Florida Real Estate Exam: Format, Passing Score and What's Tested (2026)

The Florida Real Estate Sales Associate Examination is a closed-book, computer-based test with 100 multiple choice questions. You get 3.5 hours, every question is worth the same, and you need 75 or higher to pass. Pearson VUE runs it for the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR), and you see your result on the screen report before you leave the test center. It is harder than it looks. Around half of first-time takers pass, based on DBPR's published monthly pass-rate reports. That number is low because the test leans on Florida-specific rules (escrow deadlines, brokerage relationships, doc stamps, homestead) that a national real estate book does not cover, and because 75 is a higher bar than most states set. If you want to see where you stand right now, take the free Florida practice exam. It uses the same 100-question format and scores you against 75.

DBPR's Candidate Information Booklet (effective January 2025) lists 19 content areas that follow the FREC Course I syllabus. Since there are exactly 100 questions, each percentage is also roughly the number of questions you will see: 1. Real Estate Brokerage Activities and Procedures: 12% 2. Real Estate Contracts: 12% 3. Residential Mortgages: 9% 4. Property Rights: Estates, Tenancies, Condominiums, HOAs and Time-Sharing: 8% 5. Real Estate Appraisal: 8% 6. Authorized Relationships, Duties and Disclosures: 7% 7. Titles, Deeds and Ownership Restrictions: 7% 8. License Law and Qualifications for Licensure: 6% 9. Real Estate Related Computations and Closing of Transactions: 6% 10. Legal Descriptions: 5% 11. Types of Mortgages and Sources of Financing: 4% 12. Violations of License Law, Penalties and Procedures: 3% 13. Federal and State Laws Pertaining to Real Estate: 3% 14. Taxes Affecting Real Estate: 3% 15. Real Estate License Law and Commission Rules: 2% 16. Real Estate Investments and Business Opportunity Brokerage: 2% 17. The Real Estate Business: 1% 18. The Real Estate Markets and Analysis: 1% 19. Planning and Zoning: 1% Two things stand out. First, brokerage procedures and contracts together are almost a quarter of the test, so escrow rules, advertising, commissions and contract essentials deserve the most time. Second, math is not one section. The outline lists math inside commissions, finance, legal descriptions, taxes and closing, so arithmetic shows up across the exam even though "Computations" is only 6%. Our Florida exam math guide works through each type.

Most of these come straight from the Candidate Information Booklet, and a couple of them have sent people home without testing: 1. Bring two forms of signature ID, one of them government issued (driver's license, state ID, passport or military ID). Student IDs and photo credit cards do not count, and your name and address must match your DBPR application. 2. Bring your Certificate of Pre-Licensing Education Completion every time you test, including retakes. If you mailed the original to DBPR, bring a photocopy. No certificate means no exam, and you still lose the fee. 3. Your course completion is good for 2 years. An expired certificate is not accepted even if your authorization to test is still open. 4. Arrive 30 minutes early. Pearson VUE takes your photo at check-in, and that photo prints on your result report. 5. Calculators must be silent, hand-held, battery-operated and nonprinting. Financial calculators such as the HP 12C or TI BA series are allowed. 6. You get up to 15 minutes for the computer tutorial, and that time does not come out of your 3.5 hours. Schedule through Pearson VUE online or at 1.888.204.6289. If you already have your candidate ID number from DBPR, you do not need to wait for an authorization letter to book a seat.

A failed attempt is not the end of anything, but it costs time and another exam fee, so it pays to know the rules: 1. You may review the questions you answered incorrectly. Request the review within 21 days of the exam through Pearson VUE. You only see your most recent exam and only the questions you missed, and you get about half the original exam time to review. 2. During that review you can file a written challenge to a question you think was wrong. Challenges have to be entered during the review session itself. 3. You book a retake and pay the exam fee again each time. 4. Keep an eye on the 2-year life of your Course I certificate. If it runs out before you pass, you retake the 63-hour course. The review is worth doing. People who fail are usually close, and seeing which topics their misses cluster in (escrow timelines and brokerage relationships are common ones) tells them exactly what to study.

These are the Florida-specific rules that show up over and over on practice exams, with the number to remember for each: 1. Escrow timing. A sales associate who receives a deposit must deliver it to the broker by the end of the next business day, and the broker must deposit it by the end of the third business day after the associate received it. See brokerage activities and escrow. 2. Conflicting demands. The broker notifies FREC in writing within 15 business days of the last demand and starts a settlement procedure within 30 business days. 3. Brokerage relationships. Florida allows only transaction broker, single agent or no brokerage relationship, and presumes transaction broker. Dual agency is not allowed. Our transaction broker vs. single agent guide covers the duties side by side. 4. Doc stamps. Deeds are taxed at $0.70 per $100 of consideration (round up), notes at $0.35 per $100, and new mortgages carry a 0.2% intangible tax. 5. Prorations. On the Florida exam the buyer owns the day of closing, and property taxes are paid in arrears. 6. Post-licensing. Miss the 45-hour post-license course before your first renewal and the license becomes null and void, not inactive. None of these are hard once you have seen them a few times. They cost points because they look like general real estate knowledge and are not.

A score of 75 leaves room for 25 misses, which sounds generous until you notice how many questions turn on a single number. A plan that works for most people: 1. Finish Course I and take its end-of-course exam seriously. It passes at 70, so a 70 there is not proof you are ready for the state's 75. 2. Take a full 100-question practice exam under time. You have about 2 minutes per question, which is plenty, so use spare time to recheck math. 3. Sort your misses by content area and study the two or three weakest, starting with the heavy ones: brokerage procedures, contracts and mortgages. 4. Drill the numbers above until you can answer without thinking. 5. Book the real exam once you are scoring 85 or better on practice tests. That margin absorbs the nerves and the few questions written in a way you have not seen. You can start with free Florida practice questions that need no sign-up, then move to the full free practice exam to see your score against the 75 line.