1.5 The Broker Examination: Format, Scoring, Retakes & Application Timeline

1.5 The Broker Examination: Format, Scoring, Retakes & Application Timeline

Exam Focus: The state law content outline lists Examination as a tested sub-topic under Licensing Process, so the exam can and does ask about itself. Candidates must know the item counts on each portion, the difference between scored and pretest items, the raw-score passing standards (not percentages), the 240-minute limit, the retake sequence, and the additional-education penalty that attaches after a third failure.

1. Who Administers the Exam

TREC contracts with Pearson VUE to develop and deliver the Texas real estate licensing examinations. The division of labor matters for exam questions about authority:

• TREC sets the passing standard, approves the content outlines, issues the license, and runs the background check.
• Pearson VUE writes and equates the forms, schedules and proctors the sessions, collects the examination fee, and delivers the score report.
• Test center administrators can help with the computer interface but are not familiar with exam content or Texas licensing requirements.

A candidate must first file the broker application with TREC. Once the application is filed, the candidate has one year from the filing date to pass the examination. Reservations must be made online at least 24 hours before the desired examination date, and candidates should report to the test center 30 minutes early. Pearson VUE captures a digital signature and photograph at check-in.

2. Item Counts: Scored Items vs. Pretest Items

The single most common misconception is that the broker exam "has 130 questions." A candidate actually answers 145 items; 130 of them are scored and the rest are unscored pretest items being trialed for future forms. Pretest items are not identified and look exactly like scored items, so every item must be answered.

• The 240-minute clock covers both portions together. It begins the moment the candidate looks at the first question and ends automatically when time expires.
• Compare the sales agent exam: 85 items national (80 scored + 5 pretest) and 50 items state (40 scored + 10 pretest), for 125 items presented and 120 scored, also in 240 minutes. The broker exam's extra weight sits entirely in the state portion, which carries 50 scored items instead of 40.

The 10 Case-Study Items — the Broker Exam's Signature Feature

The Texas Broker state law outline reserves 10 of the 50 scored state items (20%) for case studies, a block that does not exist on the sales agent exam:

• Narrative cases: the candidate reads a fact pattern and answers several linked items about it.
• Contract cases: the candidate answers items that require reading and applying a TREC-promulgated contract or addendum.

This is why Chapters 5 and 6 of this guide matter disproportionately. Roughly a fifth of the state portion is answered by working the forms themselves rather than by recalling a rule.

3. Scoring: Raw Counts, Not Percentages

Texas real estate examination scores are reported as a raw score — the number of items answered correctly. TREC set the standard in conjunction with Pearson VUE after a formal standard-setting study, and statistical equating across forms keeps difficulty comparable so no candidate is advantaged or disadvantaged by which form they receive.

┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│              BROKER PASSING STANDARDS (RAW SCORE)                 │
├─────────────────────────┬──────────────┬──────────────────────────┤
│ PORTION                 │ MUST ANSWER  │ OUT OF (SCORED)          │
├─────────────────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────────────────┤
│ National / General      │      60      │        80                │
│ Texas State Law         │      38      │        50                │
├─────────────────────────┴──────────────┴──────────────────────────┤
│ BOTH portions must be passed. A strong national score does NOT    │
│ offset a failing state score - the portions do not average.       │
└───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

The "70%" trap. A great deal of third-party Texas prep material states that the broker exam requires "70% to pass." There is no percentage standard in the official handbook. The published requirement is 60 correct of 80 national items and 38 correct of 50 state items. Expressed as percentages those cut scores are roughly 75% and 76% — both above 70% — so a candidate who studies to a 70% target is studying to a failing standard.

• For comparison, the sales agent standard is 56 of 80 national and 28 of 40 state.
• The score report is marked simply "pass" or "fail." A failing report additionally shows a numeric score and diagnostic information by content area, which TREC describes as a general study guide only.
• Candidates leave the test center with their official scores in hand. After passing and clearing the background check, TREC emails the license document within 5–10 business days.

4. Fees, Retakes & the Three-Attempt Rule

Examination Fee

The broker examination fee is $39, paid to Pearson VUE by credit card, debit card, or voucher at the time of reservation. (The sales agent fee is $43 — the broker fee is the lower of the two, which is counterintuitive and therefore testable.) Fees are non-refundable and non-transferable except under the change/cancel policy, which requires notice at least 48 hours before the appointment. A candidate who no-shows or arrives without proper identification forfeits the fee.

Retaking a Failed Portion

• A candidate who fails retakes only the portion failed, not the whole exam.
• Reservations for re-examination cannot be made at the test center; the candidate must wait 24 hours before rescheduling and pay the $39 fee again.
• The retake must still occur within one year of the date the application was filed with TREC.

The Three-Attempt Limit

        FAIL 1  ──►  FAIL 2  ──►  FAIL 3  ──►  ADDITIONAL EDUCATION REQUIRED
                                                │
                     ┌──────────────────────────┴──────────────────────────┐
                     ▼                                                     ▼
        Failed ONE portion (national OR state)              Failed BOTH portions
                     │                                                     │
                     ▼                                                     ▼
        30 additional qualifying                          60 additional qualifying
        real estate education hours                       real estate education hours

After the third failure the candidate may not retest or file a new application until the additional hours are completed. Course completion documents plus a copy of the third failed score report are submitted to TREC, which needs 5–7 business days to process the education and authorize Pearson VUE to allow rescheduling. If the application expires first, the candidate must reapply and meet current requirements — which, after the January 1, 2026 amendments, means the 720-point experience standard and the 300-hour degree cap discussed in Section 1.2.

The ARELLO National-Portion Exemption

A candidate who currently holds an active license in another state and passed a national portion accredited by ARELLO may be exempt from retaking the national portion in Texas. The candidate submits a license history from the licensing state with the application so TREC can determine eligibility. The state law portion is never waived.

5. What the Content Outlines Control

Two separate published outlines govern item allocation, and they carry different effective dates — a detail worth noting because they are revised independently:

The national outline also builds to cognitive-level specifications, classifying every item as knowledge (recall a fact or definition), application (use knowledge in a situation), or analysis (examine a fact pattern to reach a conclusion). The broker forms are deliberately weighted away from pure recall: for example, Real Estate Contracts and Agency carries 15 items split 3 knowledge / 6 application / 6 analysis. Studying flashcards alone will not clear the broker national portion.

Calculator and Math Conventions

• Two conversions are not provided at the test center and must be memorized: 43,560 square feet per acre and 5,280 feet per mile.
• Any proration question will specify whether to use a 360-day or 365-day year and whether the day of closing belongs to the buyer or the seller. Do not assume a convention.
• Standard rounding rules apply where relevant.

Practical takeaway: the outlines, not any prep book's table of contents, define what is testable. When a third-party source and the published outline disagree about weighting, the outline wins.