West Virginia Real Estate Crash Course and Exam Prep

West Virginia's real estate is administered by PSI. Candidates may schedule their exam by visiting the following site or by calling PSI at 855-340-3903.

Salesperson Exam

• All applicants must be at least 18 years of age and:
• Must have a high school diploma 
• Must provide proof of having completed 90 hours of pre-license education 
• Complete and submit the application form 
• Must undergo a background check through IdentoGo
• Candidates who are not a resident of the United States must submit an Affidavit of Residency, Irrevocable Consent for Service for Process, and a Surety Bond
• Must successfully pass the real estate exam
• Must pay exam fee ($25) and the license fee ($75)

Broker Exam

• All applicants must be at least 18 years of age and:
• Must have a high school diploma 
• Must provide documentation of having at least 2 years of active experience as a Salesperson
• Must provide a Broker's Affidavit on Salesperson's Training from the brokers you have worked with
• Attorneys must submit a Certificate of Good Standing from the West Virginia State Bar in order to get an experience and education waiver
• Must provide proof of having completed 90 hours of pre-license education for licensed West Virginia salespersons; salespersons from states other than West Virginia must have proof of 180 hours of pre-license education
• Must complete and submit the application form
• Must undergo a background check through IdentoGo
• Candidates who are not a resident of the United States must submit an Affidavit of Residency, Irrevocable Consent for Service of Process, and a Surety Bond
• Must successfully pass the real estate exam 
• Must pay exam fee ($25) and the license fee ($150) 

Salesperson Examination: The exam consists of a national portion and a state portion. The national portion includes 100 questions and candidates have 150 minutes to complete it. The state portion has 50 questions and candidates have 90 minutes to complete it.

Broker Examination: The exam consists of a national portion and a state portion. The national portion includes 10 simulation problems and candidates have 150 minutes to complete it. The state portion includes 60 multiple choice questions and candidates have 90 minutes to complete it. 

The exam is multiple-choice and is given by computer. It may be taken at the following locations: Beckley, Dunbar, Fairmont, Huntington, Martinsburg, South Charleston, and Wheeling. It may also be taken in Cambridge, Ohio, Hagerstown, Maryland, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 

The following categories are featured on both the Salesperson and Broker Licensing Examination. The percentages show the make-up of how many questions you should expect to see from each category.

The national portion of the salesperson exam covers the following topics:

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

The national broker simulation portion covers the following topics:

• Agency relationships and property representations (3 items)
• Fair Housing and other governmental regulations (2 items)
• Handling money (2 items)
• Training and supervision of licensees (1 item)
• Plus one primary issue varying by examination form (1 items)

Section Topics:

• Agency
• Contracts
• Freehold and Leasehold 
• Property management
• Finance 
• Government regulations and private restrictions
• Description and measurement
• Valuation
• Conveyance 
• Calculations 
• Ethical behavior (must be incorporated into at least 4 problems)

Property types:

• Residential (4 items)
• Commercial (2 items)
• Property management (1 item)
• Plus two property types varying by examination forms (2 items)
  
  

The state portion of the broker exam covers the following topics:

• Activities requiring license; exemptions from licensure (3 items)
• Scope of practice, closing statement, and fees (6 items)
• Advertising rules (5 items)
• Trust funds (7 items)
• Refusal, suspension or revocation of a license (7 items)
• Penalties for violation (6 items)
• Complaints, investigation, hearings, cost of proceedings (5 items)
• WV Fair Housing (4 items)
• Agency relationships (5 items)
• Place of business (2 items)
• Brokerage operation and management (6 items)
• Human resources management and interpersonal skills (4 items)  

The state portion of the salesperson exam covers the following topics:

• Activities requiring license; Exemptions from licensure (5 items)
• Scope of practice; Closing statement and fees (4 items)
• Advertising rules (5 items)
• Trust funds (3 items)
• Refusal, suspension or revocation of a license (5 items)
• Penalties for violations (5 items)
• Complaints, investigation, hearings, cost of proceedings (3 items)
• WV Fair Housing (4 items)
• Agency relationships (4 items)
• Purpose of license law and regulations and role of the Commission (1 item)
• Duties of licensees; duration of existing licensees; transfers (8 items)
• Renewal of license (2 items)
• Continuing professional education (1 item) 

Salesperson Examination: A passing score is 70% or higher.

Broker Examination: A passing score on the state-specific portion is 80% or higher. For the national portion, the minimum passing level (MPL) was established for this section using the scoring weights assigned to the options in that section and represents the level of performance expected of a minimally competent practitioner. The overall examination has an Information Gathering (IG) MPL and a Decision Making (DM) MPL, which represent the sums of the MPLs of all IG and DM sections on the examination. Your total raw scores must meet or exceed the MPL in both IG and DM to pass this examination.

All candidates must provide 1 form of identification. The identification must match the name on the candidate's exam registration. It must be current, valid, and include the candidate's signature and photograph. The identification may be any of the following:

• State-issued driver's license
• State-issued identification card 
• US government-issued Passport
• US government-issued Military Identification card 
• US government-issued Alien Registration card
• Canadian government-issued identification  

• West Virginia Real Estate Commission 
• West Virginia Real Estate Commission Candidate Handbook