(a) Any person desiring to act as a broker or salesperson must file an application for a license with the commission or, if required by the commission, with the testing service designated by the commission. The application shall be in such form and detail as the commission shall prescribe. The commission may require any portion of the application to be submitted electronically.

(1) Any applicant who qualifies for licensure as a salesperson shall submit the application accompanied by evidence of compliance with Kan. Stat. Ann. § 58-3046a(a) and (c), and amendments thereto.

(2) Any applicant who qualifies for licensure as a broker shall submit the application accompanied by evidence of compliance with Kan. Stat. Ann. § 58-3046a(b) and (d), and amendments thereto.

(3) All applicants shall submit the application and license fees as prescribed by Kan. Stat. Ann. § 58-3063, and amendments thereto.

(b) (1) As part of an application for an original license or in connection with any investigation of any holder of a license, the commission shall require a person to be fingerprinted and submit to a state and national criminal history record check. The fingerprints shall be used to identify the person and to determine whether the person has a record of criminal history in this state or other jurisdiction. The commission shall require the applicant to submit the fingerprints to the Kansas bureau of investigation and the federal bureau of investigation for a state and national criminal history record check in the manner designated by the Kansas bureau of investigation. The commission shall use the information obtained from fingerprinting and the criminal history for purposes of verifying the identification of the person and in the official determination of the qualifications and fitness of the person to be issued or to maintain a license.

(2) Local and state law enforcement officers and agencies shall assist the commission in taking and processing fingerprints of applicants for and holders of any license and shall release all records of adult convictions to the commission.

(3) The commission may fix and collect a fee in an amount necessary to reimburse the commission for the cost of fingerprinting and the criminal history record check. Such fee shall be established by rule and regulation in accordance with Kan. Stat. Ann. § 58-3063, and amendments thereto. Any moneys collected under this subsection shall be deposited in the state treasury and credited to the background investigation fee fund.

(c) A license to engage in business as a broker or salesperson shall be granted only to a person who is 18 or more years of age and who has a high school diploma or its equivalent.

(d) In addition to the requirements of subsection (c), except as provided in subsection (e), each applicant for an original license as a broker shall have been licensed as a salesperson in this state or as a salesperson or broker in another state, and shall have been actively engaged in any of the activities described in Kan. Stat. Ann. § 58-3035(f), and amendments thereto, for a period of at least two years during the three years immediately preceding the date of the application for a license.

The commission may adopt rules and regulations to implement the provisions of this subsection.

(e) The commission may accept proof of experience in the real estate or a related business or a combination of such experience and education which the commission believes qualifies the applicant to act as a broker as being equivalent to all or part of the experience required by subsection (d).

(f) Each applicant for an original license shall be required to pass an examination covering the subject matter which brokers or salespersons generally confront while conducting activities that require a real estate license. The examination shall consist of a general portion that tests the applicant’s knowledge of real estate matters that have general application. The state portion of the examination shall test the applicant’s knowledge of real estate subject matter applicable to a specific jurisdiction.

(1) Except as provided in Kan. Stat. Ann. § 58-3040, and amendments thereto, each applicant for an original license shall be required to pass the general or national portion of the examination.

(2) Each applicant for an original license shall be required to pass the Kansas state portion of the examination.

(3) No license shall be issued on the basis of an examination if either or both portions of the examination were administered more than six months prior to the date that the applicant’s application is received by the commission. The examination may be given by the commission or testing service designated by the commission. Each person taking the examination shall pay the examination fee prescribed pursuant to Kan. Stat. Ann. § 58-3063, and amendments thereto, which fee the commission may require to be paid to it or directly to the testing service designated by the commission. The examination for a broker’s license shall be different from or in addition to that for a salesperson’s license.

(g) The commission, prior to granting an original license, shall require proof that the applicant has a good reputation for honesty, trustworthiness, integrity and competence to transact the business of a broker or salesperson in such manner as to safeguard the public interest.

(h) An application for an original license as a salesperson or associate broker shall be accompanied by the recommendation of the supervising broker or branch broker with whom the salesperson or associate broker is to be associated, or by whom the salesperson or associate broker is to be employed, certifying that the applicant is honest, trustworthy and of good reputation.