Read from 47 state handbooks · Updated 2026
Real Estate Exam Retake Rules, State by State
How long you wait, how many attempts you get, what a retake costs, and whether a passed portion carries over — read from each state's current candidate bulletin, with the source linked on every row. If you just failed: start with the recovery plan, then check your state below.
| State | Wait to retake | Attempt limit | Passed portion banks? | Retake fee | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | No fixed wait — apply to retake once your result arrives | Unlimited within the 2-year application window | see handbook | $100 re-examination (salesperson); rescheduling a booked exam is $40 | CA DRE — Taking the Exam + Fees |
| Texas | 24 hours before you can rebook | 3 attempts; after that, 30 extra education hours (one part failed) or 60 hours (both parts) | Retake only the failed portion, within the 1-year window | $43 per attempt (sales) | TX Candidate Handbook (Pearson VUE) |
| Florida | 24 hours before you can rebook | see handbook | see handbook | $36.75 per attempt | FL fact sheet (Pearson VUE; full booklet at DBPR) |
| New York | see handbook | see handbook | see handbook | $15 exam fee (schedule again via eAccessNY) | NY DOS — Real Estate Agent |
| Illinois | see handbook | 4 attempts, then required re-education (broker — Illinois' entry license) | Repeat only the portion(s) failed | $58 per attempt | IL Broker Candidate Bulletin (PSI) |
| Pennsylvania | No test-center wait stated; online (OnVUE) retakes require 7 days | Unlimited within the 5-year salesperson authorization | Retake only the failed part; a passed part banks for 3 years | $52 national / $49 state, per attempt | PA Candidate Handbook (Pearson VUE) |
| Ohio | Re-apply to the Division for the failed portion, then rebook | No cap stated — both portions must pass within the 12-month eligibility | Re-apply and retake only the failed portion, inside the same 12 months | $43 state only / $46 national only / $66 both | OH Salesperson Candidate Bulletin (PSI) |
| Georgia | Next day — no same-day rebooking; fail Wednesday, retest as soon as Friday | see handbook | see handbook | $175 per attempt | GA Candidate Bulletin (PSI) |
| North Carolina | No fixed wait, but each attempt needs a NEW application, and ≥10 eligibility days must remain | No cap stated — but every attempt is a fresh $105 application | Unpassed section only — but both sections must pass within one 180-day period | $105 application + $53 single-section (or $63 both) each time | NC Candidate Handbook (Pearson VUE) |
| Michigan | see handbook | see handbook | see handbook | $79 per attempt | MI Candidate Bulletin (PSI) |
| New Jersey | Next day — no same-day rebooking; fail Wednesday, retest as soon as Friday | see handbook | see handbook | $38 per attempt | NJ Candidate Bulletin (PSI) |
| Virginia | Not same day; space permitting, within 2 business days | see handbook | Retake only the failed portion; the pass is good for 1 year from the original exam date | $60 per attempt | VA Candidate Bulletin (PSI) |
| Arizona | 24 hours before you can rebook | see handbook | see handbook | Same as first attempt: $60 state / $70 general | AZ Candidate Handbook (Pearson VUE) |
| Massachusetts | Next day — no same-day rebooking; fail Wednesday, retest as soon as Friday | see handbook | Retake only the failed portion; the partial pass expires with your education certificate (2 years) | $56 per retake | MA Candidate Bulletin (PSI) |
| Indiana | see handbook | see handbook | Retake only the failed part | $55 per attempt (broker — Indiana's entry license) | IN Candidate Handbook (Pearson VUE) |
| Missouri | see handbook | see handbook | Single-portion retakes exist; apply within 6 months of the first passing score | $52 for one or both portions | MO Candidate Bulletin (PSI) |
| Maryland | Next day — no same-day rebooking; fail Wednesday, retest as soon as Friday | None — "no limit to the number of times that you can retake" | Retake only the failed portion(s); the pass holds until your course-completion deadline | $44 per attempt | MD Candidate Bulletin (PSI) |
| Colorado | Next day — no same-day rebooking; fail Wednesday, retest as soon as Friday | see handbook | see handbook | $48 per retake ($49 first attempt) | CO Candidate Bulletin (PSI) |
