PassProfessor’s Rhode Island program is part of the expanding PassProfessor catalog. The 19,986-question Rhode Island practice bank is built and audited, and enrollment opens soon. Join the notify list and we will email you when enrollment opens — then use this guide to plan your path to the exam.
This program is part of the expanding PassProfessor catalog — join the notify list and we’ll email you when enrollment opens.
The Rhode Island salesperson exam, in one paragraph
The Rhode Island real estate salesperson exam is a two-portion, computer-based licensing exam administered by Pearson VUE for the Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation (DBR). The national/general portion has 80 scored questions in 150 minutes (2.5 hours); the Rhode Island state portion has 50 scored questions in 90 minutes (1.5 hours). Each portion also mixes in unscored pretest questions — 5 national, 10 state. The passing score for all exam levels is a scaled score of 70, and you must pass both portions. Before you can test, you complete 45 classroom hours of pre-licensing education at a DBR-approved school; after passing, you apply for your license to DBR within one year.
Who can take the Rhode Island salesperson exam?
Rhode Island’s salesperson path runs through DBR’s licensing law (Rhode Island General Laws Title 5, Chapter 20.5) and DBR’s real estate regulation, 230-RICR-30-20-2. The requirements that shape your timeline:
- Complete 45 classroom hours of pre-licensing education before the exam. State law (RIGL § 5-20.5-4(b)) and the regulation (§ 2.7(A)) require a minimum of 45 classroom hours in a real estate course given by an approved school. The regulation adds two conditions candidates routinely miss: classroom hours completed more than two years before the application date do not count toward the 45, and pre-licensing courses must be taken in a classroom — the regulation states that online or distance education credits will not be accepted for new license applicants (§ 2.7(D)).
- Finish the education before you test, and prove it at the door. The candidate handbook is explicit that all pre-licensing education must be completed before taking the examination, and candidates who completed their education in Rhode Island must bring their Education Completion Certificate on exam day.
- Pass both portions of the Pearson VUE exam — national/general and Rhode Island state — at the passing standard described below.
- Be affiliated with a principal broker to practice. A licensed salesperson must be affiliated with a licensed principal broker in order to engage in any activity requiring licensure, and a salesperson may not operate, supervise, or manage a brokerage (regulation § 2.5). Your license application to DBR follows passing, and the affiliation is part of going to work.
- Apply within one year of passing. The handbook states that application for licensure must be filed within one year of the date you passed the examination — from the later date, if you passed the two portions on different days.
Two eligibility side doors worth knowing:
- Florida license holders. A candidate currently licensed in Florida, seeking Rhode Island licensure at the same level, may be eligible to take the Rhode Island state part only, under the Mutual Recognition Agreement between Florida and Rhode Island, if all of that agreement’s requirements are met.
- Attorneys. Rhode Island’s licensing framework has separate application routes for attorneys (DBR publishes attorney broker and attorney salesperson applications); if that is you, start from DBR’s application list rather than the standard path.
PassProfessor note: our program is exam preparation only. It does not provide any of the 45 hours of pre-licensing education credit — those hours come from a DBR-approved school.
The exam, piece by piece
Both portions are built from Pearson VUE’s published content outlines: the national/general outline for salespersons (effective April 1, 2025) and the Rhode Island state outline (effective August 21, 2025, #094001). Together the portions carry 130 scored questions, plus 15 unscored pretest questions mixed in.
