PassProfessor’s North Carolina program. The 20,000-question North Carolina practice bank is built and audited, and enrollment is open — use this guide to plan your path to the exam.
The North Carolina real estate exam, in one paragraph
The North Carolina Real Estate Broker License Examination is the single entry-level licensing exam for North Carolina’s broker-only license system, administered by Pearson VUE for the North Carolina Real Estate Commission (NCREC). It has two separately timed and separately scored sections: a National section of 80 scored questions in 2.5 hours and a North Carolina State section of 60 scored questions in 2.0 hours, with 5 unscored pretest questions mixed into each section. You pass with a score of 75 on each section, and both sections must be passed within the same 180-day Examination Eligibility Period. You become eligible by completing the 75-hour Broker Prelicensing course, filing your license application with the Commission — criminal record report included — and receiving a Notice of Exam Eligibility. Most new licensees are then issued an inactive Provisional Broker license, activated under a Broker-in-Charge.
Who can take the North Carolina real estate exam?
North Carolina licenses brokers, not salespeople — there is no separate salesperson license or salesperson exam. To qualify for an individual real estate broker license, the Commission requires that you:
- Be at least 18 years old.
- Be a United States citizen, a non-citizen national, or a qualified alien under federal law — or have a lawful presence in the U.S. and be authorized to work in the U.S. in the real estate brokerage field.
- Have a Social Security number. It is mandatory, not optional, on the application.
- Satisfy the education requirement (below) — for most applicants, the 75-hour North Carolina Broker Prelicensing course.
- File a complete license application with the $105 application fee and a current criminal record report.
- Pass both sections of the license examination (exceptions below).
- Satisfy the Commission that you possess the requisite character for licensure — the honesty, truthfulness, integrity, good moral character, and general fitness the booklet describes. Operating as a broker without a license is a criminal offense in North Carolina.
You do not need to be a North Carolina resident, and the booklet sets no high school diploma or degree requirement for the standard path — the education requirement is the prelicensing course itself.
The education requirement: four qualification options
Option 1 — the standard path. Successfully complete the North Carolina Broker Prelicensing Course: at least 75 instructional hours with a mandatory end-of-course examination, provided by a Commission-certified Education Provider, completed within three years before your license application. Your provider reports your completion to the Commission electronically. The vast majority of applicants qualify this way, and applicants under Options 1–3 must pass both sections of the exam.
Three alternatives exist for applicants with equivalent education or experience (Commission Rule 58A .0304):
- Option 2 — equivalent course in another state. A salesperson prelicensing course of at least 75 hours, completed within one year before your NC application while you were a resident of that state, parallel to the topics and timings in the Commission’s Prelicensing course syllabus.
- Option 3 — a qualifying degree. A baccalaureate or higher degree in real estate, real estate brokerage, real estate finance, or real estate development — or a law degree — from an accredited institution.
- Option 4 — current licensure in another jurisdiction. If you hold a current real estate license in another state, U.S. territory, or Canadian jurisdiction that was on active status sometime within the previous three years, you may either (A) apply and pass only the State section of the NC exam, and be issued a license equivalent to the one you hold, or (B) waive the exam entirely and be issued a Provisional Broker license, subject to the full Postlicensing education requirement with no waiver eligibility. Either route requires an official Certification of Licensure from the other jurisdiction, issued within the six months before you apply.
Character and the criminal record report
Every applicant — including reinstatement applicants — must order a criminal record report from the Commission’s approved vendor, CriminalRecordCheck.com (CRC), and only a report prepared within six months before you file your application is acceptable. The report searches the state or county records for each place you have lived during the previous seven years, under each name you have used, and also includes a federal background check and a check of military court-martial records. Its cost varies with the number of places and names searched — the booklet publishes no single fee — and it is not refundable once ordered, so the booklet advises being sure you have completed (or will complete) the prelicensing course before ordering if your history is complex.
