Washington, D.C. Real Estate Salesperson Exam Study Guide

The DC Real Estate Salesperson exam is delivered through PSI and has three possible sittings depending on how you register: the combo exam (both portions together) covers 110 items in 210 minutes, the general (national) portion alone covers 80 items in 120 minutes, and the DC state-law portion alone covers 30 items in 90 minutes. Most first-time candidates sit for the combo exam so they can clear both portions in a single appointment.

• Passing score: 75% correct on each portion you take
• Exam fee: $79, whether you sit for one portion or both
• Up to 10 non-scored (pretest) items may be mixed in without notice
• Minimum age to sit: 18
• Test vendor: PSI Services LLC

Because the non-scored items are indistinguishable from scored ones, treat every question as if it counts and pace yourself against the full time allotted for whichever portion you registered for. Knowing the exact item counts and minute allotments ahead of time lets you build a realistic pacing plan instead of guessing at how much time each question deserves on test day.

The general portion tests real estate principles that are consistent across states rather than DC-specific law. Among the domains PSI publishes weights for, three carry substantial weight on the salesperson exam: Contracts at 19%, Agency at 13%, and Property Ownership at 10% of the general-portion content.

• Contracts (19%) — listing agreements, purchase contracts, offer/acceptance mechanics, contingencies, and remedies for breach
• Agency (13%) — fiduciary duties, types of agency relationships, and disclosure obligations between agents and clients
• Property Ownership (10%) — estates in land, forms of ownership, and the bundle of rights that comes with title

Together these three domains alone account for close to half of the general portion's scored content, so building genuine fluency in contract mechanics and agency duties pays off far more than memorizing edge cases in less-weighted areas. Because the general portion draws on national real estate principles rather than DC statutes, it's also the section where prior real estate coursework and study-guide review overlap the most.

The state portion is entirely DC-specific: it tests the District's real estate statutes and the Real Estate Commission's rules rather than universal principles. For salespersons, one domain dominates the outline: Statutory Requirements Governing the Activities of Licensees is 67% of the state portion (20 of the scored items). The remaining weight splits between Duties and Powers of the Real Estate Commission at 20% (6 items) and Licensing Requirements at 13% (4 items).

• Statutory requirements (67%) — the licensee-conduct rules that govern day-to-day practice; this is where most state-portion points live
• Commission duties and powers (20%) — how the Commission is structured and what authority it holds over licensees
• Licensing requirements (13%) — the rules for obtaining and maintaining a license itself

Given that statutory requirements alone account for two-thirds of the state portion, candidates who under-study DC-specific licensee-conduct rules in favor of general national content are taking on outsized risk on this section.

Before you can sit for the exam, DC requires 60 hours of salesperson pre-licensing education from a Real Estate Commission-approved provider. Once you pass, you don't have unlimited time to act: applicants must submit their license application within 6 months of the passing exam date.

• Application fee: $65.00
• Salesperson license fee: $130.00
• Real Estate Guaranty and Education Fund fee: $60.00 (submitted with the licensee fees)
• Application deadline: 6 months after your passing exam date

If you fail one portion but pass the other, DC only requires you to retake the failed portion — you don't have to redo the portion you already passed. That said, any failed portion must be passed within 6 months of your first attempt, so don't let a retake slip too far down your calendar. Budget for the full sequence of costs — pre-licensing tuition, the $79 exam fee, the $65 application fee, the $130 license fee, and the $60 guaranty fund fee — before you begin, so nothing catches you off guard once you've passed.

Passing the exam and getting licensed is only the start — DC real estate licenses run on a 2-year renewal cycle, with salesperson licenses expiring on August 31 of odd years. During each 2-year cycle, licensees must complete 15 hours of continuing education (CE) to remain in good standing.

• Renewal cycle: every 2 years
• Expiration date: August 31, odd years
• Continuing education: 15 hours per cycle

Mark your renewal date as soon as you're licensed rather than waiting for a reminder — a lapsed license interrupts your ability to practice, and late renewal carries its own separate cost on top of the standard renewal fee. Building a habit of completing CE hours steadily through the cycle, rather than cramming them in the final weeks, keeps you from scrambling near the August 31 deadline. Set a calendar reminder well ahead of your expiration date — renewal paperwork and any outstanding CE hours are far easier to handle with weeks of runway than with days.

Split your study time to match how the exam is weighted, not evenly across topics. Since Statutory Requirements alone carries 67% of the state portion and Contracts is the heaviest single domain on the general portion, drilling those two areas first gives you the fastest path to a passing margin. Save lighter-weighted topics like licensing requirements and property ownership for review passes once the heavyweight material is solid.

• Work timed practice sets that mirror the real item counts and minutes for whichever portion you're sitting
• Review every missed question immediately, not in a batch at the end of a session
• Re-test the same weak domains a few days later to confirm the concept stuck, not just the answer
• Treat unfamiliar-looking questions as possible non-scored items and don't let one stump you burn your pacing

A full-length practice test under real time pressure is the single best predictor of readiness, because it trains both content recall and the pacing instincts the actual exam demands. Run through at least one complete practice exam that matches your registered portion's item count and time limit before test day, then use the results to decide where your final review hours go.