Pennsylvania (PA) Real Estate Exam Cheat Sheet 2026
PA: 120 questions, 210 minutes, 75% on each section, $101 in exam fees. Below are the 8 rules that decide pass or fail, each with its source.
Fees: $52 national + $49 state
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
Your reported score is not your percentage correct
Pennsylvania converts raw scores into a scaled score from 0 to 100. The handbook states plainly that the scaled score is neither the number nor the percentage of questions you answered correctly. And numeric scores are only given to candidates who fail — pass and you get "pass", nothing more.
Source: Pearson VUE candidate handbook, Score Explanation
- 2
Retake only the section you failed — and you may not retake one you passed
The exam splits into national and state law. Fail one and pass the other, and you repeat only the failed section, within your authorization period. Retaking an already-passed section is prohibited.
Source: Pearson VUE candidate handbook, Retaking the Exam
- 3
Three years from the first pass, not the second
Exam results are good for three years, and the Commission must have your completed application within that window. If you pass the two sections on different dates, the three-year clock starts the day you passed the first one — not the second. Miss it and you retake the exam.
Source: Pearson VUE candidate handbook, Exam Eligibility and Approval Process
- 4
Education authorization: 5 years for salesperson, 10 for broker
A salesperson has 5 years from passing the first required education course to sit the exams; a broker has 10. This runs separately from the 3-year life of your exam results.
Source: Pearson VUE candidate handbook, Retaking the Exam
- 5
Ten unscored pretest items on the state section
The state law section carries 40 scored items plus up to ten pretest items that do not count. They are mixed in and unmarked, and they still consume your 60 minutes.
Source: Pearson VUE candidate handbook, Pennsylvania Real Estate Salesperson Licensing Examination Content Outline
- 6
No exam review, ever
Pennsylvania states that for security reasons examination material is not available to candidates for review. If you fail, the diagnostic report broken out by national and state section is all you get.
Source: Pearson VUE candidate handbook, Score Explanation
- 7
Arrive 30 minutes early and bring nothing
Report to the test center at least 30 minutes before your appointment. No personal items in the testing room at all — no phone, watch, wallet, hat, coat, notes, or even your own pen. Studying in the test center is not allowed, and violating a policy means dismissal and a forfeited fee.
Source: Pearson VUE candidate handbook, Test Center Policies
- 8
Everything routes through PALS
Eligibility, application and licensure all run through www.pals.pa.gov, and score reports come from your Clarus account. Two different systems, and you will need both.
Source: Pearson VUE candidate handbook, Score Reporting
What the Pennsylvania state law section covers (40 scored items)
Straight from the official outline. Study the top of this list first.
Regulations governing the activities of licensees
11 questionsAdvertising · Broker/salesperson relations · Funds and accounts · Prohibited conduct · Suspension and revocation
Agency and disclosure
10 questionsAgency disclosures · Duties of licensees · Agency relationships · Compensation
Licensure
8 questionsQualifications · Activities requiring a license · License renewal and reactivation · Change of employment · Exemption from licensure
Miscellaneous
6 questionsProperty disclosures · Documents, contracts and forms · Pennsylvania Human Relations Act · Time-shares, planned communities and condominiums · Rentals, leasing and property management
Real Estate Commission
5 questionsDuties and powers · Complaints, investigations, hearings and appeals · Real Estate Recovery Fund
If you fail
Rebook with Pearson VUE — not at the test center. Retake only the failed section, and do it inside your education authorization window (5 years for salespersons from the first course). Each section carries its own fee: $52 national, $49 state.
Where these came from
- Pearson VUE Pennsylvania Real Estate Candidate Handbook (publication 093900)
- Pennsylvania Real Estate Commission
Figures read from the source on 2026-09-18.
Questions
Is there a Pennsylvania 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 Pearson VUE revises a figure, and most of the ones being sold do not say where their numbers came from.
What should I memorise for the PA state portion?
The rules that decide pass or fail rather than the ones that are merely interesting: how the 75% 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 Pennsylvania cheat sheet?
Every figure was read from the source on 2026-09-18, and each rule names its source below. Where PREC has revised something since, the source link is the authority — not this page.