Required criteria and qualifications to work in real estate
Before you can get a licence to undertake real estate agency work, you need to meet certain criteria and obtain either a prescribed qualification or a property degree.
Criteria you must meet to undertake real estate agency work
Criteria you must meet
You need to:
- be 18 years of age or older
- be a fit and proper person
- have the right qualifications and experience.
You cannot get a licence if you:
- have had a real estate licence cancelled within the last 5 years
- have any other prohibitions
- are a lawyer or conveyancer
Practicing lawyers or conveyancers are exempt from the requirement to have a licence.
Conviction history check
When you apply for or renew your real estate licence, you must consent to a criminal conviction history check. This lets us ask New Zealand Police Vetting Service for any information about you that could affect your eligibility to work in real estate. We also check to see if you are prohibited from being a director of a company under the Companies Act 1993.
You can’t have a real estate licence if:
- you’ve been convicted of any crime involving dishonesty in the past 10 years
- you’re an officer of a company (or other corporate entity or partnership) where someone in management has been disqualified from being licensed because they’ve been convicted of a crime involving dishonesty in the past 10 years
- you’ve been convicted of an offence under sections 14, 17—22 or 24 of the Fair Trading Act 1986(external link) in the last 5 years.
If you are unsure if a previous conviction would prevent you from holding a licence, contact us
Be a fit and proper person
The purpose of the ‘fit and proper’ person evaluation is to ensure that real estate licensees can be entrusted to meet the duties and obligations imposed on them in the Act and Code of Conduct. Being a fit and proper person means meeting a certain standard of conduct and character. It's up to you to satisfy the REA Registrar that you are fit and proper.
When applying for a new licence, you should tell us about:
- any convictions that haven’t been ‘clean slated’ (wiped from your record or legally withheld from us) — this includes driving-related offences
- any pending criminal charges
- any unsatisfied judgments in court
- any adverse findings against you by a court in civil proceedings
- any significant financial issues, such as bankruptcy
- any disciplinary action taken against you by another regulatory or professional body.
When applying to renew your licence, you should tell us if any of the above have occurred since the last time your licence was granted.
Any person who will be an officer of a company must also be, a ‘proper’ person to be an officer of a licensee company. The ‘fit and proper’ test for licensees is different to the ‘proper’ person test however there will be some overlap in the criteria considered.
Read the full 'Fit and proper' guidelines or download the 'Fit and proper' guidelines [PDF, 349 KB]
Referees
When applying for a licence, you must provide us with the contact details of referees that can explain why they think you are a fit and proper person to be a real estate professional. Referees cannot provide a reference if they are:
- related to you by blood or marriage
- connected to you by civil union or defacto relationship
- live at the same address as you.
Referees should be people who have known you for some time and are people of good standing in the community.
When you won't be granted a licence
-
If you have some restrictions
Examples of restrictions:
- You’ve been subject to an overseas order in the last 5 years that means you can’t act as an agent, branch manager or salesperson (or equivalent) unless we agree that you’re a fit and proper person.
- You’re prohibited from directing, promoting or managing an incorporated body under the Companies Act 1993, the Securities Markets Act 1988 or the Takeovers Act 1993.
- Your real estate licence has been cancelled within the last 5 years.
- Your licence is currently suspended.
- You’ve been disqualified from holding a licence.
-
You’ve been made bankrupt
If you’re an undischarged bankrupt or are subject to Part 5 Subpart 4 of the Insolvency Act 2006, you can’t hold an agent’s licence and you may not be able hold a branch manager’s or salesperson’s licence.
Lawyers and conveyancers
Lawyers and conveyancers can carry out real estate work without a real estate licence. However, lawyers cannot hold both a real estate licence and a legal practising certificate.
Refer to section 7 of the Real Estate Agents Act 2008(external link)
Visa holders
REA doesn’t give advice about visa restrictions that apply to training or employment in New Zealand.
If you are in New Zealand on a visa and you want to become licensed, you will need to contact an approved education organisation and ask if you can enrol with them. We recommend you also contact Immigration New Zealand(external link) to ensure your visa entitles you to work in New Zealand.
View the approved education organisations(external link) offering training for real estate qualifications
Qualifications required to be licenced
What is on this page
This page outlines the qualifications you need to apply for a real estate licence in New Zealand. It also covers previously recognised qualifications, and what to do if your qualification is expired or not listed.
To apply for a Salesperson, Branch Manager, or Agent licence you must hold one of following qualifications:
- A real estate qualification. You can view a list of accepted qualifications under Qualification by licence class.
- A recognised property degree. You can view a list of relevant property degrees under Recognised property degrees.
