Real Estate License Exam
State Real Estate Commissions
Complete guide to passing the Real Estate License Exam exam on your first attempt.
$50-$100
~60%
2-4 years (renewal required)
USA
State Real Estate Commissions
$50k-$100k+
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Complete Overview
The real estate license exam is a state licensing test, not a national one: each United States jurisdiction sets its own exam, its own passing score and its own fee, and there is no single nationwide credential. Most states contract delivery to Pearson VUE or PSI, a few run the exam themselves, and fees are modest by professional-licensing standards. Arizona charges $70 for the general portion and $60 for the state portion, with a $75 combo price if both are scheduled back to back, and $125 for the broker exam. Almost every two-part state uses the same general blueprint. Pearson VUE's National/General Exam Content Outline for Salespersons, effective 1 March 2025, contains exactly 80 scored items distributed across eight topic areas, plus five unscored pretest items mixed in and not identified. Real Estate Contracts and Agency is the largest area at 16 of the 80 items, followed by Real Property Characteristics, Legal Descriptions and Property Use at 11 and Property Value and Appraisal at 11. Real Estate Math Calculations is the smallest at 7 items. Pearson VUE also builds each general exam to cognitive-level specifications, classifying every item as knowledge, application or analysis; in the Contracts and Agency area, for example, 7 items are knowledge, 6 application and 3 analysis. Formats vary widely by state. Arizona splits the salesperson exam into an 85-item general paper of 150 minutes and a 65-item state paper of 90 minutes, and requires 75 percent correct on each. California runs its own exam through the Department of Real Estate: 150 multiple-choice questions in 3 hours for salespersons at 70 percent correct, and 200 questions in 4 hours for brokers at 75 percent. In Texas the state law portion of the sales agent exam is 40 scored items plus 10 pretest items. Scoring is percent-correct rather than scaled, with statistical equating applied across forms so no candidate is advantaged by which version they sit. Two-part exams are scored independently, so a candidate who passes one portion usually retakes only the failed one. Retake rules differ sharply: Arizona makes you wait 24 hours, Tennessee lets you rebook 24 hours after a failed exam but imposes 30 days between subsequent failed attempts once you have failed twice, and Texas requires 30 extra classroom hours of qualifying education for each failed portion after three failures. No agency publishes a national pass rate, because no national exam exists to measure.
Why Get Real Estate License Exam Certified?
Entry requires prelicensing education measured in tens of hours, not a degree; Texas adds 30 classroom hours per failed portion only after three failures
The general blueprint is public and precise: 80 scored items across 8 topic areas, so you can count how many questions each subject is worth
Fees are low relative to other professional licences: Arizona charges $70 general, $60 state, or $75 for both together, and $125 for the broker exam
The exam can usually be booked at short notice; Pearson VUE accepts Arizona reservations up to one calendar day before the test date
Two-part states score each portion independently, so failing one half does not force you to resit the other
Results are immediate: Arizona issues a score report at the test center, and California returns electronic exam results on completion
Arizona offers a one-time exam playback after a second failure, letting you view every question you answered incorrectly in a 30-minute review session
Exam Format & Structure
Duration
150 minutes for the Pearson VUE national/general salesperson exam. State portions run separately: Arizona allows 90 minutes for its 65-item state paper and 315 minutes for its 195-item broker exam. California, which administers its own exam, allows 3 hours for the 150-question salesperson exam and 4 hours for the 200-question broker exam. Arizona instructs candidates to report to the test center 30 minutes before the exam begins; California asks examinees to arrive 30 minutes early.
Questions
85 items on the national/general salesperson exam: 80 scored plus 5 unscored pretest items that are mixed in and not identified. Arizona's state salesperson paper is 65 items, 60 scored plus 5 pretest. Arizona's broker exam is 195 items, 180 scored plus 15 pretest. California's salesperson exam is 150 questions and its broker exam 200. Texas's sales agent state law portion is 40 scored items plus 10 pretest items.
Passing Score
Set by each state. Arizona requires 75 percent of questions answered correctly, a standard set by the Arizona Department of Real Estate with Pearson after a comprehensive study. California requires 70 percent for salespersons and 75 percent for brokers. Maryland requires at least 70 percent on each portion. In two-part states each portion carries its own passing standard and is scored independently.
Question Types
- Multiple choice throughout. California states answers are selected from four choices
- Knowledge items, which require recalling a specific fact or definition
- Application items, which require applying knowledge to a described situation
- Analysis items, which require examining a fact pattern to draw a conclusion or make a decision
- Math calculation items, 7 of the 80 scored general items, all classified as application or analysis rather than knowledge
- Unscored pretest items, which look identical to scored items and are used to gather statistics for future exams
Delivery Method
Computer-based at a test center in most states. Arizona real estate examinations are expressly not available through OnVUE online proctoring and must be taken at a Pearson authorized test center in Arizona. PSI offers online remote proctoring for some state programs, including Tennessee. California administers its own exams and offers an electronic format at its Fresno, La Palma, Oakland, Sacramento and San Diego sites.
How scoring works
Score scale
Percent correct on a 0 to 100 percent scale, reported per portion. Arizona states the score is the percentage of questions answered correctly. Failed score reports also carry a per-content-area diagnostic percentage.
Score needed to pass
Set by each state agency. Arizona requires 75 percent. California requires 70 percent for salespersons and 75 percent for brokers. Maryland requires at least 70 percent on each portion. Each portion of a two-part exam must clear its own bar independently.
