Exam guide
Real estate licensing exams
There is no single national real estate license exam that every commission accepts. Some states split a national (general) portion from a state-law portion and outsource seating to Pearson VUE or PSI. Two — California and New York — write and administer the entire test. A passing score in one column does not move with you.
Who seats the test?
Across 51 jurisdictions, PSI administers 26, Pearson VUE administers 23, California DRE administers 1, and New York DOS administers 1. 47 jurisdictions split the entry exam into a national (general) portion and a state-law portion that are scored separately. Total question counts on the entry exam run from 100 to 154, and the most common published passing standards are 70% and 75%.
California's Department of Real Estate writes and seats its own 150-question salesperson and 200-question broker exams. New York's Department of State runs its exam through eAccessNY and reports pass/fail only — no numerical score, which is why this site does not invent a New York cut score. Everywhere else, the vendor's candidate handbook is the controlling document for scheduling, ID rules, and retakes.
PSI · 26
Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Washington
Pearson VUE · 23
Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming
California DRE · 1
New York DOS · 1
National vs state portions
Where a handbook publishes a split, you usually must pass each section separately. For example, Texas sales agents: 85 national / 150 minutes (pass 56) plus 50 state / 90 minutes (pass 28). North Carolina: 80 national and 60 state, 75 percent on each. Pennsylvania: 80 national / 150 minutes plus 40 state / 60 minutes, 75 percent. Illinois: 100 national plus 40 state, scaled 75. Florida’s sales-associate exam is a single 100-question, 3.5-hour, 75-percent Pearson test — not a published national/state split. California’s 150 and 200 are unified California content; there is no national section for DRE to waive. New York is a single DOS exam.
That architecture is why North Carolina can waive the national section for some currently licensed out-of-state applicants and still make them sit state items, why Pennsylvania can offer a state-portion-only sitting to recently active out-of-state licensees, and why a California DRE pass cannot be “transferred” as a national score to TREC or NCREC.
What the state-law items actually cover
National items look like agency, contracts, finance, property ownership, and valuation. State items are why people who memorized a national outline still fail. A few examples: California weights Practice and Disclosures — TDS, Natural Hazard Disclosure, trust funds, Consumer Recovery Account — as a quarter of the salesperson exam. Texas state items lean on promulgated contract forms and TREC rules. Florida law items are Chapter 475 and 61J2. Georgia is BRRETA and GREC rules. Pennsylvania is RELRA and 49 Pa. Code Chapter 35. Illinois is the Real Estate License Act of 2000 and Article 1450. North Carolina is Chapter 93A and NCREC rules, including the broker-in-charge structure that does not exist in salesperson states. New York is Article 12-A and DOS regulations, including the cultural-competency and fair-housing overlay that also shows up in CE.
What actually fails people
- Treating 70 percent as universal. California salespersons pass at 70; California brokers at 75. Florida, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Illinois (scaled) sit at 75. Texas uses raw counts (56/28 sales, 60/38 broker). New York will not tell you a number.
- Sitting before the file is eligible. Pennsylvania brokers must clear PALS first. North Carolina requires NCREC eligibility before Pearson. Florida lets you apply before the exam; Georgia does not — exam then apply, with a 3/12-month fee ladder after you pass.
- Failing the retake math. Illinois: four attempts then re-education. Texas: three failures then extra education. California: unlimited during the two-year application, $100/$150 each time. New York: pay $15 and schedule again; the pass expires in two years.
- Studying the wrong outline. A PSI national outline is not DRE’s content page. Promulgated-forms drills do not help a New York Article 12-A sitting. Broker-level office-management items are how Pennsylvania and California brokers who reused salesperson notes get surprised.
Entry-level exam format by state
Question counts, time limits, and passing standards as printed in each state's current candidate handbook or commission page. Where a portion has no published number, the cell says so instead of estimating.
| Jurisdiction | Vendor | Portion | Questions | Minutes | Passing | Exam fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Pearson VUE | National / General | 80 | 150 | 70% | $73 |
| Alabama state law | 40 | 60 | 70% | |||
| Alaska | Pearson VUE | National / general | 80 | 240 | 75% | $115 |
| Alaska law | 40 | 240 | 75% | |||
| Arizona | Pearson VUE | General / national (Arizona Real Estate Sales - General) | 80 | 150 | 75% | $75 |
| State (Arizona Real Estate Sales - State) | 60 | 90 | 75% | |||
| Arkansas | Pearson VUE | General / national | 80 | — | 70% | $75 |
| Arkansas law | 30 | — | 70% | |||
