New York RE Salesperson Exam Guide (2026): Requirements, Cost & Pass Rate

New York keeps its salesperson exam short and inexpensive: 75 questions, a 90-minute time limit, and a $15 exam fee. The gate is on the front end — you must complete 77 hours of prelicensing education before you sit, and everything runs through the state's eAccessNY system. This guide covers the requirements in order, then a study plan built around the format New York actually uses.

New York Salesperson Exam at a Glance

• Questions: 75
• Time limit: 90 minutes
• Exam fee: $15
• Passing score: 70%
• Administered through: eAccessNY
• Prelicensing education: 77 hours

Two numbers worth internalizing before test day. First, 70% of 75 questions is 52.5, so you need at least 53 correct answers — there is no partial credit. Second, 90 minutes across 75 questions works out to about 72 seconds per question, which is comfortable as long as you bank time on definition questions instead of stalling on math. New York's 70% threshold matches the passing score commonly required for salesperson exams across states, so national practice material calibrated to 70% translates directly.

Step 1: Complete the 77-Hour Prelicensing Course

Completion of prelicensing education is required before you can sit for the exam, and New York's requirement is 77 hours. Pick an approved provider, finish the coursework, and keep your completion certificate with your application paperwork — you will need proof of the 77 hours, and chasing a certificate later is the most common self-inflicted delay between passing the exam and holding a license.

Step 2: Register and Schedule Through eAccessNY

The New York exam is administered through eAccessNY. Create your account early — before you finish the coursework, not after — so that when your 77 hours are done you can immediately schedule a seat and pay the $15 fee. Pick an exam date that gives you a fixed study runway; an open-ended "when I feel ready" plan reliably stretches into months.

Step 3: Study the High-Yield Topics

These are the core areas your prelicensing coursework covers and the exam draws on heavily. For each, the specific distinctions below are the ones questions are written around.

Agency relationships and fiduciary duties

Know OLD CAR cold — Obedience, Loyalty, Disclosure, Confidentiality, Accounting, and Reasonable care — the fiduciary duties owed to clients. An agency relationship arises when a principal authorizes an agent to act on their behalf with third parties. Two distinctions the exam loves: customers versus clients (customers are owed only honesty, fair dealing, and disclosure of known material defects — not fiduciary duties), and dual agency (legal only with the informed written consent of both parties, and the dual agent cannot advocate for one side against the other). Remember that confidentiality survives termination of the agency: you can never reveal a former seller-client's lowest acceptable price. Loyalty means placing the principal's interests above your own, and accounting prohibits commingling client funds with your own.

Listing agreements and purchase contracts

A listing agreement is an employment contract authorizing a broker to market the property and find a ready, willing, and able buyer. Distinguish the three types by who gets paid:

• Exclusive right to sell: the broker earns a commission if the property sells during the term, no matter who procures the buyer.
• Exclusive agency: the broker earns nothing if the seller personally finds the buyer.
• Open listing: non-exclusive; only the procuring broker is paid, and the seller may list with multiple brokers.

For contracts, memorize the essential elements — competent parties, mutual assent, consideration, a lawful object, and a signed writing under the Statute of Frauds — plus the counteroffer rule: any change to an offer's terms rejects and terminates the original offer. Earnest money is a good-faith deposit held in the broker's trust account, and financing, inspection, and appraisal contingencies let a buyer cancel and recover that deposit if the condition fails. A "time is of the essence" clause makes stated deadlines strictly enforceable — missing the date is a breach.

Deeds, title, and recording

Rank deeds by protection. A general warranty deed gives the most: the grantor warrants against all title defects arising at any time, even before the grantor owned the property. A special warranty deed covers only defects that arose during the grantor's ownership. A quitclaim deed conveys whatever interest the grantor may have with no warranties and is used to clear clouds on title. A valid deed must be delivered to and accepted by the grantee, and recording it provides constructive notice to the world and establishes priority — generally protecting the first party to record. Marketable title is title free from reasonable doubt or serious defects that a prudent buyer would accept.

Financing

A mortgage or deed of trust pledges the property as security for repayment of a promissory note. Keep the loan types straight: conventional loans are not government-backed, FHA loans are insured by the FHA, and VA loans are guaranteed by the VA for eligible veterans. PMI is generally required on conventional loans when the down payment is under 20%. One discount point is prepaid interest equal to 1% of the loan amount, paid at closing to lower the note rate. A due-on-sale clause lets the lender demand full repayment on sale, blocking assumption without lender approval. And know how amortization behaves: early payments are mostly interest, later payments mostly principal.

Fair housing

The federal Fair Housing Act — part of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, amended in 1988 — bans discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing. The seven protected classes are race, color, religion, national origin, sex, familial status, and disability; familial status protects households with children under eighteen and pregnant persons. Be able to name the practice from a scenario: steering channels buyers toward or away from neighborhoods based on a protected class, blockbusting induces owners to sell by suggesting protected-class members are moving in, and redlining denies loans or insurance in certain areas based on protected characteristics. The classic trap: the Mrs. Murphy exemption for owner-occupied buildings of four or fewer units never applies to race and can't be combined with discriminatory advertising or a licensee — the Civil Rights Act of 1866 separately prohibits all racial discrimination in property transactions with no exemptions. Discriminatory advertising is illegal even when the underlying transaction would be exempt.

Real estate math

Four formulas cover most math questions:

• Commission = sale price × rate. A $300,000 sale at 6% yields an $18,000 commission.
• LTV = loan amount ÷ the lesser of appraised value or purchase price. A $240,000 loan on a $300,000 property is 80% LTV.
• Gross rent multiplier = sale price ÷ monthly gross rent.
• Income capitalization: value = net operating income ÷ cap rate.

For prorations, divide shared expenses between buyer and seller at the closing date. Many exams use the 360-day banker's year with 30-day months, so the daily rate is the annual amount ÷ 360. Direction matters: for prepaid expenses the buyer reimburses the seller for the unused portion; for expenses paid in arrears the seller credits the buyer.

Step 4: Practice at Exam Pace

1. Drill the memory lists first: OLD CAR, the seven protected classes, the three listing types, and the deed hierarchy. These convert scenario questions into fast, certain points.
2. Do math every day, not in one cram block. The formulas above are simple; speed under time pressure is what fails people.
3. Take full timed sets — 75 questions in 90 minutes — so the 72-seconds-per-question rhythm feels normal. Answer everything you know cold on a first pass, flag math and long scenarios, then return.
4. Set your practice bar above the real one. Passing requires 53 of 75; aim for 60 or more (80%) consistently in practice so normal test-day variance can't drop you below the line.

With the $15 fee and 90-minute format, New York's exam is one of the least painful to retake — but with 77 hours of coursework behind you and a pacing plan in hand, one sitting should be all you need.