RE: License Examinations Procedures

Congratulations on passing your New Jersey pre-licensure education course.

The next step in acquiring a license is to make a reservation to take the State examination for the license you are seeking (salesperson or broker). Instructions on how to make a reservation are contained in the Candidate Guide handbook provided to you by your course instructor. The Candidate Guide can also be accessed by using the link to the website of Assessment Systems, Inc., located in the Real Estate Schools and License Exam Information Section of this web site.

At the time you take the examination you will be asked to provide responses to certain "screening questions." The questions relate to the qualifications to receive a real estate license prescribed by New Jersey’s real estate licensing law, N.J.S.A. 45:15-1 et seq. Among these qualifications are the candidate being over the age of 18 and having a high school diploma or its equivalent on the date of the examination. They also include the candidate’s general good character, honesty, trustworthiness and integrity including, but not limited to, not having been convicted of forgery, robbery, any theft offense other than shoplifting, criminal conspiracy to defraud, or other like offenses within the five years preceding the application for licensure. See N.J.S.A. 45:15-12.1. HOWEVER, convictions for shoplifting or other offenses, or convictions for the offenses mentioned above which occurred more than five years ago, or the loss of a real estate or other professional license for cause may constitute grounds for the denial of an application under N.J.S.A. 45:15-9. Consequently, the Commission considers the date and nature of all convictions and other indicia of the applicant’s character, honesty, trustworthiness and integrity when evaluating an applicant’s qualifications for licensure.

The purpose of this Notice is to urge you to carefully read the screening questions and thoroughly consider your responses before you answer the questions.

Should you pass the exam you will be required to sign a form on which your answers to the screening questions will appear. By signing that form you will certify to the Commission that those answers are truthful and accurate. THAT FORM IS PART OF YOUR APPLICATION FOR A LICENSE. Providing false information in response to a screening question is grounds for the denial of your application and for the suspension or revocation of any license issued to you, and the imposition of substantial fines. See N.J.S.A. 45:15-17(n).

If you have any questions or doubts about how you should answer one or more of the screening questions, you can call the Commission for guidance at 609-292-7272 between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Such calls should be made before you take the exam. In general, it is always better to err on the side of disclosure than to answer a question in a way that may raise concerns his or her whether your answers were honest and truthful. In all cases where a passing candidate’s response to a screening question does raise a concern about his or her qualifications for licensure, the candidate is given the opportunity to submit a full written explanation of the response.

It cannot be emphasized too strongly that it is in your own best interest to truthfully respond to the license application screening questions. The Commission staff is available to assist you in resolving any uncertainty you may have on how to do so.