The national/general portion (80 scored questions, 150 minutes)
| Outline area | Scored questions | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| I. Real Property Characteristics, Legal Descriptions, and Property Use | 11 | Real vs. personal property and fixtures; economic and physical characteristics; legal descriptions and surveys; public and private land-use controls and encumbrances |
| II. Forms of Ownership, Transfer, and Recording of Title | 9 | Ownership forms, freehold and leasehold estates, liens; deeds, title transfer, and recording |
| III. Property Value and Appraisal | 11 | Concepts and principles of value; the appraisal process; the sales comparison, cost, and income approaches, CMAs, and broker price opinions |
| IV. Real Estate Contracts and Agency | 16 | Contract types, elements, and performance; sales contracts, contingencies, and earnest money; agency creation, duties, and termination |
| V. Real Estate Practice | 10 | Broker responsibilities; brokerage agreements; fair housing law and prohibited practices; risk management, supervision, and antitrust |
| VI. Property Disclosures and Environmental Issues | 9 | Property conditions; hazardous substances including lead-based paint, asbestos, and radon; environmental law and site assessments |
| VII. Financing and Settlement | 7 | Financing concepts, loan types, and lender requirements; federal financing regulation (TILA-RESPA, RESPA, ECOA); settlement and closing |
| VIII. Real Estate Math Calculations | 7 | Area and acreage; valuation math (NOI, capitalization); commissions; loan and settlement costs; investment and property-management calculations |
| Total scored | 80 | Plus 5 unscored pretest questions = 85 on screen |
Pearson VUE also builds the national portion to cognitive-level specifications: every item is classified as knowledge (recall a fact or definition), application (use knowledge in a situation), or analysis (work a fact pattern to a conclusion). The portion is deliberately application-heavy — memorizing definitions alone does not cover it.
The Rhode Island state portion (50 scored questions, 90 minutes)
| Outline area | Scored questions | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| I. Duties and Obligations Under Licensing Law | 2 (4%) | Powers and authority of the Department of Business Regulation; the Rhode Island Real Estate Commission |
| II. Licensing Requirements | 6 (12%) | Activities requiring a license; license status — transfer, renewal, lapsed licenses, continuing education; eligibility, including the Real Estate Recovery Account and errors and omissions insurance |
| III. Statutory Requirements Governing the Activities of Licensees | 24 (48%) | Advertising; the broker/salesperson relationship; commissions; conflict-of-interest and material disclosure; handling of documents and of monies; listings and purchase and sales agreements; unfair inducements; unauthorized practice of law; licensees’ general obligations |
| IV. Additional Topics | 18 (36%) | Rhode Island law beyond the licensing statute: the Fair Housing Practices Act (RIGL 34-37); Landlord-Tenant Law (RIGL 34-18); DEM agricultural/wetlands functions (RIGL 2-1); the Fire Safety Code (RIGL 23-28.1); onsite wastewater systems and the Cesspool Act; nonresident-sale withholding (RIGL 44-30-71.3); lead disclosure; the Real Estate Sales Disclosure Act (RIGL 5-20.8); condominium sales; and relationships in residential transactions (RIGL 5-20.6) |
| Total scored | 50 | Plus 10 unscored pretest questions = 60 on screen |
Three structural facts that shape how you should prepare:
- One state area is nearly half the state portion. Statutory Requirements Governing the Activities of Licensees carries 24 of 50 state questions. Rhode Island’s rules on escrow money, advertising, commissions, and disclosures are the single highest-yield study block in the entire exam.
- “Additional Topics” is Rhode Island statute, not trivia. At 18 questions (36%), Area IV tests whole Rhode Island chapters — landlord-tenant, fair housing, sales disclosure, cesspools and wastewater, nonresident withholding — that appear on no other state’s exam and in no national textbook.
- Contracts and agency is the national heavyweight. At 16 of 80 questions, Area IV of the national portion outweighs every other national area; combined with Real Estate Practice (10), agency-and-contracts thinking drives a third of the national score.
Pretest questions. The 5 national and 10 state pretest items are tryout questions Pearson VUE is evaluating for future exams. They are indistinguishable from scored questions, they do not affect your result, and there is no way to game them — the only correct strategy is to treat every question as scored, and to pace for 85 and 60 questions, not 80 and 50.
The math conventions are published. The handbook tells you exactly what the national portion assumes: 43,560 square feet per acre and 5,280 feet per mile, with calculations rounded where applicable. 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. The handbook also warns that this reference information is not available at the test center and should be memorized.
The passing standard, explained
The handbook states it in one sentence: “Passing score for all exam levels is 70.”