Answer the application’s three character questions — criminal offenses, professional license disciplinary actions, and liens or unpaid judgments — completely and honestly. A “yes” makes you an applicant with a character issue: your application is evaluated case by case, generally after you have passed the exam, using the statutory factors the booklet lists (seriousness and date of the offense, your age at the time, rehabilitation, and more). Failure to disclose is itself a separate character issue. If you have a criminal history and want an answer before investing in the course, the Commission offers a Petition for Pre-Determination — order the record report, pay the $45 petition fee, and ask the Commission whether your history will likely disqualify you. It can be filed at any time, including before you take the prelicensing course.
PassProfessor note: our program is exam preparation only. It does not provide any of the 75 hours of prelicensing education credit — you take that course from a Commission-certified education provider.
The exam, piece by piece
The exam is one comprehensive sitting made of two sections, built from the content outline published in Real Estate Licensing in North Carolina (April 2026). Pearson develops the National section — a version of it is used in every state where Pearson administers real estate exams — and the Commission develops the State section, which is given only to North Carolina applicants. All items are multiple-choice: a question or incomplete statement with four answer options, from which you choose the correct or best answer. All scored items carry equal value, and each exam administration is drawn randomly by formula so topics stay consistent and administrations are of equal difficulty.
| Section / category | Scored questions | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| National section — 2.5 hours | ||
| Real Property | 9 | Property characteristics, legal descriptions, and land use |
| Ownership | 8 | Forms of ownership and estates |
| Valuation | 11 | Appraisal approaches and market analysis |
| Contracts & Agency | 16 | Contracts and the law of agency — the largest National category |
| Real Estate Practice | 14 | Brokerage practice, federal law, and professional conduct |
| Property Disclosures | 8 | Disclosure duties and environmental issues |
| Financing | 7 | Mortgage financing and settlement |
| Real Estate Math | 7 | Commissions, prorations, area, and financing calculations |
| National subtotal | 80 | Plus 5 unscored pretest questions = 85 answered |
| North Carolina State section — 2.0 hours | ||
| Licensure | 3 | Who needs a license, license categories and status levels |
| Agency | 16 | NC agency law and practice, including the Working with Real Estate Agents disclosure — the largest State category |
| Supervision/Compensation | 4 | Broker-in-Charge supervision and how brokers may be paid |
| Brokerage Practice | 12 | NC brokerage operations, advertising, and trust accounts |
| Taxes/Insurance | 4 | North Carolina tax and insurance provisions |
| Contracts/Closing | 7 | NC contracts and the closing process |
| Landlord/Tenant | 3 | North Carolina landlord-tenant law |
| Other NC Laws | 11 | Remaining North Carolina statutes affecting brokerage |
| State subtotal | 60 | Plus 5 unscored pretest questions = 65 answered |
| Total scored | 140 | Plus 10 pretest = 150 questions answered |
For subtopic detail under each category, the booklet directs candidates to the Broker Prelicensing Course Syllabus on the Commission’s website (ncrec.gov) — the outline’s categories are drawn from the same body of knowledge the course teaches.
Four structural facts that shape how you should prepare:
- The State section is 60 of 140 scored questions — nearly 43% of the exam. It is also entirely North Carolina: License Law, Commission rules, and state statutes. It is the largest state section in this exam structure, and it is where generic national preparation runs out.
- Agency is tested twice, heavily. Contracts & Agency (16) on the National side and Agency (16) on the State side together account for 32 scored questions — almost a quarter of the exam — but they test different law: national agency principles in one section, North Carolina’s agency rules and disclosure duties in the other.
- The sections are separate hurdles, on separate clocks. Each section is timed on its own (2.5 hours; 2.0 hours) and scored on its own. A break taken between sections is not deducted from either section’s time; a break taken during a section is.
- Your first attempt is always the comprehensive exam. If you must pass both sections, you may not elect to sit only one of them. Single-section sittings exist only as retakes, after you have passed the other section.
Pretest questions. Each section includes 5 pretest items — tryout questions Pearson and the Commission are evaluating for future exams. They do not count in your score, their results are reported only to Pearson and the Commission, and they appear randomly, indistinguishable from scored questions. There is no way to game them: treat every question as scored, and pace for 85 questions on the National section and 65 on the State section.