| Alabama | see handbook | Unlimited within the 6-month authorization; after that, repeat the pre-licensing course | No — Alabama scores the exam as a whole; fail overall and you retake the entire test | $73 per attempt | AL Candidate Handbook (Pearson VUE) |
| Alaska | 24 hours before you can rebook | see handbook | No — pass one section, fail the other, and you retake the entire exam | $115 per attempt | AK Candidate Handbook (Pearson VUE) |
| Arkansas | 24 hours before you can rebook | Unlimited within the 1-year authorization | Failed part only, banked 6 months; after 6 months the entire exam is retaken | $75 per component | AR Candidate Handbook (Pearson VUE) |
| Connecticut | Next day — no same-day rebooking; fail Wednesday, retest as soon as Friday | Unlimited within the 1-year eligibility | One-portion retakes exist at the same $51 fee | $51, one portion or both | CT Candidate Bulletin (PSI) |
| Delaware | 24 hours before you can rebook | 3 attempts; after that, repeat the pre-licensing course | Retake only the failed portion | $88 per attempt | DE Candidate Handbook (Pearson VUE) |
| Hawaii | Next day — no same-day rebooking; fail Wednesday, retest as soon as Friday | see handbook | Retake only the failed section, within 2 years (while certificates are unexpired) | $61, one portion or both | HI Candidate Bulletin (PSI) |
| Idaho | 24 hours before you can rebook | None — "no limit to how many times a candidate may retake the examination" | Failed section only, within 1 year of the passed section | $83 per attempt — paid even when retaking a single section | ID Candidate Handbook (Pearson VUE) |
| Iowa | Next day — no same-day rebooking; fail Wednesday, retest as soon as Friday | see handbook | see handbook | $95 per attempt | IA Candidate Bulletin (PSI) |
| Kansas | 24 hours before you can rebook | see handbook | Failed exam only | $70 per exam | KS Candidate Handbook (Pearson VUE) |
| Kentucky | Next day — no same-day rebooking; fail Wednesday, retest as soon as Friday | see handbook | Retake only the failed section — but both must pass within 4 months of the first pass | $100, one portion or both | KY Candidate Bulletin (PSI) |
| Louisiana | see handbook | Unlimited within the 1-year authorization | Failed part only, within one year of the passed portion | Combo $81 first attempt, $96 on repeats; separately $42 national / $39 state | LA Candidate Handbook (Pearson VUE) |
| Maine | 24 hours before you can rebook | Unlimited while the course-completion certificate is valid | Pearson VUE automatically administers only the required portion(s) | $88 per attempt | ME Candidate Handbook (Pearson VUE) |
| Minnesota | Next day — no same-day rebooking; fail Wednesday, retest as soon as Friday | No cap stated — proof of education required for every attempt | Retake only the failed section | $45 single portion / $68 both | MN Candidate Bulletin (PSI) |
| Mississippi | Next day — no same-day rebooking; fail Wednesday, retest as soon as Friday | State portion: max 2 tries per eligibility, then a 3-month wait to re-apply | Retake only the failed portion(s), inside the same 2-month window | $75, one portion or both | MS Candidate Bulletin (PSI) |
| Montana | see handbook | see handbook | Retake only the failed part | $95 per part | MT Candidate Handbook (Pearson VUE) |
| Nebraska | No time wait — but you reapply to the Commission after each fail | 3 attempts or 6 months per authorization cycle | Failed portion only; the pass banks for 3 attempts or 6 months (brokers retake all) | Set by the Commission at application; the handbook does not print an amount | NE Candidate Handbook (Pearson VUE) |
| Nevada | see handbook | see handbook | Failed part only, within 12 months | $100 per portion — same as the first attempt | NV Candidate Handbook (Pearson VUE) |
| New Hampshire | see handbook | 8 attempts or 6 months — after either, the pre-licensing course must be repeated | Per-portion registration exists; both portions must pass within 6 months of the original exam | $34 national / $32 state / $66 both — per attempt | NH Candidate Bulletin (PSI) |
| New Mexico | see handbook | see handbook | Retake only the failed portion — both must pass within 90 days of the first pass | $95, one portion or both | NM Candidate Bulletin (PSI) |
