Maryland Real Estate Salesperson Exam Study Guide

The Maryland Real Estate Salesperson exam is administered by PSI Examination Services under contract with the Maryland Real Estate Commission (MREC). Walking in with the structure memorized removes one whole category of test-day stress, because nothing about the format should feel unfamiliar when you sit down at the terminal.

• 110 total questions across 120 minutes.
• A national portion: 80 questions in 90 minutes.
• A state portion: 30 questions in 30 minutes.
• A short computer tutorial (up to 15 minutes) runs before the clock starts and does not count against your time.
• The standard exam fee is $44, and a paid fee stays valid for one year from the payment date.
• You must be at least 18 years old to apply.

Each portion is scored separately, and there is no limit on how many times you can retake the full exam if you need another attempt. Because the fee resets with every sitting, it pays to walk in prepared rather than treating a first attempt as a practice run. Knowing exactly how the clock is split between the two portions also helps you budget your pacing before you ever see a single question.

The 80-question national portion draws from a defined content blueprint published by the testing vendor. Two content areas are weighted by percentage, and the rest are expressed as a fixed item count for the Salesperson exam specifically — note that the Broker exam blueprint uses different item counts for several of these same domains:

• Contracts — 19% of the national portion, the single largest content area.
• Agency — 13% of the national portion.
• Brokerage Relationships — 7 items.
• Business Conduct — 6 items.
• Supervision — 5 items.
• Duties and Powers of the Real Estate Commission — 4 items.
• Ethics — 4 items.
• Licensing Requirements — 4 items.

PSI also notes that a small number of unscored, experimental items — roughly 10% of the question count — may be mixed into the exam anywhere across these domains. You cannot identify which questions these are while you're testing, so the only reliable strategy is to answer every item with full effort, as if it counts toward your score. Treat the blueprint as your syllabus: it tells you almost exactly how your study hours should be distributed across topics.

Maryland does not blend the two portions into one composite grade. Each portion is scored on its own, and you must clear the bar on both before you are considered to have passed the exam at all:

• You need at least 70% on each portion separately.
• On the national portion, that works out to 56 correct out of 80.
• On the state portion, that works out to 21 correct out of 30.

Because scoring is per-portion, a strong national score cannot rescue a weak state-law score, or vice versa — you must clear 70% on each side independently. If you fall short on either portion, there is no cap on retakes, so a missed attempt is a setback in scheduling and fees, not in eligibility to try again. Just remember that your paid exam fee is only valid for one year from the date you pay it, so plan any retakes inside that window rather than letting the clock lapse and forcing a new payment. Many candidates underestimate the state portion because it is shorter, but a 70% bar on only 30 questions leaves very little room for careless mistakes.

Passing the exam is one step in a broader licensing sequence that Maryland lays out explicitly, and it helps to see the whole path before you start studying:

• Applicants must complete a 60-hour pre-licensing course from an approved provider, which includes a 3 clock-hour ethics course approved by the Commission.
• You must be at least 18 years old to apply.
• Before a license is granted, an applicant must obtain a commitment from a licensed real estate broker agreeing to affiliate once licensed — you cannot hold a Salesperson license independently.
• If you pass both portions, you must apply for your license within one year of your exam date, or your passing score expires and you would need to retest before you can apply.

Beyond the exam fee itself, the original Salesperson license application carries its own separate fee of $98, distinct from what you pay to sit for the exam — budget for both as separate line items in your licensing timeline. Think of the sequence as three gates in order: complete the pre-licensing coursework, pass both exam portions, then finalize your broker affiliation and license application inside the one-year window. Missing any one of these deadlines resets part of the process, so calendar them the same day you register for your exam.

Rather than studying every topic for the same amount of time, let the blueprint set your priorities. Contracts and Agency together carry the heaviest documented weight on the national portion, so they deserve the largest block of your review calendar — plan for multiple passes through contract formation, contingencies, and agency-relationship rules rather than a single read-through.

• Start with the highest-weighted domains first while your energy and focus are freshest.
• Group the smaller item-count domains — Brokerage Relationships, Business Conduct, Supervision, Commission Powers, Ethics, and Licensing Requirements — into short daily review blocks rather than one long cram session.
• Revisit Maryland-specific state-law material on a separate track from national principles, since the two portions are timed and scored independently.
• Use spaced repetition: review missed concepts again 24–48 hours later rather than only once.

A study calendar that mirrors the real weighting keeps your practice time proportional to what actually shows up on the exam.

On exam day itself, a few habits reduce avoidable errors more than any last-minute cramming:

• Use the tutorial time fully — it is separate from your scored time, so there is no reason to rush through it.
• Pace yourself against the clock for each portion independently: roughly a question a minute on the national portion, and a similar pace on the shorter state portion.
• Flag uncertain questions and move on rather than stalling, then return if time remains.
• Read every answer choice before selecting one; real estate exam questions often include a best-answer choice among several technically true options.

Running full-length, timed practice tests under exam-like conditions is one of the most reliable ways to build the stamina and pacing instincts needed for a two-hour, two-portion exam. Practicing with realistic question banks also surfaces which content domains still need review before you commit to a real test date. Take at least one full practice run split into a 90-minute block and a 30-minute block, mirroring the real national/state split, rather than only practicing in short, disconnected bursts — the mental fatigue of the second hour is part of what you are training for.