The passing standard, explained
You pass with a score of 75 on the National section and a score of 75 on the State section, each computed separately.
The booklet publishes the passing score as 75 for each section. Read it the way the Commission applies it:
- There is no blending. A National score above 75 does not pull a State score below 75 up to passing. Your results are reported separately for the two sections precisely because each is its own pass/fail decision.
- Both passes must land in the same window. All sections required for licensure must be passed within the same 180-day Examination Eligibility Period. Credit for a section passed in an earlier period is forfeited when that period expires — pass one section in January and the other after your period ends, and you start over on both.
- Passing is not the license. Licenses are not issued at the test center or by Pearson. Your results go to the Commission, which issues the license once character is also satisfied — expect the license certificate by mail within about 10 days of your exam date if there are no character issues (allow 45 days before inquiring if there are).
One calibration note the booklet itself offers: applicants licensed in other jurisdictions who take only the State section pass it at an average rate of less than 50% — the Commission’s own warning that the State section defeats experienced out-of-state brokers who prepare lightly. First-time North Carolina candidates should treat that as the section’s reputation, stated by its author.
Fees and registration, step by step
Keep the payments separate in your mind — they go to two different places, and the pair of them repeats on every attempt.
| Payment | Amount | Paid to | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| License application fee | $105 | North Carolina Real Estate Commission | With each license application — one application covers one exam attempt |
| Comprehensive exam fee (both sections) | $63 | Pearson VUE | When you schedule the exam |
| Single-section exam fee (retake of one section) | $53 | Pearson VUE | When you schedule a single-section retake |
| Criminal record report | Varies by search history (no single published figure) | CriminalRecordCheck.com (CRC) | Ordered as part of the application; a fresh report is required if you refile after your eligibility period expires |
The application fee is nonrefundable once the Commission has processed the application. Exam fees are nonrefundable and nontransferable and expire at the end of your 180-day eligibility period.
The sequence, in order:
- Complete the 75-hour Broker Prelicensing course with a Commission-certified provider and pass its end-of-course exam. (Or document one of the other three qualification options above.) You may start your online application before finishing the course, but you cannot submit payment and finalize it until your completion has been reported and your criminal record report obtained.
- Order your criminal record report from CriminalRecordCheck.com (ncreccheck.com). It must be prepared within six months before you file, and the completed report is linked electronically to your online application. Wait for the completed report before submitting.
- File the online application at ncrec.gov (scroll to “Apply Here” on the homepage) and pay the $105 fee by credit card (Visa, MasterCard, Discover, or American Express — the only payment method the online system accepts). Use your full legal name exactly as it appears on your Social Security card; keep every answer current, and disclose character matters fully.
- Receive your Notice of Exam Eligibility by email. It is valid for 180 calendar days from issuance, and Commission rules do not allow the period to be extended for any reason. Add LICAPPdonotreply@ncrec.gov to your safe-sender list so the notice reaches you. Wait one business day after receiving it before contacting Pearson — your eligibility record has to be uploaded first. There is no walk-in testing.
- Schedule with Pearson VUE and pay the exam fee. Book online at pearsonvue.com/us/en/ncrel.html (24 hours a day) or by phone at 800-745-2627. Appointments can be made up to one calendar day before the test day, subject to availability — but schedule promptly; if you leave it until your eligibility period is nearly over, Pearson may not be able to offer a date and location that suit you. You may test at any Pearson test center in any state, not only in North Carolina. Your registration name must match your government-issued ID exactly.
- Take the exam (test day, below).
- Receive your license. If you passed and there are no character issues, the Commission issues your license and mails the certificate — within about 10 days of your exam date. Your initial license is an inactive Provisional Broker license: before you can work, you and a Broker-in-Charge file the License Activation/Affiliation form (REC 2.08) to place it on active status, and you practice under that Broker-in-Charge’s supervision.
