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California Real Estate Salesperson Practice Exam

California's salesperson exam is given by the Department of Real Estate (DRE). It is one combined exam, not split into national and state portions. These facts come from DRE's own pages.

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The exam at a glance

150 multiple choice questions in 3 hours. You need at least 70% correct to pass. If you pass, DRE does not tell you your final score, only that you passed.

The seven topic areas

Practice of Real Estate and Disclosures, about 25% of the exam. Laws of Agency and Fiduciary Duties, about 17%. Property Ownership and Land Use Controls, about 15%. Property Valuation and Financial Analysis, about 14%. Contracts, about 12%. Financing, about 9%. Transfer of Property, about 8%. Disclosures and agency together make up more than 40% of the test.

How to study for it

Spend your time in proportion to the weights. Learn the key disclosures, agency duties and how agency is created and ended, then work through ownership, land use and valuation. Timed practice helps: 150 questions in 3 hours is about 72 seconds per question.

How passMarker helps

Your California practice is grouped into the same seven areas DRE publishes, with explanations for every answer. Start with the free diagnostic to see your weakest area.

Original sample practice questions

Study examples from the learner-approved practice bank. These are not live exam questions. Open each answer to see the explanation and source reference.

1. A seller contracts to convey a vineyard. Mature grapevines are rooted in the soil, and the contract contains no severance agreement. How should the vines be classified for the sale?

  1. Personal property because they may later produce harvested grapes
  2. Personal property unless separately listed in the contract
  3. Goods because all crops are goods
  4. Real property as things affixed to land
Show answer and explanation

Answer D. Rooted vines are deemed affixed to land under Civil Code § 660. Property affixed to land is real property under Civil Code § 658. The sale exception applies when specified items are agreed to be severed before sale or under the sale contract; no such agreement exists here.

Source: California Civil Code §§ 658 and 660

2. A homeowner tells a broker, “Represent me in discussions with prospective purchasers of my duplex, and bring me their offers.” Which relationship is created by that delegation?

  1. A partnership between the homeowner and broker
  2. An ordinary employer-employee relationship only
  3. A general power of attorney allowing the broker to convey title
  4. An agency relationship in which the homeowner is the principal
Show answer and explanation

Answer D. Agency exists when one person represents another in dealings with third persons. Here, the homeowner authorizes the broker to represent the homeowner with prospective purchasers; that makes the homeowner the principal. The stated authority is limited to discussions and presenting offers, not conveying title.

Source: California Real Estate Reference Book, 2010 edition, Chapter 10, “Introduction” (general agency concept).

3. A homeowner asks an appraiser to estimate the amount the property would most probably bring if it were freely offered on the open market to willing parties. Which type of value is the homeowner describing?

  1. Market value
  2. Assessed value
  3. Investment value
  4. Replacement-cost value
Show answer and explanation

Answer A. The described estimate matches the supplied working definition of market value: the most probable price in an open-market transaction involving willing buyer and seller.

Source: California Department of Real Estate Reference Book, 2010 edition, Chapter Fifteen, “Theoretical Concepts of Value and Definitions”

4. A borrower signs a document promising to repay a lender according to specified loan terms. Which instrument primarily evidences that indebtedness?

  1. The lender's title insurance policy
  2. The promissory note
  3. The buyer's agency disclosure
  4. The property's survey
Show answer and explanation

Answer B. The promissory note evidences the debt and the borrower's promise to repay. A separate security instrument makes identified property collateral; a title policy or survey does not substitute for the repayment promise.

Source: DRE Reference Book, Chapter 12, Promissory Notes—The Debt/Loan or Obligations (2010; general financing concepts, not current statutory procedure).

5. Using the supplied reference-book framework, a buyer reviews a deed that has already been recorded in the county records. What type of notice is the buyer presumed to have of the deed's contents?

  1. Actual notice
  2. Inquiry notice only
  3. Constructive notice
  4. No notice unless the buyer signs a receipt
Show answer and explanation

Answer C. The supplied text defines constructive notice as notice supplied by public records. The question concerns the notice effect of a recorded document, not whether the buyer personally read it.

