As of Aug. 4, Florida and Illinois have entered an agreement to permit mutual recognition of real estate licensure in both states.

This reciprocal agreement allows agents in Illinois to do business in Florida and vice versa. Illinois agents who want to do business in Florida are exempt from completing Florida’s extensive requirements to attain a real estate license by recognizing Illinois agents’ real estate education. While Florida does require Illinois agents to demonstrate their understanding of Florida law by passing the state law portion of Florida’s real estate examination, the state does not require Illinois agents to join the Miami Association of Realtors (MIAMI) or any other local real estate board.

There are a number of requirements in addition to the examination included in this agreement such as, at the time of application for licensure, the agent cannot be a resident of Florida and the agent must provide a certified history of their current licensure and good standing in the Illinois. A more extensive list can be found here. 

Once agents have met these requirements and passed the examination, they are free to begin selling property in both states. John Dohm, Miami Association or Realtor’s 2015 Chairman of the Board-Elect, suggests that agents who are serious about doing business should join the National Association of Realtors in addition to a local board.

“When you really want to do business, you want to do it as a Realtor, which is a trademark of the NAR,” said Dohm. “What this means is that you meet a certain standard in terms of code of ethics and things like that. After joining the NAR, you can then join a local board.”

Joining a local board, while not a requirement to practice real estate, can be beneficial for all agents. MIAMI, the voice of real estate in Miami, advocating for Realtors, is a local board in South Florida that offers agents a number of benefits, including access to ProxioPro, ListingBook, TerraFly Pro, hands on computer labs and MLS, when agents join the association.

Agents in Illinois who are members of the Illinois Association of Realtors and want to become a member of the MIAMI can easily do so by pay dues as they currently do as member of the IAR. The cost to join varies, with three levels of membership to choose from. For more information, contact MIAMI’s hotline at (954) 335-5200.