The real estate profession in Indiana is regulated by the Indiana Real Estate Commission, a division of the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency. As per the IREC website, “Indiana's legislature has made sweeping changes to streamline real estate licensure in Indiana. We are now in a new era of licensure for Indiana brokers.” In practice, this means that Indiana has done away with the “salesperson” label and instead licenses brokers and so-called “managing brokers.” In this guide, we'll show you how to obtain your Indiana Real Estate Broker License!

Obtaining a License

The first thing to know is that since July of 2014, Indiana has required all brokers to possess a high school diploma. If you've done that, here are the general steps to obtain the license:

• First, enroll in and successfully complete a state-accredited Real Estate Broker course. This is a 90-hour course and is specific to Indiana law and procedure – you can find a full list of available programs on this PDF.

• Take and pass the Brokers examination, administered by Pearson VUE. You can register for it here.

• Indiana requires that you finish both the coursework and successfully pass the exam before you actually apply for a license. You can download the application from this page. The fee is $65.50, and note that you must include an official score report, provided to you by Pearson VUE.

• Note that you must be “affiliated” with a licensed broker to receive your license. Basically, this means a broker is going to have to “vouch” for you on your application. If you do not want to be associated with a broker (that is to say, be employed by one), you must go for the “managing broker” license, which has additional requirements.

That's it! Not so bad, huh?

Indiana, unfortunately, no longer has reciprocal agreements for real estate broker's licenses with any other states. The law here is actually in a state of flux. Officially, Indiana states that you may be eligible for a streamlined license procedure if your licensing state has “substantially similar” requirements to Indiana. However, they do not release a public application by endorsement form on their website. If you currently hold a broker's license from another state, your best bet is to click the above link and contact the IREC directly.

Maintaining a License

Okay, listen closely, because this is where the changes in Indiana law are somewhat complex. Usually, broker's license expire every odd-numbered year on June 30. However, after last year's law change, the 2013 renewal date was pushed to June 30, 2014. Hereafter, the typical odd-year structure will continue. So if you renewed in 2014, you will have to renew again in 2015, but after that you will not have to renew until 2017. You may not renew more than 60 days prior to your license expiration date. Indiana has a warm and friendly webpage that goes into a bit more detail about renewal here. Indiana also has a continuing education requirement for each renewal – you must take a mandatory six hours of specified classes, and ten hours of electives for every two-year renewal period. (If you renewed in June of 2014, you also had to take an 8-hour course explaining the new laws, but you will not have to do this for future renewals.) If you were unable to complete the Continuing Education requirements due to illness or military service, you may be eligible for a waiver, and can download a waiver application here.

The IREC handles discipline of real estate brokers directly. Interestingly, IREC is also empowered under the law to discipline, through fines or other methods, those who practice real estate without a license, so make sure yours is valid and current. Alternately, complaints against brokers can be handled by the State Attorney General directly, depending on how the complaint is made. Indiana has provided a helpful flow chart explaining the procedure taken whenever a complaint is filed against a broker. Remember, all complaints are public records, as are the results of disciplinary proceedings, and they are published on the IREC website.