Texas Real Estate Sales Agent Exam - State Portion: Your Complete Study Guide
The Texas Real Estate Sales Agent Exam - State Portion is the Texas law half of the licensing examination a candidate must pass to be licensed as a sales agent ("sales agent" is TREC's current name for a salesperson). It is written for the Texas Real Estate Commission and delivered by Pearson VUE. Candidates apply to TREC, complete the qualifying education, and receive an eligibility letter with a TREC ID before reserving a seat. Candidates must pass both the state and national portions, although a candidate holding an active license in another state who passed an ARELLO-approved national exam may have the national portion waived — that candidate still takes the Texas state portion. This guide walks through what the state portion covers, the kinds of questions it asks, real sample questions, the reference materials worth studying, and how to pace yourself.
Texas Real Estate Sales Agent Exam - State Portion at a Glance
Here are the key details for the Texas real estate sales agent exam in one place.
| Questions | 50 questions (40 scored, 10 unscored) |
| Time limit | 90 minutes |
| Passing score | 28 correct answers out of 40 scored questions |
| Books in the exam room | Closed book (no books in the room) |
| Exam fee | $58 |
On exam day
- Candidates should arrive at the test center 30 minutes before the examination.
- No books, dictionaries, papers or reference materials are allowed in the examination room.
- Candidates may bring their own financial calculator without alpha characters; calculators are recommended but not provided by the test center.
- Personal items are prohibited in the testing room and must be stored, while the test administrator supplies note-taking materials that cannot be removed.
Study references listed in the bulletin (not allowed in the exam room)
- Provisions of the Real Estate License Act, Texas Occupational Code, Chapter 1101 (Commission Duties and Powers, Licensing, Standards of Conduct, Agency Disclosure and Intermediary Practice, Enforcing Compensation Agreements, Liability for Another's Acts)
- Rules of the Texas Real Estate Commission, 22 Texas Administrative Code, Chapters 531-543 (Commission Duties and Powers, Licensing, Standards of Conduct)
- Texas Real Estate, Charles Jacobus
- Texas Real Estate Law, Charles Jacobus
- Modern Real Estate Practice in Texas, Nance, Cheryl Peat
- Texas Real Estate Agency, Peeples, Donna K. and Minor Peeples III
- Texas Real Estate Contracts, Tamper, Ralph
- Texas Real Estate Contracts, Wiedemer, James, I.
- Texas Agency Law Contracts, Wiedemer, James, I.
Scheduling, changes and retakes
- Candidates must reserve online or by phone with Pearson VUE at least 24 hours before the desired examination date, and walk-in examinations are not offered.
- Candidates must receive an eligibility letter from TREC before making an exam reservation and have one year from the application filing date to pass the examination.
- A change or cancellation must be made by phone at least 48 hours before the exam to transfer the fee or get a refund; otherwise the fee is forfeited.
- Candidates who are late or absent without proper cancellation are not admitted and forfeit the fee, but may request an excused absence within 14 days for specified reasons.
- Candidates receive a pass/fail score report at the test center, and failing reports include a numeric score plus diagnostic information.
- Failing candidates retake only the failed portion within one year of application filing, must wait 24 hours to reschedule, and have three attempts before extra education is required.
- A passing candidate must be fingerprinted and cleared through the DPS/FBI background check, after which TREC emails the license document within 5-10 business days.
Source: Texas Real Estate Candidate Handbook, September 2026 (rev08/2026). Check the bulletin before test day: fees and rules can change.
What the Exam Covers
The state portion is 50 questions (40 scored, 10 unscored), and you have 90 minutes to finish it. Passing takes 28 correct answers out of 40 scored questions. The Texas real estate license exam is closed book.
On the exam, "the Act" means The Real Estate License Act (Texas Occupations Code Chapter 1101), and "TREC Rules" means 22 Texas Administrative Code Chapters 531-543. Contract questions follow TREC's promulgated forms; the One to Four Family Residential Contract (Resale) currently in use is TREC No. 20-19, effective July 1, 2026.