After licensure, two clocks keep running. Provisional Brokers must complete 90 hours of Postlicensing education within 18 months of initial licensure — Post 301 (Broker Relationships and Responsibilities), Post 302 (Contracts and Closing), and Post 303 (NC Law, Rules, and Legal Concepts), 30 hours each — or the license is placed on inactive status until the deficiency is cured. Separately, all licensees owe 8 hours of continuing education per annual license period (a 4-hour Update course plus a 4-hour approved elective) by June 10 each year — with no CE requirement during your initial license year — and every license expires June 30 unless renewed (renewal window May 15–June 30; annual renewal fee $50).
Retakes and score validity
North Carolina’s retake system runs through the Commission, not around it. The rules, exactly as the booklet states them:
- Each application buys one attempt. Every license application submission and its $105 fee are valid for only one attempt at the exam. There is no retaking any section until you have refiled your application with the Commission and paid another $105 — you may not contact Pearson about a retake before refiling. The Commission then issues an updated Notice of Exam Eligibility showing which section(s) you may retake and the dates remaining in your period.
- Fail both sections → retake both. An applicant who fails both sections keeps taking the two-part comprehensive exam on each subsequent attempt (another $105 application fee plus the $63 exam fee each time) until at least one section is passed.
- Pass one section → retake only the other. Once you have passed one section, you apply to take only the remaining unpassed section (another $105 application fee plus the $53 single-section exam fee each time).
- The 180-day period never extends. A retake can be scheduled inside your initial eligibility period only if at least 10 eligibility days remain after your last test date. If the period expires with a section still unpassed, the section you did pass is forfeited: you refile a new application with a new criminal record report and a new fee, receive a new 180-day period, and must pass both sections within it.
- No attempt cap. The booklet states there is no limit to the number of times a qualified candidate can refile and attempt the exam — the constraint is the calendar, not a count of tries: every pass you need must fit inside one 180-day window.
- Rescheduling is different from retaking. You may reschedule a booked appointment at no charge by calling Pearson at 800-745-2627 at least two business days before it. Miss that deadline, arrive late, fail to appear, bring the wrong ID, or let your eligibility period expire untested, and you forfeit both the application fee and the exam fee. Pearson can consider an excused absence if you call within 14 days of the exam date for specified reasons (illness — yours or an immediate family member’s — a death in the immediate family, a disabling traffic accident, a court appearance or jury duty, military duty, or a weather emergency); documentation is required.
Test day
- Arrive at least 30 minutes early. Check-in and orientation to the computer-testing process take approximately 15–20 minutes. Late arrival can mean no admission and a forfeited fee. Before the exam begins, take the exam tutorial — the booklet’s own advice — because tutorial time does not count against your exam time.
- Bring exactly one form of valid, unexpired, signature-bearing photo ID — a state-issued driver’s license or ID card, a U.S. passport, U.S. military ID, U.S. alien registration card, Canadian government ID, or a U.S. Employment Authorization Card. Temporary IDs are not accepted; neither are student or employment IDs. Your ID’s first and last name must match your license application and exam registration exactly (a middle initial in place of a full middle name is the only variation proctors may accept).
- Nothing personal enters the testing room. Phones, watches, wallets, purses, hats, bags, coats, books, notes, pens, and pencils are all prohibited and must be stored as the administrator directs, with electronic devices turned off. Expect to empty your pockets and be checked for hidden devices or writings. Studying is not allowed in the test center, and visitors may not wait there.
- Calculators: bring your own, within the rules. Calculators are not required but are recommended — and they are not provided by the test center. An acceptable calculator is handheld, battery- or solar-powered, of the financial-calculator type used in real estate, finance, accounting, and business; it may have storage capability but must not contain alpha characters (letter keys like a phone keypad; mathematical symbols such as cos or sin are fine). A calculator malfunction is not grounds for challenging your results or claiming extra time.
- Note materials are provided by the administrator when you are seated. You may not write on them before the exam begins or take them out of the room.