- Some real estate qualifications that are no longer offered by training providers may also be used to apply for a licence. These are listed below in Previously recognised qualifications (no longer offered)
To learn more about reapplying for licence which was surrendered, expired or cancelled, please read reapplying for a licence.
To carry out real estate agency work, you need a qualification specific to the type of licence you are applying for: Salesperson, Branch Manager, or Agent.
You may use one of the following qualifications to apply for your real estate licence if you received it less than three years ago. See the Qualification and experience section if you are applying after more than three years.
Salesperson Licence
To become a salesperson you need to complete the New Zealand Certificate in Real Estate (Salesperson) (Level 4) with one of the following providers:
- Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ)(external link)
- Ignite Colleges (part of Skills Group)(external link)
- Strategi (TAFE College)(external link)
- Open Polytechnic NZ(external link)
- Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology(external link)
Branch Manager Licence
To become a branch manager, you need to have at least three years licensed real estate agency work experience and you need to complete the New Zealand Certificate in Real Estate (Level 5) with one of the following providers:
- Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ)(external link)
- Ignite Colleges (part of Skills Group)(external link)
- Open Polytechnic NZ(external link)
Please note to enroll in New Zealand Certificate in Real Estate (Level 5), there may be pre-requisite qualifications. Please check with the learning provider, as they will vary with different providers.
Agent Licence
To become an agent, you need to have at least three years licensed real estate agency work experience and you need to complete the New Zealand Certificate in Real Estate (Level 6) with one of the following providers:
Please note to enrol in the New Zealand Certificate in Real Estate (Level 6) there may be pre-requisite qualifications. Please check with the learning provider, as they will vary with different providers.
Recognised property degrees
You may use one of the above qualifications to apply for your real estate licence if you received it less than 10 years ago. See the Qualifications and experience section if you are applying after more than 10 years.
Massey University:
- Bachelor of Business (Property)
- Bachelor of Business Studies (Real Estate)
- Bachelor of Business Studies (Valuation and Property Management)
Lincoln University:
- Bachelor of Commerce (Valuation and Property Management)
- Bachelor of Land and Property Management
University of Auckland:
- Bachelor of Property
- Bachelor of Property Administration
Other:
- Membership of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) in -General Practice, Commercial Property, Residential Property or Valuation
Additional requirements:
- Show you have completed unit standard 23137 covering sale and purchase agreements.
- Show proof of real estate agency work experience if you are applying for a branch manager’s or agent’s licence. You need to show you have three years real estate agency work experience and it was within 10 years of applying for the licence.
Some other real estate qualifications that are no longer offered by training providers may also be used to apply for a licence.
You may use one of the following qualifications to apply for your real estate licence if you received it less than three years ago:
For Salesperson licence:
- National Certificate in Real Estate (Salesperson) (Level 4)
- Any of the qualifications listed below for Branch Manager or Agent
For Branch Manager licence:
- New Zealand Certificate in Real Estate (Branch Manager) (Level 5)
- National Certificate in Real Estate (Branch Manager) (Level 5, version 3 or later)
- Graduate Diploma in Business Studies (Real Estate) from Massey University
- Any of the qualifications listed below for Agent
For Agent licence:
- National Diploma in Real Estate (Agent) (Level 5)
- Graduate Diploma in Business Studies (Real Estate) from Massey University
If the qualifications were completed more than three years ago, you will need to satisfy the Registrar that you can demostrate sufficient knowledge of real estate agency work. See the Qualification and experience section.
Older real estate qualifications may no longer be recognised under the Act, even if they were previously used to gain a real estate licence. If your qualification is not listed on this page, it cannot be used to apply for a real estate licence.
Qualification and experience (if outside the required timeframe)
If your qualification was completed more than 3 years ago (or 10 years for property degrees), you may still apply if you can satisfy the Registrar that you can demonstrate sufficient knowledge of real estate agency work.
The Registrar may ask for:
- Written references from current/previous employers verifying experience in real estate agency work
- Certificates showing you have completed relevant real estate training
- Details of any overseas or related industry experience relevant to real estate agency work in New Zealand.
Reapplying for a licence
You can reapply if your licence was surrendered or expired. You must:
- Meet current qualification and experience requirements
- Provide evidence of your qualifications (REA may not hold previous records)
- If your licence was cancelled (not surrendered voluntarily), you must wait five years before reapplying.
If you are reapplying a licence, it is important to note
- Qualification requirements may change. A qualification previously accepted may no longer be valid under the Act.
- If you cannot provide evidence of a prescribed qualification under the Act, you will need to complete a new qualification.
- See the pre-application requirements for more details.
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