Roughly what that means raw
Arizona's 75 percent bar means 60 of the 80 scored items on the general salesperson paper and 45 of the 60 scored items on the state paper. California's 70 percent salesperson bar means 105 of 150 questions, and its 75 percent broker bar means 150 of 200.
When results arrive
Immediate in both Pearson VUE and California DRE electronic delivery. Arizona issues a printed score report at the test center with pass or fail plus content-area diagnostics, a licence application link for passers and reexamination information for failers. California provides electronic exam results on completion and normally mails further correspondence within five business days; it tells passers only that they passed, and gives failers the actual score with per-subject percentages.
How the scale is built
Every form is built to the published content outline, and Pearson VUE applies statistical equating so that forms of differing difficulty produce comparable results. Unscored pretest items are excluded from the score. Scoring is compensatory within a portion and conjunctive across portions: strength in appraisal offsets weakness in financing on the same paper, but a passing national portion does not rescue a failing state portion. No deduction is published for wrong answers.
Pacing and time budget
85 questions in 150 minutes gives you 1 minute 46 seconds across the 85 items of the national or general salesperson paper in 150 minutes. Arizona's 65-item state paper in 90 minutes gives a tighter 1 minute 23 seconds, and California's 150 questions in 3 hours gives 1 minute 12 seconds. per question.
Minute 38
21 of 85 items, one quarter. Falling behind here usually means over-thinking the knowledge-level items in Real Property Characteristics rather than the analysis items later on.
Minute 75
43 of 85 items, the halfway point. By now you should have met most of the 16 Contracts and Agency items, which are the densest block on the paper.
Minute 113
64 of 85 items, three quarters, leaving the remaining 21 with a full 37 minutes for the math and analysis items that take longest.
Minute 135
All 85 items answered, leaving 15 minutes to revisit the ones you flagged. Nothing should be blank at this stage.
Minute 150
Paper submitted. In a two-part state the state portion is a separate timed exam with its own clock, so this pacing plan restarts from zero for it.
| At this point | You should have answered |
|---|---|
| Minute 38 | 21 of 85 items, one quarter. Falling behind here usually means over-thinking the knowledge-level items in Real Property Characteristics rather than the analysis items later on. |
| Minute 75 | 43 of 85 items, the halfway point. By now you should have met most of the 16 Contracts and Agency items, which are the densest block on the paper. |
| Minute 113 | 64 of 85 items, three quarters, leaving the remaining 21 with a full 37 minutes for the math and analysis items that take longest. |
| Minute 135 | All 85 items answered, leaving 15 minutes to revisit the ones you flagged. Nothing should be blank at this stage. |
| Minute 150 | Paper submitted. In a two-part state the state portion is a separate timed exam with its own clock, so this pacing plan restarts from zero for it. |
- Five of the 85 items are unscored pretest items that Pearson VUE mixes in and does not identify, so treat every question as if it counts and do not try to spot the throwaways.
- Contracts and Agency is 16 of the 80 scored items, one fifth of the paper. Nine of those 16 are application or analysis level, so budget more than the average time per item there.
- All 7 math items are application or analysis and none is knowledge level, which makes them the slowest questions on the paper. Save them for a second pass rather than grinding through them in sequence.
- The exam supplies the proration convention inside the question, stating whether to use a 360-day or 365-day year and how to treat the day of closing, so read the stem fully before reaching for the calculator.
- Two-part states time the portions separately. Arizona's combo booking puts them back to back on one day, which means about four hours at the test center including the 30-minute reporting requirement.
Where the marks are
Real estate contracts and agency
20% (16 of 80 scored items)
The largest block on the general paper and the least memorisable: 9 of its 16 items sit at application or analysis level, asking what a described contract or agency relationship actually produces.
Real property characteristics, legal descriptions, and property use
13.75% (11 of 80 items)
Tests the boundary between real and personal property, the four governmental powers, and whether a described restriction is a covenant, an easement or an encroachment.
Property value and appraisal
13.75% (11 of 80 items)
Methods of estimating value alone carry 5 of the 11 items. Expect questions on which valuation approach fits a described property and on the difference between a CMA, a Broker Price Opinion and a formal appraisal.
Real estate practice
12.5% (10 of 80 items)
Concentrates on where the licensee's authority stops: unauthorized practice of law, scope of expertise, brokerage agreements with a principal, and which insurance covers which failure.
Forms of ownership, transfer, and recording of title
11.25% (9 of 80 items)
Ownership, estates, rights and interests carry 5 items; deeds, title transfer and recording carry 4. Lien priority and the leasehold estate types are the usual trip hazards.
Property disclosures and environmental issues
11.25% (9 of 80 items)
Environmental and property disclosure obligations and liability alone are 4 items. Questions turn on what the licensee was obliged to find out, not only on what they were told.
Financing and settlement
8.75% (7 of 80 items)
Small but regulation-dense. Federal financing rules carry 2 items covering Regulation Z and TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosures, and settlement and closing carry another 2.
