Florida Real Estate Broker

Florida Real Estate Broker Exam Study Guide

This guide covers what you need for the Florida Real Estate Broker exam: the key facts from the official bulletin, the topics it tests, the reference books, sample questions with answers, and a plan to prepare. Pearson VUE gives the exam.

Florida Real Estate Broker Exam at a Glance

Here are the exam's key facts from the official bulletin:

On exam day

• The examination is multiple choice with answer choices A, B, C or D.
• Candidates must present two forms of valid signature identification, one government issued, plus their Certificate of Pre-Licensing Education Completion.
• Candidates should report to the test center 30 minutes before the scheduled examination.
• The examination is closed book, but inspected word-for-word foreign language translation dictionaries (one per candidate) are permitted.
• Dictionaries containing handwritten notes may not be used, and no reference books may be brought in because the examination is closed book.
• Only materials issued at the time of testing may be used, and personal items including phones, notes, bags and spelling aids must be left in the locker provided.

Study references listed in the bulletin (not allowed in the exam room)

• Sample Closing Disclosure (https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/201311_cfpb_kbyo_closing-disclosure.pdf)
• Printable Law Booklet (direct access to Chapter 475, Florida Statutes, Part I and 61J2, Florida Administrative Code)
• Chapter 475, Part I, Florida Statutes, Real Estate Brokers, Sales Associates, and Schools
• Chapter 455, Florida Statutes: Business and Professional Regulation: General Provisions
• Chapter 61J2, F.A.C., Division of Real Estate, Florida Real Estate Commission (FREC)
• Chapter 20, Florida Statutes: Organizational Structure – Executive Branch
• Chapter 83, Florida Statutes: Landlord and Tenant – Nonresidential Tenancies, Residential Tenancies, and Self-Service Storage Space
• Chapter 95, Florida Statutes: Limitations: Limitations of Actions; Adverse Possession
• Chapter 120, Florida Statutes: Administrative Procedure Act
• Chapter 163, Florida Statutes: Intergovernmental Programs
• Chapter 173, Florida Statutes: Foreclosure of Municipal Tax and Special Assessment Liens
• Chapter 193, Florida Statutes: Assessments (Florida Green Belt Law of 1959)
• Chapter 196, Florida Statutes: Exemptions (Homestead Exemptions, etc.)
• Chapter 197, Florida Statutes: Tax Collections, Sales and Liens
• Chapter 201, Florida Statutes: Excise Tax on Documents
• Chapter 215, Florida Statutes: Financial Matters: General Provisions
• Chapter 553, Florida Statutes: Building Construction Standards
• Chapter 542, Florida Statutes: Combinations Restricting Trade or Commerce
• Chapter 605, Florida Statutes: Limited Liability Companies
• Chapter 607, Florida Statutes: Corporations
• Chapter 609, Florida Statutes: Common Law Declarations of Trust
• Chapter 617, Florida Statutes: Corporations Not For Profit
• Chapter 619, Florida Statutes: Nonprofit Cooperative Associations
• Chapter 620, Florida Statutes: Partnership Laws
• Chapter 621, Florida Statutes: Professional Service Corporations and Limited Liability Companies
• Chapter 673, Florida Statutes: Uniform Commercial Code: Negotiable Instruments
• Chapter 689, Florida Statutes: Real and Personal Property: Conveyances of Land and Declarations of Trust
• Chapter 695, Florida Statutes: Record of Conveyances of Real Estate
• Chapter 701, Florida Statutes: Assignment and Cancellation of Mortgages
• Chapter 712, Florida Statutes: Marketable Record of Titles to Real Property
• Chapter 718, Florida Statutes: Condominiums
• Chapter 719, Florida Statutes: Cooperatives
• Chapter 720, Florida Statutes: Homeowners’ Associations
• Chapter 721, Florida Statutes: Vacation and Timeshare Plans
• Chapter 725, Florida Statutes: Unenforceable Contracts
• Chapter 726, Florida Statutes: Fraudulent Transfers
• Chapter 727, Florida Statutes: General Assignments
• Chapter 732, Florida Statutes: Probate Code: Intestate Succession and Wills
• Chapter 733, Florida Statutes: Probate Code: Administration of Estates
• Chapter 760, Florida Statutes: Florida Civil Rights
• Chapter 865, Section 865.09: Florida’s Fictitious Name Act
• Title 12, Chapter 27, Sections 2601 through 2617, United States Code: Real Estate Settlement Procedures
• Title 15, Chapter 41, Subchapter I, Part A, Sections 1601-1615, United States Code: Consumer Credit Cost Disclosure (Truth-In-Lending Act)
• Title 15, Chapter 41, Subchapter IV, Section 1691 through 1691f, United States Code: Equal Credit Opportunity Act
• Title 15, Chapter 42, Sections 1701-1720, United States Code: Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure
• Title 42, Chapter 21, Sections 1981 through 2000h-6, United States Code: Civil Rights (Civil Rights Act of 1964, Civil Rights Act of 1991, etc.)
• Title 42, Chapter 45, Section 3601 through Section 3631, United States Code: Fair Housing (amended in 1988) (Title VIII, Civil Rights Act of 1968)
• Title 42, Chapter 63A, Section 4851 through Section 4856, United States Code: Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction
• Title 42, Chapter 126, Sections 12101 through 12213, United States Code: Equal Opportunity for Individuals with Disabilities (Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and Rehabilitative Act of 1973)

