Frequently Asked Questions for Real Estate
Requirements, Enrollment, and Class Questions
1. What are the requirements to become a licensed real estate agent in Louisiana?
The following list outlines what is necessary to become a licensed real estate agent (also called real estate salesperson):
- Be 18 years or older.
- Have a high school diploma or GED.
- Successfully complete the 90-hour pre-licensing requirement (Real Estate 101) and receive a certificate of completion from an LREC-approved pre-license real estate school.
- Apply for license with the Louisiana Real Estate Commission (LREC) and complete a background check. Note: If you have ever been convicted of a felony, you must appeal to the Louisiana Real Estate Commission (LREC).
- Successfully pass the National and State real estate licensing exam.
- Receive sponsorship by a Broker or Real Estate company, and provide proof of Errors & Omissions insurance prior to license issuance.
Note: The Louisiana Real Estate Commission (LREC) provides a helpful page outlining the above requirements. They also provide an end-to-end checklist detailing the path to becoming a licensed real estate salesperson (agent).
2. How long do I have to complete the real estate licensing course?
For live in-person courses: You have 6 months to complete the online portion of the class. For 3 months from your start date you may come to as many classes as you like without paying any additional fees, as long as there is space available. After 3 months, but less than one year, you can return to class for a reduced price. After one year you must pay the full price if you want to attend classes.
For online-only courses: Your time to complete is the access-level you purchased. The purchase options are: 1 month, 3 months, or 6 months.
3. What happens if I have to miss one of the classes in the real estate course?
We encourage any student that missed a day(s) of a live course to be diligent about making up that specific class(es) at the next live course session. You can make up classes at any of our six locations: Baton Rouge, Metairie, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Mandeville, or Monroe.
If you missed a live class, call our office so we can help. We can advise what subjects were discussed during the missed day(s), and we can help schedule you into an upcoming class about those specific topics.
4. I just enrolled with Burk Baker. Where do I sign on to view the online material?
Go to burkbaker.com and click the orange “Student Login” button at the top of our homepage. From there, you can use your account’s username and password to log in. If you are a new student and haven’t yet created an account, you can quickly fill in the necesssary information here to create an account.
Tip: When the login page appears, bookmark that page on your browser. By bookmarking it, you can easily jump back to the login page at any time.
4. Can I switch my enrollment from an online course to one of the live classes?
Yes. Some students start an online course and realize later that they are better suited for learning in a live classroom setting. You will only need to cover the cost difference between the online and live course, and the request to switch must be communicated before the online access expires that you purchased. For example, if you purchased a 30-day access online course, the request must be made prior to the end of the 30 days. Call our office at (225) 293-6000 for help — we can assist you with switching to an upcoming live classroom course that fits your schedule.
5. I plan to use the Burk Baker Computer Lab to take practice tests. When is the lab open?
The Computer Lab is available to all current Burk Baker students. Current students have unlimited access.
Former Burk Baker students who are still within 3 months of their enrollment also have unlimited access. However, former students who are past 3 months of enrollment are charged a $25 per-day fee to use the Computer Lab.
Individuals coming from other real estate schools who were not enrolled with Burk Baker School of Real Estate are welcome to utilize the Computer Lab. Their usage fee is $50 per day.
The Computer Lab has 15 desktop computers, each loaded with Real Estate exam practice tests. The Computer Lab is open during these hours:
- Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays: 8:30am-4:45pm
- Tuesday, Wednesday: 8:30am-9:30pm
The Lab is located at the Burk Baker main office in Baton Rouge.
Main office address:
2834 S. Sherwood Forest Blvd
Suite B-14
Baton Rouge, LA 70816
6. Do you offer any extra study aids that I can use to help prepare for the course exit exam and/or the Louisiana real estate licensing exam?
Yes. We offer a number of supplemental study aids for purchase on our website. The National and State terminology Flash Cards, the book of “1500 Questions & Answers,” and copies of our LA Laws and Principles & Practice books are our most popular. Click here to view our Study Aids. After purchasing, we will ship them to you via USPS from our main office in Baton Rouge. Current postal shipping charges will apply.
If you are local and wish to avoid shipping fees, you are welcome to pick up your material at our main office in Baton Rouge.
