Real estate exam practice test: a free 80-question national portion

80 questions · 120 minutes · scored the moment you finish · no sign-up

This free real estate exam-style practice test has 80 original questions on a 120-minute clock, the length of the national portion Pearson VUE and PSI give for most states. It covers all nine national content areas, real estate math included, and scores you against the 70% and 75% lines states use, area by area, with every answer explained. It does not cover your state's own law.

80
questions, as on the national portion: 120 min
on the clock: 70% / 75%
the two common pass lines: Free
no sign-up

Last checked 13 November 2026 · Exam facts from the Pearson VUE and PSI state handbooks, checked 13 November 2026

80
questions
120 min
time limit
Free
instant score

By the LifeScore Editorial Team · Updated 13 November 2026 · How we check facts · How this is scored

What is on this real estate practice test?

Eighty original questions mixed across the nine content areas of the national portion: ownership, land use, valuation, financing, agency, contracts, transfer of title, real estate practice and the math.

The nine content areas and how many questions each has in our mock
Area	Questions in our mock	What it covers
Property ownership	8	Real versus personal property, fixtures, estates and freehold versus leasehold, forms of co-ownership, legal descriptions, easements, liens and encroachments
Land use controls	4	Police power, zoning and variances, nonconforming use, eminent domain, taxation, escheat, deed restrictions and subdivision rules
Valuation and market analysis	7	Market value versus price, the three approaches to value, comparative market analysis, adjustments, depreciation and the appraisal process
Financing	8	Mortgages and notes, loan types (conventional, FHA, VA), points and APR, lien theory, foreclosure, federal lending law and the closing disclosure
Agency and disclosures	11	Creating and ending agency, fiduciary duties, dual and designated agency, material facts, lead-based paint and environmental disclosures
Contracts	14	Valid, void and voidable contracts, offer and acceptance, earnest money, contingencies, options, listing agreements, breach and remedies
Transfer of title	6	Deeds and their warranties, delivery and acceptance, recording and notice, title insurance, adverse possession, wills and closing
Practice of real estate	15	Fair housing, advertising rules, antitrust, trust accounts, licensee conduct, leasing and property management, and RESPA basics
Real estate math	7	Commission splits, prorations, loan-to-value, amortisation, area, capitalisation rate, transfer tax and net to seller

The weights follow the two national outlines. Contracts and agency are the biggest areas on both, so together they are the biggest share here: 25 of the 80 questions. Practice of real estate has 15 on its own, because it also carries leasing and property management, which PSI lists separately, alongside fair housing, trust money and antitrust. Real estate math is 7 questions, the same as on both outlines, and the numbers change in every mock so you cannot pass it by remembering an answer.

About two in five of the knowledge questions ask you for a term or its meaning: "Which term describes...?" or "What does novation mean?" The rest put a rule into a situation, the way the real exam does: a seller gives an illegal instruction, a counteroffer is withdrawn, a deed sits in a drawer.

Every question here is on the national portion and real estate math. Your state portion tests your state's own license law, which these questions do not cover: learn it from your pre-licensing course and the commission's handbook.

What this practice test copies, and what it does not
Questions	80, four options each, all nine national content areas mixed together
Clock	120 minutes, the tighter of the two vendors' national clocks
Scoring	Every question counts. The real national portion hides unscored pretest items; we cannot know which, so we score all 80
Your result	Percent right against the 70% and 75% lines, a practice band, and your score in each content area. Not a license exam result
What it leaves out	Your state's license law. The state portion needs your state's own course material and handbook
Math	Seven questions a mock on commission, proration, loan-to-value, amortisation, area, cap rate and transfer tax, with new numbers every mock

Can I practise one real estate exam topic at a time?

Yes. Each of the nine areas has a free 12-question drill, every answer explained, on the page that covers it.

Real estate license exam guide
3 free drills
Property ownership, land use controls and transfer of title, with how the two portions and the vendors work.
Real estate math practice test
3 free drills
Real estate math, financing and valuation: commission, proration, LTV, amortisation, cap rate and the approaches to value.
How to pass the real estate exam
3 free drills
Agency, contracts and the practice of real estate, the three areas that carry the most national questions.

Take the full test first, then drill your lowest area. Contracts and practice carry the most questions, so a weak score there moves your total more than anything else.

How does the real estate license exam work?

Most states split it in two: a national portion on real estate principles, 80 scored questions on both big vendors' outlines, and a state portion on that state's license law. You must pass each one, and the passing score is set by the state, usually 70% or 75%.