Real estate math calculations
8.75% (7 of 80 items)
The only area with zero knowledge-level items: 4 application and 3 analysis. Six subtopics get one item each, from area and commission through to loan costs, closing costs and return on investment.
| Topic | Weight | Why it scores |
|---|---|---|
| Real estate contracts and agency | 20% (16 of 80 scored items) | The largest block on the general paper and the least memorisable: 9 of its 16 items sit at application or analysis level, asking what a described contract or agency relationship actually produces. |
| Real property characteristics, legal descriptions, and property use | 13.75% (11 of 80 items) | Tests the boundary between real and personal property, the four governmental powers, and whether a described restriction is a covenant, an easement or an encroachment. |
| Property value and appraisal | 13.75% (11 of 80 items) | Methods of estimating value alone carry 5 of the 11 items. Expect questions on which valuation approach fits a described property and on the difference between a CMA, a Broker Price Opinion and a formal appraisal. |
| Real estate practice | 12.5% (10 of 80 items) | Concentrates on where the licensee's authority stops: unauthorized practice of law, scope of expertise, brokerage agreements with a principal, and which insurance covers which failure. |
| Forms of ownership, transfer, and recording of title | 11.25% (9 of 80 items) | Ownership, estates, rights and interests carry 5 items; deeds, title transfer and recording carry 4. Lien priority and the leasehold estate types are the usual trip hazards. |
| Property disclosures and environmental issues | 11.25% (9 of 80 items) | Environmental and property disclosure obligations and liability alone are 4 items. Questions turn on what the licensee was obliged to find out, not only on what they were told. |
| Financing and settlement | 8.75% (7 of 80 items) | Small but regulation-dense. Federal financing rules carry 2 items covering Regulation Z and TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosures, and settlement and closing carry another 2. |
| Real estate math calculations | 8.75% (7 of 80 items) | The only area with zero knowledge-level items: 4 application and 3 analysis. Six subtopics get one item each, from area and commission through to loan costs, closing costs and return on investment. |
The numbers
80 scored plus 5 unscored pretest items, across 8 topic areas
Scored items on the national or general salesperson exam
Source: Pearson VUE, National/General Exam Content Outline for Salespersons, effective 1 March 2025
Real Estate Contracts and Agency, 16 of 80 items, split 7 knowledge, 6 application and 3 analysis
Largest topic area
Source: Pearson VUE, National/General Exam Content Outline for Salespersons
75 percent correct; $70 general, $60 state, $75 combo, $125 broker; every retake at the same price as the first attempt
Arizona passing score and fees
Source: Pearson VUE, Arizona Real Estate Candidate Handbook, February 2026
150 questions in 3 hours at 70 percent for salespersons; 200 questions in 4 hours at 75 percent for brokers
California exam structure and passing scores
Source: California Department of Real Estate, Taking the Exam
Practice of Real Estate and Disclosures, approximately 25 percent of the exam, ahead of Laws of Agency and Fiduciary Duties at approximately 17 percent
Heaviest California salesperson content area
Source: California Department of Real Estate, Salesperson Examination Content
30 additional classroom hours of qualifying real estate education per failed portion, plus 5 to 7 business days of TREC processing before rescheduling
Texas consequence of a third failure
Source: Pearson VUE Texas Real Estate page, with documents submitted to the Texas Real Estate Commission
If you fail
Wait before retaking
Set by the state. Arizona requires a 24-hour wait after a failed exam before a retake reservation can be made. Tennessee allows rebooking 24 hours after a failed exam but requires 30 days between any subsequent failed attempts once a second attempt has been failed. California requires you to wait until your result is released before re-applying, and warns that booking early gets your record flagged, results withheld and new dates cancelled.
Attempt limit
No published cap in Arizona, and none in California within the two-year period following the filing of the original application; after that period California requires a new application, requalification against all statutory requirements and a new fee. Texas allows three attempts before imposing 30 additional classroom hours of qualifying education per failed portion.
Retake fee
Arizona charges the same price for each retake as for the initial examination: $70 for the general salesperson paper, $60 for the state paper and $125 for the broker exam, all payable at reservation and never at the test center. California requires a fresh fee submitted through eLicensing or on form RE 415A or RE 415B, which must not be filed until results are released or the fee is forfeited.
In two-part states you generally retake only the portion you failed, but the passing portion has a shelf life: Tennessee holds it for two retakes of the failed section or six months, whichever comes first. Arizona offers a one-time exam playback after a second or later failure, a single 30-minute session showing every question answered incorrectly, which must be scheduled within 14 days and completed before any further attempt. Arizona also requires the exam to have been passed within one year prior to the licence application date, so repeated delays can invalidate a pass you already hold.
Exam Domains & Topics
16 of the 80 scored items on the Pearson VUE national/general salesperson exam, the largest single area. Cognitive split: 7 knowledge, 6 application, 3 analysis.
Key Topics to Master:
- Types of contracts: express versus implied, unilateral versus bilateral (1 item)
- Required elements of a valid contract, including voluntary agreement and legally competent parties (3 items)
- Executed versus executory and valid versus void contracts
- Listing agreements and buyer representation agreements
- Offers, counteroffers, purchase contracts and contingencies
- Agency creation, disclosure and termination
- Fiduciary duties owed to a principal and duties owed to third parties
11 of the 80 scored items. Cognitive split: 6 knowledge, 3 application, 2 analysis. Covers what counts as real property and who can restrict its use.
Key Topics to Master:
- Real property versus personal property, fixtures, trade fixtures and emblements (3 items)
- Attachment, severance and bills of sale
- Economic characteristics: scarcity, modification, permanence of investment and situs (2 items)
- Physical characteristics: immobility, indestructibility and non-homogeneity
- Legal descriptions and survey methods (3 items)
- Public land use controls: police power, eminent domain, taxation, escheat and zoning (3 items)
- Private controls: covenants, conditions and restrictions, HOAs, easements, licences and encroachments
11 of the 80 scored items. Cognitive split: 6 knowledge, 3 application, 2 analysis. Methods of estimating value alone account for 5 of those items.