Main office address:
2834 S. Sherwood Forest Blvd
Suite B-14
Baton Rouge, LA 70816
7. I elected to take the online-only real estate course. Do any additional services come with the online course?
Yes. For our students enrolled in our online-only real estate course, we offer 1 free in-person math tutoring session and 1 free Two-Day Review. Our math tutoring is offered in Baton Rouge only and is tailored to help students better understand the math portion (formulas, terminology, and more) of the Louisiana real estate exam. The Two-Day Review is a comprehensive overview of the major topics covered during the 2-week course. We offer the Two-Day Review in-person at our Lafayette classroom, as well as in-person (or via Zoom) at our Baton Rouge classroom.
8. Does your School offer an enrollment discount for active-duty military personnel?
Yes, we offer all active-duty personnel an $80 discount on live in-person real estate classes at our Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, and Monroe classroom locations.
Licensing Process, Examinations, and Post-Licensing Questions
9. What are my next steps after I complete the real estate licensing course and successfully pass the course exit exam?
Your next steps are to apply for your license and then take the Louisiana real estate licensing exam. (Tip: For a complete, end-to-end list of actions and next steps, LREC provides this helpful step-by-step summary.)
Before you can register for the licensing exam, you must first turn in your license application, license fee, and school certificate to the Louisiana Real Estate Commission (LREC) in Baton Rouge. After you submit your license application and it is processed by LREC, you will receive an email from Pearson Vue allowing you to register for the exam. Pearson Vue is the nationwide exam-certification company that administers the real estate exam.
To register and pay for the exam, you will schedule your examination date and pay the exam fee on the Pearson Vue website. The following link will take you to Pearson Vue’s Louisiana Real Estate page where you can create a login and schedule your exam: https://www.pearsonvue.com/us/en/la/realestate.html. They offer the exam at numerous city locations around the state. Pearson Vue charges an examination fee.
You are given 4 hours to take the exam which consists of 2 parts: National and State (Louisiana). You are allotted 2.5 hours for the National portion and 1.5 hours for the State portion. These can be taken at one time, or separately if you choose. You must score at least 70% on both the National and the State (Louisiana) portions.
When you complete our course we will give you all the materials you will need to apply for your license with LREC and for the exam.
10. What happens if I fail the exit exam for the real estate course?
You may retake the course exit exam — there is no limit on the number of attempts. If you take the exam more than once, the exam system will keep your highest score.
11. I've taken the real estate course, passed the course exit exam, and obtained my course certificate of completion. However, it's been a while since I took the course. I plan to take the Louisiana real estate exam soon. Can I attend a refresher class(es) to help me prep for the exam?
Yes. If you’ve taken the Real Estate 101 course and need to refresh your knowledge, you can audit a live course in any of our 6 locations.
Click here and select a city. Once you have selected a city, look for the Audit option in the “Select a Class” dropdown. You can pick which class session you would like to purchase for audit. If you have questions about auditing or purchasing an audit, we are happy to help — call our office at (225) 293-6000 or email us at info@burkbaker.com.
12. How much will it cost to take the Louisiana real estate licensing exam with Pearson Vue?
The exam fee is paid to Pearson Vue. Pearson Vue administers the exam. The exam fee for both the National and State portions is $78. You are allowed to take the portions separately, if you wish. If you take the National and State portions separately, each portion is $39.
Remember that prior to taking the Louisiana real estate exam, you must apply for your real estate salesperson’s license with the Louisiana Real Estate Commission (LREC). The license application fee with LREC is $90 (fee current as of July 2025). LREC offers a helpful step-by-step checklist that has this information and more. Click here to view LREC’s checklist.
13. When do I need to take the Louisiana real estate licensing exam once I finish the real estate course?
Your education hours do not have an expiration date — however, if it’s been more than 5 years since you completed the real estate course, contact the Louisiana Real Estate Commission (LREC) to see if your education certificate will be accepted.
We highly recommend you take the Louisiana real estate exam within a few weeks after completing the class, while all the knowledge and information is still fresh in your mind. Regardless, when you turn in your license application to the Commission, you will register for the exam with Pearson Vue — they will give you an exam authorization which is good for 1 year.