| California | California DRE | examination (unified California content) | 150 | 180 | 70% | $100 |
| Colorado | PSI | National | 80 | 120 | 75% | $49 |
| Colorado State | 74 | 110 | 72% | |||
| Connecticut | PSI | General (National) | 80 | 120 | 70% | $59 |
| Connecticut State | 35 | 45 | 70% | |||
| Delaware | Pearson VUE | General (national) | 80 | 150 | 70% | $88 |
| Delaware Law | 40 | 90 | 70% | |||
| District of Columbia | PSI | National / General | 80 | 120 | 75% | $79 |
| DC / State | 30 | 90 | 75% | |||
| Florida | Pearson VUE | Florida sales associate examination | 100 | 210 | 75% | $36.75 |
| Georgia | PSI | National | 100 | — | 75% | See handbook |
| Georgia state | 52 | — | 75% | |||
| Hawaii | PSI | Uniform (General) | 80 | 150 | 70% | $61 |
| State (Hawaii) | 50 | 90 | 70% | |||
| Idaho | Pearson VUE | General / National | 80 | 150 | 70% | $83 |
| Idaho State Law | 40 | 90 | 70% | |||
| Illinois | PSI | National | 100 | 150 | 75% | $58 |
| Illinois state | 40 | 90 | 75% | |||
| Indiana | Pearson VUE | National/General (inside ReIN-Broker) | 80 | 150 | 75% | $55 |
| Indiana State (inside ReIN-Broker) | 50 | 90 | 75% | |||
| Iowa | PSI | National | 80 | 120 | 56% | $95 |
| State (Iowa) | 40 | 60 | See handbook | |||
| Kansas | Pearson VUE | General / national | 80 | 150 | 70% | $70 |
| Kansas / state | 30 | 90 | 70% | |||
| Kentucky | PSI | National (General) | 80 | 150 | 75% | $100 |
| Kentucky State | 50 | 90 | 75% | |||
| Louisiana | Pearson VUE | Sales National (LARESNA2) | 80 | 150 | 70% | $81 |
| Sales Louisiana State (LARESST3) | 55 | 90 | 70% | |||
| Maine | Pearson VUE | National/General | 80 | 150 | 75% | $88 |
| Maine Law | 40 | 90 | 75% | |||
| Maryland | PSI | National | 80 | 90 | 70% | $44 |
| Maryland State | 30 | 30 | 70% | |||
| Massachusetts | PSI | National (General) | 80 | 150 | 70% | $85 |
| Massachusetts State | 40 | 90 | 70% | |||
| Michigan | PSI | national outline (inside the combined sitting) | 80 | 180 | 70% | $79 |
| Michigan state outline (inside the combined sitting) | 35 | 180 | 70% | |||
| Minnesota | PSI | General / national | 80 | 150 | 75% | $68 |
| Minnesota State | 50 | 90 | 75% | |||
| Mississippi | PSI | National / General | 80 | 150 | 70% | $75 |
| State Specific | 40 | 90 | 75% | |||
| Missouri | PSI | National | 100 | 150 | 70% | $52 |
| Missouri State | 40 | 120 | 75% | |||
| Montana | Pearson VUE | National Salesperson | 80 | 150 | 75% | $95 |
| State Salesperson (Montana laws, rules, and regulations) | 40 | 90 | 75% | |||
| Nebraska | Pearson VUE | National / General | 80 | 150 | 75% | $150 |
| State (Nebraska) | 50 | 90 | 75% | |||
| Nevada | Pearson VUE | National / General | 80 | 150 | 75% | $100 |
| Nevada State | 40 | 90 | 75% | |||
| New Hampshire | PSI | National | 80 | 150 | 70% | $66 |
| New Hampshire State | 40 | 90 | 70% | |||
| New Jersey | PSI | National-style content (inside unified 110) | 80 | 240 | 70% | $38 |
| New Jersey content (inside unified 110) | 30 | 240 | 70% | |||
| New Mexico | PSI | National | 75 | 120 | 75% | $95 |
| New Mexico State | 50 | 60 | 75% | |||
| New York | New York DOS | NYS Real Estate Salesperson examination | — | 90 | See handbook | $15 |
| North Carolina | Pearson VUE | National | 80 | — | 75% | $63 |
| North Carolina state | 60 | — | 75% | |||
| North Dakota | PSI | National | 100 | 150 | 70% | $134 |
| State | 40 | 90 | See handbook | |||
| Ohio | PSI | National | 80 | 120 | 70% | $66 |
| Ohio State | 40 | 60 | 70% | |||
| Oklahoma | Pearson VUE | OK Salesperson National | 80 | 150 | 70% | $75 |
| OK Salesperson State | 40 | 90 | 70% | |||
| Oregon | PSI | National | 80 | 150 | 75% | $75 |
| Oregon State | 50 | 90 | 75% | |||
| Pennsylvania | Pearson VUE | National / general | 80 | 150 | 75% | $52 |
| Pennsylvania state | 40 | 60 | 75% | |||
| Rhode Island | Pearson VUE | RI Sales — National Part | 80 | 150 | 70% | $103 |
| RI Sales — State Part | 50 | 90 | 70% | |||
| South Carolina | PSI | Associate National | 80 | 120 | 70% | $67 |
| Associate South Carolina State | 40 | 80 | 70% | |||
| South Dakota | PSI | Associate National | 90 | 150 | 75% | $98 |
| Associate State | 52 | 120 | 75% | |||
| Tennessee | PSI | National | 80 | 160 | 70% | $63 |
| Tennessee State | 40 | 80 | 70% | |||
| Texas | Pearson VUE | National / general | 85 | 150 | See handbook | $43 |
| Texas state law | 50 | 90 | See handbook | |||
| Utah | Pearson VUE | National / general | 80 | 240 | 70% | $69 |
| Utah State | 50 | 240 | 70% | |||
| Vermont | PSI | PSI National (salesperson) | 100 | 150 | 70% | $110 |
| Vermont state exam (OPR, inside application) | 50 | — | See handbook | |||
| Virginia | PSI | National | 80 | 105 | 70% | $60 |
| Virginia State | 40 | 45 | 75% | |||
| Washington | PSI | National (General) | 100 | 150 | 70% | $210 |
| State (Washington) | 30 | 90 | 70% | |||
| West Virginia | Pearson VUE | National Salesperson | 80 | 150 | 70% | $59 |
| State Salesperson | 50 | 60 | 70% | |||
| Wisconsin | Pearson VUE | (Wisconsin content outline, intermixed) | 140 | 240 | 75% | $65 |
| Wyoming | Pearson VUE | National | 80 | 150 | 75% | $80 |
| Wyoming state | 40 | 90 | 75% |
Some handbooks add unscored pretest items that count against the clock. Confirm the bulletin the week you schedule; vendors revise them without much notice.