PSI Real Estate Practice Exam
Sitting a PSI exam soon? PSI runs the licensing exam in 25 of 50 states, and in 17 of them the national portion is 80 scored questions. This site's content weights are PSI's own published outline, so the practice here is shaped like the paper you will sit. Start with the 10 sample questions, answered further down, then take the full 80-question national test when you want a real score.
A home sale contingency stated that the buyer's existing home must close by May 15 or the seller could cancel on written notice. The buyer's home closed May 20, and on May 22 the seller signed an addendum extending closing to June 5. The seller then tried to cancel on May 25 citing the missed May 15 date. The seller's cancellation will most likely:
This practice exam is a study aid, not the real exam. Our questions are written by us to match the published content outline. They are not actual exam questions, no score here predicts a pass, and this site is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by PSI, Pearson VUE, ARELLO, any state real estate commission, or any government agency. Your state commission and your candidate handbook are the only authoritative sources.
How PSI weights the national portion
PSI publishes its national outline as percentages across 11 content areas, not as item counts. We read it from a PSI candidate handbook and cross-checked it against 3 state bulletins carrying the same outline. Converted to the 80 scored questions most PSI states use, it looks like this:
| Content area | PSI weight | Items of 80 |
|---|---|---|
| Contracts | 19% | 15 |
| Agency | 13% | 10 |
| Practice of real estate | 12% | 10 |
| Property ownership | 10% | 8 |
| Financing | 10% | 8 |
| Valuation | 8% | 6 |
| Property disclosures | 7% | 6 |
| Real estate math (calculations) | 7% | 6 |
| Transfer of title | 6% | 5 |
| Land use controls | 5% | 4 |
| Property management | 3% | 2 |
PSI does not classify its items as recall, application or analysis, and it does not publish item counts. Pearson VUE does both, on a different taxonomy, which is why the two outlines must never be averaged. If your state is a Pearson VUE state, use Pearson VUE real estate practice exam instead.
Not every PSI state uses 80. In Georgia (100), Illinois (100), Missouri (100), New Mexico (75), North Dakota (100), South Dakota (90), Vermont (100), Washington (100) the handbook prints a different national count. The weights stay the same; the item budget changes. Your state page has the count with its source.
Unscored questions that still cost you time
PSI mixes a small number of unscored experimental questions into the exam. They are being trialed for future forms, they are not labeled, and they do not count toward your score. Whether they count against your clock depends on the state bulletin:
| State | Experimental questions | Bulletin |
|---|---|---|
| Colorado | 5 to 10, counted against your time | #649 |
| Hawaii | 5 to 10, counted against your time | #1665 |
| Illinois | 5 to 10, counted against your time | #4655 |
| Iowa | 5 to 10, counted against your time | #608 |
| Michigan | 1 to 10, about 10% of the questions, counted against your time | #836 |
| Minnesota | 5 to 10, counted against your time | #10958 |
| Missouri | 5 to 10, counted against your time | #4645 |
| Oregon | 5 to 10, counted against your time | #3376 |
| Connecticut | 5 to 10, not counted against your time | #1008 |
| Kentucky | 5 to 10, not counted against your time | #2312 |
Practice your pacing with a margin. In most of these states you answer up to 10 extra questions inside the same time limit, and you cannot tell which ones they are. Do not spend four minutes on the question that looks unlike anything you studied: it may not count, and the next one will.
How to read a practice score against a PSI pass mark
The pass mark is set by each state, not by PSI. Of the 25 PSI states in our dataset, the published mark takes these forms:
- 17 states publish one percentage for the exam. That is the only case where your percentage here can be compared with the line directly.
- 4 set a different mark for each portion: Colorado, Illinois, Missouri, Virginia. You must clear both, so a strong national score cannot rescue a weak state score.
- 2 publish a scaled score: North Dakota, Washington. A scaled score is not a percentage of the questions.
- 2 publish no fixed mark that we could verify: Georgia, Mississippi.