| North Dakota | Next day — no same-day rebooking; fail Wednesday, retest as soon as Friday | see handbook | Retake only the failed section | $134, one portion or both | ND Candidate Bulletin (PSI) |
| Oklahoma | see handbook | Unlimited at test centers within the 1-year approval; online (OnVUE) capped at 3 per portion | Failed portion only; the passed portion banks for 1 year | $75 (both portions on one order; $75 each if ordered separately) | OK Candidate Handbook (Pearson VUE) |
| Oregon | Next day — no same-day rebooking; fail Wednesday, retest as soon as Friday | see handbook | Retake only the failed section; the pass is valid 12 months | $75 per attempt (broker — Oregon's entry license) | OR Broker Candidate Bulletin (PSI) |
| Rhode Island | None stated for test centers; one online (OnVUE) fail forces the retake in person | see handbook | Retake the failed section; apply within 1 year of passing both | $53 national / $50 state, per part | RI Candidate Handbook (Pearson VUE) |
| South Carolina | Next day — no same-day rebooking; fail Wednesday, retest as soon as Friday | Unlimited within the 1-year eligibility | One-portion retakes exist at $59 | $67 both portions / $59 one portion | SC Candidate Bulletin (PSI) |
| South Dakota | Next day — no same-day rebooking; fail Wednesday, retest as soon as Friday | see handbook | Retake only the failed section | $105, one portion or both (broker associate — SD's entry license) | SD Broker Associate Candidate Bulletin (PSI) |
| Utah | 24 hours before you can rebook | see handbook | Failed section only, within 6 months | $69 per attempt | UT Candidate Handbook (Pearson VUE) |
| Vermont | Next day — no same-day rebooking; fail Wednesday, retest as soon as Friday | see handbook | PSI runs the national portion only; the state portion is administered by Vermont OPR | $110 per attempt | VT Candidate Bulletin (PSI) |
| Wisconsin | 24 hours before you can rebook | see handbook | see handbook | $65 per attempt | WI Candidate Handbook (Pearson VUE) |
| Wyoming | 24 hours before you can rebook | see handbook | Failed part only, within 6 months of the first passed portion | $80 per portion at a test center ($90 online) | WY Candidate Handbook (Pearson VUE) |
Not yet verified (3 states)
We only print retake rules we have read from the state's current bulletin. For these, go straight to the source:
Rules are for the salesperson exam and change when boards revise their bulletins — each source link opens the document we read, with the read date on hover. Spot a discrepancy? The bulletin wins; tell us and we'll re-verify.
Make attempt two the last one
The waiting period only helps if your practice scores change during it. The dashboard tracks your accuracy per topic against your state's pass mark, so you book the retake when the data says ready — not when the calendar says allowed.
- Readiness score computed from your actual answers
- Wrong-answer book that resurfaces your misses until they stick
- Free tier: 20 questions a day, every day
Retake questions, answered
How soon can I retake the real estate exam after failing?
It depends on the state: several let you rebook within 24 hours to a few business days, while others impose longer waits. Check your state's row in the table — every waiting period shown was read from that state's current candidate bulletin, and states we have not verified link to their handbook instead.
If I passed the national portion but failed the state portion, do I retake both?
In most states, no — the portion you passed is banked for a limited window (commonly 6–12 months, tied to your exam eligibility), and you retake only the failed portion. The banking window differs by state, so confirm yours in the table before booking.
Is there a limit to how many times I can take the exam?
Many states allow unlimited attempts while your exam eligibility lasts, but some cap attempts or require additional education after repeated failures. The attempt-limit column quotes what each state's bulletin actually says.
Do I pay the full exam fee every time I retake?
Almost always yes — the exam fee is per attempt, not per application. That is why the highest-value thing to change before a retake is not the booking date but the practice scores you walk in with.