What's on the Texas Real Estate Exam? (2026 Guide)

The Texas real estate sales agent exam has 125 total questions split into two independently-graded sections: 80 scored national questions (plus 5 unscored pretest items) and 40 scored Texas state questions. You need at least 70% on each section independently — 56 of 80 on National and 28 of 40 on State. A 90% score on the national section does not offset a 65% on the state section; you fail the attempt and must retake the state section. The exam is administered by Pearson VUE at testing centers across Texas. Time limits: 150 minutes for the national section, 90 minutes for the state section. Each attempt costs $43 and covers both sections. If you pass one and fail the other, retaking only the failed section also costs $43.

The national section tests general real estate principles — concepts that appear on every U.S. state's real estate licensing exam. Pearson VUE publishes the national content outline (document #093901) with 11 topic areas and their question-weight percentages: • Contracts: 17% (~14 questions) • General Principles of Agency: 13% (~10 questions) • Practice of Real Estate: 13% (~10 questions) • Financing: 10% (~8 questions) • Real Estate Calculations: 10% (~8 questions) • Property Ownership: 8% (~6 questions) • Transfer of Title: 8% (~6 questions) • Valuation and Market Analysis: 7% (~6 questions) • Property Disclosures: 6% (~5 questions) • Land Use Controls and Regulations: 5% (~4 questions) • Leasing and Property Management: 3% (~2 questions) Contracts alone is 17% — the single largest national topic — covering offer and acceptance, consideration, void versus voidable contracts, breach, and performance. Agency (13%) covers fiduciary duties, types of representation, and disclosure. Together, Contracts and Agency account for 30% of the national section — roughly 24 of 80 questions — making them the highest-return investment in national prep. Real Estate Calculations (10%) covers math under time pressure: commission splits, loan-to-value ratios, capitalization rates (NOI ÷ Value = Cap Rate), gross rent multipliers, prorated property taxes, and straight-line depreciation. It's either a reliable source of points or a consistent drain — there is not much middle ground. Drilling the core formulas with real estate math practice before the exam converts these 8 questions from a liability to a strength. Practice of Real Estate (13%) is the broadest category: how agents conduct business day-to-day — advertising compliance, trust account rules, property management basics, and broker-salesperson supervision. It's tested at the same weight as agency but covers a wider surface area.

The state section tests Texas law, TREC rules, and Texas-specific real estate practice that appears on no other state's exam. According to the Pearson VUE Texas Real Estate State Content Outline (document #094401, January 2026), the 40 scored questions distribute across six content areas: • Agency and Brokerage: ~25% (~10 questions) — intermediary relationships and IABS disclosure requirements, agency disclosure, brokerage agreement types • Contracts and Case Studies: ~22.5% (~9 questions) — TREC-promulgated contract forms and addenda, contract scenario analysis • Standards of Conduct: ~20% (~8 questions) — trust account mechanics, advertising rules, grounds for license discipline, unauthorized practice of law • Special Texas Topics: ~15% (~6 questions) — community property, homestead protections, Deceptive Trade Practices Act, landlord-tenant law, foreclosure, mechanic's liens, HOAs • Licensing: ~10% (~4 questions) — TRELA requirements, license application, maintenance and renewal • Commission Duties and Powers: ~7.5% (~3 questions) — TREC authority, complaint handling, penalties for violation Agency and Contracts together represent approximately 47% of the state section — nearly half of your 40 questions. Both are deeply Texas-specific: the intermediary framework, IABS timing rules, TREC-promulgated form requirements. This is the core reason candidates who pass the national section comfortably still fail the state section — they haven't internalized the Texas-specific variations on concepts they think they already know. The Case Studies component deserves a separate note. Near the end of the state section, several questions present a short narrative scenario or a segment of an actual TREC contract form and ask 2–4 related questions. These require careful reading under time pressure. At 90 minutes for 40 questions — averaging 2 minutes and 15 seconds per question — the case study items are where pacing problems most often occur.

