Ohio (OH) Real Estate Exam Cheat Sheet 2026
OH: 120 questions, 180 minutes, 70% on each portion, $66 in exam fees. Below are the 8 rules that decide pass or fail, each with its source.
The 8 rules worth memorising
Not subject knowledge — that comes from practice questions. These are the procedural rules candidates lose the exam to: how the threshold is applied, what a partial fail means, and the deadlines that void a pass.
- 1
Agency law is 14 of the 40 state questions
Brokerage relationships plus license law and rules make up 30 of the 40 Ohio questions — three quarters of the state portion. Governance and licensing requirements are only 10 between them. Study in that order.
Source: PSI bulletin, State-Specific Portion Content Outline
- 2
A retake goes through the Division, not PSI
You cannot simply rebook with PSI. You must submit a Retake Application service request and fee to the Ohio Division of Real Estate online — paper applications are not accepted — and wait for the Division to notify PSI of your new eligibility before you can schedule.
Source: PSI bulletin, Re-taking a Failed Portion
- 3
Retake within the 12-month period
You must re-apply for the portion you failed and retake it inside the 12-month window. The exam fee is also forfeited if you do not test within one year of PSI receiving it.
Source: PSI bulletin, Re-taking a Failed Portion and Fees
- 4
A single-portion retake is cheaper
Both portions cost $66; the national portion alone is $46 and the Ohio portion alone is $43. Register for the correct single portion rather than repaying for both.
Source: PSI bulletin, Fees
- 5
You get scratch paper and a pencil in person
At a PSI test site you are issued scratch paper and a pencil and return both at check-out. Testing remotely, you get neither. That difference matters on calculation questions.
Source: PSI bulletin, Examination Site and Examination Protocol
- 6
The failing score report is handed to you at the center
Candidates who fail one or both portions receive the failing score report at the examination site, before they leave. Read it there — it tells you which portion to re-apply for.
Source: PSI bulletin, Re-taking a Failed Portion
- 7
100 hours, and 40 of them are Ohio law
Principles and Practices 40, Ohio Real Estate Law 40, Appraisal 10, Finance 10. The law course covers civil rights, housing discrimination and desegregation and is only waived for attorneys admitted before the Supreme Court of Ohio.
Source: Ohio Division of Real Estate, salesperson license requirements (matches the PSI bulletin table)
- 8
Ten days for the background check
You have 10 days from submitting your application to the Division to get your background check done. Start it the moment you apply.
Source: PSI bulletin, Examination Eligibility
What the Ohio state portion covers (40 scored items)
Straight from the official outline. Study the top of this list first.
License law and rules of the Ohio Real Estate Commission
16 questionsAdvertising, business name, misrepresentation and team advertising · Broker/salesperson employment or independent contractor agreements · Commissions paid through broker only · Document handling and record keeping · Handling of monies and items of value · Trust or special accounts · Types of listings
Brokerage relationships (agency law)
14 questionsLicensing requirements
6 questionsActivities requiring a license · License renewal and maintenance · Change in license status — military, retired, inactive · Post-license and continuing education
State governance of the real estate profession
4 questionsGeneral powers and structure of governing bodies · Audit of records · Investigations, hearings and appeals · Violations and penalties · Recovery Fund
If you fail
File a Retake Application service request with the Ohio Division of Real Estate online and pay the fee. Once the Division notifies PSI of your new eligibility you can schedule. Re-apply only for the portion you failed — $46 national or $43 Ohio — and do it inside the 12-month window.
Where these came from
- PSI Candidate Information Bulletin — Ohio Real Estate (bulletin 1001)
- Ohio Division of Real Estate and Professional Licensing
Figures read from the source on 2026-09-18.
Questions
Is there a Ohio real estate exam cheat sheet PDF?
This page is the cheat sheet, and it stays on the web on purpose: every rule below cites the bulletin or commission page it came from, so you can check it against the current source. A printed PDF goes stale the moment PSI revises a figure, and most of the ones being sold do not say where their numbers came from.
What should I memorise for the OH state portion?
The rules that decide pass or fail rather than the ones that are merely interesting: how the 70% threshold is applied, what happens if you fail one portion, and the deadlines that void a pass. Those are the 8 below. Subject knowledge comes from practice questions, not from a list.
How current is this Ohio cheat sheet?
Every figure was read from the source on 2026-09-18, and each rule names its source below. Where ODRE has revised something since, the source link is the authority — not this page.