Ohio Real Estate Salesperson Exam: Complete 2026 Study Guide
The Ohio real estate exam has two portions: a national portion and a state portion. This guide covers the state portion — the Ohio-specific law you have to know cold. It runs 40 questions and you get 1 hour to finish. You need 70% correct to pass.
That works out to about 1 minute 30 seconds per question. Not much time to second-guess yourself. The good news: the state portion is narrow. It is Ohio license law, Ohio agency law, and the rules the Ohio Real Estate Commission writes around them. Learn those, work enough real estate license questions to make the rules automatic, and you walk out done.
Ohio Real Estate Salesperson Exam Overview (2026)
Here are the exam's official numbers and rules in one place.
| Questions | 40 questions |
| Time limit | 1 hour |
| Passing score | 70% correct |
| Books in the exam room | Closed book (no books in the room) |
| Exam fee | The salesperson registration fee is $46.00 for national only, $43.00 for state only, and $66.00 for state and national taken at the same time. |
On exam day
- Candidates must present one valid, unexpired government-issued photo ID bearing their signature and matching the name they scheduled with.
- Candidates should arrive at the examination site 30 minutes before their appointment.
- Reference materials of any kind are prohibited in the testing room and using outside references during the exam is prohibited behavior.
- Handheld calculators are prohibited items at the examination.
- Test center candidates receive scratch paper and a pencil to return at check-out, remote candidates may not have scratch paper, and a broad list of personal items is prohibited.
Study references listed in the bulletin (not allowed in the exam room)
- Modern Real Estate Practice (21st Edition)
- Mastering Real Estate Math (9th Edition, 2022)
- The Language of Real Estate (8th Edition, 2019)
- Property Management (11th edition, 2016)
- Real Estate Law (11th Edition, 2022)
- Real Estate Fundamentals (10th Edition, 2019)
- Real Estate Principles (Charles Jacobus) (12th Edition)
- Real Estate Principles (Floyd and Allen) (12th Edition, 2021)
- Mastering Real Estate Principles (8th Edition, 2022)
- Real Estate Principles & Practices (9th Edition, 2014)
- Principles of Real Estate Practice (6th edition, 2019)
- Ohio Administrative Code
- Ohio Revised Code (2006)
Scheduling, changes and retakes
- Candidates schedule online at https://test-takers.psiexams.com/ohre or by calling PSI at (855) 834-8749.
- The Division must approve the candidate's eligibility before scheduling, and eligibility lasts 12 months from the date on the label of the initial Candidate Information Bulletin.
- A candidate may cancel and reschedule without forfeiting the fee if notice is received 2 days before the examination date, but examination fees are otherwise not refundable or transferable.
- To retake, the candidate must file an online Retake Application and fee with the Division for the portion failed and retest within the 12-month eligibility period.
Source: Ohio Department of Commerce, Division of Real Estate and Professional Licensing — Real Estate Salesperson and Broker Candidate Information Bulletin, 7/1/2026. Check the bulletin before test day: fees and rules can change.
What Topics Are on the Ohio Real Estate State Exam?
Four topics, weighted very unevenly. Three-quarters of the state portion sits in license law and agency law. Put your hours there.
License Law and Rules of the Ohio Real Estate Commission — 16 items (40%)
The biggest block. Expect questions on trust and special accounts, advertising, listings, and money handling.
Start with trust accounts. A broker approved to use multiple trade names must maintain a special or trust account in each trade name (Ohio Administrative Code 1301:05, Rule 1301:5-3-13(C)(4)). If the bank requires a minimum balance to keep the account open, the broker may keep that amount of the broker's own funds in the account, clearly identified as the broker's funds (Ohio Administrative Code 1301:05, Rule 1301:5-5-08(C)(1)). No licensee may accept a note, nonnegotiable instrument, or anything of value not readily negotiable without the knowledge and written consent of the owner of the real estate (Ohio Administrative Code 1301:05, Rule 1301:5-5-08(A)). Earnest money and trust funds go into a trust or escrow account, never mixed with operating money (ORC 4735.18(A)(26); ORC 4735.24).
Then advertising. Business cards, social networking sites, and property listing database services all count as advertising. Private communications with a client, customer, or prospective client — private mail, voicemail, email, password-protected websites, or faxes sent at the client's request — do not (Ohio Administrative Code 1301:05, Rule 1301:5-1-02(H) and (I)). A licensee may advertise under a first name other than the one on the license, or a maiden name, as long as it is not misleading and is registered with the division (Ohio Administrative Code 1301:05, Rule 1301:5-1-02(A)). A broker holding an exclusive right to sell or lease listing may not advertise the property to the public as "for sale by owner" or otherwise mislead the public into thinking the seller is unrepresented (Ohio Chapter 4735, Section 4735.16(B)(4)). Team advertising requires the brokerage name displayed in equal or greater prominence with the team name and the salesperson's name (Ohio Administrative Code 1301:05, Rule 1301:5-1-21(B)(2)).