Source: Chapter 5, “Actual v. Constructive Notice,” 2010 Reference Book

6. A California property manager receives a landlord’s $3,000 operating reserve on Monday and is not directed to place it in neutral escrow. Assuming no holidays, what is a compliant handling method and deadline?

  1. Place it into the broker’s trust account, deliver it to the owner, or place it in neutral escrow no later than three business days after receipt.
  2. Deposit it into the broker’s general operating account by the next business day.
  3. Send it to the owner only after obtaining the owner’s written request.
  4. Hold it until the first property expense is due, regardless of timing.
Show answer and explanation

Answer A. Funds accepted on behalf of another must be placed with the owner, neutral escrow, or the broker’s trustee-named trust account within the regulatory three-business-day period. A broker’s operating account is not one of the listed destinations.

Source: Cal. Code Regs., tit. 10, § 2832(a) (2026 compilation)

7. A seller offers a parcel for $720,000 and gives the buyer until Friday to accept. Before Friday, the buyer signs and returns the offer but changes the price to $700,000. What is the legal effect of the buyer's response under the supplied general contract principles?

  1. It creates a binding contract at the seller's original price.
  2. It is a counteroffer that cancels the original offer.
  3. It keeps the original offer open until Friday.
  4. It is an acceptance because the buyer signed the document.
Show answer and explanation

Answer B. Changing a material term, such as price, makes the response qualified rather than absolute. The response is a counteroffer, and the original offer cannot later be accepted unless the original offeror revives it.

Source: California Real Estate Reference Book (2010), Chapter Six, “Mutual Consent—Termination of offer.”

8. An owner installs rooftop solar equipment as a permanent installation, bolting it to the roof structure. In a later sale, the parties have made no agreement to remove it. Which classification is most consistent with California Civil Code § 660?

  1. It is a good solely because it generates electricity
  2. It is personal property unless the buyer separately purchases it
  3. It is deemed affixed to land because it is permanently attached to a permanent structure
  4. It is personal property because solar equipment can be replaced
Show answer and explanation

Answer C. Civil Code § 660 treats an item as affixed when it is permanently attached to something permanent by means such as bolts or screws. On the stated facts, the permanently bolted equipment is affixed to the building and therefore part of the real-property analysis.

Source: California Civil Code § 660

9. A real estate broker is hired to market and negotiate the sale of one owner’s residence. The assignment is limited to that transaction and does not involve ongoing management of the owner’s business. How should the broker’s agency generally be characterized?

  1. A special agency
  2. A general agency
  3. A universal agency
  4. No agency because the broker is compensated by commission
Show answer and explanation

Answer A. A special agent handles a single transaction or a series of transactions without continuity of service. A broker retained for one property sale ordinarily has this limited special-agency role, even though the broker may solicit and negotiate with third parties.

Source: California Real Estate Reference Book, 2010 edition, Chapter 10, “General and Special Agents Defined” (general agency concept).

10. A sales agent says that a single contract price automatically establishes market value. Which appraisal concept best corrects that statement?

  1. Market value is always identical to the latest contract price.
  2. Market value is the amount of insurance needed to rebuild improvements.
  3. Market value is the original construction cost plus land cost.
  4. Market value is the most probable price under open-market conditions with willing parties.
Show answer and explanation

Answer D. The supplied definition describes market value as a most probable open-market price under stated conditions. It does not define market value as automatically equal to any one contract price.

Source: California Department of Real Estate Reference Book, 2010 edition, Chapter Fifteen, “Theoretical Concepts of Value and Definitions”

Frequently asked questions

How many questions are on the California salesperson exam?

150 multiple choice questions.

How long do I get?

3 hours.

What is the passing score?

At least 70% correct for salespersons.

What is the biggest topic?

Practice of Real Estate and Disclosures, about 25% of the exam.

Official sources

Source information reviewed November 11, 2026. Policies can change; confirm requirements with the licensing agency before booking.

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