The national portion, with where each fact comes from
Who gives it	A testing vendor under contract to your state's real estate commission. Pearson VUE and PSI run most states; California, New York and a few others write their ownPublished by the ownerPearson VUE, Texas Real Estate Candidate Handbook, September 2026 (#094400)
Two portions	A national (general) portion on real estate principles and practice, and a state portion on that state's license law. You pass each one separatelyPublished by the ownerPearson VUE, Pennsylvania Real Estate Commission Candidate Handbook, October 2026 (#093900)
National questions	80 scored multiple-choice questions on both vendors' salesperson outlines; Pearson VUE adds 5 unscored pretest items you cannot tell apartPublished by the ownerPearson VUE, Texas Real Estate Candidate Handbook, September 2026 (#094400)
Time	150 minutes for the national portion where Pearson VUE gives it (Texas, Pennsylvania, Arizona); 120 minutes where PSI gives it (Ohio)Published by the ownerPSI, Ohio real estate candidate bulletin
Passing score	Set by each state: 70% in Texas and Ohio, 75% in Pennsylvania, North Carolina and ArizonaPublished by the ownerNorth Carolina Real Estate Commission, Licensing FAQs
Topic weights	Pearson VUE's outline has eight areas, contracts and agency the largest at 16 items; PSI's has eleven, contracts the largest at 19%. We could not open either PDF and give the counts as reported by prep sitesReportedExam Ninja, summary of the Pearson VUE and PSI national outlines (third party)

Pearson VUE adds 5 unscored pretest items to the national portion and does not tell you which they are, so treat every question as if it counts. That is why our mock scores all 80.

A few big states do not use the split at all. California and New York write their own single exams, and Florida gives one 100-question state exam. The state-by-state numbers, each with its source, are on real estate exam passing score, and the path from pre-licensing to license is on the real estate license exam guide.

What do real estate exam questions look like?

Short situations with four options: a seller's instruction, a counteroffer, a joint tenant who sells, a proration at closing. Try the six below; two are worked step by step and the rest open when you tap.

Real Estate Exam-style question 1 · Commission split
A home sells for $380,000 with a 5.5% commission, shared equally between the listing and selling brokerages. The selling agent receives 70% of her brokerage's share. How much does the selling agent receive?
1. A$7,315
2. B$10,450
3. C$14,630
4. D$5,225
Worked answer
A: $7,315. Total commission is $380,000 × 5.5% = $20,900. The selling brokerage gets half, $10,450, and the agent gets 70% of that, $7,315.
1. Total: $380,000 × 0.055 = $20,900.
2. Selling side: $20,900 × 50% = $10,450.
3. Agent: $10,450 × 70% = $7,315.
The trap: Stopping at $10,450, the brokerage's share. The question asks for the agent's cut of it.
Real Estate Exam-style question 2 · Dual agency
A licensee acts as a disclosed dual agent with both parties' written consent. The seller has told her privately he would take $10,000 less. The buyer asks, "Would the seller go lower?" What should the licensee say?
1. AThat she cannot share either party's confidential information
2. BThat the seller will take $10,000 less
3. CThat the price is firm
4. DWhatever helps the deal close fastest
Show the worked answer
A: That she cannot share either party's confidential information. A dual agent owes both clients confidentiality and cannot reveal one party's bargaining position to the other, including how low a seller will go or how high a buyer will pay. Saying the price is firm would be a false statement.
1. Both parties are clients, so both are owed confidentiality.
2. The seller's lowest price is confidential.
3. She can neither reveal it nor lie about it.
The trap: Saying "the price is firm". Protecting a confidence never permits a false statement.
Real Estate Exam-style question 3 · Proration
Annual property taxes of $4,380 are paid in arrears and nothing has been paid for the current year. Closing is on April 10, and the seller owns the day of closing. Using a 365-day year, how is the tax prorated?
1. A$1,200 credit to the buyer
2. B$1,200 credit to the seller
3. C$3,180 credit to the buyer
4. D$1,188 credit to the buyer
Worked answer
A: $1,200 credit to the buyer. Taxes paid in arrears mean the buyer will pay the whole year's bill later, so the seller owes the buyer for the days the seller owned the home. January 1 to April 10 is 31 + 28 + 31 + 10 = 100 days. $4,380 ÷ 365 = $12 a day, × 100 = $1,200, a debit to the seller and a credit to the buyer.
1. Daily rate: $4,380 ÷ 365 = $12.
2. Seller's days, closing day included: 31 + 28 + 31 + 10 = 100.
3. Seller owes $12 × 100 = $1,200, credited to the buyer.
The trap: Crediting the seller. In arrears means unpaid, so the seller has used days the buyer will pay for; the credit goes to the buyer.
Real Estate Exam-style question 4 · Joint tenancy
Ana, Ben and Cal own a lot as joint tenants. Ana sells her interest to Dee. Later Ben dies. Who owns the lot, and how?
1. ACal owns two-thirds and Dee one-third, as tenants in common
2. BCal and Dee each own half, as joint tenants
3. CCal owns all of it by survivorship
4. DCal, Dee and Ben's heirs each own a third
Show the worked answer
A: Cal owns two-thirds and Dee one-third, as tenants in common. A sale by one joint tenant breaks the unity of time and title for that share, so Dee holds a third as a tenant in common. Ben and Cal are still joint tenants with each other for the other two-thirds, so when Ben dies his share passes to Cal by survivorship. Cal has two-thirds and Dee one-third, as tenants in common.
1. Ana sells: Dee takes one-third as a tenant in common, not a joint tenant.
2. Ben and Cal remain joint tenants of two-thirds.
3. Ben dies: survivorship gives his share to Cal, who now has two-thirds.
The trap: Giving Ben's share to his heirs. Joint tenancy's right of survivorship passes it to the surviving joint tenant, whatever his will says.
Real Estate Exam-style question 5 · Counteroffers
A buyer offers $300,000. The seller counters at $305,000. Before the buyer communicates any acceptance, the seller tells the buyer's agent he withdraws the counteroffer. Is there a contract?
1. ANo: an offer, including a counteroffer, can be withdrawn before acceptance is communicated
2. BYes, at $300,000, because the buyer offered first
3. CYes, at $305,000, because the seller signed it
4. DYes, but only if earnest money was deposited
Show the worked answer
A: No: an offer, including a counteroffer, can be withdrawn before acceptance is communicated. The counteroffer rejected the buyer's $300,000 offer and became a new offer from the seller. Any offer may be revoked before the other side communicates acceptance, so the withdrawal ends it and there is no contract.
1. The counter rejected the $300,000 offer, which is gone.
2. The counter is a new offer that the buyer had not accepted.
3. Revoked before acceptance was communicated: no contract.
The trap: Reviving the $300,000 offer. Once countered, the original offer is dead.
Real Estate Exam-style question 6 · Fair housing
A couple asks to see any home under $400,000 within 20 minutes of their work. Because of their national origin, the agent shows them homes only in one neighborhood where many people share it. What is this?
1. ASteering
2. BBlockbusting
3. CRedlining
4. DPuffing
Show the worked answer
A: Steering. Steering is channeling buyers toward or away from areas because of a protected class. National origin is protected under the federal Fair Housing Act, whatever the agent's intentions.
1. The buyers' criteria were price and commute, not neighborhood.
2. The agent narrowed the homes because of national origin.
3. Directing buyers by a protected class is steering.
The trap: Choosing redlining. Redlining is a lender refusing loans in an area; steering is what an agent does with buyers.

