Pennsylvania Real Estate Exam Guide

The Pennsylvania real estate exam, in one paragraph

The Pennsylvania salesperson licensing exam is a two-portion, computer-based test administered by Pearson VUE for the Pennsylvania Real Estate Commission. The national portion has 80 scored questions in 150 minutes; the Pennsylvania state portion has 40 scored questions in 60 minutes. Each portion is scored separately on a 0–100 scale, and you need a scaled score of 75 on both to pass. You become eligible by completing 75 hours of approved pre-licensing education and applying through the Clarus portal, and after passing you apply for your license through PALS with a sponsoring broker.

Who can take the Pennsylvania real estate exam?

To sit for the salesperson exam you must:

  • Be at least 18 years old and hold a high school diploma or its equivalent.
  • Complete 75 hours of Commission-approved pre-licensing education: the Real Estate Fundamentals course (30 hours) and the Real Estate Practice course (45 hours). A real estate degree or a law degree can satisfy the education requirement instead.
  • Pass a criminal background check as part of the licensing process.
  • Be approved to test. Salesperson candidates apply for exam eligibility through the Clarus portal (pare.useclarus.com), submitting proof of education. When the Commission approves you, Pearson VUE emails your authorization and scheduling instructions.

Two clocks start early, and both matter:

  • Your exam authorization lasts five years, counted from completion of your first required course. All attempts must fit inside that window.
  • Once you pass, your scores are valid for three years. Your license application must be completed inside that window.

PassProfessor note: our program is exam preparation only. It does not provide any of the 75 hours of pre-licensing education credit — you take those courses from a Commission-approved school.

What is on the exam?

Both portions are built from Pearson VUE’s published content outlines — the national/general outline for the national portion and the Pennsylvania state outline for the state portion. These outlines are the same documents our practice bank is organized around. The area names and counts below are the current outlines’ exact titles and item counts (form 093901, 03/2026).

The national portion (80 scored questions, 150 minutes; outline effective April 1, 2025)

  • Real Property Characteristics, Legal Descriptions, and Property Use (11 questions)
  • Forms of Ownership, Transfer, and Recording of Title (9 questions)
  • Property Value and Appraisal (11 questions)
  • Real Estate Contracts and Agency (16 questions)
  • Real Estate Practice (10 questions)
  • Property Disclosures and Environmental Issues (9 questions)
  • Financing and Settlement (7 questions)
  • Real Estate Math Calculations (7 questions)

The Pennsylvania state portion (40 scored questions, 60 minutes)

Per the Pearson VUE Pennsylvania state content outline (effective March 16, 2026 — the same outline our practice bank is built and cited to):

  • The Real Estate Commission — its powers, composition, and procedures (5 questions)
  • Licensure — who needs a license, license types, applications, renewal, and reciprocity under the Real Estate Licensing and Registration Act (RELRA) (8 questions)
  • Regulations Governing the Activities of Licensees — advertising, escrow and trust accounts, commissions, and prohibited conduct under RELRA and the Commission’s regulations (49 Pa. Code Chapter 35) (11 questions)
  • Agency and Disclosure — agency relationships, the Consumer Notice, and seller disclosure duties (10 questions)
  • Miscellaneous — remaining Pennsylvania-specific provisions (6 questions)

Pretest questions

The national portion mixes in 5 unscored pretest questions and the Pennsylvania state portion mixes in 10 — 15 in total (the candidate handbook’s exam table lists the range as 5 to 10 per portion; the current content outlines pin the exact numbers). They look exactly like scored questions, are not identified, and do not affect your result — Pearson VUE uses them to gather statistics for future exams. Treat every question as scored; there is no way to tell the difference, and pacing for 85 questions on the national portion (or 50 on the state portion) while only 80 (or 40) count is the right mindset.

The math conventions are published

The candidate handbook tells you exactly which constants and conventions the national portion assumes, including 43,560 square feet per acre and 5,280 feet per mile. When a question requires a prorated amount, the question itself states whether the calculation uses a 360- or 365-day year and whether the day of closing belongs to the buyer or the seller. Knowing the conventions in advance removes a whole category of avoidable misses.

