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Pennsylvania Real Estate Broker Licensing Examination — Practice Test

What This Practice Exam Covers

The Pennsylvania Real Estate Broker Licensing Examination consists of 40 questions completed in 60 minutes, with a passing score of 75% (30 correct). Every question on the real exam comes from six topic areas defined by the official test provider, covering Pennsylvania-specific statutes, regulations, agency law, and brokerage management.

This practice exam gives you two options:

• Free practice exam: 10 questions per attempt, drawn from a limited pool. Retake it as many times as you like to get comfortable with the question format, phrasing style, and the way Pennsylvania law is tested before committing to more.
• Full practice exam (paid): 40 questions, 60-minute timer — identical in format to the real exam. Questions are pulled from a pool of 320+ items based on the exact topic breakdown provided by the official test provider, so each attempt produces a unique set. No two full exams are the same.

Start with the free exam to calibrate. Use the full exam for serious preparation.

What You'll Be Tested On

Real Estate Commission — 4 items

These questions test your working knowledge of how the Pennsylvania Real Estate Commission operates. You must know the Commission's duties and powers — what it can regulate, enforce, and promulgate. Expect questions on the complaint, investigation, hearing, and appeal process: who has standing to file, what triggers an investigation, and what procedural rights a licensee has. The Real Estate Recovery Fund is a consistent source of exam questions — know the eligibility conditions for a claimant, the maximum recovery amounts, and what happens to a licensee's license after a Fund payment is made on their behalf.

Licensure — 6 items

This is a rules-and-definitions section. You need to know precisely which activities require a license and which are exempt from licensure — the RELRA exemptions are tested directly. For types of licenses, the exam covers broker categories only (not salesperson). Eligibility requirements for a broker license include experience hours, education, and background criteria under RELRA Section 511. Know the rules for license renewal and reactivation, including continuing education requirements. Change of employment rules — what a broker must do when a licensee terminates association — appear here as well.

Agency and Disclosure — 10 items

This is the heaviest topic on the exam and demands the most precise reading. You must know the duties of licensees to clients and customers, including the difference in duty owed to each. Agency disclosures are tested on timing, form, and content — when must a Consumer Notice be provided, and what triggers the obligation. Agency relationships questions test your ability to classify a relationship (seller agent, buyer agent, dual agent, designated agent) and identify what that classification permits or prohibits. Compensation questions ask who can pay whom, whether a licensee can accept compensation from multiple parties, and under what conditions. The Real Estate Seller Disclosure Law (Pennsylvania Title 68, Chapter 73) governs property disclosure obligations and is also tested here, particularly ongoing seller obligations under § 7307.

Regulations Governing the Activities of Licensees — 10 items

Tied with Agency and Disclosure for the most exam weight. Advertising questions test whether an ad complies with Pennsylvania requirements — does it identify the broker, is it misleading, what must appear in a team name ad. Broker/salesperson relations cover supervision duties, independent contractor agreements, and what a broker is responsible for when a licensed associate acts improperly. Prohibited conduct is the most heavily cited subtopic in the entire question bank: misrepresentation, commingling, conversion, failure to disclose a license, and acting for undisclosed principals all appear. Know 49 Pa. Code § 35.290(a) (reporting obligations), 49 Pa. Code § 35.291, and the timeframes attached to specific reporting duties.

Miscellaneous — 5 items

Five distinct subtopics compete for five items, so each may appear only once. Property disclosures under Pennsylvania Title 68, Chapter 73 cover what must be disclosed, in what form, and by when — including § 7304(b) on delivery timing and § 7305(a) on the buyer's right to rescind. Documents, contracts, and forms questions test proper execution and record-keeping. The Pennsylvania Human Relations Act questions focus on protected classes and prohibited conduct in real estate transactions. Time-shares, planned communities, and condominiums and rentals, leasing, and property management each typically generate one question about statutory rights or broker obligations in that specific context.

Brokerage Management — 5 items

Broker-only content. Office requirements and inspections are tested with specificity: signage requirements, what makes an office location lawful (including the home office rule under 49 Pa. Code § 35.242), and what Commission inspectors may review. Funds and accounts questions cover escrow and operating account requirements — when funds must be deposited, what constitutes commingling, and how a broker must handle disputed funds. These questions often hinge on exact timeframes and whether a described action violates a specific regulation.

