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Getting your real estate license on Maui

By Josh Lin, licensed Hawaii real estate agent · updated 21 August 2026 · figures from the Hawaii Real Estate Commission FY2025 report

Maui County holds a small share of Hawaii's licensed agents. The Real Estate Commission counted 2,155 active licensees here in FY2025 — 530 brokers, 1,338 salespersons, 71 sole proprietors, and 230 corporations, partnerships, and LLCs. That is 15% of the state's 14,181 active licensees, against Oahu's 8,274, or 56%. Molokai has 27 active licensees and Lanai has 12, both inside the same county. If you are licensed on Maui you are working a market where the entire professional community would fit in one hotel ballroom, and where two of your county's islands are served by a couple dozen people.

The requirements are statewide, not local

Hawaii licenses at the state level, so nothing about the path is different because you live in Kihei instead of Kailua. A salesperson license takes 60 hours of pre-licensing education from a Hawaii-approved provider, then the state exam. A broker license takes 80 hours plus the experience requirement.

Where geography does bite is how you take those 60 hours. Classroom instruction in Hawaii is concentrated in Honolulu — Abe Lee Seminars, for one, teaches there. For a Maui candidate that means either interisland flights on a class schedule or, realistically, taking the course online. Online pre-licensing starts around $377, and for most people on this island it is the only sane option. Compare providers on our list of Hawaii real estate schools and check delivery format before you pay.

The exam is the real filter

In FY2025, 4,518 people sat the salesperson exam and 1,497 passed — 33.1%. The broker exam ran 665 tested and 258 passed, 38.8%. Most attempts do not pass. The 60 hours is the minimum to sit rather than preparation to pass, and the published figure is a rate per attempt. Budget study time past the coursework, and read our breakdown of what the Hawaii exam covers before you schedule.

The state issued 775 new salesperson licenses in 2024, down from 1,240 in 2019. Fewer people are entering the profession than were entering it before the pandemic. Read that how you like — it is a smaller cohort of new competitors and a smaller pool of new agents for brokerages to recruit.

What the work looks like here

Maui's transaction mix is not Honolulu's. Alongside resale and resort property, there is sustained rebuilding work following the Lahaina fire: agents supporting families through insurance claims, new construction, and land transactions. This is recovery work for a community that lost people and homes, and it calls for patience and care rather than enthusiasm. If you take it on, expect long timelines, clients under real strain, and a need to understand construction and insurance far better than a typical residential agent does.

The Molokai and Lanai numbers point at the other side of a small market: thin comparable data, few cooperating agents, and referral relationships that matter more than advertising.

Choosing a brokerage, then keeping the license

A new salesperson license does nothing until it hangs with a broker. On Maui your realistic choices are fewer than on Oahu, so weigh training and mentorship over splits early on — see how to compare Hawaii brokerages as a new agent.

After that, renewal is continuous: 20 hours of continuing education per biennium, made up of 6 core hours (Parts A and B, 3 hours each) and 14 elective hours. The current filing deadline is 30 November 2026. Details are on our Hawaii CE requirements page.