These were written for this page, so none of them is in a mock. More, each with its trap, are on real estate exam sample questions.

After the free real estate exam-style test

One mock shows your weakest area. Five more, and four drills for each of the nine areas, prove you are over 75% on questions you have not seen.

The Real Estate Exam Pass Pack gives you 6 full mocks on the real clock, 36 drills of 12 questions for the sections that cost you points, and a predictor that turns your mocks into the odds of reaching your target. One payment, no subscription, and your free score stays free.

Prep courses for these tests usually cost $19 to $129. The Real Estate Exam Pass Pack is US$39 (£29), once.

See the Real Estate Exam Pass Pack How our questions are built and checked

6
timed mocks: 36
topic drills: 1
score predictor

How do I read my real estate practice test result?

You get the percent you got right against the 70% and 75% lines, a practice band (Early practice, Building 60%+, Close 70%+, At the line 75%+ or Strong 85%+), and your score in each of the nine areas. These are our labels, not a license exam result.

Check which line your state uses. Texas and Ohio pass the national portion at 70% (56 of 80); Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Arizona ask for 75% (60 of 80). If you do not know yet, aim for 75%: it clears both.

Then look at the areas. A total of 78% with contracts at 60% is a warning: contracts is the largest area on both national outlines, and the one where a weak score costs the most. Your result page names the weakest area and starts your plan there.

A practice score measures how well you know the national material on our questions; it is not a prediction. The safest sign you are ready is clearing 75% on two different mocks, on questions you have not seen.

Do real estate practice tests help you pass?

Yes, when every miss sends you to the rule behind it. Your pre-licensing course taught the material; a timed mock shows which rules did not stick, before the exam does.

Most people who fail the national portion did the course hours and knew the material in general. They lost points on exact distinctions: void against voidable, a variance against a nonconforming use, who gets the proration credit, which deed promises what. A practice test finds those in two hours, and every answer here names the rule.

Failing costs more than the retake fee. You wait for a new slot, your eligibility window keeps running (Texas gives three attempts at each portion before the application expires), and every month without a license is a month without a first commission. The step-by-step plan is in how to pass the real estate exam.

Frequently asked questions

Is this the real real estate license exam?

No. It is a real estate exam-style practice test with original questions written from the published national content outlines and general US real estate law. The real exam is given by Pearson VUE, PSI or your state. LifeScore is not affiliated with any of them.

How many questions are on the national portion?

80 scored questions on both Pearson VUE's and PSI's salesperson outlines. Pearson VUE adds 5 unscored pretest items. Some states, such as Illinois, set a different length.

What score do I need to pass?

Your state decides. 70% in Texas and Ohio, 75% in Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Arizona. Practise to 75% for a margin.

Does this cover my state's laws?

No. It covers the national portion and real estate math only. The state portion tests your state's license law, which you need to learn from your pre-licensing course and the commission's candidate handbook.

Is the math hard?

It is arithmetic with a formula: percentages, areas and days. Seven questions on both national outlines. Most misses come from using the wrong base, such as the price instead of the appraisal.

Do I have to pay?

The full practice test and the nine area drills are free with no sign-up. The Pass Pack, with five more mocks, 36 drills and every answer explained, is a one-time payment.

Walk into the national portion already over 75%

Six full real estate exam-style mocks of 80 questions, four drills for each content area, and the math worked step by step, in one payment with no subscription.