1.1 Current Exam Facts, Format, Fees & Scoring

Why exam logistics show up on a law-heavy test

The Illinois auctioneer written exam is how the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) measures competence before it will issue an auctioneer license. Thirty-seven of the 50 scored items test the Illinois Auction License Act (225 ILCS 407) and the Administrative Rules (68 Ill. Adm. Code Part 1440). That is why later chapters spend so much time on statutes and rules. This section is different: it teaches the testing contract itself. PSI-style items regularly mix a legal fact with a logistics fact (how the score is computed, what you may bring, what happens if you fail). Candidates who study only Article 15 contracts still miss items about pretest questions, subscore averaging, the $37 handbook fee versus the $200 IDFPR fee, and the 15-minute late-arrival rule.

The official logistics source is the PSI Illinois Auctioneer Candidate Handbook (July 2021, Revision 6/25/2021). IDFPR contracted with PSI Services (PSI) to administer the exam under the Department's power in 225 ILCS 407/30-7 to use third parties for administration. If a commercial website, an old blog, or a school flyer disagrees with the handbook on format, time, calculator rules, or the listed exam fee, the handbook controls. This study guide does not invent a 2026 change to the $37 examination fee.

Format: 50 scored items, up to 55 on the screen, 1 hour

The examination consists of 50 four-option multiple-choice questions. You have one (1) hour. The exam is computer-based at PSI Test Centers in Illinois and elsewhere in the United States, by appointment only, Monday through Saturday. Unscheduled walk-ins are not admitted.

Your screen may also present up to five additional pretest items. Those items are being tried out for a future form. They are not identified as pretest items, and they do not affect your score. You might therefore answer 55 questions while being scored on 50. Treat every item as if it counts; you cannot tell which five are experimental.

There is no penalty for guessing. Unanswered items are simply wrong. The handbook tells you to answer every question.

Scoring: 70 percent of 50, not an average of buckets

You must attain a score of at least 70 percent to pass. On 50 scored items that is at least 35 correct. The handbook's Score Averaging rule is a favorite trap: your total score is not the average of the three content-area percentages. It is the number of scored questions you answered correctly divided by 50.

Work a realistic split. Suppose a candidate scores 9/10 on Math (90 percent), 24/37 on the License Act and Administrative Rules (about 65 percent), and 2/3 on other auction-business topics (about 67 percent). Averaging 90, 65, and 67 looks like a mid-70s "pass." The real total is 9 + 24 + 2 = 35/50, which is exactly 70 percent and a pass. Reverse the pattern: 4/10 Math, 30/37 Law, 0/3 Other = 34/50 (68 percent) and a fail, even though the largest content area looks strong. Pretest items never enter that fraction. A candidate who is 36/50 on scored items and 0/5 on pretest items still has 72 percent and passes.

If you pass, the score report is a pass/fail result with instructions for the IDFPR license application. If you fail, you receive a diagnostic score report showing your overall percentage and your percentages on the major content areas. Those diagnostics are study tools, not a second scoring method. The handbook states there is no limit to the number of times you may take the examination. IDFPR and PSI do not publish a first-time pass rate for the Illinois auctioneer exam; any number you see on a marketing page is not an official statistic.

Content outline (the 50 scored items)

PSI publishes three buckets. Plan study time in that order, not in the order a school catalog lists electives.

Article 5 is definitions and general provisions. Article 10 is licensing. Article 15 is business practices (including written auction contracts). Article 20 is discipline. Article 30 is administrative provisions (Department powers, rulemaking, the fee fund, and the Auction Advisory Board). The Administrative Rules in Part 1440 turn those articles into operational requirements: applications, fees, advertising, trust accounts, and records. The handbook's own study advice is to concentrate on the Act and the Rules — which is another way of saying 37 items.

Math is only 10 items, but 10 items are 20 percent of a 50-item test. Missing most of the math can fail a candidate who is otherwise adequate on the statutes, because the pass decision is the total, not a subscore floor. Later math chapters cover commissions, buyer premiums, tax, and settlements with worked examples.

Two different fees: $37 to test, $200 to apply

Do not collapse the vendor fee and the license fee into one number.

• PSI examination fee listed in the handbook: $37. Pay by credit card (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover), cashier's check, or money order payable to PSI Services Inc. Cash and personal checks are not accepted. A declined credit card is subject to a $25 handling fee. The handbook states examination fees are not refunded when you miss the appointment, arrive more than 15 minutes late, fail to present required identification, or refuse a fingerprint scan.
• IDFPR initial auctioneer application fee: $200, under 68 Ill. Adm. Code 1440.170(a)(1) and the 2026 Auctioneer License Application, form IL 505-0790. That fee is paid to IDFPR after you pass, with the PSI score report attached. It is not the PSI scheduling fee.

An auction firm initial fee is $100 under Rule 1440.170(b)(1); that is a separate license and is not the individual exam fee. Duplicate PSI score reports are $25 if requested in writing within 12 months of the exam.

Test-day rules that forfeit the $37

Report on time. If you arrive more than 15 minutes after the scheduled examination time, you will not be admitted, you forfeit the fee, and you must reregister. You must present two forms of identification. The primary form must be current, government-issued, and include your name, signature, and photograph (driver's license, state ID card, passport, or military ID). Temporary IDs are not accepted. The secondary form must show your name and signature. You must also provide a fingerprint scan (and other biometric checks). Refusal is treated as a missed appointment.

Only silent, non-programmable calculators without alphabetic keypads or printing capabilities are allowed. Phones, smart watches, programmable or printing calculators, notes, and cameras are prohibited. PSI provides pencils and scratch paper; scratch paper must be returned. You may take a break, but the 1-hour clock does not stop. You may reschedule once at no charge if you contact PSI at least two business days before the appointment; a second reschedule, or a reschedule made too late, forfeits the fee.

Realistic PSI-style scenarios

Scenario A — pretest panic. Jordan sees 55 questions, answers 34 scored items correctly, and answers all 5 pretest items correctly. Jordan fails. The five pretest successes do not raise 34/50 (68 percent) to a passing score.

Scenario B — subscore myth. Riley posts 100 percent on Other (3/3) and 80 percent on Math (8/10) but only 23/37 on the Act and Rules. Total is 34/50. Riley fails even though two of three "areas" look fine.

Scenario C — late and the wrong tool. Sam arrives 18 minutes late with a phone-calculator app. Sam is not seated. The $37 is gone. A silent non-programmable calculator would have been allowed only if Sam had also arrived within the 15-minute window with proper ID and a fingerprint scan.