The passing standard, explained properly

Each portion reports a scaled score from 0 to 100, and the passing point is 75 on each portion, separately.

A scaled score is not the percentage of questions you answered correctly. Pearson VUE administers multiple forms of the exam; forms differ slightly in difficulty, so raw results are statistically equated and converted to the scale. The handbook states this plainly: the scaled score you receive is neither the number nor the percentage of questions you answered correctly. Two practical consequences:

  • Budget your effort per portion. A strong national performance cannot rescue a weak state performance. Most candidates find the 40-question state portion — Pennsylvania law, licensing rules, and escrow/conduct regulation — is where out-of-state prep products are thinnest, because the content exists nowhere else.
  • Use your score report if you fail. Failing candidates receive a numeric score plus diagnostic information for each portion. That diagnostic breakdown is a study plan: it tells you which portion, and by how much, before you rebook.

Passing candidates receive a pass/fail document at the test center and submit their passing score reports to the Commission as part of the PALS license application.

Fees and registration, step by step

  1. Finish your 75 hours with a Commission-approved provider.
  2. Apply for exam eligibility in Clarus (pare.useclarus.com): choose the state and/or national exam application and submit your proof of education and required documents once — Pearson VUE reviews eligibility for both portions from the same submission.
  3. Watch for the authorization email from the Commission through Pearson VUE, with scheduling instructions.
  4. Reserve and pay with Pearson VUE. The fee is $52 for the national portion and $49 for the state portion, paid by card at reservation — payment is not accepted at the test center, and fees are nonrefundable and nontransferable. Schedule both portions on the same order and the combined fee is $52 total; the combined price cannot be applied afterward if you book separately. (The handbook notes that fees may vary — confirm the figures at reservation.)
  5. Test at a Pearson VUE test center or online via OnVUE (see the test-day section).
  6. Apply for your license in PALS (pals.pa.gov) with your passing score reports and your sponsoring broker’s information.

Keep the three money buckets separate in your planning — most “total cost” figures floating around prep sites blur them: (1) pre-licensing education tuition (set by schools), (2) Pearson VUE exam fees ($52 national / $49 state, or $52 total when both portions are scheduled on the same order), and (3) state application and background-check fees (set by the Commonwealth; confirm current amounts in PALS before you apply).

Retakes and score validity

  • Retake only what you failed. If you pass one portion and fail the other, you retake only the failed portion, within your five-year authorization window.
  • You cannot retake a passed portion during the authorization period — there is no improving a pass.
  • No overall attempt cap is imposed inside the authorization window; online (OnVUE) attempts must be spaced seven days apart.
  • Reexamination reservations cannot be made at the test center — rebook through the normal Pearson VUE channels.
  • Passing scores expire after three years. If you let them lapse, you test again.

Test day: what to expect

  • Arrive at least 30 minutes early with proper identification (the handbook lists acceptable ID; a temporary paper license is not accepted).
  • Nothing goes in with you. Phones, watches, wallets, bags, books, notes, and even hats are stored in a secure area; electronic devices must be off. The administrator provides materials for notes and calculations, which you may not write on before the exam begins or remove afterward.
  • Breaks run on your clock. You may raise your hand for an unscheduled break, but the exam timer does not stop, and you may not leave the floor or building.
  • Online with OnVUE is an alternative: you need a quiet private room, a reliable device with a webcam, and a strong connection, and you must stay in the proctor’s view for the whole session. Read Pearson VUE’s OnVUE policies before choosing it.
  • Spanish is available. Since November 1, 2025, the sales and broker exams are offered in Spanish at test centers (online exams remain English-only for now), per the Department of State.
  • Results: you leave with a document confirming you tested and instructions for your official score report through your Clarus profile; failing reports include the numeric score and per-portion diagnostics described in the passing-standard section.

How to study for this exam

Study the outline, not the internet. The Pearson VUE content outlines define everything the exam can ask. Organize your preparation by outline topic and portion, and give the state portion its own dedicated block — it is a third of your scored questions and the portion generic national products cover worst.

