{
  "title": "How to Become a Business Broker: Licences, Fees and Your First Year",
  "url": "https://acquisitions.com/blog/how-to-become-a-business-broker/",
  "author": "Moran Pober",
  "publisher": "Acquisitions.com",
  "published": "2026-10-23",
  "updated": "2026-10-23",
  "section": "Business brokers",
  "keyword": "how to become a business broker",
  "short_answer": "A business broker helps an owner sell a small business for a success fee, usually 8 to 10% of the price on Main Street deals. There is no national licence. California, Florida and Nevada treat it as real estate brokerage, Illinois has its own registration, and most other states require nothing. Check your state first. Then learn valuation, get listings, and pick a brokerage, independence, or an advisor network.",
  "facts": {
    "Main Street, up to about $1 million in revenue": [
      "8 to 10% of the price, often with a minimum fee of $10,000 to $15,000",
      "BizBen's 2025 survey of broker fees"
    ],
    "$1 million to $50 million": [
      "Double Lehman: 10% of the first $1 million, 8% of the second, 6% of the third, 4% of the fourth, 2% above that",
      "Exit Promise's explainer of the Lehman scale"
    ],
    "Lower middle market": [
      "A retainer on top, often $35,000 to $50,000 as a minimum engagement fee",
      "BizBen, 2025"
    ]
  },
  "sources": [
    "https://california.public.law/codes/ca_bus_and_prof_code_section_10131",
    "http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0400-0499/0475/Sections/0475.01.html",
    "https://nevada.public.law/statutes/nrs_645.863",
    "https://codes.findlaw.com/il/chapter-815-business-transactions/il-st-sect-815-307-10-10.html",
    "https://www.ibba.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/CBI-Policy.pdf",
    "https://www.bizben.com/blog/how-much-do-brokers-charge-to-sell-a-business/",
    "https://exitpromise.com/lehman-scale/",
    "https://sidley.com/en/insights/newsupdates/2023/03/us-congress-exempts-certain-merger-and-acquisition-brokers-from-sec-broker-dealer-registration",
    "https://www.ibba.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/market-pulse-highlights-q4-2025.pdf"
  ],
  "license": "Facts may be quoted with attribution to Acquisitions.com and a link to the url above."
}