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

The numbers to remember

• Two portions: national and South Dakota state law, administered by PSI.
• National: 90 items (100 points), 150 minutes, pass at 75%.
• State: 52 items (52 points), 120 minutes, pass at 75%.
• Testing locations: Madison, Rapid City, and Sioux Falls (computer-based).
• Minimum age 18; must be a U.S. citizen or South Dakota resident.
• Broker Associate path includes a 116-hour prelicensing course.
• File your license application within 60 days of your passing notice.
• Broker Associate application fee is reported at $225; renewal is reported at $125 every 2 years.

Content domains and weights

• National — Contracts: 19% (largest national domain)
• National — Agency: 13%
• National — Practice of Real Estate: 12%
• National — Property Ownership: 10%
• State — Statutory Requirements: 42 items (dominant share of the 52-item state portion)
• State — Licensing Requirements: 6 items
• State — Commission Duties/Powers: 4 items

High-yield review areas

• Contracts and agency together are the single biggest chunk of the national portion — review these last-mile.
• Statutory requirements alone make up roughly 4 of every 5 state-portion questions; over-index your review here.
• Know the 75% passing threshold applies to each portion separately — there is no averaging across national and state scores.
• Retake rule: if you fail only one portion, you retake only that portion, not the whole exam — so a strong pass on one side is banked and never has to be repeated.
• Timing: you cannot retest the same day you fail, but the turnaround can be short — for example, a Wednesday fail can sometimes retest as early as Friday, depending on seat availability.

Top traps

• Do not assume a strong national score offsets a weak state score, or vice versa — both must independently clear 75%.
• Do not assume you can retest the same day after a fail; plan for at least a short scheduling gap (as early as the next available slot, availability permitting).
• Do not treat licensing requirements and Commission duties as skippable just because they carry fewer items (6 and 4) — a few missed points there matters on a 52-item section.
• Remember the Broker Associate license is a step toward Responsible Broker, which needs 2 years of active status plus a 24-hour course on top of the same 75% exam standard — don't confuse the two credentials' requirements.