January 25, 2008 - Director Keith W. Cooley announced the Michigan Department of Labor & Economic Growth (DLEG) online licensing services website has been enhanced with new features to make it easier for real estate professionals to do business in Michigan.

Improvements to the website (www.michigan.gov/icola) include: 

• Adding real estate salespersons to the growing list of professions that can apply online to speed up the licensing process to start their careers more quickly. 
• Providing more Information on the availability of real estate education (both prelicensure and continuing education) as well as a significantly improved information link for license lookup ("Check a License"). 
• Enabling salespersons and associate brokers to change their addresses online.

"DLEG has been listening to real estate professionals and we are very proud of the enhancements. The industry asked for real estate salespersons to be able to immediately begin work in their new career as soon as all of the requirements for that license are met and we made it a reality," Cooley said. "The new photo identification license card also includes a bar-code containing identifying information that can be used by approved education providers to more quickly, accurately and efficiently report attendance of licensed real estate professionals at approved education courses."

For the system to work, once the 40-prelicensure course is completed, all applicants must apply for the salesperson license online at www.michigan.gov/iCOLA prior to registering for their exam. State law requires that applicants must complete education, file an application, have an employing broker approved and examination passed before a license may be issued.

DLEG is also with the Department of Information Technology to make other enhancements to the online licensing website to benefit brokers and associate brokers. These will include automating the broker and associate broker license and exam application process, enabling brokers to update their addresses as well as allowing salespersons to transfer employment from one broker to another.

Description of the new system is as follows:

1. Real estate salesperson license applicants access the Department's Internet database system to apply for a license at www.michigan.gov/iCOLA .
2. Applicants enter information, answer questions and pay for the license electronically.
3. Once the applicant completes the process, if the applicant provided DLEG with employing broker information, that broker is required to access iCOLA using the broker's user ID and password. This confirms the broker's desire to have this new salesperson licensed to the broker.
4. Note: A salesperson applicant is not required to name an employing broker at the time of application for a license; however, if not, even if the applicant passes the examination, no license will be issued at the examination site.
5. After the salesperson successfully completes their application for a license on iCOLA, DLEG will electronically supply this information to the exam administrators, PSI. The applicant will then register with PSI and pay PSI for the exam (at www.psiexams.com) . An email will be sent to the applicant providing a 6-digit approval number to use in the exam registration process.
6. Once the salesperson applicant passes the exam, if an employing broker was named on the application and was verified in the application process, the successful exam candidate will receive the photo pocket license at the exam site. This enables new licensees to begin their careers in real estate immediately! The wall licenses will be sent in the mail to the employing brokers' main offices in approximately two weeks.
7. Salespersons who pass the exam but who did not enter employing broker information in the beginning of the process can, within one year of applying on-line, have their broker submit to the Department, the Employing Broker Notification form, available at the Forms and Publications link on www.michigan.gov/realestate . Once the broker confirms employment and the Department processes the new information, PSI will mail the photo pocket license to the broker.

DLEG Commercial Services encourage ALL brokers to access iCOLA to create a permanent user ID and password to immediately be in a position to verify new salesperson relationships. Please call the department at (517) 241-9288, press 111 to get a real estate staff person, if you have questions about getting your user name and password on iCOLA.

Read more Michigan Department of Labor & Economic Growth press releases.