Key Topics to Master:
- Characteristics and principles of value
- The appraisal process, its purpose and steps, and federal oversight of it (2 items)
- Methods of estimating value and Broker Price Opinions (5 items)
- Sales comparison approach and the cost approach
- Physical deterioration, functional obsolescence and economic obsolescence
- Reproduction versus replacement cost, and the income approach
- Gross rent and gross income multipliers, comparative market analysis, assessed value and tax implications
10 of the 80 scored items. Cognitive split: 5 knowledge, 3 application, 2 analysis. Covers how a brokerage actually operates and where the licensee's authority stops.
Key Topics to Master:
- Responsibilities of the broker, including practising within the scope of expertise (2 items)
- Unauthorized practice of law
- Brokerage agreements between broker and principal, whether seller, buyer, landlord or tenant
- Advertising and truth in advertising rules
- Trust account handling and record keeping
- Types of insurance, including errors and omissions and general liability
9 of the 80 scored items. Cognitive split: 5 knowledge, 2 application, 2 analysis. Ownership, estates, rights and interests alone carry 5 of those items.
Key Topics to Master:
- Forms of ownership and freehold estates: fee simple absolute, fee simple defeasible, life estate (5 items)
- The bundle of rights
- Leasehold estates: estate for years, periodic estate, estate at will, estate at sufferance
- Gross, net and percentage leases
- Liens and lien priority; air, surface and sub-surface rights
- Deeds, elements of a valid deed, and types of deed (4 items)
- Voluntary and involuntary alienation, recording, constructive and actual notice, chain of title and cloud on title
9 of the 80 scored items. Cognitive split: 5 knowledge, 3 application, 1 analysis. The area where a licensee's personal liability is most directly tested.
Key Topics to Master:
- Property conditions and required condition disclosures
- Environmental and property disclosure obligations and liability (4 items)
- Material facts affecting property value
- Lead-based paint and other federally regulated hazards
- The duty to obtain, verify and disclose information rather than rely on assumption
- Inspections, reports and when a licensee must recommend one
7 of the 80 scored items. Cognitive split: 4 knowledge, 2 application, 1 analysis. Small in item count but dense in federal regulation.
Key Topics to Master:
- Financing concepts: conventional and non-conventional mortgages, seller financing, land contracts (2 items)
- Lien theory versus title theory, and the deed of trust
- Primary and secondary mortgage markets
- Lender requirements: FHA, VA, USDA rural development and conventional; buyer qualification and loan-to-value (1 item)
- Hazard insurance, flood insurance and private mortgage insurance
- Federal financing regulation: Truth in Lending and Regulation Z, TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosures, mortgage fraud and predatory lending (2 items)
- Settlement and closing the transaction (2 items)
7 of the 80 scored items, and the only area with no knowledge-level items at all: 4 application and 3 analysis. Every item requires a calculation rather than a definition.
Key Topics to Master:
- Property area: square footage and acreage (1 item)
- Property valuation: comparative market analysis, net operating income, capitalization rate, equity, listing price, assessed value (1 item)
- Commission and compensation (1 item)
- Loan financing costs: interest, loan-to-value, fees, amortization, discount points, prepayment penalties (1 item)
- Settlement and closing costs: down payment, PITI, net to seller, cost to buyer, prorated items, debits and credits, transfer tax and recording fees (1 item)
- Investment and return on investment (1 item)
- Two constants must be memorized because they are not supplied at the test center: 43,560 square feet per acre and 5,280 feet per mile
Recommended Study Plan
- 1Download your own state's candidate handbook from Pearson VUE or PSI, or your state agency's exam page if the state administers its own exam
- 2Read the Pearson VUE National/General Exam Content Outline for Salespersons and write down the item count for all 8 topic areas
- 3Confirm your state's passing score. Arizona requires 75 percent; California requires 70 percent for salespersons and 75 percent for brokers
- 4Confirm whether your state splits the exam into national and state portions and whether they are scored independently
- 5Check whether your state permits online proctoring. Arizona real estate exams are test center only and are not offered through OnVUE
- 1Finish or continue the prelicensing hours your state requires before you can sit the exam
- 2Start any parallel state requirements now. Arizona requires a Level 1 Non-IVP Arizona Fingerprint Clearance Card obtained through azdps.gov
- 3Note that in Arizona the exam must be passed within one year prior to the date of the licence application, so sequencing matters
- 4Broker candidates in Arizona should begin the Broker Candidate Experience Verification Form LI-226 and certified licence history early
- 5Register for a Pearson VUE or PSI account using your exact legal name as it appears on your government-issued ID
- 1Start with the largest topic area, worth one fifth of the general exam
- 2Learn the required elements of a valid contract, worth 3 items on their own
- 3Distinguish express from implied and unilateral from bilateral contracts, and executed from executory
- 4Work through agency creation, disclosure, and termination, and the fiduciary duties owed to a principal versus a customer
- 5Practise application and analysis items, since 9 of the 16 items in this area are above the knowledge level
- 1Learn the fixture tests and the difference between fixtures, trade fixtures and emblements, worth 3 items
- 2Memorize the four governmental powers: police power, eminent domain, taxation and escheat
- 3Practise legal description methods and survey reading, worth 3 items
- 4Distinguish easements, licences and encroachments, and know how CC and Rs and HOA rules bind an owner
- 5Learn the economic and physical characteristics of real property as a paired list, since they are 2 items and often confused
- 1Prioritise methods of estimating value, which alone carry 5 of the 11 items
- 2Work the sales comparison, cost and income approaches until you can say when each is appropriate
- 3Distinguish physical deterioration, functional obsolescence and economic obsolescence with examples