That 70 is a scaled score, not a percentage. Pearson VUE administers multiple forms of each examination, and forms differ slightly in difficulty because different questions appear on each. A statistical procedure called equating corrects for those differences, and raw scores are converted to scaled scores that can range from 0 to 100. The passing score was set by the Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation, in conjunction with Pearson VUE, after a comprehensive study for each examination. The handbook’s warning deserves quoting in full because so much prep advice gets it wrong: the scaled score reported to you is neither the number of questions you answered correctly nor the percentage of questions you answered correctly.
Practical consequences:
- You must pass both portions. The handbook’s retake section treats the portions separately — a candidate who fails either the General or the State Law section retakes that section — so plan for two passing performances, not one blended score. A strong national result does not carry a weak state result.
- Only failing candidates see a number. To avoid misuse of score information, numeric scores are reported only to candidates who fail. If you pass, your score report says so and tells you how to apply for your license. If you fail, your report includes a numeric score and diagnostic information — that diagnostics page is the starting point for a retake plan, because it shows where the attempt was lost.
- “70%” study targets are approximations, not conversions. You cannot convert a practice percentage into a predicted scaled score precisely. The safe approach is to practice until your full simulations on both portions sit comfortably above the passing zone, with no outline area left weak.
Fees and registration, step by step
Keep the payments separate in your mind — the exam fees below are the only figures the current handbook publishes, and they go to Pearson VUE.
| Payment | Amount | Paid to | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| National portion exam fee | $53 | Pearson VUE | When you reserve |
| State portion exam fee | $50 | Pearson VUE | When you reserve |
| Both portions | $103 | Pearson VUE | No combined-portion fee is published in the current handbook |
The sequence, in order:
- Complete your 45 classroom hours at a DBR-approved school, and keep your Education Completion Certificate — you will need it at check-in, and the hours must be no more than two years old when you apply.
- Reserve the exam with Pearson VUE. Book on Pearson VUE’s Rhode Island real estate page or call (800) 274-8922. Reservations — online or by phone — must be made at least 24 hours before the desired examination date, and walk-in examinations are not available. First-time users create an account; the name on your registration must match your identification exactly.
- Pay the exam fee at reservation by credit card, debit card, or voucher. Payment will not be accepted at the test center, and a single payment cannot cover more than one candidate. Exam fees are non-refundable and non-transferable except as the handbook’s change/cancel policy allows: change or cancel at least 48 hours before the examination to transfer the fee to a new reservation or request a refund.
- Choose where to test. At a Pearson VUE test center (the handbook lists East Providence, RI, plus Massachusetts centers including Worcester, Boston (Back Bay), Woburn, and North Dartmouth — and candidates may test at any national test center at no additional charge), or online through OnVUE proctoring. The exam is offered in English or Spanish; Spanish exams are available only at physical test centers, not through OnVUE, and Spanish-version candidates can switch back and forth between Spanish and English during the exam.
- Take the exam. Arrive at least 30 minutes early with the required identification and your Education Completion Certificate. You leave the test center with an official score report in hand.
- Apply for your license — after passing both portions. Submit the proper application forms and fees to the Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation within one year of passing. The handbook notes that applications take approximately three weeks to process, must be completed in full, signed, and notarized with all accompanying documents, and that incomplete applications are returned for correction.
Retakes and score validity
- Retake only what you failed. If you fail either the General or the State Law section, you retake that section. Rhode Island’s regulation (230-RICR-30-20-2 § 2.6(B)) sets the limit: there is a one (1) year time limit for reexamination of any failed section — pass it inside the year, or the entire examination must be retaken.
- The OnVUE retake rule. After one failed attempt at a portion via OnVUE online testing, you must register and test at a physical testing center to retake that portion. Candidates who may need more than one attempt should weigh this before choosing online delivery for the first attempt.
- Passing scores are valid for one year. Passing results are valid for one year from the passing date. If you have not applied for your license within one year of passing both parts, you must retake the examination(s). If you passed the parts on different dates, the handbook’s application deadline runs one year from the later date.
