Pennsylvania Real Estate Crash Course and Exam Prep

The Pennsylvania real estate exam is administered by PSI. Candidates may go online and schedule the exam at the following site: https://www.psiexams.com/pare. Candidates may also schedule the exam by calling PSI at 855-746-8175.  

Current Processing Timeframes: Licenses are usually processed in 7-10 business days.

Salesperson Exam

• Applicants must be at least 18 years of age and:
• Must complete the application form
• Must meet one of the following:

• Have completed education requirements in one of the following ways:

• Successfully completed 5 credits or 75 hours of basic real estate courses through:

• A real estate education provider in Pennsylvania approved by the Commission or
• A real estate education provider outside of Pennsylvania that has been approved by the real estate licensing authority of the jurisdiction where the real estate education provider is located, or
• An accredited college 

• Possess one of the following:

• A bachelor's degree with a major in real estate from an accredited college or university
• A bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university, having completed coursework or equivalent to a major in real estate or
• A juris doctor degree from an accredited law school

• Must undergo a criminal background check at the following site: https://epatch.pa.gov/home 
• Must successfully complete the real estate exam 
• Must pay the exam fee ($49) and the license fee

Broker Exam

• Applicants must be at least 21 years of age and:
• Must have a high school diploma or equivalent 
• Must qualify to take the broker examination; candidates must go to www.pals.pa.gov and register, then log in and submit application 
• Must have at least 3 years of qualified experience as a licensed salesperson or at least 3 years of equivalent experience, education or both
• Must have successfully completed 16 credits or 240 hours of real estate instruction within 10 years prior to the date of successful completion of the licensing examination
• Must undergo a criminal background check at the following site: https://epatch.pa.gov/home 
• Must provide Certificate of Examination Eligibility Registration form 
• Must successfully complete the broker examination 
• Must pay exam fee ($49) and license fee 

Salesperson Examination: The salesperson exam consists of a national portion and a state-specific portion. The national portion includes 80 questions, and candidates have 120 minutes to complete it. The state portion has 40 questions, and candidates have 60 minutes to complete it.

Broker Examination: The broker exam consists of a national portion and a state portion. The national portion includes 80 questions, and candidates are given 120 minutes to complete it. The state portion includes 40 questions, and candidates have 60 minutes to complete it.

The exam is in multiple-choice format and is given by computer. It may be taken at the following locations: Allentown, Bristol, Butler, Erie, Greensburg, Harrisburg, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Scranton. 

The national exam covers the following topics:

• Property ownership (Salesperson 8%; Broker 10%)
• Land use controls and regulations (Salesperson 5%; Broker 5%)
• Valuation and market analysis (Salesperson 7%; Broker 7%)
• Financing (Salesperson 10%; Broker 8%)
• General principles of agency (Salesperson 13%; Broker 11%)
• Property condition and disclosures (Salesperson 6%; Broker 7%)
• Contracts (Salesperson 17%; Broker 18%)
• Transfer of title (Salesperson 8%; Broker 7%)
• Practice of real estate (Salesperson 13%; Broker 14%)
• Real estate calculations (Salesperson 10%; Broker 8%)
• Leasing and property management (Salesperson 3%; Broker 5%)

The state portion covers the following topics:

• Real Estate Commission (Salesperson 4 items; Broker 3 items)
• Licensure (Salesperson 8 items; Broker 8 items)
• Regulation of conduct of licensees  (Salesperson 28 items; Broker 29 items)

Salesperson Examination: To pass the exam, a candidate must answer at least 60 questions correctly on the national portion and at least 30 of the state-specific questions.

Broker Examination: To pass the exam, a candidate must answer at least 60 questions correctly on the national portion and at least 30 of the state-specific questions. 

All candidates are required to provide 2 forms of identification. One must a valid, government-issued identification which includes a signature and photograph.  This identification can be any of the following:

• Driver's license
• State identification
• Passport 
• Military identification 

The second identification must include the applicant's signature and preprinted legal name. All identification must match the name on the candidate's registration.  

Candidates are also permitted to bring a basic, non-scientific calculator.

• Pennsylvania Real Estate Commissionâ€
• Pennsylvania Real Estate Candidate Information Bulletin