Iowa Real Estate Cheat Sheet.
The night-before summary, built like the exam.

The numbers to remember

• Total exam: 120 questions / 180 minutes
• National portion: 80 questions, 120 minutes, pass with 56 of 80 points
• State portion: 40 questions, 60 minutes, pass with 28 of 40 points
• Combined passing score: 84 of 120 points
• Exam fee: $95 · License fee: $125
• Minimum age: 18 · Pre-license education: 60 hours
• Vendor: PSI Services LLC (855-898-0712)
• 5-10 unscored experimental questions may appear
• Must test within 90 days of registering; must file for license within 6 months of testing

Content domains and weights (national portion)

• Contracts 19% · Agency 13% · Practice of Real Estate 12%
• Financing 10% · Property Ownership 10% · Valuation 8%
• Property Disclosures 7% · Real Estate Calculations 7% · Transfer of Title 6%
• Land Use Controls 5% · Property Management 3%

Iowa state-specific item counts

• Contracts (state-specific): 7 items
• Agency (state-specific): 6 items
• Property Disclosure Requirements: 5 items
• Disciplinary Actions — Suspension/Revocation/Voluntary Compliance: 4 items

High-yield review areas

• Contracts, Agency, and Practice of Real Estate — the three heaviest national domains
• Real estate math: prorations, commissions, loan calculations — practice on paper
• Iowa disciplinary actions and disclosure rules — small item counts, frequently missed
• Vocabulary you keep confusing (agency types, deed types) — drill in the final week

Top traps

• Treating the exam as one combined score — you must clear the passing score on each portion separately (56 of 80 nationally, 28 of 40 on the state portion)
• Rushing the state portion because it feels shorter — per-question pacing is nearly identical to the national portion
• Letting an odd, off-topic question rattle you — a handful of unscored experimental questions are mixed in
• Waiting too long after passing — you must file your license application within six months of your test date
• Forgetting the retest rule — you cannot retake a failed portion the very same day; you must wait for the next available appointment

Test-day pacing

• National portion: 120 minutes for 80 questions
• State portion: 60 minutes for 40 questions — same per-question pace as the national portion, don't rush it
• Registration expires in 90 days if unused; renewal window for Dec 31 expirations opens November 16