Know your listing types. An exclusive right to sell listing pays the broker no matter who produces the buyer (ORC 4735.01(U)). An exclusive agency listing lets the seller sell it themselves without paying a commission (ORC 4735.01(V)). Exclusive listings need a definite expiration date (ORC 4735.55(C)(1); ORC 4735.18(A)(28)). A nonexclusive agency agreement lets the client use other brokers too (Ohio Chapter 4735, Section 4735.01(JJ)). Every written agency agreement for the sale of residential real property needs a conspicuous statement that fees and commissions are not set by law, are fully negotiable, and may be paid by the seller, buyer, landlord, tenant, or a third party, or split between brokers (Ohio Chapter 4735, Section 4735.55(C)(7)).
Two more worth memorizing: no licensee may refer a prospective tenant to a property without the owner's consent or to a nonexistent address (Ohio Chapter 4735, Section 4735.021(B)); and if a broker's license is suspended for failing to complete post-licensure education, associated salespersons' licenses are correspondingly suspended (Ohio Chapter 4735, Section 4735.07(G)(2)).
Brokerage Relationships (Agency Law) — 14 items (35%)
Agency questions are about who you represent and what you owe them.
Dual agency is a licensee representing both buyer and seller in the same transaction, with written consent and disclosure (ORC 4735.70; ORC 4735.70(A)). A dual agent treats both parties fairly and honestly and cannot advocate for one over the other (ORC 4735.72(A)(2); ORC 4735.71(A)). If a client accepts the brokerage's resignation of representation after a confidentiality breach in a dual agency, the brokerage is not entitled to any compensation from that client (Ohio Chapter 4735, Section 4735.72(E)(2)).
Buyer agency means representing only the buyer (ORC 4735.53(A)(2)). Loyalty — putting the client's interests above your own — is a fiduciary duty owed to the client (ORC 4735.62(D)). Confidential client information stays confidential; the duty to disclose everything to everyone is not a fiduciary duty (ORC 4735.62). Show property to a buyer with no signed agency agreement and that buyer is a customer, not a client (ORC 4735.69; ORC 4735.53(D)).
Know where unauthorized practice of law begins. Drafting complex or unusual legal provisions, or giving legal advice about contract terms and property rights, crosses the line (ORC 4735.18(A)(32); ORC 4735.02(A)). Claiming a certification or expertise you do not have is a separate violation: false representation of licensee status or expertise, not unauthorized practice of law (ORC 4735.18(A)(1); ORC 4735.18(A)(12)).
Also in this block: an exclusive purchaser agency agreement pays the broker if a property is purchased during the term unless the property is specifically exempted in the agreement (Ohio Chapter 4735, Section 4735.01(W)(2)), and it may authorize compensation from the seller or the seller's agent (Ohio Chapter 4735, Section 4735.01(W)). A principal broker who fails to personally oversee and direct the operations is lending the license for the benefit of another (Ohio Administrative Code 1301:05, Rule 1301:5-1-14(B)). And the Commission is required to adopt canons of ethics for the industry (Ohio Chapter 4735, Section 4735.03(A)).
Licensing Requirements — 6 items (15%)
Status changes and education. When your principal broker terminates the affiliation and returns your license to the division, the license is automatically placed in inactive status (Ohio Administrative Code 1301:05, Rule 1301:5-1-06(A)(1)). A licensee called to active military duty may place the license on deposit with the Commission (ORC 4735.13(G)(1)).
Education numbers: renewal every three years (OAC 1301:5-1-22(A)(B)), 30 hours of continuing education per renewal period (ORC 4735.141(A)), and 20 hours of post-license instruction not later than twelve months after the license is issued (ORC 4735.09(J)). A licensee seventy or older whose license is inactive is exempt from continuing education; everyone else risks automatic suspension and then revocation (ORC 4735.141(A), (C)). Collecting referral fees for real estate transactions requires a license (ORC 4735.20(A)). A licensed partnership, association, LLC, LLP, or corporation may not employ a person whose license is inactive, resigned, suspended, or revoked as an officer, director, manager, or principal employee (Ohio Chapter 4735, Section 4735.02(B)).