- No review of the exam. For security reasons, examination material is not available to candidates for review after the fact — your score report’s diagnostic information is the feedback you get, which is one more reason to walk in prepared the first time.
Test day
- Arrive 30 minutes early. Report to the test center at least 30 minutes before the examination and check in with the administrator; your identification and documentation will be reviewed and your photograph taken for the score report. Candidates who do not present the required items are denied admission, considered absent, and forfeit the exam fee.
- Bring two forms of identification, plus your certificate. You must present two forms of current signature identification: the primary must be government-issued, photo-bearing, and signed (driver’s license, state or national ID card, passport or passport card, military ID, or alien registration card are on the handbook’s list), and the secondary must carry a valid signature. The name on the ID must exactly match the name on your registration, identification must be in English, and Pearson VUE recognizes no grace periods — an ID that expired yesterday is expired, whatever your state’s renewal grace period says. Rhode Island-educated candidates must also bring the Education Completion Certificate.
- Your own calculator rules are narrow. Calculators are permitted only if they are silent, hand-held, non-printing, and without an alphabetic keypad; financial calculators are not permitted, and test center staff do not provide calculators. Nothing else personal enters the testing room — phones, watches, wallets, hats, bags, books, and notes are stored in a secure area, powered off.
- Breaks run on your clock. You may request an unscheduled break by raising your hand, but the exam clock does not stop, and you may not leave the floor or building. Online OnVUE candidates should note the handbook’s warning: there are no unscheduled breaks in the online exam, and you must remain in the proctor’s view for the entire session.
- The tutorial does not cost you time. You get a computer tutorial before the exam that does not reduce your examination time; the examination begins the moment you look at the first question, and it ends automatically when the time expires.
- Results are immediate. You leave with an official score report marked “pass” or “fail.” Passing reports include information on how to apply for a license; failing reports include a numeric score, diagnostic information, and reexamination information.
How to study for this exam
The outlines are the syllabus — Pearson VUE publishes exactly what the exam covers, area by area, and the weights above are question counts, not suggestions. A plan built on that structure:
- Start with the state portion’s big area. Twenty-four of the 50 state questions sit in Statutory Requirements Governing the Activities of Licensees: Rhode Island’s advertising rules, escrow and handling-of-monies rules, commission rules, disclosure duties, and listing and purchase-and-sales-agreement requirements. It is concrete, rule-based material that rewards direct study — and it is the block national prep products barely cover, because it exists only in Rhode Island law.
- Give “Additional Topics” its own block. Eighteen questions come from Rhode Island statutes most candidates have never opened: landlord-tenant law, the state Fair Housing Practices Act, the Sales Disclosure Act, cesspool and onsite-wastewater rules, nonresident withholding, lead disclosure, condominium sales, and the relationships law (Transaction Facilitator vs. Designated Client Representative) that governs how Rhode Island licensees actually work with consumers.
- Respect the two-portion rule. Because each portion must be passed on its own, split your final preparation into two readiness checks — one per portion — rather than one blended score. A blended result can hide a state portion sitting below the line.
- Practice math the handbook’s way. Memorize the published constants (43,560 square feet per acre; 5,280 feet per mile), learn to read each proration question’s stated day-count and closing-day assumptions, and drill commissions, capitalization, and settlement figures until the setup is automatic.
- Learn terms in context, not as a glossary. The national portion is built to application and analysis specifications: most items ask you to use a rule in a situation, not recite it. Definitions learned inside questions stick; definitions learned off a list leak.
- Schedule when your simulations say so — consistently comfortable full-length practice on both portions, at real timing (150 and 90 minutes), with the state areas no longer your weakest block. And keep the post-exam clock in view: pass, then apply to DBR inside the year.
This program’s Rhode Island practice bank (19,986 questions — 12,706 national and 7,280 on Rhode Island law and practice) is built area-by-area on this same pair of outlines. The Rhode Island Real Estate Exam Prep program page shows the full coverage table — and the notify list there will email you when enrollment opens.
