Your First Week After You Get Your Texas Real Estate License: A 10-Step Checklist

Start with one fact: your license is inactive

TREC says that after your license is issued, you hold an inactive license. To move to active status and practice, you must be sponsored by a licensed broker. TREC also says that doing brokerage activity while inactive is a violation.

So the first week is not about marketing. It is about picking a sponsor and getting the sponsorship in place the right way. This checklist keeps the steps in order.

The 10-step checklist

Work through these in order. Each step links to a deeper guide.

• 1. Confirm your license status. Check that your license is issued and shows as inactive. Do not advertise or talk to clients as an agent yet.
• 2. List what you need from a brokerage. Write down your top three needs, such as training, fees you can afford, or a strong office. Our how to find a sponsoring broker guide can help.
• 3. Compare at least two brokerages. Use the same questions with each. See questions to ask a brokerage before you sign.
• 4. Get the fee list and the agreement in writing. Read the independent contractor agreement before you sign or pay anything.
• 5. Check the red flags. Read red flags when choosing a brokerage and slow down if you feel pressure to sign today.
• 6. Choose a sponsoring broker. Remember that commissions are paid through your sponsor, and you may not work for a broker other than your sponsor.
• 7. Submit or accept the sponsorship request in the REALM Portal. Either you or your broker can send the request. Allow time for it to show up.
• 8. Confirm the sponsorship is effective. Then you can list your sponsor in contracts and advertise under that sponsor. Read how to activate an inactive license.
• 9. Learn the IABS notice. Read the IABS form guide before your first conversation about a specific property.
• 10. Mark your SAE and renewal dates. See how to renew your Texas license and put the dates on a calendar.

Steps 1 to 3: know where you stand and what you need

Check the license holder search or your TREC account to confirm that your license is issued. If you are not sure whether it is active, treat it as inactive until the sponsorship shows in the REALM Portal.

Then write down what you need. A new agent often needs help with contracts and compliance questions. Another may care most about low costs. Another may want a team. There is no single right answer, so a short written list keeps you honest when a recruiter is talking fast.

Plan to talk to at least two brokerages. Ask each one the same questions so you can compare the answers side by side.

Steps 4 to 6: get terms in writing and choose

TREC lists fees you pay to TREC. It does not set what a brokerage charges you, so ask each brokerage for a one-page fee list. Ask what you pay before your first closing, what you pay at each closing, and what it costs to leave.

Ask to take the agreement home. A brokerage that will not let you read it first is a warning sign. If you want a deeper method, use our brokerage choice guide.

When you pick, remember the sponsorship rules TREC states. You may work from an office other than your sponsor main office. You may not work for a broker other than your sponsor. Your commissions are paid through your sponsor, and you may not have an escrow account.

Step 7: the REALM Portal sponsorship request

TREC says brokers and sales agents make and accept sponsorship changes in the REALM Portal. The TREC pages say you or your sponsoring broker can submit the request. TREC points to its own videos for the click-by-click steps, so use those when you are in the portal.

TREC also says changes can take a few hours to show in the REALM Portal and the License Holder Search. Do not panic if the public search looks behind for a few hours.

Step 8: when the sponsorship takes effect

TREC says a sponsorship is effective once it appears correctly in the REALM Portal, even if the License Holder Search has not updated yet. Once it is effective, TREC says you may update your IABS, list the sponsoring broker in contracts, and advertise under that sponsor.

Before you advertise, ask your broker about the written advertising policy. Ask how your ads get approved. Our guide to switching brokerages covers the same portal basics from the other side.

Step 9: learn the IABS notice

TREC publishes the Information About Brokerage Services form, called IABS. It explains who you work for and what a license holder owes to parties in a deal. Learn when you must give it before you talk about a specific property with a client. Your broker should show you how the office handles it.

Step 10: plan your first renewal

TREC says that before you renew for the first time, you must complete 270 qualifying course hours plus Legal Update I and Legal Update II. TREC also lists 180 classroom hours as an applicant requirement. The page does not explain the gap between those numbers, so check your own hours in the license holder search and ask TREC if you are unsure.

After that, TREC lists 18 hours of continuing education each two-year license period. If CE is not posted when you renew, TREC says you pay a $200 deferral fee, which gives you 60 days after the expiration date to finish, or you can renew as inactive. Fees can change, so confirm on the TREC site.

Who does what in week one

Use this table to see which step belongs to you, which belongs to your broker, and which belongs to TREC.

Common first-week mistakes

These are general guidance, not TREC rules. They come up often with new agents.

Signing the first agreement you see is the most common one. Paying for tools before you know what your broker already provides is another. A third is posting on social media as an agent before the sponsorship is effective. Each one is easy to avoid if you follow the order in the checklist.

If something feels rushed, pause. A sponsorship request can wait a day while you read the agreement. A bad agreement is harder to undo than a one-day delay.

What to skip in week one

You do not need a big marketing budget in week one. You also do not need to buy every tool a brokerage offers. Finish sponsorship first. Then plan your first 90 days with our first 90 days guide.

Do not pay anyone for a promise of leads or income before you have the facts in writing. Our leads guide explains why.

Where this fits

If you are licensed and looking at DFW brokerages, you can start a conversation with The Bauer Group on our site. Ask us the same list of questions, and compare our answers with every other brokerage on your list.

Rules can change

Education only, not legal, tax or financial advice. Confirm licensing rules with TREC.