Scheduling, changes and retakes

• Reservations are made with Pearson VUE by telephone at 1.888.204.6289 or over the Internet at https://home.pearsonvue.com/fl/realestate.
• Candidates must have an authorization and a valid Certificate of Pre-Licensing Education Completion, with the course good for two years from the date of completion.
• Cancellations must be made by contacting Pearson VUE at least 2 days before the appointment, or exam fees may be forfeited.
• Missed appointments may be excused only for listed reasons with documentation within four days, and unexcused late arrivals are classified as a No Show and owe the test fee plus a new test fee.
• Candidates receive an official photo-bearing exam result report immediately after finishing the examination.
• The score report given at the end of the examination provides instructions on the next step of the licensure process.

Source: Candidate Information Booklet — Real Estate Broker Examination, Effective March 2024. Check the bulletin before test day: fees and rules can change.

What the Florida Real Estate Broker Exam Covers

The official content outline has 12 topics:

How to Prepare for the Florida Real Estate Broker Exam

This is a closed-book exam, so what you know walking in is what you have. Study the topics in the outline.

Spend most of your time on the biggest topics. Real Estate Brokerage Business and Closing Transactions make up 55% of the exam.

Take timed practice exams. The clock trains you to work at the real exam's pace: about 2 minutes 6 seconds per question.

Review every miss. Read the explanation and the reference behind each question you get wrong until the rule sticks.

Aim to pass more than once. One passing score can be luck. Several in a row means you're ready.

Reference Books for the Florida Real Estate Broker Exam

The bulletin lists Florida Laws and Rules and Federal Regulations, plus a sample Closing Disclosure and a printable law booklet, that may be of use in preparing for the examination; none may be brought in because the exam is closed book.

Where to get them:

• Florida Real Estate Law Book

On Test Day

• Go through the whole exam first. Answer every question you know and bookmark the ones you don't. Every exam lets you come back to bookmarked questions, but some lock the questions you've seen once you take a break, so work your bookmarks before any break.
• Then go back to your bookmarks and work them out.
• Don't let one question eat your time. You have 210 minutes for 100 questions, which is about 2 minutes 6 seconds per question.
• Before you finish, answer anything you skipped. A blank can't earn a point.

Study Tips

The state portion tests YOUR state's statutes, deadlines, and agency rules — which differ from national principles. Don't rely only on a national prep book; study the state-specific material.