Frequently asked questions
How many questions are on the Rhode Island real estate exam? 130 scored questions across two portions: 80 on the national/general portion and 50 on the Rhode Island state portion. Another 15 unscored pretest questions are mixed in — 5 national and 10 state — so you will actually answer 85 national and 60 state questions. Pretest items are not identified and do not affect your score.
How long is the Rhode Island real estate exam? 150 minutes (2.5 hours) for the national portion and 90 minutes (1.5 hours) for the state portion — 240 minutes of testing if you take both portions, with the pretest questions inside that time.
What is the passing score for the Rhode Island real estate exam? Per the Pearson VUE candidate handbook, the passing score for all exam levels is 70 — a scaled score on a 0-to-100 scale, not 70% of questions correct. Raw scores are equated across exam forms and converted to the scale, and you must pass both portions.
Does Rhode Island require pre-licensing education before the exam? Yes. You must complete a minimum of 45 classroom hours in a real estate course given by a DBR-approved school before testing (RIGL § 5-20.5-4(b); regulation 230-RICR-30-20-2 § 2.7). All pre-licensing education must be completed before the examination, and you bring your Education Completion Certificate to the test center.
How much does the Rhode Island real estate exam cost? The exam fee is $53 for the national portion and $50 for the state portion, paid to Pearson VUE at reservation — $103 for both portions. The current handbook publishes no combined-portion fee. Fees are non-refundable and non-transferable except under the handbook’s change/cancel policy.
How do I register for the Rhode Island real estate exam? Reserve through Pearson VUE’s Rhode Island real estate page or by calling (800) 274-8922. Reservations must be made at least 24 hours before the examination date, and walk-in examinations are not available. The name on your account must match your government-issued identification exactly.
Can I take the Rhode Island real estate exam online? Yes — Pearson VUE offers the exam through OnVUE online proctoring as well as at test centers. Two limits apply: Spanish-language exams are test-center only, and after one failed OnVUE attempt at a portion, retakes of that portion must be taken at a physical test center.
What happens if I fail one portion of the Rhode Island exam? You retake only the portion you failed — but within one year. Rhode Island’s regulation sets a one-year reexamination limit for any failed section; if the year expires, the entire examination must be retaken. Your failing score report includes a numeric score and diagnostic information to build the retake plan around.
How long is my Rhode Island exam score valid? One year. Passing results are valid for one year from the passing date, and your license application must be filed with the Department of Business Regulation within one year of passing both parts — counted from the later date if you passed the parts on different days — or the examination must be retaken.
What do I do after I pass both portions? Apply for your license to the Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation, submitting the application forms and fees, completed in full, signed, and notarized, with all accompanying documents. The handbook advises that applications take approximately three weeks to process and that incomplete applications are returned for correction.
What Rhode Island-specific topics does the state portion cover? Licensing law and the Commission (Area I), licensing requirements including the Recovery Account and errors and omissions insurance (Area II), the rules governing licensee activities — advertising, escrow, commissions, disclosures, listings (Area III, 24 of 50 questions), and a set of Rhode Island statutes (Area IV): fair housing, landlord-tenant law, sales disclosure, lead disclosure, cesspool and wastewater rules, nonresident withholding, condominium sales, and relationships in residential transactions.
Are calculators allowed on the Rhode Island exam? Yes, within narrow limits: silent, hand-held, non-printing calculators without an alphabetic keypad. Financial calculators are not permitted, and the test center does not provide calculators — bring a compliant one. The handbook’s math constants (43,560 square feet per acre; 5,280 feet per mile) are not provided at the center and should be memorized.
Does PassProfessor’s program satisfy the 45-hour education requirement? No. PassProfessor is exam preparation only and provides no pre-licensing education credit. The 45 classroom hours must be completed with a Department of Business Regulation–approved school before you test.
Disclaimer
PassProfessor is an independent exam-preparation provider and is not affiliated with the Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation, the Rhode Island Real Estate Commission, Pearson VUE, or any state agency or exam vendor. This guide is general information about the Rhode Island licensing exam, current as of October 2026; Department of Business Regulation and Pearson VUE publications govern if anything here differs from them.