14. Can I take the Louisiana real estate licensing exam more than once? And how long do I have to pass it?
There is no set limit on the number of times that you can take the Louisiana real estate licensing exam. However, if you do not pass both parts of the exam within 1 year from the first attempt, you must resubmit a new license application and fee. If you pass one part of the exam, that passing grade is only valid for 1 year.
15. What if I fail the Louisiana real estate licensing exam?
You can re-take the Louisiana real estate exam; however, the fee to retake the exam is $93. We strongly advise that you be well prepared before you take the exam for the first time. The best way to prepare for the Louisiana real estate exam is to attend/complete all the required classes, take the practice exams (both in your book and by computer if available — you can use our Computer Lab if you are in the Baton Rouge area), and absolutely study!
16. What are Post-Licensing hours?
45 hours of post-licensing education are required by the Louisiana Real Estate Commission (LREC), and must be completed within 180 days after you become licensed. The 45-hour post-licensing course is available through Burk Baker School of Real Estate as an online course — you can register to take this course here.
Note: LREC requires that you also complete the current year’s 4-hour LREC mandatory continuing education (CE) course in the same year that you complete your post-licensing requirement.
Continuing Education (CE) Questions
17. What is Continuing Education (CE)?
All licensees are required to complete 12 hours a year of continuing education (CE) classes. This is to ensure that agents are kept informed of new laws that affect the real estate profession, and also to stay current with the information learned in pre-licensing.
Post-license education hours may be used to satisfy 8 of the 12-hour annual continuing education requirement; however, post-license education hours will not satisfy the 4-hour mandatory continuing education topic specified by the Louisiana Real Estate Commission (LREC).
We offer continuing education online and we host live CE classes in our Baton Rouge classroom, which can also be attended remotely via Zoom.
18. I did my Continuing Education (CE) courses with Burk Baker. How do my CE hours get submitted to LREC?
Per Louisiana Real Estate Commission (LREC) rules, we are solely responsible for reporting our students’ Continuing Education (CE) hours to LREC. While the Commission grants real estate schools 30 days to report students’ hours, we typically submit them to LREC within 24 hours after a student completes their CE course. In rare situations our turnaround time to report hours may be slightly delayed if a holiday or weekend falls on the day after a student completes their CE. If that occurs, we report them on the next business day after the holiday.
If at any time you need to check how many CE hours you’ve completed this year, LREC makes this information available to you online. To view them simply log into your MyLREC Portal. Then click Education Transcript. Your Education Transcript will display the names and dates of courses you completed, hours earned for each course, and more.
Reciprocal Licenses and Broker Questions
19. What is a reciprocal licensing agreement? What states have a reciprocal licensing agreement with Louisiana?
A reciprocal licensing agreement, or license reciprocity, is when one state chooses to honor the official real estate license of another, lessening the time effort of completing a multi-state transaction.
The following states have reciprocal licensing agreements with Louisiana: Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Iowa, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania.
For more information on applying for a reciprocal license in any of the states noted above, follow the steps outlined here by the Louisiana Real Estate Commission (LREC).
20. I have a real estate license in a state (i.e., Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Iowa, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania) with a reciprocal licensing agreement with Louisiana, and I received a reciprocal license through LREC. How do I handle my Continuing Education (CE) hours?
Provided you are still a legal resident of the reciprocal state in which you lived when you applied to LREC for your reciprocal license, you should take all your required Continuing Eduction (CE) hours at an approved school in that state.
21. I am currently licensed outside of the state of Louisiana. Do I need to take all 90 hours of the Louisiana pre-licensing course to obtain a Louisiana real estate license?
22. How do I find a Real Estate Broker?
The Louisiana Real Estate Commission (LREC) does not allow us to recommend a Broker to you. However, we suggest that you call several companies and make an appointment to talk to them. Each company has a slightly different program, and each prospective agent has different needs. You should try to find the company that offers what you are looking for, along with a work environment that suits you best.
23. How do I obtain a Real Estate Broker’s license in Louisiana?
In order to obtain a Broker’s License in Louisiana, a person must first be an actively licensed real estate licensee for 4 years in any state or jurisdiction, with 2 of the 4 years occurring immediately preceding application for a broker’s license. During or after that 4-year period, you must take another 150 hours—i.e., our Broker 201, 202, and 203 courses. We offer the entire Broker’s course in either a combination of live (201 only) and online (202 & 203), or strictly online (201, 202, and 203).
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