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National portion

Free Real Estate Practice Exam: National Questions

Practice the general real estate principles and federal rules on Pearson VUE’s national salesperson outline, with an explanation and a source for every answer.

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20 questions: 20 national. Untimed; plan on roughly 20 to 30 minutes, including the explanations. National principles only: no Pennsylvania law questions.

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Study modes

Study the national portion

The diagnostic here uses national questions only, and topic practice starts on national. Pennsylvania candidates can switch to both portions in topic practice.

  • National diagnostic

    20 questions (20 national), untimed, with an explanation after each answer and a score by topic at the end.

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  • Topic practice

    Choose national, Pennsylvania or both, an optional topic, and 5, 10 or 20 questions. Questions you have not seen come first, then ones you missed.

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  • Missed-question review

    Every question you get wrong is saved in your browser. Review the explanations, then retry them; retries are labeled and never inflate your first-attempt results.

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  • Math practice

    Short sets of 5 or 10 calculation questions: area, commission under a stated agreement, valuation, loan math, prorations and investment returns.

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  • Mock exam portions

    Full-length national (80 questions, 150 minutes) and Pennsylvania (40 questions, 60 minutes) portions built to Pearson VUE’s published topic counts, timed or untimed. Scored-content practice only: the official exam adds unscored pretest questions.

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More sample questions

Choose an answer and check it.

Sample question 1 · National · Finance and closing

A buyer finances a home with a mortgage in a state that follows the lien theory. While the loan is being repaid, and before any foreclosure, how is title held?

Answer choices for sample question 1

Show the answer and explanation

Answer: B.

The rule. States follow different theories about who holds legal title to mortgaged property. Under the lien theory, which most states follow, the borrower (mortgagor) keeps legal title unless there is a foreclosure, and the mortgage gives the lender (mortgagee) only a security interest in the land for the loan (Cornell LII Wex, mortgage).

Applied here. This buyer's state follows the lien theory and there has been no foreclosure, so the buyer holds legal title to the home. The lender is protected by the mortgage as security for the debt, which it can enforce by foreclosure if the buyer defaults.

  • A. Legal title resting with the lender until the debt is repaid is the title theory, a minority approach. The question says this state follows the lien theory.
  • C. None of the three theories on who holds legal title has the lender and the borrower share it. Under the lien theory the borrower alone holds legal title, and the lender has only a security interest.
  • D. Title shifting to the lender when the borrower defaults describes the intermediate theory. Under the lien theory the borrower keeps title unless the property is actually foreclosed.

General principle; states differ on lien, title and intermediate theory, so check your state's rules.

Source: Wex legal dictionary and encyclopedia, Wex: mortgage

Sample question 2 · National · Brokerage practice

Under Article 2 of the National Association of REALTORS Code of Ethics and its Standard of Practice 2-1, how far does a REALTOR's duty to discover and disclose problems with a property extend?

Answer choices for sample question 2

Show the answer and explanation

Answer: A.

The rule. Article 2 of the NAR Code bars exaggeration, misrepresentation and concealment of pertinent facts, but says REALTORS are not obligated to discover latent (hidden) defects or to advise on matters outside the scope of their real estate license. Standard of Practice 2-1 limits the duty to discover and disclose to adverse factors reasonably apparent to someone with the expertise their real estate licensing authority requires, not expertise in other professional or technical disciplines.

Applied here. So the duty reaches problems a competent real estate licensee would reasonably notice, and no further. A REALTOR is not held to the skills of a home inspector, engineer or other specialist; problems that take that kind of expertise to find belong with a qualified professional.

  • B. The duty is broader than passing along the seller's written statements. A REALTOR must also disclose problems that are reasonably apparent to a competent licensee and must not conceal pertinent facts.
  • C. Article 2 says REALTORS are not obligated to discover latent (hidden) defects. It does bar concealing pertinent facts, but it does not make a REALTOR answer for hidden problems that are not reasonably apparent.
  • D. This holds the REALTOR to a home inspector's skills. Standard of Practice 2-1 says Article 2 does not impose expertise in other professional or technical disciplines, so the duty stops at what a competent licensee would reasonably notice.

The NAR Code binds REALTOR members only; state license law sets each licensee's own disclosure duties, so check your state's rules.

Source: Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice of the National Association of REALTORS (effective January 1, 2026), Article 2; Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice of the National Association of REALTORS (effective January 1, 2026), Standard of Practice 2-1

Sample question 3 · National · Valuation

Federal banking regulators' appraisal rules define the market value that appraisals for federally related transactions must be based on. Under that definition, market value is best described as which of the following?

Answer choices for sample question 3

Show the answer and explanation

Answer: D.

