Real Estate License Exam 2026: Format, Topics, Score

What is the real estate license exam?

It is the exam your state's real estate commission requires before it will issue a salesperson license, taken after your pre-licensing education. A testing vendor gives it at a test center, and in most states it has a national portion and a state portion.

Every state licenses real estate agents, and every state requires an exam. Most hire a testing company to write and give it: Pearson VUE gives it in states such as Texas, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Arizona, and PSI in states such as Ohio, Illinois, Michigan and Virginia. The vendor publishes a candidate handbook for each state with the number of questions, the time, the fee and the passing score.

The national portion is close to the same everywhere that uses one, because it tests principles that do not change at a state line: what a fixture is, what an agent owes a client, what makes a contract valid, how a loan is amortized. The state portion tests the state's own license law and rules, which do change, so it is different in every state.

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.

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)

What topics are on the national real estate exam?

Property ownership, land use controls, valuation, financing, agency, contracts, transfer of title, the practice of real estate and real estate math. Contracts and agency carry the most questions on both vendors' outlines.

Pearson VUE national salesperson outline (effective 1 April 2025), scored items by area, as reported
Area	Scored items
Real estate contracts and agency	16
Real property characteristics, legal descriptions and property use	11
Property value and appraisal	11
Real estate practice	10
Forms of ownership, transfer and recording of title	9
Property disclosures and environmental issues	9
Financing and settlement	7
Real estate math calculations	7

PSI national salesperson outline, weight by area, as reported
Area	Share of the national portion
Contracts	19%
General principles of agency	13%
Practice of real estate	12%
Property ownership	10%
Financing	10%
Valuation and market analysis	8%
Property disclosures	7%
Real estate calculations	7%
Transfer of title	6%
Land use controls and regulations	5%
Leasing and property management	3%

We could not open either outline PDF from where we build these pages, so the counts above are as prep sites report them, not read from the vendor. Both vendors publish their outline free; check the current one for your state before you study, because outlines change (Pearson VUE's latest took effect on 1 April 2025).

Our practice test groups the two outlines into nine areas. Ownership, land use and transfer of title are on this page's drills; financing, valuation and the math on the real estate math practice test; agency, contracts and practice on how to pass the real estate exam.

Practise every national area

The free test shows your weakest area. The Pass Pack gives you five more 80-question mocks and four drills for each of the nine areas.

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

What do I need to know about ownership, land use and title?

Ownership questions ask what is real property, which estate someone holds and how co-owners hold title. Land use asks which government power or private limit applies. Title asks which deed promises what, and when title actually passes.

Fixtures: decide with the tests of method of attachment, adaptation to the property, intention and agreement. A trade fixture belongs to a business tenant.
Estates: fee simple absolute is the most complete; a life estate ends with a named life; leasehold estates are a tenant's right to possess.
Co-ownership: joint tenancy needs the four unities (time, title, interest, possession) and carries survivorship; tenancy in common does not.
Government powers: police power (zoning, codes), eminent domain (with just compensation), taxation and escheat.
Zoning relief: a variance for a hardship, a nonconforming use for something that was there first, a conditional use for a use the code allows with a permit.
Deeds: general warranty promises the most, quitclaim nothing. Title passes on delivery and acceptance; recording gives constructive notice.