State Governance of the Real Estate Profession — 4 items (10%)
Small block, easy points. Know the sanctions and the Recovery Fund. Extra continuing education ordered as discipline is an educational sanction (ORC 4735.051(I)(5); OAC 1301:5-1-18(C)). From least to most severe: reprimand, additional education, suspension, revocation — the Commission does not bring criminal charges (ORC 4735.051(I)). A licensee dissatisfied with a Commission order may appeal in accordance with Chapter 119 of the Revised Code (ORC 4735.19). The Recovery Fund compensates people harmed by licensee misconduct when the licensee cannot satisfy the judgment (ORC 4735.12(B)(1)), and no special assessment is imposed on renewing licensees if the fund exceeds $250,000 on the first day of July preceding the filing (Ohio Chapter 4735, Section 4735.12(A)).
Sample Questions
Four practice questions, answers withheld. Work them on paper first.
1. In Ohio, a real estate broker's license must be conspicuously displayed at ______.
A. the main office only
B. any location where business is conducted
C. each branch office only
D. the main office and each branch office
Tests office display requirements under license law.
2. An agency relationship can be terminated by _____ of either the principal or the agent.
A. mutual consent
B. expiration
C. death
D. all of the above
Tests how agency relationships end.
3. A person engages in a single act of negotiating the sale of real estate for another person in exchange for a fee. Under Ohio law, does this person need a real estate license?
A. No, because a license is only required for persons who engage in multiple transactions
B. No, because negotiating a sale is not considered a licensable activity
C. Yes, any person who performs even a single act contained in the definition of a real estate broker for compensation is considered a broker or salesperson
D. Yes, but only if the fee exceeds $1,000
Tests which activities require a license.
4. Under Ohio law, when the superintendent pays a Recovery Fund claim on behalf of a judgment creditor, to what extent is the superintendent subrogated to the rights of that judgment creditor?
A. The superintendent has no subrogation rights but may pursue separate civil action
B. The superintendent is subrogated only to the right to collect future earnings
C. The superintendent is subrogated only if the licensee's license has been revoked
D. The superintendent is subrogated to all rights to the extent of the amount paid
Tests Recovery Fund mechanics under state governance.
Want the answers and explanations? Run the free practice exam.
What Types of Questions to Expect
Our practice questions are multiple choice with four options, plus some true/false. Many are scenario questions: you are the salesperson, something happens, what is the consequence. Others are fill-in-the-blank definitions of listing types and agency terms.
Read the whole stem. Watch for "EXCEPT" and "NOT" — those flip the question, and rushing costs you points you already earned.
Our Ohio real estate practice exam gives you 40 questions, matched to the same topic weights as the real state portion. The free Ohio real estate practice exam is a shorter set of 10 questions if you just want a temperature check.
Study Materials
Three things. Two are the law itself.
- Ohio Administrative Code 1301:05 (2026) — required. The Commission's rules: advertising, trust accounts, team names, license status, broker supervision.
- Ohio Chapter 4735 | Real Estate Brokers (2026) — required. The statute. Licensing, discipline, the Recovery Fund, and all of agency law from 4735.51 forward.
- Sharpie Highlighters — recommended. Twelve assorted colors, chisel tip, resists smearing. Color-code your printed rule sheets: one color for dollar amounts and timeframes, another for the "who must" language, a third for exceptions.
The exam is closed book. Every rule you plan to use on test day has to be in your head.
Study Tips
Study in proportion to the weights. License law and agency law together make up three-quarters of the state portion. If you have ten study sessions, seven go to those two.
Work backward from the rule, not forward from the story. A scenario question can bury one rule under several sentences of setup. Read the last sentence first, decide which rule it is asking about, then read the scenario for the facts that change the answer.
Because it is closed book, build recall, not recognition. Cover the answer and say the rule out loud before you look. Rewrite the rules you keep missing in your own words on one sheet and review that sheet before every session.
Drill the numbers separately. Hour requirements, renewal cycles, dollar thresholds, and time limits are the items people lose. Make a short list, quiz it daily, and keep quizzing it after you start getting them right.
Train your pace. about 1 minute 30 seconds per question is your budget. Practice with a clock so you feel it without checking. If a question stalls you, mark it, move, come back. Leaving easy questions unanswered at the end because one hard question ate your time costs points you could have had.
Use an online real estate prep exam as diagnosis, not decoration. After each run, sort your misses by topic. Any topic under your target percentage goes back into rotation until it is not.
For logistics, go to the official bulletin and the Ohio Division of Real Estate and Professional Licensing.
Ready to Test Your Knowledge?
You have read the rules. Now find out which ones stuck. The Ohio real estate exam does not care how many hours you logged, only what you can recall under a clock.
Start the Ohio real estate practice exam and see where you stand.