- Breaks run on your section’s clock. NCREC allows unscheduled breaks: raise your hand, leave the room — but not the floor or building — and know the exam timer does not stop. The exception is the break between the National and State sections, which is not deducted from either section’s timed period. During a break you may access stored personal items only with the administrator’s permission and only for necessities such as medication — never phones, notes, or study materials.
- Answer everything. You can return to items and change answers until your section’s time runs out or you end the section. The booklet’s guidance: mark a stumper for later review and move on — an unanswered item is scored as incorrect, so an educated guess costs you nothing.
- Exam security is a licensing issue, not just a test-center rule. Under Commission Rule 58A .0405, no applicant or licensee may obtain, attempt to obtain, receive, or communicate examination questions or answers. A violation is grounds for denial of a license (for an applicant) or disciplinary action (for a licensee).
- Results and what happens next. Your results are reported separately for the National and State sections and are reported to the Commission; licenses are not issued at the test center. If you passed both sections and no character issue is pending, your license follows by mail — the booklet puts certificates at within about 10 days of the exam date. Your license arrives inactive, on provisional status: file form REC 2.08 with your Broker-in-Charge to activate it before doing any brokerage work, and start your 90-hour Postlicensing clock (18 months) from your initial licensure date.
How to study for this exam
The outline is the syllabus — the Commission publishes exactly what each section tests and how many questions each category carries, and the weights above are question counts, not suggestions. A plan built on that structure:
- Treat it as two exams, because it is. Two sections, two timers, two scores of 75 to reach, one shared 180-day window. Split your readiness checks by section from the start: a blended practice average can hide a State section sitting below the line, and the exam will not blend it for you.
- Start with the State section’s concrete law. Sixty questions — Agency (16), Brokerage Practice (12), and Other NC Laws (11) above all — reward direct study of North Carolina specifics: provisional broker status and Broker-in-Charge supervision, the Working with Real Estate Agents disclosure at first substantial contact, trust account deposit deadlines and record rules, advertising rules, and the state statutes behind Contracts/Closing and Landlord/Tenant. This is the section even experienced out-of-state brokers fail at rates the Commission itself puts below 50% — prepare it like the main event, not the appendix.
- Learn the two Agency categories as a pair — and as a contrast. National Contracts & Agency and State Agency carry 16 questions each. Practice telling them apart: when a scenario turns on general agency principles, and when North Carolina’s own disclosure and agreement rules change the answer. Confusing the two bodies of law is the most North Carolina way to lose points.
- Drill math under the published format. Real Estate Math is 7 National questions, and calculations also run through Valuation, Financing, and Contracts/Closing. Practice commissions (including split commissions of the kind the booklet’s own examples use), prorations, and area problems until the setup is automatic — and take the exam with a permitted non-alpha financial calculator you already know, since the test center provides none.
- Practice at full length, section by section. Sit an 85-question National set inside 2.5 hours and a 65-question State set inside 2.0 hours, pretest items included in the count, with breaks taken the way the test center allows them. Pacing is a separate skill from knowledge, and 150 answered questions is a long sitting to improvise.
- Protect the window. Schedule your first attempt early in your 180-day eligibility period, not at its end. A failed section is recoverable only if enough eligibility days remain to refile, reschedule, and retake — a first attempt in week one leaves room for two recoveries; a first attempt in month five may leave room for none.
This program’s North Carolina practice bank (20,000 questions — 11,432 National and 8,568 State) is built category-by-category on this same outline. The North Carolina Real Estate Exam Prep program page shows the full coverage table and enrollment.
Frequently asked questions
How many questions are on the North Carolina real estate exam? 140 scored questions — 80 on the National section and 60 on the North Carolina State section — plus 5 unscored pretest questions in each section, for 150 questions answered. The National section allows 2.5 hours and the State section 2.0 hours, timed separately.
What is the passing score for the North Carolina real estate exam? A score of 75 on each section, computed separately, per Real Estate Licensing in North Carolina (April 2026). Both sections must be passed within the same 180-day Examination Eligibility Period; a score in one section cannot compensate for the other.