The official outline divides the 40 scored items into six topics:
Texas Agency and Brokerage — 11 items (28%). The largest topic. Expect questions on when and how the written Information About Brokerage Services notice must be delivered, including the exceptions listed in TRELA (Occ. Code Ch. 1101), Section 1101.558(c) and the rules on delivering the notice by email or by a labeled homepage link. Intermediary practice is heavily tested: written consent from both parties, what that consent must state, and the written notice required before appointments become effective under TRELA (Occ. Code Ch. 1101), Section 1101.560(b). Other recurring themes are the statutory minimum services a broker owes a party under an exclusive agreement, the written buyer representation agreement's required terms, the broker's responsibility for a sponsored agent's authorized acts under TREC Rules, 22 TAC §535.2(a), written delegation of supervisors and team leaders, what an unlicensed assistant may and may not do, and the fiduciary duty to convey all known information affecting a principal's decision.
Texas Standards of Conduct — 9 items (22%). Grounds for discipline under Texas Occupations Code (TRELA), §1101.652 come up repeatedly: failing to specify a definite termination date, splitting fees with unlicensed persons, misrepresentation in the license holder's own transactions, and the written advice a buyer must receive before closing about an abstract examination or a title policy. Trust account handling is tested precisely — the deadline for depositing trust money under 22 TAC §535.146(b)(3) and the deadline for removing the broker's own earned funds. Advertising rules cover the size of the broker's name relative to the largest contact information, team name requirements, and the font sizes required for Consumer Protection Notice links. The Canons of Professional Ethics and Conduct supply the list of bases on which a license holder may not indicate a preference, limitation, or discrimination (22 TAC §531.19(a)), and rebates require written consents.
Texas Contracts — 9 items (22%). Questions follow the promulgated forms and the statutes behind them: when a license holder must use a TREC form and the narrow exceptions in TREC Rules, 22 TAC §537.11(a); which forms are adopted for voluntary rather than mandatory use; and the prohibition on drafting language that defines the parties' rights, obligations, or remedies. Form mechanics matter — how escrow agents apply a short combined payment, the consequence of failing to deliver the option fee on time, the buyer's window to terminate after an uncured title objection, and the effect of not ordering a survey the buyer agreed to obtain. Statutory disclosure questions include the seller's disclosure notice under Texas Property Code, §5.008(f), municipal utility district notices, coastal property notices, the statute of frauds, and property owners' association resale certificates.
Texas Special Topics — 5 items (12%). A broad mix: homestead protections and the residence homestead tax exemption (including the acreage cap in Texas Real Estate-Related Statutes, Tax Code Sec. 11.13(j)(1) and the statutory floor for percentage exemptions), mechanic's and materialman's liens and the statutory warning to homestead owners, executory contracts for conveyance, Veterans' Land Board loans, intestate succession and community property, the Deceptive Trade Practices Act, landlord-tenant issues, foreclosure and short sales, and recording statutes.
Texas Commission Duties and Powers — 3 items (8%). Commission composition and appointment, member terms and vacancies, the limits on TREC's rulemaking authority over advertising, complaint handling and hearings, penalties, and the deadline to request a hearing after an application is denied.
Texas Licensing — 3 items (8%). Activities requiring a license and the exemptions, qualifying education hours for an initial sales agent license under TREC Rules, 22 TAC §535.55(a), examination requirements, sponsorship changes and inactive status, criminal history evaluation, military expedited processing, and probationary licenses.
Sample Questions
Here are four questions in the style of the real Texas real estate salesperson exam. Work them before checking yourself against the full explanations in our TREC state exam practice questions.
1. Your sponsoring broker must keep transaction records — such as disclosures, commission agreements, offers, and contracts — in a format readily available to the Commission for a minimum period measured from closing, termination of the contract, or end of the transaction. That minimum period is:
A. two years
B. four years
C. three years
D. five years
Tests the broker responsibility record-retention requirement under the TREC Rules.
2. TRELA lists discrimination against an owner, potential buyer, landlord, or potential tenant on a protected basis as a ground for discipline, and the statute expressly names one specific practice as included within that prohibited discrimination. Which practice is named in the statute?
A. Directing prospects interested in equivalent properties to a different area
B. Representing that protected-class persons are moving into a neighborhood
C. Refusing to present an offer made by a protected-class buyer
D. Quoting different commission rates to protected-class sellers
Tests whether you know the wording of the discrimination ground for discipline in the Act, not fair housing generally.