Seven Texas-specific concepts appear on virtually every state section administration. Candidates who know these without hesitation have a decisive advantage: 1. Intermediary, not dual agency. When a Texas broker represents both the buyer and seller in the same transaction, the legal framework is called an intermediary relationship under TRELA §1101.559 — not dual agency. The broker must obtain written consent from both clients before appointment and may not give advice or opinions on negotiations to either party. Every question about representing both sides in a transaction tests whether you use the correct term and understand the written-consent requirement. 2. IABS timing. The Information About Brokerage Services form (TREC IABS 1-2) must be provided at the first substantive communication with a prospect and must be prominently posted on the broker's website. This is a mandatory disclosure under TREC Rule §535.272 — failing to provide it on time is a grounds-for-discipline violation. 3. Option Fee delivery. Under Paragraph 23 of the Texas One to Four Family Residential Contract (TREC Form 20-17), the option fee is paid by the buyer directly to the seller within 3 days of the contract's effective date. It is non-refundable and purchases the unrestricted right to terminate during the option period. Earnest money goes to the title company — a separate payment to a separate destination. Confusing these two payments is the most common Paragraph 23 mistake. 4. First-Tuesday foreclosure. Texas non-judicial foreclosures must occur on the first Tuesday of each month between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. at the county courthouse, per Texas Property Code §51.002. The exam tests all three specifics: the day (first Tuesday), the time window (10 a.m.–4 p.m.), and the location (county courthouse). 5. Homestead acreage. Texas homestead protections are constitutionally guaranteed under Article XVI of the Texas Constitution. The acreage limits: urban homestead up to 10 acres; rural family homestead up to 200 acres; rural single adult homestead up to 100 acres. These exact numbers appear on the exam — approximations do not count. 6. Seller's Disclosure Notice. Under Texas Property Code §5.008, sellers of 1–4 family residential properties must provide a written Seller's Disclosure Notice before accepting an offer. This is a statutory requirement separate from TREC's promulgated forms. Failure to provide it gives the buyer the right to terminate within a specified period. 7. TREC-promulgated forms are mandatory. Unlike most states where contract forms come from the Realtors association or are drafted by attorneys, Texas requires license holders to use TREC-promulgated forms when a promulgated form exists for the transaction type. Using a non-promulgated form when TREC has issued one is a standards-of-conduct violation and grounds for disciplinary action.

Most candidates underestimate how different the state section feels from the national section. Three things change: Each question matters more. With only 40 scored state questions, a single wrong answer costs 2.5% of your state score. On the 80-question national section, the same mistake costs 1.25%. A streak of five wrong answers on the state section costs 12.5% — the equivalent of ten wrong answers on the national section. Small gaps in knowledge of Texas-specific rules compound quickly. Generic prep materials do not cover the state section well. For the national section, dozens of high-quality resources exist. For the state section, you need Texas-specific material: TRELA chapter and verse, TREC administrative rules, Texas Property Code provisions, and TREC form mechanics. A real estate exam prep book written for a general audience covers maybe 10% of what the state section actually tests. Case study questions require a different skill. Reading a TREC contract excerpt under time pressure and answering legal questions about it is a different cognitive task than recall-based multiple-choice questions. If you have not practiced this format under timed conditions before exam day, the case studies will feel unfamiliar when they appear at the end of the section. TREC publishes Exam Topic Reports that break out pass rates by topic area for the state section. Historically, Agency and Brokerage — particularly intermediary scenarios — and Contracts — particularly case study questions — show the lowest per-topic pass rates. See the full data in our breakdown of the Texas real estate exam pass rate.

Match your study time to the actual weight of each topic. A practical framework: For the national section (80 questions): • Contracts (17%) + Agency (13%) + Practice of Real Estate (13%) = 43% of national questions — allocate at least 40–45% of your national prep time here • Real Estate Calculations (10%): commit to drilling the formulas until they are automatic; or skip them; there is no productive middle ground • Financing (10%), Property Ownership (8%), and Transfer of Title (8%) are the next priority tier • Leasing and Property Management (3%) and Land Use Controls (5%) are low priority but do not skip them entirely For the state section (40 questions): • Agency/Intermediary (~25%) + Contracts/Case Studies (~22.5%) = roughly half the section — lean toward over-investing here because these are both the heaviest-weighted and most Texas-specific areas • Standards of Conduct (20%): mostly recall-level rules about trust accounts, IABS timing, and advertising. A focused session on TREC Rules §535.2 and §535.272 covers the core material. • Special Topics (15%): know the homestead acreage numbers cold, know first-Tuesday mechanics, understand DTPA basics. These are point-giveaway questions for candidates who have drilled them. • Licensing (10%) and Commission Duties (7.5%): lower priority, but one or two TRELA definition questions always appear The most common study mistake: spending 80% of total study time on the national section because it feels familiar, then cramming TREC-specific rules in the final few days. A better ratio for most candidates is 55–60% on national prep and 40–45% on Texas state prep. Day One generates fresh Texas practice exams that match the exact 80+40 two-section format, with separate timers, per-section pass/fail tracking, and statute-cited explanations that include TRELA section numbers, TREC rule citations, and Texas Property Code references.