South Carolina Real Estate Practice Exam
A free practice test for the South Carolina salesperson exam, for the weeks before your test date, with an explanation on every answer. Score yourself against South Carolina's real 70% pass line before you book.
Take the full test. Answers and explanations are shown when you submit, as on exam day.
A South Carolina brokerage changes its office email address. What notice must its broker-in-charge provide?
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.
South Carolina real estate exam at a glance
| National questions | 80 scoredsource |
|---|---|
| State-law questions | 40 scoredsource |
| Passing score | 70%source |
| Time limit | 3 hours 20 minutessource |
| Exam fee | $67.00 per attemptsource |
| Test provider | PSIsource |
| First-attempt pass rate | 57%source |
| Pre-licence education | 90 hourssource |
Figures verified against official sources on . Exam fees and rules change. Check the linked source before you book.
10 sample questions, with answers explained
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 South Carolina brokerage changes its office email address. What notice must its broker-in-charge provide?
Why: The statute's 10-day notice covers office name, address, email and telephone changes. Keeping the same building does not excuse the changed email from the reporting rule.
2. A South Carolina listing agent informs the seller in writing of his obligations under the disclosure act, but the seller refuses to give buyers a disclosure statement. Is the agent liable for the refusal?
Why: S.C. Code 27-50-70(A) requires the listing agent to inform each owner in writing of the owner’s obligations under the act, and an agent who does so is not liable for the owner’s refusal or failure to provide a disclosure statement. The written notice is itself a licensee duty, so "no role at all" is wrong.
3. A buyer has worked with a South Carolina associate for weeks, and they agreed with a handshake that her firm represents him. Nothing is signed. What relationship exists?
Why: S.C. Code 40-57-370(E) says no agency relationship exists unless the party and the brokerage firm agree to it in writing, and agency may not be created orally or by implication. Under 40-57-370(F), payment or a promise of compensation does not determine whether agency exists. Until he signs, the buyer is a customer.
4. A South Carolina seller rejects a buyer’s written offer outright, with no counteroffer. What must the licensee provide to the offeror, and when?
Why: S.C. Code 40-57-135(I)(5) requires that when an offer is rejected without counter, an offer rejection form promulgated by the commission, signed by the licensee affirming presentation of the offer, be provided to the offeror within 48 hours of rejection. It applies whether the licensee is the buyer’s agent, the seller’s agent, or a transaction broker.
5. A South Carolina transaction broker helps a nonclient write and convey an offer as a ministerial act. Does that assistance alone create agency?
Why: The statute expressly separates ministerial assistance from agency creation. Helping prepare or convey an offer does not by itself establish representation of the nonclient.
6. A South Carolina listing agreement expires without a sale. What does the firm still owe the former seller client?
Why: S.C. Code 40-57-380 says the firm and its licensees owe no duty to a client after termination, expiration, completion or closing, except timely accounting for money and property received during the relationship and keeping confidential the information the client made confidential by request or instruction.
7. At first substantive contact with a potential buyer, before any agreement is signed, what does South Carolina law presume about the relationship?
Why: S.C. Code 40-57-370(C) presumes at first substantive contact that the potential buyer or seller is a customer and that the firm is acting as a transaction broker, offering customer services only until an agency representation agreement is signed. Client status and every form of agency require a written agreement under 40-57-370(E).
8. A candidate passes both portions of the South Carolina associate exam but delays applying for the license. What happens if she does not apply within one year?
Why: S.C. Code 40-57-320(B)(4) says an applicant who passes both the state and national portions must apply for a license within one year, or must reapply and retake all portions of the examination. There is no late-fee option and no partial retake.
9. A South Carolina designated agent knows a client's confidential fact. Is that knowledge automatically imputed among the broker-in-charge, designated agents and clients under South Carolina law?
Why: The designated-agency provision states there may be no imputation of knowledge among the specified participants. Shared firm affiliation is not automatic shared knowledge.
10. A South Carolina firm with an agency agreement prioritizes its own commission over the client's lawful negotiation objectives. Which client duty is implicated?
Why: The statute binds the agency firm to loyalty and the other listed client duties. Compensation interests do not replace the obligation to serve the client within those duties.