Real Estate Exam-style question 1 · Easements
Lot A has a recorded driveway easement across Lot B. The owner of Lot B sells Lot B. What happens to the easement?
1. AIt stays: it runs with the land and binds the new owner of Lot B
2. BIt ends when Lot B is sold
3. CIt ends unless the buyer of Lot B signs it again
4. DIt moves to the seller of Lot B personally
Worked answer
A: It stays: it runs with the land and binds the new owner of Lot B. An easement appurtenant benefits a parcel (Lot A, the dominant estate) and burdens another (Lot B, the servient estate). It runs with the land, so a sale of either lot does not end it.
1. Two parcels, one benefited and one burdened: an easement appurtenant.
2. An appurtenant easement runs with the land.
3. So the new owner of Lot B takes subject to it.
The trap: Treating it like a personal permission (a license), which does end on a sale. A recorded easement appurtenant does not.
Real Estate Exam-style question 2 · Zoning relief
An owner wants to build a garage 3 feet into a required 10-foot side setback because her lot is an unusual wedge shape. What should she ask the zoning board for?
1. AA variance
2. BA nonconforming use
3. CA rezoning to commercial
4. DA deed restriction
Show the worked answer
A: A variance. A variance is permission to depart from a zoning rule, such as a setback, because the rule would cause a hardship particular to the lot. A nonconforming use is one that existed lawfully before the rule, which does not fit a new garage.
1. A new structure that breaks a dimension rule: not a pre-existing use.
2. The reason is a hardship from the lot's shape.
3. That is what a variance is for.
The trap: Choosing nonconforming use. That covers what was already there before the rule changed, not something new.
Real Estate Exam-style question 3 · Delivery
A grantor signs and notarizes a deed to his niece, then locks it in his desk without telling her. He dies a year later. Did title pass to the niece while he was alive?
1. ANo: a deed must be delivered and accepted during the grantor's life
2. BYes: signing and notarizing is enough
3. CYes, once the deed is found and recorded
4. DOnly if the deed names a consideration
Show the worked answer
A: No: a deed must be delivered and accepted during the grantor's life. Title passes when a deed is delivered by the grantor and accepted by the grantee while the grantor is alive. A deed kept in the grantor's own control was never delivered, so it does not convey title.
1. Signed and acknowledged: yes, but those do not pass title.
2. Delivered to the niece or her agent? No, it stayed in his desk.
3. No delivery during life, so no transfer.
The trap: Thinking recording completes the deed. Recording gives notice of a transfer; it cannot create one that never happened.

How do you get a real estate license?

Finish your state's pre-licensing hours, apply to the commission or get your eligibility, book the exam with the vendor, pass both portions, then complete the license application, usually with a sponsoring broker.

Finish the pre-licensing education your state requires and keep the certificate.
Apply to the commission, or get the eligibility letter or code the vendor needs. Some states need fingerprints and a background check first.
Book the exam with the vendor named in your state's candidate handbook. Read that handbook: it has your state's question counts, time, fee, ID rules and retake rules.
Sit both portions at a test center. In most states you see your result on the day.
Complete the license application with a sponsoring broker before your exam results or eligibility expire.

Each step has a clock. Texas allows three attempts at each portion before the application expires; North Carolina makes you wait at least 10 days after a failed attempt; Ohio wants both portions passed within 12 months of eligibility. The table on real estate exam passing score has each state's rules with its source.

What score do you need to pass the real estate exam?

Your state sets it. 70% in Texas and Ohio (56 of 80 on the national portion), 75% in Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Arizona (60 of 80). California's single exam passes at 70%, Florida's at 75 of 100.

Most states score each portion separately, so a strong national score cannot carry a weak state score. Fail one and, in most states, you retake only that one. Every number by state, with the vendor, time and fee, is on real estate exam passing score.

How should I prepare for the real estate license exam?

Take a full timed mock of the national portion first, drill the areas it shows are weak, and study your state's law separately from your course. Book only when two mocks clear 75%.

The free real estate exam practice test has 80 questions on a 120-minute clock and scores each area. The full plan, week by week, is in how to pass the real estate exam, and the sample questions, each with its trap, are on real estate exam sample questions.

Keep the two portions apart in your head. The national portion rewards knowing principles exactly; the state portion rewards knowing your state's numbers (license terms, deadlines, fees and penalties) exactly. Your pre-licensing school is the place for the second.

Frequently asked questions

Is the real estate exam the same in every state?

The national portion is close to the same wherever Pearson VUE or PSI give it. The state portion is different in every state, and a few states (California, New York, Florida) write one exam of their own.

Who gives the real estate exam?

Your state's commission decides. Pearson VUE and PSI give it in most states; California's Department of Real Estate and New York's Department of State give their own.

Can I take the national and state portions separately?

In most states that split the exam, yes, and if you fail one you retake only that one. Check your state's handbook for how long a passed portion stays valid.

Does LifeScore cover the state portion?

No. The practice tests cover the national portion and real estate math. Learn the state portion from your pre-licensing course and the commission's handbook.

How hard is the real estate exam?

Hard enough that many first attempts fail: New York's Department of State reported a 53% pass rate on its salesperson exam in the year before February 2025, the only official rate we found.

Pass the national portion on the first attempt

Six full real estate exam-style mocks, four drills for each content area and every answer explained, for one payment.