South Carolina Real Estate Exam Prep & Study Guide
What the South Carolina exam actually asks, in the order worth studying it. The weightings below are not an estimate — they are each subject's share of the 2,101 South Carolina questions in our bank.
Questions
120
Time limit
200 min
To pass
70%
Exam fee
$63
Source: SCREC candidate handbook. Salesperson licence.
What to study first for the South Carolina exam
Ordered by how many questions sit behind each subject. Studying front to back spends the same hours on a subject worth 7% as on one worth 12%.
- 112%256 questions
Practice of Real Estate
- 212%243 questions
Financing
- 312%243 questions
Contracts
- 411%240 questions
Property Ownership
- 511%226 questions
General Principles of Agency
- 69%199 questions
Real Estate Math
- 77%151 questions
Property Disclosures
- 87%149 questions
Valuation Market Analysis
The South Carolina state portion, subject by subject
SC-specific law is where out-of-state study material stops helping. These are the subjects our bank covers, with real questions under each.
General Principles of Agency
226 questions- Without prior permission, Quinn Brooks signs a small repair authorization on behalf of the owner. The owner later approv…
- A buyer under a buyer-representation agreement receives an earnest money refund after a failed deal. The agent deposits …
- A buyer representation agreement should specify:
- Jamie Cruz signs a listing agreement with Skyler Simmons. In the resulting sale, whose interests does the listing broker…
Property Disclosures
151 questions- A 1978 ranch home is on the market. During inspection, the buyer's environmental specialist samples the wall insulation …
- Which of the following is NOT a hidden condition?
- A Transfer Disclosure Statement (TDS) must be provided by:
- The purpose of the Closing Disclosure under TILA-RESPA is to:
Valuation Market Analysis
149 questions- In October 2026, appraiser Caleb Moore is reviewing an income statement for Oak Place. The property's NOI is $67,500, th…
- Under USPAP, what is the purpose of the Competency Rule?
- An example of functional obsolescence is:
- In August 2026, appraiser Omar Lewis is valuing a small retail strip. Potential gross income is $96,000, vacancy and col…
Land Use Controls Regulations
128 questions- A homebuyer purchases a lot in a planned community. The deed references a recorded declaration of covenants, conditions,…
- A board of adjustment is reviewing an owner's request for relief from a zoning ordinance. All of the following are commo…
- A homeowner in an HOA community wants to install solar panels on her roof. The CC&Rs do not address solar panels. The HO…
- Seeking an exemption from zoning requirements requires a:
Transfer of Property
114 questions- Under TRID rules, the lender must deliver the Closing Disclosure to the borrower at least how many business days before …
- A deed is properly recorded in the county records before a later purchaser checks title. Even if the later purchaser nev…
- At closing, the seller's existing mortgage balance of $185,000 must be paid off from the sale proceeds. On the seller's …
- An attorney examining the abstract of title discovers a gap in the chain where a deed from 1952 does not match the grant…
Valuation
10 questions- Maria recently purchased a condominium in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, which she intends to use exclusively as a …
- Robert owns two properties in Greenville County, South Carolina: a single-family home where he lives full-time, and a du…
- Under South Carolina property tax law, which of the following properties would qualify for the 4% owner-occupied assessm…
- A real estate licensee in South Carolina is advising a buyer who is purchasing a $500,000 home in Beaufort County as a s…
Mandated Disclosures
10 questions- Margaret is selling her home in Columbia, South Carolina. She completes the required Property Condition Disclosure State…
- Under the South Carolina Residential Property Condition Disclosure Act, which document must a seller of residential real…
- Patricia is purchasing a newly constructed home in Bluffton, South Carolina. The builder provides a one-year builder's w…
- Kevin and Linda are co-owners of a residential duplex in Rock Hill, South Carolina. Kevin wants to sell his ownership in…
Counts are live from the South Carolina question bank, which mixes the national portion with South Carolina-specific law.
The national portion, subject by subject
Shared with every other state exam, and usually the larger half of the paper.
Practice of Real Estate
256 questions- Teresa holds an active South Carolina real estate salesperson license. Her license renewal is due, and she wants to keep…
- A broker uses cloud-based transaction management software to store all transaction files, including contracts, disclosur…
- Two competing brokerages agree that each will refer commercial clients to the other and neither will compete for the oth…
- A landlord refuses to rent to a family with children, claiming the property is 'adults only.' This is legal ONLY if:
Financing
243 questions- A buyer wants to purchase a home but cannot qualify for a conventional loan. The seller agrees to carry the entire purch…
- During the annual escrow analysis on Priya's loan, the servicer wants to maintain an escrow cushion equal to three month…
- Before the scheduled foreclosure sale, Lena Howard pays the past-due installments, late fees, and allowed expenses so th…
- Lena Chen is buying a home for $350,000 and is making a 20% down payment. Her lender will charge 2 discount points on th…
Contracts
243 questions- After a property inspection reveals minor cosmetic issues, the buyer demands $20,000 in credits. The seller refuses, and…
- A buyer wants to demonstrate serious intent when submitting an offer. What financial deposit typically accompanies the o…
- Under a traditional contract for deed, what risk does the buyer face if the seller has an existing mortgage on the prope…
- A buyer's agent in Greenville, South Carolina presents a written purchase offer to the listing agent on Monday morning. …
Property Ownership
240 questions- A roofing contractor replaced shingles on a home for $18,400, but the owner refused to pay. After following the required…
- Emma owns only a life estate in a rural tract, with title to pass to her nephew at Emma's death. Without the nephew's co…
- In February 2026, title examiner Rachel noticed that a metes and bounds description ended at a different point than wher…
- In June 2026, Jared sold the oil and gas rights under his ranch to Mesa Energy but kept the surface estate. After record…
Real Estate Math
199 questions- A county charges $40 to record the first page of a deed and $7 for each additional page. If a deed is 3 pages long, what…
- A property sells for $300,000 with a 6% commission split equally between the listing broker and the selling broker. The …
- A buyer is purchasing a property for $450,000 with an 80% LTV loan. Buyer closing costs are $9,500, the earnest money de…
- A transfer tax is charged at $1.00 per $500 of sale price (rounded up to the nearest $500). If the property sells for $3…
Leasing & Property Management
80 questions- A written apartment lease begins on July 1 and ends on June 30 of the following year with no need for notice to terminat…
- A property management agreement authorizes the manager to spend up to $500 on emergency repairs without prior owner appr…
- A property manager deposits tenant security deposits into the manager's personal checking account and uses the funds to …
- All of the following are landlord-tenant law concepts EXCEPT
Counts are live from the South Carolina question bank, which mixes the national portion with South Carolina-specific law.
Studying for the South Carolina exam
How long should I study for the South Carolina real estate exam?
Most candidates need four to eight weeks alongside a job. Working every South Carolina question in our bank at a realistic 30 questions an hour is roughly 70 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 South Carolina real estate exam?
Two portions. The national portion covers principles every state shares. The SC portion covers South Carolina law — in our bank that is General Principles of Agency, Property Disclosures, Valuation Market Analysis, Land Use Controls Regulations and more.
Which South Carolina topic should I study first?
Practice of Real Estate carries the most questions in our South Carolina bank (256, about 12% 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 South Carolina exam prep course required?
Pre-licensing education is required by SCREC; 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 SCREC handbook before buying either.
South Carolina 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.