- 4Learn gross rent multiplier and gross income multiplier calculations
- 5Separate comparative market analysis from a Broker Price Opinion from a formal appraisal, since exams test the boundary
- 1Learn the freehold estates and the bundle of rights, worth 5 items with forms of ownership
- 2Learn the four leasehold estates and the gross, net and percentage lease types
- 3Learn lien priority rules and which liens jump the queue
- 4Learn the elements of a valid deed and the main deed types, worth 4 items with recording
- 5Work through voluntary versus involuntary alienation, constructive versus actual notice, and marketable title
- 1Study environmental and property disclosure obligations and liability, worth 4 items on their own
- 2Learn where a licensee's competence ends and the unauthorized practice of law begins, worth 2 items with broker responsibilities
- 3Learn the brokerage agreement types between broker and principal
- 4Study trust account handling and record keeping, which state portions test heavily as well
- 5Learn errors and omissions insurance versus general liability insurance and what each covers
- 1Learn lien theory versus title theory and where a deed of trust fits
- 2Compare FHA, VA, USDA and conventional lender requirements side by side, worth 1 item but frequently miscounted
- 3Learn Regulation Z and TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosures, worth 2 items with predatory lending
- 4Learn what happens at settlement and who pays which cost, worth 2 items
- 5Distinguish private mortgage insurance from hazard and flood insurance
- 1Memorize 43,560 square feet per acre and 5,280 feet per mile; Pearson VUE states these are not available at the test center
- 2Practise one item from each of the six math subtopics daily: area, valuation, commission, loan costs, closing costs and investment
- 3Practise prorations both on a 360-day and a 365-day basis, since the question will specify which to use
- 4Learn capitalization rate, net operating income and loan-to-value as formulas you can rearrange in either direction
- 5Check whether your state permits a calculator. Arizona allows a silent, hand-held, nonprinting model with no alphabetic keypad and names acceptable models
- 1Study only your own state's outline. Arizona's salesperson state paper is 60 scored items across areas such as Real Estate Statutes at 28 questions and Commissioner's Rules at 18
- 2Learn your state agency's licensing, advertising and trust account rules, since these are usually the heaviest state areas
- 3Learn your state's agency disclosure form and when it must be delivered
- 4Practise state math items; Arizona's salesperson state outline includes 11 math calculation questions of its own
- 5Do not use national prep material for the state portion; Pearson VUE explicitly does not sell state-specific practice tests
- 1Sit a full 80-item national practice paper in 150 minutes, then a state paper in your state's allotted time
- 2Score each portion separately, because two-part states score them independently
- 3Check yourself against your state's actual bar: 60 correct out of 80 to clear Arizona's 75 percent on the general paper
- 4Map every wrong answer to one of the 8 topic areas and count the misses per area
- 5Buy Pearson VUE's official general practice test at $19.95 if you want a vendor-built calibration
- 1Book the exam, verifying that your account name exactly matches your government-issued ID
- 2Assemble the identification your state requires. Arizona demands two forms of current signature identification, one government-issued with a photo and signature, and both in English
- 3Assemble any extra documents. Arizona broker candidates must bring every completed and signed Form LI-226
- 4Plan to arrive 30 minutes early, which is what both Arizona and California instruct
- 5Do a final pass on math constants and formulas rather than starting new topics
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Best Study Resources
Your state candidate handbook
Official vendor or agency handbookThe single most important document. The Arizona Real Estate Candidate Handbook, for example, gives exam fees, item counts, time allowed, the 75 percent passing standard, ID rules, the calculator policy and the retake rules in one place.
Free
Pearson VUE National/General Exam Content Outline for Salespersons
Official content outlineThe general blueprint used across two-part states, effective 1 March 2025. Gives 80 scored items across 8 topic areas with item counts down to the subtopic and cognitive-level breakdowns.
Free
Pearson VUE state content outlines
Official content outlineA separate outline per state. Arizona's salesperson state outline lists 28 questions on Real Estate Statutes, 18 on Commissioner's Rules and 11 on math calculations, among others.
Free
Pearson VUE real estate practice tests
Official practice testBroker and salesperson practice tests built on the current general test outline. Pearson VUE states that state-specific practice tests are not available, so this covers the national portion only.
$19.95
California DRE Salesperson and Broker Examination Content pages
Official state agency content outlineFor California, which administers its own exam. Publishes seven weighted areas including Practice of Real Estate and Disclosures at approximately 25 percent and Laws of Agency and Fiduciary Duties at approximately 17 percent.
Free
PSI candidate information bulletins
Official vendor bulletinPSI's per-state bulletins carry the same class of information for PSI states, including the number of questions per portion, time allowed, fees and the state-specific retake rules.
Free
TREC Exam Topic Reports
Official regulator dataThe Texas Real Estate Commission publishes quarterly Pearson VUE reports on candidate success rates for exam questions grouped by topic, covering the last five years. Useful for spotting which topics candidates actually get wrong.
Free
TREC Provider Exam Passage Rates
Official regulator dataFirst-attempt pass rates by education provider for Texas sales agents and brokers, with TREC's Minimum Pass Rate benchmark set at 80 percent of the overall pass rate. A rare source of real outcome data in a field with no national statistics.
Free
Arizona one-time exam playback
Official review sessionAfter a second or later failure, Arizona candidates can book a single 30-minute session to view every question they answered incorrectly. It must be scheduled within 14 days and taken before any further exam attempt.
