Department of Licensing

Key Takeaways

• The Department of Licensing (DOL) is the Washington agency that administers the real estate license law in chapter 18.85 RCW.
• RCW 18.85.041 gives the director power to issue rules, set examinations, grant or deny licenses, hold hearings, and enforce the license law.
• DOL also approves real estate schools and courses and may discipline schools, administrators, and instructors.
• RCW 18.85.011 defines department as the Washington department of licensing and director as the director of that department.

What It Means

The Department of Licensing, usually shortened to DOL, is the Washington state agency that runs real estate licensing and regulation. It issues the broker and managing broker licenses, administers the license examinations, approves the schools and courses that satisfy the education requirements, renews and reinstates licenses, and takes complaints against licensees and firms.

The authority is personal as well as institutional. Washington's license law assigns the operative powers to the Director Of Licensing, who heads the department, so the statute reads as a list of things the director may do rather than a loose grant to the agency. Those powers cover writing the rules that govern broker activity, deciding when and how examinations are held, granting or denying a License, holding hearings, and enforcing every law and rule connected with licensing.

For a student the practical picture is simple. DOL sets the education you have to complete, approves the school that delivers it, prescribes how the exam is conducted, issues the license once you qualify, and is the office a consumer contacts when a Broker behaves badly.

How It Works in Washington

In Washington, RCW 18.85.011 defines the department as the Washington department of licensing and the director as the director of that department. RCW 18.85.041 then lists the director's general powers, which include the authority to:

• issue rules governing the activities of brokers, managing brokers, designated brokers, and firms;
• fix the times and places for license examinations and prescribe how they are conducted;
• grant or deny licenses, hold hearings, and enforce all laws and rules relating to licensing;
• issue certificates of approval to real estate schools and discipline schools, administrators, and instructors;
• set standards for applicants licensed in other jurisdictions and require criminal background checks;
• set standards for permissible forms of clear and conspicuous advertising.

The education a student completes runs through the same statutory chain. RCW 18.85.101 requires a broker applicant to be at least 18, hold a high school diploma or its equivalent, complete 90 hours of approved instruction that includes three hours on fair housing and consumer protection, pass a course examination for each course, and pass the broker license examination. The same section sets 90 hours of courses for the first renewal. DOL publishes current fees, forms, and complaint contacts on its real estate brokers page, and our guide to renewal and reinstatement covers what happens when a license lapses.

Example

Marisol finishes 90 hours of DOL approved prelicense instruction, including the three hours on fair housing and consumer protection, passes a course examination for each course, and then passes the broker license examination. DOL issues her broker license and she affiliates with a firm in Yakima. At her first renewal she owes another 90 hours, so her first license cycle costs her 180 hours of coursework in total.

Six months in, Marisol writes an offer on a $415,000 house and her buyer, Alina, delivers $12,000 in earnest money to the firm. The deposit never reaches the firm's Trust Account. Alina calls DOL and files a complaint. Because RCW 18.85.041 gives the director power to enforce all laws and rules relating to licensing and to hold hearings, that complaint has somewhere to land: DOL can investigate how the firm handled the $12,000 and the director can act on the licenses involved. No private association or listing service has that authority.

Common Mistakes and Exam Traps

• Licensing authority in Washington sits with the Department of Licensing and its director, not with a local association or a multiple listing service.
• DOL regulates real estate schools and instructors as well as licensees, so course approval and school discipline run through the same agency.
• Do not confuse the Department of Licensing with the Department of Financial Institutions, which administers the Mortgage Broker Practices Act under chapter 19.146 RCW.
• Rules governing broker activity are adopted by the director under RCW 18.85.041, so the operating detail behind the license law lives in the administrative code rather than in chapter 18.85 RCW itself.