Respect the two-pass rule. Because each portion must reach a scaled 75 independently, split your final preparation into two readiness checks — one per portion — rather than one blended score. A blended 82% can hide a state portion sitting below the line.

Drill the Pennsylvania specifics. Escrow and trust-account rules, advertising rules, commission and fee rules, license categories and renewal, and the Commission’s disciplinary powers are pure Pennsylvania law. They reward direct study more than any other section of the exam.

Practice math the handbook’s way. Learn the published conventions and practice prorations, commissions, area, and financing calculations until the setup is automatic; the real exam’s math questions state their day-count and closing-day assumptions, so the skill is reading the assumption, not guessing it.

Use pretest questions correctly. 15 of the questions you answer (5 national, 10 state) won’t count. If one question seems bizarre or broken, it may be a pretest item — answer it, move on, and do not let it consume time budgeted for scored questions.

Simulate the real sitting. At least twice before test day, sit a full 80-question national set in 150 minutes and a full 40-question state set in 60 minutes, back to back, with breaks on the clock.

PassProfessor supports exactly this plan: 19,988 outline-mapped questions, topic drills for the state portion’s law topics, and fresh blueprint-weighted practice exams on every attempt. Start with the free sample exam, or see the Pennsylvania program page.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Pennsylvania real estate exam hard? It is two separate hurdles, not one: 120 scored questions across two portions, each requiring a scaled score of 75 on its own scale. Candidates most often underestimate the 40-question Pennsylvania state portion, which covers RELRA and Commission regulations that national prep products barely touch.

How long is the Pennsylvania real estate exam? 150 minutes for the national portion and 60 minutes for the state portion — 210 minutes of testing if you take both in one sitting, with 15 unscored pretest questions (5 national, 10 state) mixed into the two portions inside that time.

How many times can I take the Pennsylvania real estate exam? There is no fixed attempt cap, but all attempts must occur within your five-year authorization window (counted from completion of your first pre-licensing course), you may retake only a portion you failed, and online OnVUE attempts must be at least seven days apart.

What happens after I pass both portions? You complete your license application in PALS, submitting your passing score reports and your sponsoring broker’s information. Your passing scores remain valid for three years, so the application must be completed within that period.

Can I take the Pennsylvania real estate exam online? Yes — Pearson VUE offers the exam through OnVUE online proctoring as well as at test centers. Online attempts carry the seven-day spacing rule, and the Spanish-language exam is currently test-center only.

Do I need a sponsoring broker before the exam? You need a sponsoring broker to complete your license application after passing. Exam eligibility itself runs through Clarus on the strength of your completed education.

What ID do I need at the test center? Proper government identification as listed in the Pearson VUE candidate handbook; temporary paper licenses are not accepted. Arrive at least 30 minutes before your appointment.

Are calculators allowed? The test administrator provides the materials permitted for calculations; personal items — including your own calculator — are not allowed in the testing room. The handbook’s published math conventions (43,560 square feet per acre; 5,280 feet per mile) are worth memorizing before test day.

Does PassProfessor’s program satisfy the 75-hour education requirement? No. PassProfessor is exam preparation only and provides no pre-licensing education credit. The 75 hours — Real Estate Fundamentals (30) and Real Estate Practice (45) — must be completed with a Commission-approved education provider.

Where do I find the official exam information? The Pennsylvania Real Estate Commission’s pages on pa.gov and the Pearson VUE Pennsylvania real estate page, which hosts the current Candidate Handbook and content outlines. Every fact in this guide comes from those sources.

Sources

  • Pennsylvania Real Estate Commission / Pearson VUE, Pennsylvania Real Estate Candidate Handbook, October 2026 (rev 10/2026), form 093900 — pearsonvue.com
  • Pearson VUE, Pennsylvania Real Estate Content Outlines, form 093901, 03/2026 — pearsonvue.com
  • PA Department of State, Real Estate Commission — Education Information; Announcements; main licensure page — pa.gov