Included; scheduled by phone
Your state real estate agency website
Official regulatorThe authority on prelicensing hours, fingerprint requirements, application deadlines and post-exam licensing steps. Arizona requires a Level 1 Non-IVP Fingerprint Clearance Card and a licence application within one year of passing.
Free
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Studying a generic national course and skipping the state portion
The state portion is a separate scored exam in most two-part states. Arizona's salesperson state paper alone is 60 scored items in 90 minutes at the same 75 percent bar. Pearson VUE does not sell state-specific practice tests, so state material has to come from the state outline and your prelicensing provider.
Underweighting contracts and agency
It is 16 of the 80 scored general items, twice the size of financing or math. Nine of those 16 items are application or analysis rather than recall, so memorising definitions will not carry the area.
Treating math as a small problem
Math is only 7 of 80 items nationally, but Arizona's state salesperson outline adds 11 more math questions of its own. Every general math item is application or analysis; none is knowledge-level, so there is nothing to memorise your way through.
Assuming the constants will be supplied
Pearson VUE states plainly that 43,560 square feet per acre and 5,280 feet per mile are NOT available at the test center and must be memorized. What the exam does supply, inside the question, is whether a proration uses a 360-day or 365-day year and how the closing day is treated.
Bringing the wrong calculator or assuming one is allowed
Arizona permits a battery-operated, silent, hand-held, nonprinting calculator with no alphabetic keypad and lists acceptable models including the HP 10B, HP 12C and Real Estate Qualifier Plus IIIX. California's examination control list bars calculators from the exam room outright. Check your own state's document rather than generalising.
Bringing one form of identification
Arizona requires two forms of current signature identification: a primary that is government-issued, photo-bearing and signed, and a secondary carrying a valid signature, both in English and both exactly matching the registration name. California accepts only a current state driver's licence or DMV ID card, a United States or foreign passport, or a United States military ID.
Averaging the content-area percentages on a failed score report
Both Arizona and California warn against this explicitly. Content areas contain different numbers of questions, so summing or averaging the diagnostic percentages will not reproduce your overall score. Use them only to decide where to study.
Rebooking before results arrive
California states that applying for a new test date before receiving your result gets your exam record flagged, your results withheld, additional fees assessed, and any new date changed, delayed or cancelled. Arizona simply requires a 24-hour wait after a failed exam before making a reservation.
Failing three times without checking the consequence
In Texas, after three failed attempts an additional 30 classroom hours of qualifying real estate education must be completed for each failed portion before you can register again, and the certificates plus the third failed score report must be sent to TREC with 5 to 7 business days of processing.
Letting a passed portion expire
In Tennessee a passing score on one section stays valid for two retakes of the failed section or six months, whichever comes first. In Arizona the exam must be passed within one year prior to the date of the licence application, so a long gap between passing and applying restarts the exam.
Exam Day Tips
- 1
Report to the test center 30 minutes before the exam. Arizona and California both instruct this, and California adds that sessions begin promptly as scheduled.
- 2
Bring the exact identification your state requires. Arizona needs two forms of current signature ID, one government-issued with photo and signature, both in English, with names matching the registration exactly.
- 3
Carry any state-required extra documents. Arizona broker candidates must bring every completed and signed Broker Candidate Experience Verification Form LI-226 plus a certified licence history where applicable.
- 4
Check the calculator rule before you leave the house. Arizona names acceptable models and warns that a calculator malfunction is not grounds for challenging the result. California's control list prohibits calculators in the exam room.
- 5
Expect a strict prohibited-items list. California bars phones, wallets, purses, keys, watches, pens, hats, food, drink, gum, study materials, tablets, laptops, cameras and smart glasses, and treats mere possession of a phone during a break as a violation.
- 6
Answer every item. Neither the Arizona nor the California scoring model deducts for a wrong answer, and Pearson VUE advises answering all items because the 5 unscored pretest items look exactly like the scored ones.
- 7
Budget the math for the end of the section rather than the middle. All 7 general math items are application or analysis, so they take longer per item than the 8 topic areas around them.
- 8
In two-part states, treat the two papers as two separate exams. They are timed separately, scored independently, and in most states can be retaken independently.
- 9
Read prorated-amount questions for the stated basis. Pearson VUE confirms the question itself will specify whether to calculate on 360 or 365 days and how the closing day is treated.
- 10
Expect an immediate result. Arizona issues a score report at the test center showing pass or fail plus content-area diagnostics; California returns electronic exam results on completion, with correspondence normally following within five business days.
- 11
Do not attempt to inspect or copy anything. California makes exam subversion a misdemeanour under Business and Professions Code section 123, with liability up to $10,000 in damages and a bar of up to three years from any licence exam.
Career Paths & Salary Ranges
Real estate salesperson or sales agent
The entry licence. In Arizona it means an 85-item general paper in 150 minutes and a 65-item state paper in 90 minutes, both at 75 percent. In California it means one 150-question exam in 3 hours at 70 percent.
No salary figure is published by any exam vendor or state real estate agency, and commission income varies by market. The published figures are exam-side: Arizona charges $70 for the general paper and $60 for the state paper, or $75 for both scheduled back to back.
Real estate broker
The supervisory licence. Arizona additionally requires licensed experience for all broker applicants and a completed Form LI-226 experience verification. California raises the broker passing standard to 75 percent across 200 questions in 4 hours.
No salary figure is published by the licensing agencies. The published difference is exam scale: Arizona's broker exam is 195 items in 315 minutes for $125, more than twice the length of the salesperson general paper.
