Pearson VUE vs PSI Real Estate Exam: How the Two National Outlines Differ, Topic by Topic

Your state picks the vendor, not you

A state that uses a testing company contracts with one for its salesperson exam. Arizona's handbook says the Department of Real Estate "has contracted with Pearson to develop and administer licensing examinations," and New Hampshire's bulletin says its commission "has contracted with PSI Services LLC." If you test in a Pearson VUE state, you take Pearson VUE's national portion, and the same goes for PSI. The comparison below matters for how you study, not for which exam you book.

These are the vendors named in the official handbooks and commission pages checked on October 28, 2026:

The list is not complete. The Louisiana Real Estate Commission wrote in May 2023 that Pearson VUE gave real estate licensing exams in 19 states, so check your own commission's site before you buy a vendor-specific study book.

Same 80 items, two different blueprints

Both national salesperson portions have 80 scored items. What differs is how the outline describes them:

Item counts are more precise than percentages. Pearson VUE tells you, for example, that its fair housing subtopic is worth 3 items and that every one of the 7 math items is application or analysis. PSI's percentages are rounded weights, so 13% of 80 items is roughly 10, not an exact count. The format guide covers how the unscored items affect pacing.

Topic-by-topic map between the two outlines

Pearson VUE's eight areas run left to right through the national material. PSI covers the same ground but cuts it differently. Use this map to translate a study book, a course module or a practice score from one outline to the other:

The largest difference is in contracts and agency. On Pearson VUE's outline, Area IV holds 16 items and the brokerage-agreement subtopic in Area V adds 3 more, so about 19 of 80 items deal with contracts, agency and listing agreements. PSI's Contracts and Agency together are 32%, about 26 of 80. A PSI candidate who is weak on contracts has more points at stake. The contracts and agency guide works through that material.

If your course follows one vendor's structure and your state uses the other, planned question counts for each of the eight national areas show how the planned prep is divided, so you can line it up against this map.

Topics only one outline names

Both outlines cover the same field, and textbooks teach all of it. Still, a topic printed in your outline is a topic you should expect. These are named in one outline and not the other:

Named only in PSI's outline

• Protections against discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation, a line inside its Antidiscrimination section
• Licensees' status as employees or independent contractors
• Automated valuation methods (AVMs)
• Reverse mortgages, home equity loans and lines of credit, construction, rehab and bridge loans
• Proper handling of multiple offers and counteroffers, listed as its own subtopic
• Home and new construction warranties, and the special issues of foreclosed property, short sales and probate sales
• Fair housing and ADA compliance specific to property management

Named only in Pearson VUE's outline

• The economic and physical characteristics of land listed one by one, such as scarcity, immobility and uniqueness (PSI's heading says only "land characteristics"), plus emblements and trade fixtures
• CERCLA, SARA, the Clean Air and Water Acts, Phase I and II environmental site assessments and wetlands protection
• Lien theory vs title theory, primary and secondary mortgage markets, FHA's mortgage insurance premium (MIP), and mortgage fraud and predatory lending
• Vicarious liability, errors and omissions and general liability insurance, and the unauthorized practice of law
• Net listings (flagged as a conflict of interest) and the multiple listing service
• Gross rent and gross income multipliers
• Investment math on appreciation, depreciation and tax implications
• "Time is of the essence" (under contract performance) and equitable title (under the sales contract)

Some topics look exclusive but aren't. Both outlines include the Do-Not-Call or "Do Not Contact" rules, privacy of personal information, antitrust, electronic signatures, fair housing advertising, the Americans with Disabilities Act, PMI and rate of return. The disclosures and environmental guide covers the hazards Pearson VUE lists by name, and the fair housing 2027 guide explains where the gender identity line stands federally.

North Carolina prints Pearson VUE's national section differently

Even one vendor's outline isn't printed the same way everywhere. North Carolina's April 2026 licensing booklet lists the Pearson VUE National section in eight categories with its own counts:

Both add up to 80 scored items plus 5 pretest items, but North Carolina gives Real Estate Practice 4 more items. If you test there, plan from the booklet, not from a generic Pearson VUE outline.

How to use the comparison when you study

1. Print your vendor's outline from your state's handbook and use it as a checklist. Tick each subtopic when you can answer applied questions on it.
2. Translate anything written for the other vendor. A practice set labeled "Agency" on a PSI-style platform covers part of Pearson VUE's Area IV and part of Area V, so read the subtopics, not the label.
3. Shift emphasis, not coverage. PSI candidates should give contracts and agency extra drills, and learn property management and land use controls as small areas of their own. Pearson VUE candidates should memorize the environmental laws by name, practice investment math and expect most items to be applied scenarios.
4. Keep the state portion separate. Neither national outline covers your state's license law.

The free study planner asks which vendor your state uses and weights the outline accordingly, and the study guide turns either outline into hours. For the vocabulary that differs between textbooks, flashcards planned for launch, sorted by content area, keep each term under its national content area.

Where to check before you book

Vendors change outlines after new job analyses, and states change their portions on their own dates. Before you book, open your state commission's exam page, follow its link to the current handbook, and check the effective date on the national outline. If the date is newer than April 1, 2025 for Pearson VUE or October 1, 2023 for PSI, the vendor has updated it and this map may need a second look. When two terms from the two outlines start to blur, AI Rescue's planned memory aids for terms that differ between outlines are one way to keep them apart, and the free practice questions are a quick way to test the topics you share with both outlines.