Worked Sample Questions

Question 1 — Agency and Disclosure

A listing agent's seller client has accepted an offer. Before settlement, the seller discovers a new water intrusion problem in the basement that did not exist when the original property disclosure statement was completed. What is the seller's obligation?

A. No obligation — the disclosure was accurate when originally completed
B. The seller must notify the buyer of the inaccuracy
C. The seller must withdraw the property from the market until the issue is resolved
D. The seller must file an amended disclosure with the State Real Estate Commission

Correct Answer: B

The seller cannot shelter behind the original disclosure once new material facts arise. Under Pennsylvania Title 68, Chapter 73, § 7307, if information in a completed disclosure is subsequently rendered inaccurate by any act, occurrence, or agreement prior to final settlement, the seller is obligated to notify the buyer. Options C and D describe obligations that do not exist under the statute. Option A misreads the law — accuracy at the time of original completion does not extinguish the duty to update.

Question 2 — Regulations Governing the Activities of Licensees

A licensee disciplined by a real estate licensing authority in another state must notify the Pennsylvania Real Estate Commission within what timeframe?

A. 10 days
B. 15 days
C. 30 days
D. 60 days

Correct Answer: C

Under Pennsylvania Title 49, Chapter 43b.8, Page 43b-18.1, a licensee must report out-of-state disciplinary action to the Commission within 30 days of receiving notice. First-offense civil penalty: $500. Second offense: $1,000. The exam tests this deadline precisely — 10, 15, and 60 days are deliberate distractors. Know 30 days cold.

Question 3 — Licensure

Which correctly describes requirements for a broker's office located in a private residence?

A. The office may share an entrance with the residence as long as a separate sign is posted
B. The office must be devoted to real estate business, arranged for private business conduct, and have a separate entrance from the residence
C. The office may share an entrance if the broker obtains Commission approval
D. A broker's office may never be located in a private residence

Correct Answer: B

Under 49 Pa. Code § 35.242, a home-based broker office must be devoted exclusively to real estate business, physically arranged to allow business to be conducted in privacy, and — critically — the office entrance must be separate from the residential entrance. Commission approval cannot waive the separate entrance requirement; Option C is a trap. Option D overstates the restriction.

How to Read Your Score

The passing threshold is 75% — 30 correct out of 40. On a 10-question free attempt, that translates to 8 correct.

Treat your first practice score as a diagnostic, not a verdict. Most candidates underperform on their first attempt because Pennsylvania broker law is dense with specific timeframes, dollar thresholds, and procedural steps that feel similar until you study them carefully. A first score in the 50–65% range is common and correctable.

What matters more than the overall score is the topic-by-topic breakdown. If you scored well on Brokerage Management but dropped points in Agency and Disclosure, you know exactly where to concentrate — and Agency and Disclosure accounts for 10 of your 40 questions, so a weakness there is expensive on exam day.

Scoring 75–80% on practice consistently does not guarantee a passing real exam score. The real exam uses different item phrasing. Aim for 85%+ on multiple full practice attempts before sitting for the real exam. Scoring near the passing line on practice almost always means more targeted review is needed.

Where Candidates Lose Points

Misreading timeframes. Pennsylvania broker regulations attach specific deadlines to nearly every obligation — 30 days for out-of-state disciplinary reporting, deposit timing for escrow funds, notice periods in agency relationships. Candidates who learn the rule but not the number consistently miss these.

Conflating agent duties with client duties. The Agency and Disclosure section (10 items) requires you to distinguish what a licensee owes a client versus a customer. Treating them as equivalent is a recurring error that costs multiple questions.

Confusing prohibited conduct categories. Commingling and conversion are related but distinct violations. Failing to disclose licensee status, acting for an undisclosed principal, and making material misrepresentations each have separate regulatory footing. Exam distractors are written to exploit candidates who know the concept but not the specific conduct defined.

Missing the office rules. The home office entrance requirement, signage requirements, and inspection provisions in the Brokerage Management section (5 items) seem minor during study but generate questions with very precise right answers. Candidates skip this material and lose points they could have kept.

Running out of time. Sixty minutes for 40 questions is 90 seconds per question. Questions in Agency and Disclosure and Regulations often require reading a fact pattern carefully. Practice under timed conditions — the full practice exam enforces the 60-minute limit exactly as the real exam does.

Exam Quick Facts