Pennsylvania Real Estate Exam Study Guide

Pennsylvania’s real estate salesperson exam is administered by Pearson VUE for the State Real Estate Commission. It has two portions, national and Pennsylvania, and each is scored and passed on its own. This guide summarizes the current official documents as of October 2026; when you are ready to register, read the current candidate handbook itself, because details change.

The exam at a glance

Source: Pearson VUE, Pennsylvania Real Estate Candidate Handbook (publication 093900) (October 2026 (rev10/2026)) and Pennsylvania Real Estate Content Outlines (publication 093901, 03/2026), checked October 18, 2026. *The pretest counts are from the content outlines; the handbook’s summary table gives a range of 5 to 10 for each portion. Pretest questions are not scored but look the same as scored ones and share the clock. Always confirm current details with Pearson VUE before your exam.

• Two portions, scored separately. If you pass one and fail the other, you retake only the portion you failed, within your authorization period (see below).
• Unscored pretest questions. Each portion includes questions being tried out for future exams. They look like the scored ones and are not identified, so answer everything and budget your time for the full count.
• Scaled scoring. The handbook’s table lists a 75% minimum passing score, but its scoring section explains that raw scores are converted to a scaled score from 0 to 100 that is “neither the number of questions you answered correctly nor the percentage of questions you answered correctly.” Practice percentages, including ours, can’t be converted into an official result.
• Test centers or online. Pearson VUE offers the exam at test centers and through OnVUE online proctoring; the rules differ, so read both sections of the handbook. The Department of State announced Spanish-language exams starting November 1, 2025, given in person at test centers.

Before you can take the exam

Under the Real Estate Licensing and Registration Act (RELRA § 521, as amended by Act 75 of 2018) and the Commission’s salesperson licensure page and education information page, you must:

• be at least 18 years old;
• be a high school graduate or have an equivalent education;
• complete 75 hours (5 credits) of prelicensing education: the Commission’s Real Estate Fundamentals (30 hours) and Real Estate Practice (45 hours) courses, from a Commission-approved provider, an accredited college, or an out-of-state provider approved by its own state’s licensing authority. Certain degrees (a bachelor’s with a real estate major, or a law degree) also qualify.

Older study materials that say 60 hours are out of date for anyone who started their courses on or after August 28, 2018, when the 75-hour requirement took effect. The 75 hours must be completed within five years of the exam under the statute; the handbook phrases the window as five years from your first education course. If you are near the edge of that window, confirm your dates with Pearson VUE before you schedule.

If you have been actively licensed as a salesperson or broker in another state within the last five years, the national portion can be waived, but you still need to meet the education requirement above. The handbook asks for a certification of licensure (letter of good standing) dated within 90 days of registering.

Registering and scheduling

1. Apply for exam eligibility through Pearson VUE’s Clarus system, with proof of your education. Salesperson candidates apply for each portion they need to take.
2. Wait for the email from Pearson VUE saying you are authorized to test. Walk-in exams are not available.
3. Reserve a seat online or by phone at least 24 hours ahead. Change or cancel at least 48 hours ahead, or you lose the fee.
4. Pay when you reserve. The October 2026 handbook and a November 2025 Department of State announcement list different exam fees, so check the price shown when you register. The handbook offers a combined price when you schedule both portions on the same order.

Pearson VUE sells a practice test for the national portion only; it does not offer a Pennsylvania state practice test. See the Pearson VUE Pennsylvania program page.

Exam day

• Arrive at least 30 minutes early (for OnVUE, start check-in 30 minutes before your appointment).
• Bring unexpired, government-issued photo identification with your signature, with your name exactly as registered. The handbook is not consistent about whether one or two IDs are required, so read its current identification section, or ask Pearson VUE, before test day.
• Personal items stay out of the testing room. Pearson VUE provides materials for notes and calculations; you may not bring your own scratch paper.
• At a test center the clock keeps running during any break. OnVUE exams have no unscheduled breaks, and the handbook requires seven days between OnVUE attempts.

Scores, retakes and deadlines

• You receive a pass or fail result. Numeric scores and diagnostic information go only to candidates who fail.
• Salesperson candidates may retake a failed portion within the authorization period, which the handbook ties to five years from your first education course. You may not retake a portion you already passed.
• Your application for a license must reach the Commission within three years of passing (RELRA § 522(c)). If you passed the portions on different dates, the handbook says the three years start from the first one you passed.

A realistic study sequence

Most of the national portion builds on your prelicensing courses, and the Pennsylvania portion tests the state’s license law closely. Here is one sample five-week plan for part-time study; stretch or compress it to fit how much time you have and how your practice goes.

1. Week 1: baseline and foundations. Take the 20-question diagnostic. Study property characteristics and legal descriptions, ownership and title.
2. Week 2: contracts, agency and practice. This is the largest national topic. Add brokerage practice, fair housing and risk management.
3. Week 3: valuation, finance, disclosures and math. Work the formulas on the exam math guide until each step is automatic.
4. Week 4: Pennsylvania law. The Commission, licensing, agency and the Consumer Notice, licensee conduct (advertising, escrow, prohibited acts) and the other state topics.
5. Week 5: mixed review. Retry missed questions, practice weak topics in sets of 10, and take timed practice if it is offered, to rehearse pacing for the full question count.

