# Texas Real Estate Licensing, by the Numbers Updated October 16, 2026 from Texas Real Estate Commission records. Course providers tell you it "typically takes 4–6 months" to become a Texas real estate agent. Nobody shows their data. We compute the real numbers from the state's own records — 140,207 active sales agents, 3,087 pending applications, updated daily. ## Applications waiting in TREC's queue Applications in TREC's public pending file, counted every morning since Aug 30. TREC overwrites the file daily and keeps no history; this archive is the only record. [Is the backlog clearing?](https://txlicensedata.online/trec-processing-delays/) | Date | Applications waiting | |---|---| | Aug 30 | 3,973 applications waiting | | Aug 31 | 4,011 applications waiting | | Sep 1 | 4,053 applications waiting | | Sep 2 | 3,988 applications waiting | | Sep 3 | 3,876 applications waiting | | Sep 4 | 3,823 applications waiting | | Sep 5 | 3,731 applications waiting | | Sep 6 | 3,720 applications waiting | | Sep 7 | 3,749 applications waiting | | Sep 8 | 3,767 applications waiting | | Sep 9 | 3,782 applications waiting | | Sep 10 | 3,781 applications waiting | | Sep 11 | 3,706 applications waiting | | Sep 12 | 3,675 applications waiting | | Sep 13 | 3,645 applications waiting | | Sep 14 | 3,688 applications waiting | | Sep 15 | 3,716 applications waiting | | Sep 16 | 3,660 applications waiting | | Sep 17 | 3,631 applications waiting | | Sep 18 | 3,612 applications waiting | | Sep 19 | 3,587 applications waiting | | Sep 20 | 3,586 applications waiting | | Sep 21 | 3,629 applications waiting | | Sep 22 | 3,673 applications waiting | | Sep 23 | 3,598 applications waiting | | Sep 24 | 3,539 applications waiting | | Sep 25 | 3,515 applications waiting | | Sep 26 | 3,427 applications waiting | | Sep 27 | 3,409 applications waiting | | Sep 28 | 3,435 applications waiting | | Sep 29 | 3,487 applications waiting | | Sep 30 | 3,427 applications waiting | | Oct 1 | 3,409 applications waiting | | Oct 2 | 3,363 applications waiting | | Oct 3 | 3,343 applications waiting | | Oct 4 | 3,301 applications waiting | | Oct 5 | 3,339 applications waiting | | Oct 6 | 3,361 applications waiting | | Oct 7 | 3,304 applications waiting | | Oct 8 | 3,269 applications waiting | | Oct 9 | 3,231 applications waiting | | Oct 10 | 3,207 applications waiting | | Oct 11 | 3,171 applications waiting | | Oct 12 | 3,201 applications waiting | | Oct 13 | 3,233 applications waiting | | Oct 14 | 3,157 applications waiting | | Oct 15 | 3,157 applications waiting | | Oct 16 | 3,087 applications waiting | - **115** days, median (application received to license issued) - **15,864** new licenses (issued in the last 12 months) - **140,207** active sales agents (holding a Texas license today) - **3,087** applications pending (in TREC's queue right now) ## Becoming a Texas real estate agent? Start here Seven short reads, in the order you will need them. Each one pairs TREC's rule with the number that goes with it. 1. [The requirements](https://txlicensedata.online/become-a-texas-real-estate-agent/): Three qualifications and five steps, in TREC's own order 2. [Choose a school](https://txlicensedata.online/exam-pass-rates/): Every approved provider's exam pass rate, with sample sizes 3. [What it costs](https://txlicensedata.online/texas-real-estate-license-cost/): Every state fee to the dollar, and what comes due later 4. [The exam](https://txlicensedata.online/texas-real-estate-exam/): How you get a seat, the odds, and what three failures cost you 5. [How long it takes](https://txlicensedata.online/how-long/): The measured wait from application to license, and [whether TREC is behind right now](https://txlicensedata.online/trec-processing-delays/) 6. [Find a sponsoring broker](https://txlicensedata.online/find-a-sponsoring-broker/): Who actually sponsors new agents, from TREC's records 7. [After your license](https://txlicensedata.online/after-your-texas-license/): The 98 hours and the renewal most people don't budget for ## New Texas real estate licenses by month Every license type, by month first issued. The last bar is the current month so far. | Month | New licenses | |---|---| | October 2024 | 674 new licenses | | November 2024 | 1,073 new licenses | | December 2024 | 1,051 new licenses | | January 2025 | 963 new licenses | | February 2025 | 1,353 new licenses | | March 2025 | 1,195 new licenses | | April 2025 | 1,451 new licenses | | May 2025 | 1,404 new licenses | | June 2025 | 1,346 new licenses | | July 2025 | 1,411 new licenses | | August 2025 | 1,210 new licenses | | September 2025 | 1,282 new licenses | | October 2025 | 1,227 new licenses | | November 2025 | 1,177 new licenses | | December 2025 | 217 new licenses | | January 2026 | 100 new licenses | | February 2026 | 1,581 new licenses | | March 2026 | 1,348 new licenses | | April 2026 | 2,080 new licenses | | May 2026 | 1,750 new licenses | | June 2026 | 1,644 new licenses | | July 2026 | 1,555 new licenses | | August 2026 | 1,668 new licenses | | September 2026 | 1,496 new licenses | | October 2026 | 638 new licenses | Licensing volume runs 100–2,080 per month over the last year. Seasonal swings are real — see the [processing-time page](https://txlicensedata.online/how-long/) for what that means for your application. ## The number nobody else publishes Matching individual applications to the licenses later issued to the same person, the middle half of successful applicants took **67 to 152 days** from TREC receiving their application to holding a license. The fastest tenth made it in under 21 days; the slowest tenth waited more than 202. [Full distribution and estimator](https://txlicensedata.online/how-long/) ## Renewal is a real cost, and a lot of licenses are late **89,325** Texas real estate licenses currently sit in TREC's "expired less than six months" status. Read that carefully, because it is easy to over-read: this is TREC's late-renewal grace category, not a count of people quitting. Many of these license holders simply renewed late and are still working — TREC charges a late fee and lets them back in. What it does show is that renewal deadlines are missed at scale, and renewal carries its own fees and continuing-education hours that no school's marketing page leads with. --- Source: https://txlicensedata.online/ Computed from TREC open data on data.texas.gov; updated October 16, 2026. Licensed CC-BY 4.0. Method: https://txlicensedata.online/methodology/