EstatePass
Updated 2026

Massachusetts (MA) Real Estate Exam Prep & Study Guide

What the Massachusetts (MA) exam actually asks, in the order worth studying it. The weightings below are not an estimate — they are each subject's share of the 2,338 Massachusetts questions in our bank.

Questions

120

Time limit

240 min

To pass

70%

Exam fee

$56

Source: MBRRE candidate handbook. Salesperson licence.

What to study first for the Massachusetts exam

Ordered by how many questions sit behind each subject. Studying front to back spends the same hours on a subject worth 6% as on one worth 15%.

  1. 1

    Practice of Real Estate

    15%360 questions
  2. 2

    Contracts

    12%275 questions
  3. 3

    Financing

    11%266 questions
  4. 4

    Property Ownership

    11%247 questions
  5. 5

    General Principles of Agency

    10%226 questions
  6. 6

    Real Estate Math

    9%203 questions
  7. 7

    Valuation Market Analysis

    6%151 questions
  8. 8

    Property Disclosures

    6%150 questions

Turn the plan into a score

The order above tells you where to start; the dashboard tells you when you're done — per-topic accuracy over the same Massachusetts bank, a readiness score against the pass mark, and a wrong-answer book that won't let a miss stay missed.

  • Every topic above, tracked with live accuracy
  • Massachusetts state portion and national portion scored separately
  • Free tier: 20 questions a day, no card required

The Massachusetts state portion, subject by subject

MA-specific law is where out-of-state study material stops helping. These are the subjects our bank covers, with real questions under each.

Counts are live from the Massachusetts question bank, which mixes the national portion with Massachusetts-specific law.

The national portion, subject by subject

Shared with every other state exam, and usually the larger half of the paper.

Counts are live from the Massachusetts question bank, which mixes the national portion with Massachusetts-specific law.

Studying for the Massachusetts exam

How long should I study for the Massachusetts real estate exam?

Most candidates need four to eight weeks alongside a job. Working every Massachusetts question in our bank at a realistic 30 questions an hour is roughly 78 hours — but the useful measure is not hours, it is whether your practice scores sit above the pass mark on questions you have not seen before.

What is on the Massachusetts real estate exam?

Two portions. The national portion covers principles every state shares. The MA portion covers Massachusetts law — in our bank that is General Principles of Agency, Valuation Market Analysis, Property Disclosures, Land Use Controls Regulations and more.

Which Massachusetts topic should I study first?

Practice of Real Estate carries the most questions in our Massachusetts bank (360, about 15% of it), so it is the highest-leverage place to start. After that, work down the list below rather than studying front to back.

Is a Massachusetts exam prep course required?

Pre-licensing education is required by MBRRE; exam prep is not. They are different purchases and people often conflate them — the course satisfies the legal hours, prep is practice on questions. Check the current requirement in the MBRRE handbook before buying either.

Is Massachusetts real estate exam preparation different from a study guide?

Not in practice — exam prep, exam preparation and study guide all describe the same work: knowing what the MA exam weights heavily and practising those subjects until the wording stops surprising you. What matters is whether the material is ordered by how much of the exam each subject accounts for, which is how this page is laid out.

How many questions should I practise before the Massachusetts exam?

More than most people do. Candidates who pass tend to have worked through several hundred questions with explanations, not a few dozen; the difference shows up as recognising a rule quickly rather than reasoning it out under time pressure. Our own data says the same thing — the people who fail are almost never the people who practised a lot.

MA cheat sheet

The procedural rules that decide pass or fail, each with its source.

Massachusetts practice exam

Ten questions with explanations, free, no account.

Full-length mock exam

Timed and scored against the real pass mark.

Exam-day checklist

What to bring, what to expect, what disqualifies you.