The State Portion of the Real Estate Exam: What It Covers and Why It's Often Harder to Pass

Same job, different law: what every state portion tests

The national portion asks what real estate principles and federal law say everywhere. The state portion asks what your state's license law, commission rules and other state statutes say. The outlines checked for this guide are organized differently, but nearly all of them return to the same eight themes:

1. The commission: its powers, complaints, hearings and penalties.
2. Licensing: who needs a license, exemptions, license types, renewal, continuing and post-license education.
3. Agency and brokerage relationships as your state defines them, including disclosure forms and dual or designated agency.
4. Broker supervision and compensation: who may pay a salesperson, team and office rules.
5. Trust or escrow money and record keeping.
6. Advertising.
7. State disclosure duties, such as seller disclosures and local hazards.
8. Laws and forms found only in your state, from promulgated contracts to land-use statutes.

State outlines compared, checked October 28, 2026

Two patterns stand out. Agency appears near the top almost everywhere; New Hampshire's outline, for example, cites a separate statute section for each agency role, from seller agent to facilitator. And the size of the portion varies a lot: Colorado's 74 items are close to a second full exam, while New Jersey folds 30 state items into a single score.

Why the state portion costs more points

Official figures point the same way. Colorado's Division of Real Estate reports that in 2025, 1,027 of 1,841 first-time examinees passed the state part (55.78%), compared with 1,821 of 2,868 on the national part (63.49%). North Carolina's April 2026 booklet warns that applicants licensed elsewhere, who take only the State section, "have an average pass rate that is less than 50%," and recommends a North Carolina prelicensing course or exam prep from a certified North Carolina provider. In Passy's reading, several features of state outlines help explain the gap:

• Exact numbers and deadlines. State outlines test items like the "time requirements for deposit of funds" and the "length of time to keep records" on Tennessee's list. There is no principle to reason from; you know the rule or you don't.
• State forms. Colorado gives 23 of its 74 items to its Commission-approved contracts and forms. Texas tests "promulgated contracts, forms, and addenda," and its broker state exam includes 10 case-study items, some of them built on those contracts.
• Laws that exist in one state only. New Jersey's outline lists the Pinelands Protection Act, Mount Laurel requirements and the Realty Transfer Fee. Virginia's lists the Chesapeake Bay Act, aircraft noise and septic disclosures. New Hampshire's cites the statute for each topic, from hazardous waste law to lead paint.
• A smaller margin. On a 40-item portion each item is 2.5% of your score. Virginia's state cutoff is 30 of 40, so you can miss only 10, while Texas and New Hampshire require 28 of 40.
• A separate cutoff. In two-portion states, a strong national score doesn't make up for a weak state score. The passing score guide lists each state's cutoffs.

How to study the state portion

A practical approach, Passy's suggestion rather than any state's requirement:

1. Start from your state's outline. Copy its areas and item counts into your plan. The outline is in your handbook or bulletin, with its effective date.
2. Read the law it points to. New Hampshire's outline cites a statute or rule for each topic, and Virginia's bulletin lists the license law, the Board's regulations and the Virginia Fair Housing Law as its state references. Iowa's points to Iowa Code chapter 543B and the Commission's rules, and Colorado's to the Colorado Real Estate Manual.
3. Give the state portion its share of the hours, or more. It is 40 of 120 scored items in Texas, Virginia and Tennessee, 60 of 140 in Arizona and North Carolina, and 74 of 154 in Colorado. A share in that range is a floor, because state rules have no shortcut.
4. Drill numbers and forms separately. Keep a sheet of every deadline, dollar amount and form name your outline mentions, and review it daily in the final two weeks.
5. Practice with state-specific questions from your school or commission sources. Pearson VUE's practice tests cover the general portion only, and its Texas page says state-specific practice tests are not available.

National-portion practice can run alongside, so your course hours go to state law. If you want that split, explained national-portion questions planned for launch are designed for it.

What Passy covers, plainly

Passy's planned prep covers the national portion only. It doesn't teach any state's license law, forms or disclosure rules, and it won't predict your state score. For the state portion, your state's outline, your prelicensing course and your commission's publications are the right sources.

What national practice can do is free up time. A planned progress view that names the national area to work on next shows where national study still needs hours, so the rest can go to state law.

If you are already licensed in another state and face a state-only exam, the guide for out-of-state licensees explains which states waive the national portion. For the national side, the study guide and the free study planner build the hours around your test date.

One way to use the final week, as a Passy suggestion: alternate a state-rules review with a mixed national set each day. Mixed-area sets planned for launch, scored by content area, are meant for that final pass.