Course Formats: Self-paced online courses.

Course Access: Six months from the date of enrollment.

Refund Policy: Get a full refund within the first 30 days if you haven’t completed more than 50% of the coursework.

Pass or Don’t Pay: You’ll get the cost of the state license exam reimbursed if you don’t pass the first time.

Exam Prep: Exam prep course for focused review of key material, personalized study recommendations based on readiness exams, unlimited mock exams, and video webinars led by instructors.

Student Support: Support is available from customer service agents seven days a week during daytime hours by email, phone, or live chat.

Final Exam: The CE Shop offers online final exam proctoring nationally, but in California, the DRE administers the computer-based exam at exam centers throughout the state.

Course Formats: Self-paced online courses or instructor-led livestream classes.

Course Access: Six months from the date of enrollment.

Refund Policy: Get a full refund if you cancel a self-paced course within 30 days, or within 24 hours of the start of a livestream course.

Pass or Don’t Pay: Eligible on packages which include exam prep, Colibri will refund the cost of your course if you score 80% or higher on the simulated exams and don’t pass the state license exam the first time you take it.

Exam Prep: Includes digital flashcards, mock exams, a readiness exam, audio review guides, live Q&A sessions & six one-hour live webinars with instructors for targeted exam prep.

Student Support: Instructors are available by phone on business days or by email.

Final Exam: Colibri offers virtual final exam proctoring nationally, but in California, the DRE administers the computer-based exam at exam centers throughout the state.

Course Formats: Self-paced online real estate courses.

Course Access: One year from the date of enrollment.

Click here for an interactive demo of the California Association of Realtors prelicensing course

Refund Policy: Get a full refund if you haven’t accessed the course within the first two days of enrolling, minus the cost of shipped textbooks, if any. Get a full refund minus a $40 fee if you haven’t accessed the course but more than two days have passed since you enrolled. Get a prorated refund based on the number of chapters you completed within 30 days. You’ll get no refund if you’ve completed more than 50% of the course online.

Pass or Don’t Pay: Not available.

Exam Prep: Exam prep course for focused review of key material and simulated exams.

Student Support: Customer service support by phone and email Monday to Friday, email support may be delayed on weekends.

Final Exam: Online final exam, OnlineEd does not offer exam proctoring , but in California, the DRE administers the computer-based exam at exam centers throughout the state.

Course Formats: Self-paced online courses.

Course Access: Six months from the date of enrollment.

Refund Policy: Get a full refund within the first 30 days.

Pass or Don’t Pay: Pass the license exam within three tries or get reimbursed for the full price of your course.

Exam Prep: Exam prep videos, 75 audio lessons, digital flashcards, more than 1600 practice questions, 100-page exam prep ebook, live webinars five times a week, live instructor Q&A sessions, 1-on-1 tutoring available.

Student Support: Instructor support is available by email 7 days a week, customer support is available by email and phone Monday to Friday.

Final Exam: Aceable Agent offers online final exam proctoring nationally (but an exam proctor is not required to complete your prelicensing final exam by the state of California.)

Course Formats: Self-paced online courses, instructor-led livestream classes, or home study text-based courses.

Course Access: Six months from the date of enrollment.

Refund Policy: Get a full refund if you cancel any course within the first 30 days.

Pass or Don’t Pay: Not Available.

Exam Prep: Exam prep course for focused review of key material, practice question bank, customizable quizzes, performance tracker, mock exams, interactive online study group.

Student Support: National and state-specific subject matter experts are available via email and will reply to your question within a business day.

Final Exam: Kaplan offers virtual final exam proctoring nationally, but in California, the DRE administers the computer-based exam at exam centers throughout the state.

Course Formats: Self-paced online courses.

Course Access: One year from the date of enrollment.

Refund Policy: Get a full refund within 30 days if you have completed less than 50% of your course.

Pass or Don’t Pay: Not available.

Exam Prep: Focused study exam guide, practice questions, 13 mock exams.

Student Support: Instructor and customer support available by email 7 days a week.

Final Exam: Online final course exam. An exam proctor is not required to complete your prelicensing final exam by the state of California.

Course Formats: Self-paced online course, self-paced video on-demand online course, instructor-led livestream online or in-person courses.

Course Access: Six months from the date of enrollment and the option to extend an additional six months for $25.

Refund Policy: Get a full refund within the first two weeks if you haven’t completed more than two-thirds of the online course. Get a full refund before your third class if you attend in-person classes.

Pass or Don’t Pay: Receive a full refund on your course if you failed the license exam on your first try within five days of scoring 80% or higher on five CA Realty Training mock exams.

Exam Prep: Flashcards, more than 1500 practice questions, unlimited practice tests, simulated exams with focus areas for targeted studying, crash course videos.

Student Support: 24/7 access to a student portal with instructor, current student and alumni support, plus customer support via chat, phone, and email during the week.

Final Exam: Online final course exam. An exam proctor is not required to complete your pre licensing final exam by the state of California.

Colibri Real Estate, Aceable Agent and The CE Shop lead with the highest student satisfaction ratings nationally between 96-98% claimed on their websites. Student satisfaction ratings can be provided by the real estate schools, rating websites like TrustPilot, or the Better Business Bureau. Remember that not all real estate schools provide satisfaction ratings but still provide student testimonials to share their student success stories.

Aceable Agent claims to have a pass rate of 92% in California and a 94% national pass rate. Keep in mind that pass rates are provided by real estate schools, and vary by state.

The California Department of Real Estate (DRE) mandates that you cannot complete each of the 45-hour mandatory prelicensing courses in less than two-and-a-half weeks[4] each. The minimum time it could take you to complete your prelicensing coursework is about 8 weeks. Of course, we recommend taking all the time you need to feel confident taking your license exam. It can take nearly twice as long to complete the 360-hour coursework needed to get your broker license in California. But continuing education requirements in California can be completed as quickly as four weeks.

Real estate prelicensing coursework can cost between $100 and $450. The more basic your course offerings, the cheaper the cost. Most basic online prelicensing packages include your e-textbooks and text-based lessons and final exam. The cost of online real estate courses will increase as you opt for upgrades like videos, livestream classes, exam prep materials, or career resources.

There are almost 450,000 licensed real estate salespeople and brokers who work in California, with an average of 2,500 salesperson licenses being issued each month.[5]

You’ll need to complete 135 hours of prelicensing course work to qualify for your real estate exam in the state of California. The coursework is split into three 45-hour courses, and you can complete your courses entirely online through schools like Calibri Real Estate, Kaplan, and more.[6]

Getting your real estate license in California involves a few straightforward steps, let’s break them down here:

The California Department of Real Estate (DRE) is the state agency responsible for regulating and overseeing real estate licensing and related activities in California. They establish the requirements and standards to obtain and maintain your real estate license, approve real estate education providers, administer the real estate license exams, and oversee salespeople and brokers to ensure they’re following state laws. To check out more, visit the DRE website.

The California Department of Real Estate (DRE) sets limitations on how quickly you can complete your coursework (at least 54 days), but you can take as long as you’d like. Schools offering online courses will provide you with the time you have to access materials, often between 6 to 12 months.

You can conveniently search for and find a list of all real estate schools approved by the Department of Real Estate (DRE) on their website. These schools are all approved to provide the 135-hour prelicensing courses that will allow you to apply for a real estate license in California.