3. You represent a buyer under contract for a home subject to mandatory membership in a property owners association. The seller was obligated to deliver the Subdivision Information and does so on the 8th day after the effective date. Under the TREC Addendum for Property Subject to Mandatory Membership in a Property Owners Association, the buyer's right to terminate expires the earlier of prior to closing or:
A. 3 days after receipt of the Subdivision Information
B. 5 days after receipt of the Subdivision Information
C. 10 days after receipt of the Subdivision Information
D. 7 days after receipt of the Subdivision Information
Tests a deadline read directly off a promulgated addendum.
4. A contractor perfects a mechanic's lien for improvements built on acreage located outside any city, town, or village. The lien extends to the improvements and to no more than how much of the land on which the improvement is situated or the labor was performed?
A. 200 acres
B. 50 acres
C. 10 acres
D. 25 acres
Tests a Property Code acreage limit that is easy to confuse with homestead acreage figures.
Try the free practice exam for a Texas real estate state exam practice test with full explanations and citations. The free set is 10 questions; the full practice exam is 40 questions, matched to the official topic weights.
What Types of Questions to Expect
Our practice questions are multiple choice with four options and a single best answer. Most are one of three kinds:
- Number recall. A deadline, a font size, a percentage, an acreage cap, a dollar floor, or a count of days. Distractors are always plausible neighboring numbers, so approximate memory is not enough.
- Short scenario. You are the listing agent, the buyer's agent, or a sponsored sales agent, and the question asks what the Act or a TREC rule requires you to do next. The facts usually hinge on one triggering detail — a written consent, a specific form, or a missed delivery.
- EXCEPT and "which is NOT" items. These test the boundaries of a statutory list, such as which agreement is excepted from the definite-termination-date requirement or which situation does not require the written brokerage services notice.
Contract questions expect you to reason from the promulgated forms themselves, so study the current forms rather than paraphrases of them.
Study Materials
The Pearson VUE Texas real estate exam handbook lists suggested state study materials, led by the Real Estate License Act and the TREC Rules. These free official sources are what our practice questions are written from:
- Texas Real Estate License Act (Texas Occupations Code Chapter 1101) — the statute behind Commission powers, licensing, agency, intermediary practice, and the grounds for discipline.
- Rules of the Texas Real Estate Commission (22 Texas Administrative Code Chapters 531-541) — the Canons, advertising rules, trust account rules, broker responsibility, and the rules governing use of promulgated forms.
- Texas Real Estate-Related Statutes — the Constitution and the Property, Family, Tax, Business & Commerce, Estates, Natural Resources, Water and Occupations Codes, which supply the Special Topics and disclosure questions.
- TREC Promulgated Contract Forms, Addenda and Notices — read the forms in effect, paragraph by paragraph, including the addenda.
The examination is closed book, so every one of these has to be in your head on exam day.
Study Tips
Spend your study time in proportion to the outline. Agency and Brokerage plus Standards of Conduct together account for half the scored questions, and Contracts adds nearly another quarter — build your schedule around those three before touching the smaller topics.
Because the exam is closed book, drill the numbers until they are automatic. Make a single sheet of every deadline, day count, font size and percentage you meet in practice, group them by topic so similar numbers sit side by side, and quiz yourself on that sheet cold rather than rereading it. Numbers that look alike across topics are where most points are lost.
Read the promulgated forms with a question in mind: what happens if this paragraph is not performed? The exam rarely asks what a paragraph says; it asks what follows when someone misses a step.
For pacing, the state portion works out to about 1 minute 48 seconds per question. That is enough time to read a short scenario carefully but not enough to stall. Answer what you know on the first pass, flag anything that needs a second reading, and come back. Practice under the clock at least once so the pace feels familiar rather than rushed, and always answer every question.
Next Steps
Confirm your eligibility and qualifying education requirements on the TREC sales agent page, read the official candidate handbook for exam-day details, and reserve your seat through Pearson VUE. Then test yourself against the full practice exam until the Texas real estate sales agent exam holds no surprises.