Some PSI bulletins print the line as a raw count. Colorado needs 60 correct on the 80-question national portion and 53 on its 74-question state portion. Iowa sets combined thresholds of 84 for salespersons and 90 for brokers, plus a floor of 28 and 30 on the state portion.
If you fail, the PSI score report includes a diagnostic of your strengths and weaknesses by examination type. Use this page the same way: the score meter above draws no pass line, because no single PSI line exists, so read it as a map of weak content areas and take those to the contracts quiz and the other topic quizzes.
PSI allows comments on questions only during the exam. Its bulletins call that the only review of examination materials available, and nothing can be reviewed once the exam is scored. Your practice review below is the one you get to keep.
10 sample PSI questions, answered
Every question above with its correct answer and the reasoning behind it. Read the explanations for the ones you answered correctly too. A lucky guess and knowing the rule look identical on a score report. These are sample questions from our larger bank.
1. A home sale contingency stated that the buyer's existing home must close by May 15 or the seller could cancel on written notice. The buyer's home closed May 20, and on May 22 the seller signed an addendum extending closing to June 5. The seller then tried to cancel on May 25 citing the missed May 15 date. The seller's cancellation will most likely:
Why: The cancellation will fail, because signing the extension addendum waived the right to cancel for that lapse; a party who elects to proceed with knowledge of the breach gives up that remedy. Arguing it will succeed, because the deadline was clearly missed ignores the seller's intervening conduct affirming the contract.
2. A house under contract burns down before closing through no one's fault, and the jurisdiction follows the traditional doctrine of equitable conversion with no contrary contract clause. The traditional result is that:
Why: Under the traditional doctrine the buyer bears the risk of loss and must still close, because equitable ownership passed at contract signing. The idea that the seller bears the risk of loss and must repair or refund reflects modern statutory or contractual allocations rather than the traditional common law rule.
3. Broker Deane introduced the Larkins to a home and toured it with them three times. After a falling-out with Deane, the Larkins wrote their offer through Broker Ilsa, who had never shown them the property. In the resulting commission dispute, the decisive question will be:
Why: Procuring cause disputes are decided on the continuity of the effort that produced the sale, not on whose name got typed onto the contract. A broker who merely writes up a buyer another broker cultivated often loses the arbitration.
4. Two brokerages agree that one will solicit business only on the north side of town and the other only on the south side. This is:
Why: Dividing territory between competitors is market allocation, and it is condemned without inquiry into its effects. Calling it a marketing plan does not help, because the customers in each territory lost the choice competition would have given them.
5. Littoral rights typically give the owner:
Why: Littoral owners may use the adjacent water and own the land to the average high-water mark, with the state holding what lies below it. Claiming the entire lake bed overstates the rights of a littoral owner.
6. RESPA applies to:
Why: RESPA governs federally related mortgage loans secured by residential property. A cash purchase involves no loan, so RESPA does not reach it.
7. A noisy industrial operation opens next to a residence and reduces demand for it. Which depreciation category is most relevant?
Why: The negative influence originates outside the property. Repairing the residence itself may not remove that external value loss.
8. A licensee tells a prospect, "This is the most charming kitchen on the whole street." This statement is best characterized as:
Why: Non-factual sales talk that no reasonable buyer would rely on as a statement of fact is puffing and is generally not actionable. A false statement about a verifiable fact, such as the age of the roof, would instead be misrepresentation.
9. A home listed at $450,000 sells for 4% below list. The listing agent’s brokerage keeps half of a 5.5% commission. What does the listing brokerage receive?
Why: Sale price is $450,000 × 0.96 = $432,000. Commission is $432,000 × 0.055 = $23,760; half is $11,880. Using the list price instead of the sale price gives $12,375.
10. A bargain and sale deed without covenants:
Why: This deed "Implies that the grantor holds title but contains no warranties of title", placing it between a warranty deed and a quitclaim. Conveying only a possible interest with no implication of ownership describes a quitclaim deed.
Where to go next
Registration, test centers, what to bring, the calculator rules and remote testing are on the PSI real estate examguide. Your state portion is on your own state's practice exam page.