Out-of-state licensee seeking recognition
A route for licensees already qualified elsewhere. Arizona publishes a separate Out-of-State License Recognition brochure and a distinct state-specific content outline for these candidates.
No salary figure is published. The published distinction is a shorter exam: Arizona's out-of-state salesperson state-specific exam is 65 items in 90 minutes for $60, and the broker version is 110 items in 165 minutes for $125.
Cemetery salesperson or cemetery broker
A separate licence category regulated by the Arizona Department of Real Estate alongside real estate proper, with its own content outline covering cemetery associations, ownership, management, licensing and principles of practice.
No salary figure is published. The published distinction is that no prelicense education is required for these exams: the cemetery salesperson exam is 30 items in 75 minutes for $75 and the cemetery broker exam is 40 items in 90 minutes for $125.
Membership camping salesperson or broker
Another Arizona-regulated category with no prelicense education requirement. It exists because membership camping interests are sold under the same consumer-protection framework as real property.
No salary figure is published. The published distinction is the outline itself: the membership campground exams cover contracts, membership campgrounds, licensing and regulation, and principles of practice, at 30 items in 75 minutes and 40 items in 90 minutes respectively.
Prelicensing education provider or instructor
Teaching the prelicensing curriculum. In Texas, provider standing is tied directly to how many of its students pass both portions on the first attempt within the past two years, reviewed at each four-year reapproval and each annual fee submission.
No salary figure is published. The published metric here is regulatory: TREC sets a Minimum Pass Rate equal to 80 percent of the overall pass rate, and a provider whose overall rate falls below 50 percent of the overall rate may be disapproved at reapproval.
Prerequisites & Requirements
- Prelicensing education, completed before the exam in most states. Arizona requires salesperson and broker candidates to complete all prelicensing education before taking an examination.
- A background or fingerprint requirement in many states. Arizona requires a Level 1 Non-IVP Arizona Fingerprint Clearance Card obtained through azdps.gov under A.R.S. 41-1758.03.
- Licensed experience for broker candidates. Arizona requires it for all broker applicants and asks for the Broker Candidate Experience Verification Form LI-226 plus a certified licence history.
- An exam reservation made in advance. Pearson VUE requires Arizona reservations at least 24 hours before the desired date, and does not offer walk-in examinations.
- Payment of the exam fee at the time of reservation by credit card, debit card or voucher. Payment is not accepted at the Arizona test center, and fees are non-refundable and non-transferable except under the change and cancel policy.
- Acceptable identification. Arizona requires two forms of current signature identification, both in English, with names matching the registration exactly. California accepts only a state driver's licence or DMV ID card, a passport, or a United States military ID.
- Timing that fits your state's licence window. Arizona requires the exam to have been passed within one year prior to the licence application date, and California allows unlimited retakes only within the two-year period following the filing of the original application.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there one national real estate license exam?
No. Every United States jurisdiction licenses separately and sets its own exam, passing score and fee. Most states use a two-part format with a shared national or general portion and a state-specific portion, delivered by Pearson VUE or PSI. Some states, including California, write and administer their own single exam through the state agency. That is why any figure quoted as the real estate exam pass rate has to be read as a single state's figure, not a national one.
How much does the exam cost?
It is set per state. Arizona charges $70 for the Real Estate Sales general exam and $60 for the state exam, with a $75 combo price when both are scheduled back to back, and $125 for the broker exam. Every retake in Arizona costs the same as the initial attempt. Fees are paid at the time of reservation by card or voucher, are not accepted at the test center, and are non-refundable and non-transferable except under the published change and cancel policy.
What is the passing score?
Arizona requires 75 percent of questions answered correctly, a standard set by the Arizona Department of Real Estate with Pearson after a comprehensive study. California requires 70 percent for salespersons and 75 percent for brokers. Maryland requires at least 70 percent on each portion. In two-part states the portions are scored independently, so 75 percent on one does not compensate for a shortfall on the other.
How many questions are on the exam?
The Pearson VUE national or general salesperson exam is 85 items: 80 scored plus 5 unscored pretest items mixed in and unidentified. Arizona's state salesperson paper is 65 items, 60 scored plus 5 pretest, and its broker exam is 195 items, 180 scored plus 15 pretest. California's salesperson exam is 150 questions and its broker exam 200. Texas's sales agent state law portion is 40 scored plus 10 pretest items.
What is on the national portion?
Eight topic areas with fixed item counts, effective 1 March 2025. Real Estate Contracts and Agency has 16 items; Real Property Characteristics, Legal Descriptions and Property Use has 11; Property Value and Appraisal has 11; Real Estate Practice has 10; Forms of Ownership, Transfer and Recording of Title has 9; Property Disclosures and Environmental Issues has 9; Financing and Settlement has 7; and Real Estate Math Calculations has 7. Those total the 80 scored items.
How is the exam scored?
As a percentage of questions answered correctly on a 0 to 100 percent scale, not as a scaled or curved score. Pearson VUE applies statistical equating across exam forms so that no candidate is advantaged or disadvantaged by which version they receive. Unscored pretest items are excluded from the calculation. Failed score reports include a content-area diagnostic, which both Arizona and California warn cannot be summed or averaged to reproduce your overall score.
Do wrong answers cost marks?
No penalty for incorrect answers is published in either the Arizona candidate handbook or the California exam instructions. Pearson VUE actively advises answering every item, on the grounds that pretest items look exactly like scored items so there is no way to tell which questions count. Leaving anything blank simply forfeits the chance of a correct answer.
