How Much Does the Real Estate Exam Cost? Exam Fees by State and Everything Else You Pay For

Exam fees in 12 states, checked October 28, 2026

Your state and its testing vendor set the exam fee, and it is printed in the candidate handbook or bulletin. In vendor states you pay it to Pearson VUE or PSI when you book. California is the exception: its Department of Real Estate gives the exam and collects the fee.

Pennsylvania's figures have moved recently. The Department of State's November 12, 2025 announcement of Spanish-language exams gave $49 for each sales exam, or $49 for both on the same day, while the October 2026 handbook lists $52, $49 and a $52 combined price and adds that fees may vary. Check the price when you book.

North Carolina's rule deserves a second look. Its booklet says each license application and fee payment is valid for only one exam attempt, so a candidate who fails must reapply and pay the $105 application fee again, plus $63 or $53 to Pearson VUE. Two attempts at both sections cost $336 before any license fee.

The costs around the exam

The exam fee is one line of several. These are the other fees the checked sources name:

• License fee. California charges $350 for an original salesperson license (or $450 if you file the exam and license applications together, which includes the $100 exam fee). Washington's original broker license is $233, including a mandatory $20 research fee. New Jersey's salesperson license costs $160: a $100 license fee, a $50 application fee and $10 for the Real Estate Guaranty Fund, and the bulletin notes these fees are subject to change.
• Application fee. North Carolina charges $105 with each application. Arizona collects its application fee online once the application is complete.
• Fingerprints and background check. Virginia's fingerprinting at a PSI site costs $52, made up of a $27 state processing fee and a $25 PSI fee. California applicants who live in the state pay $49 to the live scan provider, and out-of-state applicants send the $49 to DRE with their license application. Texas, Arizona and Washington applicants pay a fingerprint vendor or state agency whose fee the checked pages don't list.
• Prelicensing education. Schools set their own tuition, and the states checked don't publish a price, so compare approved schools before you enroll.
• Practice tests. Pearson VUE sells a national-portion practice test for $19.95 per attempt, and PSI's bulletins say its practice exams can be taken as often as you like, paid each time.

Add those lines up before you compare study options. The same full prep is planned for every access period, so a longer period buys more time, not extra features.

Rules that make you lose a fee

You can forfeit an exam fee without sitting a single question. The handbooks agree on the common traps:

• Late changes. Pearson VUE's Arizona and Texas handbooks require changes at least 48 hours ahead. PSI's New Hampshire, Virginia and Colorado bulletins require 2 days' notice, so a Monday appointment must be cancelled by Saturday.
• No-shows, late arrival or the wrong ID. All of them forfeit the fee. Pearson VUE's Arizona and Texas handbooks let you ask for an excused absence within 14 days for reasons such as illness, a death in the family or jury duty.
• Fees and eligibility that expire. New Hampshire's exam fee is valid for one year from payment, Tennessee's for one year, and Colorado's is forfeited if you don't test within one year of PSI receiving it. Iowa's registration expires after 90 days, and North Carolina's exam fees expire with the 180-day eligibility period. The Arizona and Texas handbooks add that Pearson VUE vouchers expire 12 months after they are issued.

A cost worksheet for your state

Fill in the last column from your state's handbook and commission pages. The example column uses California's DRE figures as of October 28, 2026.

Budgeting for one retake is a sensible precaution. If your state charges $58 or $100 per attempt, a second try is a real cost, and the retake guide explains the waits and limits that come with it.

Fitting study costs into the budget

Study materials are the one cost you control. Your prelicensing course covers the content, and the free tools here cost nothing: 20 practice questions, the study planner and the retake planner.

If you want more national-portion practice, compare the planned 30-, 90- and 180-day access periods, from $19.99. Paid prep for this exam isn't on sale yet, so there is nothing to buy today.

The choice between periods comes down to time. Pick the length that matches the weeks between your course and your test date; the licensing steps guide shows where the exam falls in your timeline.

When checkout opens, one-time prep pricing planned for launch, with no auto-renewal, means you pay once for the period you choose and aren't charged again unless you buy more time.