Is there a salesperson license in North Carolina? No. North Carolina is a broker-only state with a single entry-level exam. New licensees are issued a broker license on provisional status — Provisional Broker — initially on inactive status, and activate it under the supervision of a Broker-in-Charge.
What education do I need before the North Carolina exam? For most applicants, the 75-hour North Carolina Broker Prelicensing course, including its end-of-course exam, from a Commission-certified education provider, completed within three years before applying. Equivalent out-of-state education, a qualifying real estate or law degree, or current licensure in another jurisdiction can satisfy the requirement instead under the Commission’s other qualification options.
How much does it cost to take the North Carolina real estate exam? Two fees per attempt: the $105 license application fee to the North Carolina Real Estate Commission and the Pearson VUE exam fee — $63 for the comprehensive exam or $53 for a single-section retake. Your criminal record report is priced separately by the vendor and varies with your residence and name history, because it is charged per search.
How do I register for the North Carolina exam? You do not start with Pearson VUE. Complete the prelicensing course, order your criminal record report, and file the online license application with the Commission at ncrec.gov. When the Commission accepts it, you receive a Notice of Exam Eligibility by email — then, after waiting one business day, schedule with Pearson VUE online or at 800-745-2627 and pay the exam fee.
How long is my exam eligibility good for? 180 calendar days from the date your Notice of Exam Eligibility is issued. Commission rules do not allow the period to be extended for any reason. If it expires before you have passed every required section, you must refile a new application — new criminal record report and fee included — for a new 180-day period, and sections passed in the old period no longer count.
If I fail, how soon can I retake the North Carolina exam? After you refile your application with the Commission and pay the $105 fee again, you receive an updated Notice of Exam Eligibility and can schedule the retake with Pearson VUE — provided at least 10 eligibility days remain in your original 180-day period after your last test date. You retake the comprehensive exam if you failed both sections, or only the unpassed section if you passed one. There is no limit on the number of refilings and attempts; the eligibility calendar is the limit.
Can I take the North Carolina real estate exam online? The Commission’s current booklet and Pearson VUE’s North Carolina program page describe a test-center exam: you sit the exam at a Pearson VUE test center, and North Carolina candidates may use any Pearson test center in any state. Neither source, as of October 2026, describes an at-home option for this exam.
What ID do I need at the test center? One form of valid, unexpired, government-issued identification bearing your photo and signature — for example a state driver’s license or ID card, U.S. passport, or U.S. military ID. Your name on the ID must match your license application and registration exactly; temporary IDs, student IDs, and employment IDs are not accepted.
Can I use a calculator on the North Carolina exam? Yes — your own, and the test center does not provide one. It must be a handheld, battery- or solar-powered financial calculator without alpha (letter) keys. Storage capability is permitted; a malfunction earns you neither extra time nor a challenge to your results.
What happens after I pass both sections? The Commission issues your license — expect the certificate by mail within about 10 days if there are no character issues. It arrives as an inactive Provisional Broker license. You activate it by filing the License Activation/Affiliation form (REC 2.08) with your Broker-in-Charge, and you must complete 90 hours of Postlicensing education within 18 months of initial licensure to remove the provisional status.
Do I need a sponsoring broker before the exam? No sponsorship is required to apply or test. You need a Broker-in-Charge only afterward, to activate your Provisional Broker license — a provisional broker must be supervised by a Broker-in-Charge at all times when providing brokerage services.
Where do I find the official exam information? In Real Estate Licensing in North Carolina, the Commission’s official booklet (April 2026 revision), available through the Commission’s website (ncrec.gov) and Pearson VUE — it is also the booklet you must certify you have read as part of the license application. Pearson VUE’s North Carolina real estate page handles scheduling once you are eligible.
Disclaimer
PassProfessor is an independent exam-preparation provider and is not affiliated with the North Carolina Real Estate Commission, Pearson VUE, or any state agency or exam vendor. This guide is general information about the North Carolina licensing exam, current as of October 2026; the Commission’s booklet and Pearson VUE publications govern if anything here differs from them.