How to use your practice results

• Read every explanation, including for questions you got right. A lucky guess doesn’t teach the rule.
• Trust patterns, not single scores. Our practice tool only calls a topic your weakest once you have answered at least five different questions in it. Before that it simply suggests practicing more.
• Use first attempts to judge, retries to learn. Retries are labeled and never change your first-attempt results, so improvement on a retry shows memory as much as understanding.
• Don’t convert percentages. A practice percentage is not a scaled score and doesn’t predict an official result.

What each topic covers

Topic weights are the scored-question counts in Pearson VUE’s content outlines.

National: property characteristics, descriptions and use (11)

Real versus personal property and fixtures; the economic and physical characteristics of land; legal descriptions (metes and bounds, the rectangular survey system, lot and block); government powers (police power, eminent domain, taxation, escheat), zoning, and private restrictions such as covenants, easements, licenses and encroachments.

National: ownership and title (9)

Forms of co-ownership, freehold and leasehold estates, lease types, liens and their priority, and how title is transferred, recorded and insured.

National: valuation (11)

Market value versus price, the principles of value, the appraisal process and its federal oversight, the sales comparison, cost and income approaches, multipliers, comparative market analyses and broker price opinions.

National: contracts and agency (16)

Contract types and essential elements, void, voidable and unenforceable contracts, remedies, the Statute of Frauds, sales contract terms and contingencies, options and installment contracts, and how agency relationships are created, run and ended.

National: brokerage practice (10)

Broker responsibilities, listing and buyer agreements, property management agreements, federal fair housing law and the ADA, and risk management: supervision, do-not-contact rules, antitrust, misrepresentation and insurance.

National: disclosures and environmental issues (9)

Lead-based paint, asbestos, radon, mold, underground tanks, flood zones, federal environmental laws and site assessments, and the duty to disclose property conditions.

National: finance and closing (7)

Loan types and sources, mortgage clauses, FHA, VA, USDA and conventional loan requirements, mortgage insurance, Truth in Lending, the Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure, RESPA, equal credit, and the closing process.

National: math (7)

Area, valuation, commission, loan costs, closing costs and prorations, investment returns and property management figures. See the exam math guide.

Pennsylvania: Commission functions (5)

The State Real Estate Commission’s duties and powers, complaints, investigations, hearings and appeals, and the Real Estate Recovery Fund, mainly in RELRA.

Pennsylvania: licensing (8)

Qualifications, which activities need a license and which are excluded, renewal, continuing education and reactivation, and changing employing brokers.

Pennsylvania: agency and disclosure (10)

The business relationships RELRA allows (seller’s agent, buyer’s agent, dual agent, designated agents and transaction licensees), the duties each owes, the Consumer Notice and written agreement rules in 49 Pa. Code Chapter 35, and how licensees are paid.

Pennsylvania: licensee conduct rules (11)

Advertising, the broker and salesperson relationship and supervision, escrow and other funds, prohibited acts, and suspension and revocation.

Pennsylvania: other state topics (6)

Seller property disclosures, required documents and forms, the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, time-shares, planned communities and condominiums, and rentals, leasing and property management.

Math preparation

Memorize 43,560 square feet per acre and 5,280 feet per mile; the handbook says they are not provided at the test center. Proration questions tell you whether to use a 360- or 365-day year and who owns the day of closing. The exam math guide walks through every formula with worked examples.

Printable study checklist

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• Finished Real Estate Fundamentals (30 hours) and Real Estate Practice (45 hours), with certificates showing provider name and approval number, hours, grade and completion date
• Checked that the exam date falls within the five-year education window
• Applied for exam eligibility in Clarus for each portion needed
• Received Pearson VUE’s authorization email
• Reserved test date(s) at least 24 hours ahead; noted the 48-hour change deadline
• Checked the current ID rules; name on ID matches the registration exactly
• Took the 20-question diagnostic and noted the topics you missed
• Practiced every national topic, then every Pennsylvania topic
• Reviewed and retried missed questions
• Memorized 43,560 square feet per acre and 5,280 feet per mile
• Practiced at the full question count for each portion, including time for pretest questions
• After passing: lined up an employing broker who will supervise and train you
• Requested criminal history record checks for every state where you lived, worked or studied in the past five years, dated within 180 days of applying
• Submitted the license application in PALS within three years of passing

After you pass: applying for your license

From the Commission’s licensure guide: you need an employing broker with a valid Pennsylvania broker license who will certify that they will supervise and train you. You apply in PALS, send the application to your broker for approval, answer the legal questions and pay. You must provide a criminal history records check from each state where you lived, worked or studied in the past five years, dated within 180 days of the application. If you have a conviction, Act 53 of 2020 lets you ask the Commission for a preliminary determination of whether it would bar licensure. The Commission’s salesperson page lists an initial fee of $97 ($25 application plus $72 license), and RELRA § 802 also calls for a $10 Real Estate Recovery Fund payment with an initial license, so confirm the total PALS shows when you apply.

Official sources and next steps

• State Real Estate Commission (Pennsylvania Department of State): licensing, education, renewal and announcements
• Pearson VUE: Pennsylvania real estate: eligibility, scheduling and OnVUE information
• Pennsylvania Real Estate Candidate Handbook (October 2026)
• Pennsylvania Real Estate Content Outlines (03/2026)
• Real Estate Licensing and Registration Act and 49 Pa. Code Chapter 35