When do I get my result?
Immediately in most cases. Arizona candidates receive a score report at the test center indicating whether they passed, along with diagnostic information; passers get a link to the licence application and failers get reexamination information. In California, electronic examination results are provided on completion, with additional correspondence normally mailed within five business days. California tells passers their result but not their score, and gives failers the actual score plus per-subject percentages.
How soon can I retake, and how many attempts do I get?
It depends on the state. Arizona requires a 24-hour wait after a failed exam before booking a retake, with no published attempt cap. Tennessee lets a failed candidate rebook 24 hours after the exam, but imposes a 30-day wait between subsequent failed attempts once a second attempt has been failed. California sets no limit on the number of attempts within the two-year period following the filing of your original application, but requires you to wait for your result before re-applying.
What happens after three failed attempts?
In Texas, an additional 30 classroom hours of qualifying real estate education must be completed for each failed portion before you can register again. You then submit the course completion certificates and a copy of the third failed score report to TREC, and allow 5 to 7 business days for processing and re-authorization to Pearson. Other states handle it differently, so read your own handbook before your third attempt rather than after it.
If I pass one portion and fail the other, do I retake both?
Usually just the failed portion. Tennessee states that candidates who pass one section but fail the other need retake only the failed section, and that the passing score on the completed section stays valid for two retakes of the failed section or six months, whichever comes first. Because that window is finite, a long gap between attempts can force you to resit a portion you already cleared.
What identification do I need?
Two forms of current signature identification in Arizona. The primary must be government-issued, photo-bearing and signed, such as a driver's licence, national or state ID card, or passport; the secondary must carry a valid signature. Both must be in English and the name must exactly match the registration. California is narrower: only a current state-issued driver's licence or DMV identification card, a United States or foreign passport, or a United States military identification card will admit you.
Can I take the exam online with remote proctoring?
Sometimes, and not in Arizona. Pearson VUE states that Arizona real estate examinations are not available through OnVUE and must be taken at a Pearson authorized test center in Arizona, even though Arizona notary exams became available online. PSI offers online remote proctoring for some state real estate programs, including Tennessee. California administers its own exams and offers an electronic format at specific sites rather than at home.
Am I allowed a calculator?
It depends entirely on the state. Arizona permits a battery-operated, silent, hand-held, nonprinting calculator with no alphabetic keypad and names acceptable models including the HP 10B, HP 12C, HP 17, Real Estate Qualifier Plus IIIX and Real Estate Mortgage Qualifier Plus, while warning that a malfunction is not grounds for challenging your result. California's examination control list places calculators among the items not permitted in the examination room. Read your own state document rather than relying on a general answer.
What math do I need to memorize?
Pearson VUE identifies exactly two constants that are not available at the test center and must be memorized: 43,560 square feet per acre and 5,280 feet per mile. Everything else the exam needs it supplies inside the question. Specifically, a proration question will state whether to calculate on a 360-day or a 365-day year and how the day of closing is treated, so you never have to guess the convention.
Are accommodations available?
Yes. Pearson VUE runs an accommodations request process for state real estate programs, with a program-specific approval route rather than an automatic one, and PSI operates an equivalent process. Because accommodations must be approved before scheduling in most programs, submit the request as early as possible in your prelicensing period rather than once you are ready to book.
Is there any way to review the questions I got wrong?
In Arizona, yes, once. Salesperson and broker candidates who fail for a second or any subsequent time may schedule a one-time exam review appointment lasting 30 minutes, in which they can view every question they answered incorrectly. It must be scheduled within 14 days of the failed exam and must happen before you schedule or complete another attempt, and it can only be used once. Reviews cannot be booked online; Pearson takes them by phone.
What is the real estate exam pass rate?
No national figure exists, because no national exam exists. Individual regulators publish their own data. The Texas Real Estate Commission publishes first-attempt pass rates by education provider for sales agents and brokers over a rolling two-year window, and sets a Minimum Pass Rate benchmark equal to 80 percent of the overall pass rate that providers must meet to stay in good standing. TREC also publishes quarterly Pearson VUE reports on candidate success rates for exam questions grouped by topic, covering the last five years.
How long does my exam result stay valid, and how does licence renewal work?
The exam result has its own clock, separate from the licence. Arizona requires the exam to have been passed within one year prior to the date of the licence application. Once licensed, renewal is a state matter with continuing education attached: Tennessee licences run two years and require 16 hours of continuing education including a 6-hour TREC Core class, plus the renewal fee, every two years. There are no continuing education credits attached to the exam itself.
How does the salesperson exam compare to the broker exam?
The broker exam is longer, costlier and set to a higher standard in most states. Arizona's broker exam is 195 items in 315 minutes for $125, against an 85-item general paper in 150 minutes plus a 65-item state paper in 90 minutes for the salesperson. California raises the broker passing score to 75 percent against 70 percent for salespersons and lengthens the exam to 200 questions in 4 hours. Arizona also requires licensed experience for every broker applicant, which the salesperson route does not.
Can I be penalised for exam misconduct?
Severely, and it is a criminal matter in California. Business and Professions Code section 123 makes subverting a licensing examination a misdemeanour, with liability for actual damages up to $10,000 plus litigation costs, and section 10153.01 lets the Commissioner bar a candidate from any licence exam and from holding an active licence for up to three years. Arizona's handbook states that candidates who violate testing policies are summarily dismissed, reported to the state licensing agency, and forfeit the entire examination fee.
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