The rule. The federal banking agencies' appraisal rules define market value as the most probable price a property should bring in a competitive and open market under all conditions requisite to a fair sale, with buyer and seller each acting prudently and knowledgeably and the price not affected by undue stimulus (for example, the OCC's rule at 12 CFR 34.42(h)). Appraisals for these transactions must be based on that definition (12 CFR 34.44(e)).

Applied here. Market value is an opinion of the likely price under fair, typical conditions, not a recorded fact. A past sale price, one motivated buyer's top offer and the cost to build are all data an appraiser may weigh, but none of them is market value by definition.

  • A. That is land value plus the reproduction cost new of the building, before depreciation: a cost figure used in the cost approach. Cost is an input an appraiser may weigh, not the definition of market value.
  • B. That describes price, which is a historical fact. A sale made under pressure or on unusual terms may not reflect market value at all.
  • C. Market value looks to typically motivated, prudent buyers. A buyer with a special reason to want the property may pay more than the market would.

Federal banking agencies' definition for appraisals in federally related transactions; property tax and eminent domain laws may define 'fair market value' differently, so check the rule that applies.

Source: OCC appraisal rules, 12 CFR Part 34, Subpart C (Appraisals), 12 CFR 34.42(h); OCC appraisal rules, 12 CFR Part 34, Subpart C (Appraisals), 12 CFR 34.44(e); Reference Book, Chapter 15: Appraisal and Valuation, pp. 386-387 (Market Value Defined); Reference Book, Chapter 15: Appraisal and Valuation, pp. 406-407 (Cost Approach: cost new bases)

Coverage

What this national practice covers

The questions are mapped to Pearson VUE’s National/General Exam Content Outline for Salespersons (effective April 1, 2025), the national portion of Pennsylvania’s salesperson exam. It has eight topic areas: property characteristics, legal descriptions and land use, ownership and title, valuation, contracts and agency, brokerage practice, disclosures and environmental issues, financing and settlement, and math.

Where a rule comes from federal law, such as fair housing, lead-based paint disclosure or Superfund (CERCLA) liability, the explanation cites the statute or regulation. Where a principle is general but varies by state, the question tests the general rule, stating any assumption it needs, and a note says that state law can differ.

Limits

What it doesn’t include

  • State license law. Only Pennsylvania’s state portion is covered on this site, in the Pennsylvania practice test; no other state’s law is.
  • Other test vendors’ outlines. States that use a different vendor, or their own exam, have different topic lists and weightings.
  • Actual exam questions. Everything here is original practice material from a finite bank.

Methodology

How these questions are written and checked

  1. Mapped to the official outline. Each question is tagged to a topic and subtopic of Pearson VUE’s current content outline for the Pennsylvania salesperson exam (national portion effective April 1, 2025; Pennsylvania portion effective March 16, 2026). The outline sets what is tested; it is not the source for any answer.
  2. Written from primary sources. The questions are original. They were drafted with AI assistance from the Pennsylvania statute and regulations, federal law, official agency guidance and legal reference works such as Cornell Law School’s Wex, and every explanation cites its source with a specific locator (a section, page or entry).
  3. Checked automatically. A build check confirms one keyed answer, four distinct choices, an explanation for every wrong choice, a resolvable source, recomputed math answers and no duplicate question stems (near-duplicates are flagged for the editor).
  4. Not yet reviewed by a licensed professional. No licensed real estate professional or attorney has reviewed these questions yet. Each one was checked by a separate AI review that re-read its sources, and the whole bank was checked for questions that contradict or give away each other. AI checking is not a professional review, so treat the explanations as study notes and confirm anything important in the cited source. If something looks wrong, use “Report a question issue”.

240 questions are published. Questions are drawn from a finite bank, so you will start to see repeats; the practice tool tells you when a question is one you have seen before.

Found a problem? Use “Report a question issue” after any answer in the practice tool. A report sends us the question’s ID and version, where you opened the report (study, mock or review), the page address and the message you write.

FAQ

Questions

Is this the same as my state’s exam?

It follows Pearson VUE’s national salesperson outline, which Pennsylvania uses. If your state uses a different vendor or outline, the topics and weighting may differ, and your state’s own law is not covered on this page (this site covers only Pennsylvania’s state portion).

How many questions are on the national portion?

Pearson VUE’s outline specifies 80 scored questions plus 5 unscored pretest questions. For Pennsylvania, the handbook gives 150 minutes for the national portion.

Are the answers based on federal law?

Where a federal law applies, yes, and the explanation cites it. Many national topics are general principles (for example, how a fixture is identified) that state law can modify; those questions test the general rule and carry a note that state law can differ.

Does this count toward prelicensing or continuing education hours?

No. This is a standalone practice test and supplemental study aid. It does not grant official academic credit, prelicensing education hours or continuing education hours in any jurisdiction, and it is not a replacement for the licensing education your state requires. In Pennsylvania, that means the Commission-approved prelicensing courses before the exam and the required continuing education after you are licensed.

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