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

Texas Real Estate Salesperson Exam at a Glance

Prelicensing education: 180 hours required before you can sit for the exam
Question count: 125 questions
Time limit: 150 minutes
Passing score: 70%
Exam fee: $43
Test provider: Pearson VUE

Texas licensing runs through the Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC), and the single biggest commitment is up front: 180 hours of qualifying education before you ever schedule the test. Plan your timeline around the coursework, not the exam date.

Step 1: Complete the 180 Hours of Prelicensing Education

Texas requires 180 hours of prelicensing education. Completing pre-licensing education before sitting for the exam is the standard gate across U.S. real estate licensing, but 180 hours is a substantial block of coursework — treat it as your first full pass through the exam material rather than a box to check.

As you work through the hours, keep a running outline of four areas that dominate exam questions: agency and fiduciary duties, listing and purchase contracts, financing, and fair housing. Your course notes on these topics become your review sheets later, which is far more efficient than re-reading textbooks in the final week.

Step 2: Apply Through TREC and Schedule with Pearson VUE

Once your education is complete, you apply for licensure and then book the exam itself, which is administered by Pearson VUE. The exam fee is $43 — budget for it separately from your course tuition, since the fee covers only the test sitting. When you book, check Pearson VUE's current check-in and identification rules so nothing surprises you at the testing center.

Exam Format: 125 Questions in 150 Minutes, 70% to Pass

The Texas exam has 125 questions and you are allowed 150 minutes, which works out to a little over a minute per question. That pacing is comfortable if you move decisively: answer everything you know on a first pass, flag calculation-heavy items, and return to them with your remaining time.

The passing score is 70%. That matches the threshold commonly required for real estate salesperson exams nationally, and it means you do not need perfection — you need consistent accuracy across every content area, with no single weak topic dragging you down.

What the Exam Tests — and How to Study Each Area

Agency and Fiduciary Duties

An agency relationship arises when a principal authorizes an agent to act on their behalf in dealings with third parties. Memorize the fiduciary duties with the acronym OLD CAR: Obedience, Loyalty, Disclosure, Confidentiality, Accounting, and Reasonable care. Two details Texas candidates frequently miss on exam questions:

Confidentiality survives termination of the agency — you can never reveal the seller's lowest acceptable price, even after the listing ends.
Customers are owed only honesty, fair dealing, and disclosure of known material defects — not fiduciary duties. Exam questions love to blur the customer/client line.

Also know that dual agency is legal only with the informed written consent of both parties, and a dual agent cannot advocate for one party against the other.

Listings and Contracts

Be able to distinguish the three listing types instantly:

Exclusive right to sell: the broker earns a commission if the property sells during the term, regardless of who procures the buyer.
Exclusive agency: no commission is owed if the seller personally finds the buyer.
Open listing: non-exclusive; only the broker who procures the buyer is paid, and the seller may list with multiple brokers.

For purchase contracts, know the essential elements — competent parties, mutual assent, consideration, a lawful object, and a writing under the Statute of Frauds — and remember that any change to an offer's terms is a counteroffer that 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 is not met.

Deeds, Title, and Transfer

A deed conveys title from grantor to grantee, and the exam tests the hierarchy of protection: a general warranty deed warrants against all title defects arising at any time, even before the grantor owned the property, while a quitclaim deed conveys only whatever interest the grantor may have, with no warranties — it exists mainly to clear clouds on title. Recording a deed provides constructive notice to the world and establishes priority, generally protecting the first party to record.

Fair Housing

Know the seven federally protected classes cold: race, color, religion, national origin, sex, familial status, and disability. Then be able to name the prohibited practices from a scenario description:

Steering: channeling buyers toward or away from neighborhoods based on a protected class.
Blockbusting: inducing owners to sell by suggesting people of a protected class are moving into the area.
Redlining: denying loans or insurance in certain areas based on protected characteristics.

A classic trick question: the Civil Rights Act of 1866 separately prohibits all racial discrimination in property transactions with no exemptions, so no exemption elsewhere in fair housing law ever permits racial discrimination.

Financing

Know the loan taxonomy — conventional loans are not government-backed, FHA loans are insured by the FHA, and VA loans are guaranteed by the VA for eligible veterans. Two numeric rules appear constantly: private mortgage insurance is generally required on conventional loans when the down payment is less than 20 percent of the purchase price, and discount points are prepaid interest, with one point equal to one percent of the loan amount.

Real Estate Math

Math is where the 150-minute clock gets spent, so drill these until they are automatic:

Commission: sale price × rate. A $300,000 sale at 6 percent yields an $18,000 commission.
Loan-to-value: loan amount ÷ the lesser of appraised value or purchase price. A $240,000 loan on a $300,000 property is 80 percent LTV.
Prorations: shared expenses split at the closing date; many exams use a 360-day banker's year with 30-day months, so the daily rate is the annual amount divided by 360. For prepaid expenses the buyer reimburses the seller for the unused portion; for expenses paid in arrears the seller credits the buyer.

A Practical Prep Plan

During the 180 hours: build one-page summaries per course topic while the material is fresh.
After coursework: take a full-length, 125-question timed practice test at the 150-minute limit to find your weak areas and calibrate pacing.
Targeted review: spend most of your remaining study time on your two weakest areas, and drill math daily — commission, LTV, and proration problems reward repetition.
Final week: retake a timed practice exam aiming comfortably above the 70% passing score, then review only what you missed.
Book smart: schedule your Pearson VUE seat for a time of day when you test best, and confirm the $43 fee and check-in requirements at booking.

The Texas exam rewards breadth: 125 questions across agency, contracts, title, fair housing, finance, and math leave nowhere to hide a weak topic. Put the 180 hours to work as structured study rather than a formality, and the 70% bar is very reachable.