the date of denial unless he prevails in appealing the denial pursuant to the Administrative Procedures Act.

(6) An individual who, at the time of application, holds an active real estate license in another state or jurisdiction or whose real estate license in another state or jurisdiction expired not more than six months before he makes his application only is required to pass the state portion of the examination to qualify for licensure. This does not exempt the individual from satisfying the educational requirements of this chapter.

(C) The commission or test provider may collect and retain reasonable examination fees. An applicant for an examination to be conducted by a test provider shall pay the fee directly to the test provider.

HISTORY: 1956 (49) 2046; 1962 Code SECTION 56-1545.9; 1972 (57) 2649; 1976 Act No. 519; 1981 Act No. 136, SECTION 1; 1986 Act No. 353, SECTION 6; 1991 Act No. 12, SECTION 7; 1994 Act No. 385, SECTION 6; 1997 Act No. 24, SECTION 1; 1999 Act No. 18, SECTION 1; formerly 1976 Code SECTION 40-57-100; 2016 Act No. 170 (S.1013), SECTION 1, eff January 1, 2017; 2024 Act No. 204 (H.4754), SECTION 3, eff May 21, 2024.

Effect of Amendment

2016 Act No. 170, SECTION 1, rewrote the section.

2024 Act No. 204, SECTION 3, rewrote the section.