Questions on fiduciary duties, agency relationships, and required disclosures run throughout the exam. Be able to apply them to scenarios, not just define them.

Read the explanation for every question — right or wrong. Understanding the underlying rule lets you answer reworded questions you've never seen, instead of memorizing specific answers.

Practicing against a ticking clock is the best way to beat exam-clock anxiety. Use these timed tests to build your pacing, so you learn to move steadily and never burn too long on a single question. By test day, the format feels routine.

Sample Florida Real Estate Broker Practice Questions

These questions come from our practice question bank, each with its answer and reference.

Sample 1 — Valuing Real Property

Question: A client asks you to explain how an appraiser uses the term "cost" with respect to a newly completed home. In valuation terminology, cost consists of what?

• A. The land plus all development expenditures
• B. The amount the buyer actually paid
• C. Construction labor and materials alone
• D. Replacement cost minus insurance exclusions

Correct Answer: A

Cost is the total expenditure required to bring a new improvement into existence plus the cost of the land — including site improvements, permits, professional services, construction, landscaping, and marketing. The amount actually paid in a transaction is price; replacement cost adjusted for policy exclusions describes insurable value.

Reference: Florida Real Estate Broker course, Unit 6 — Price, Cost, and Value

Sample 2 — Listing and Selling Real Property

Question: As a broker you are reviewing the duties your associates owe to a potential seller with whom the brokerage has established no brokerage relationship. Which of the following is NOT one of the duties owed in that relationship?

• A. Disclosing known material facts not readily observable
• B. Dealing honestly and fairly
• C. Presenting all offers in a timely manner
• D. Accounting for all funds entrusted

Correct Answer: C

Section 475.278(4)(a), F.S., lists only three duties owed where there is no brokerage relationship: dealing honestly and fairly; disclosing all known facts that materially affect the value of residential real property which are not readily observable to the buyer; and accounting for all funds entrusted to the licensee. Timely presentation of all offers and counteroffers is a duty of a single agent and of a transaction broker, but it is not owed where no brokerage relationship exists.

Reference: Florida Real Estate Law Book, s. 475.278(4)(a), F.S.

Sample 3 — Federal Income Tax Laws

Question: To close a transaction, the seller agrees to pay two points on the buyer's new loan used to purchase the buyer's principal residence. For federal income tax purposes, who may deduct those points as interest?

• A. The buyer, who reduces the home's basis
• B. The seller, who reduces the sale price
• C. Neither party, since points are prepaid
• D. Both parties, each deducting one half

Correct Answer: A

Points paid by the seller are deductible by the buyer as interest, but the buyer must subtract that amount from the home's cost basis. The seller may treat the points paid as a selling expense rather than as an interest deduction.

Reference: Florida Real Estate Broker, Unit 14 – Deductibility of Points

Sample 4 — Financing

Question: A buyer purchasing a Florida homesite under a recorded contract for deed stops making the installment payments. Under current Florida law, the seller must

• A. sue only for the delinquent installments
• B. record a deed in lieu of the contract
• C. declare a forfeiture and retake possession
• D. foreclose the buyer's equitable interest

Correct Answer: D

Once a contract for deed is recorded, the seller holds legal title and the buyer holds equitable title. Florida law no longer permits simple forfeiture; the buyer's equitable rights must be foreclosed and the land sold at auction, with proceeds paying taxes first, then the unpaid contract balance, with any excess going to the buyer.

Reference: Florida Real Estate Broker course text, Unit 12 — Contract for Deed

Why Practice Online Instead of With a PDF

A PDF shows you questions. It doesn't show you the clock. Our practice exams are timed and on a screen, so you practice finding answers under time pressure, not just reading them. Each attempt draws a new set of questions from our bank, and your results break the score down by outline topic so you know what to study next.

Start Practicing

Take the free Florida Real Estate Broker practice exam to see where you stand, then work through the topics that need attention. For the official rules, read the exam bulletin, and see the licensing board's website.