Michigan Real Estate Practice Test (Free)

The Michigan real estate salesperson exam has 115 questions and a 3 hours limit. Below are the exact numbers the MI exam uses, and a free practice test to see where you stand.

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The Michigan exam at a glance

License
Real Estate Salesperson
Administered by
PSI Services LLC, under contract with the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs
Total questions
115 (80 national and 35 Michigan-specific)
Time limit
3 hours
Passing score
At least 80 of 115 raw points (70%). Michigan grades the salesperson examination as one exam, national and Michigan law items together, with a single pass line. There is no separate national pass line or state pass line. Failing candidates receive a section-by-section breakdown to guide study, but only the combined 115-point result decides pass or fail.
How it is taken
In person at PSI test centers. The PSI bulletin lists Michigan centers in Dearborn, Holt (Lansing), Southfield (Northland Drive and Lahser Road), Grand Rapids, Gaylord, and Marquette, and states that PSI also operates centers in other regions where a candidate may test.
If you fail
No primary source publishes a mandatory waiting period before a Michigan salesperson candidate may retake the exam, so waitDays is null rather than guessed. You re-register with PSI and pay the full $79 fee for each attempt. An exam registration fee is forfeited if you do not test within 1 year of payment, and a passing score is valid for 1 year from the date of the exam under MCL 339.2505(6)(b).

What Michigan requires before you can sit the exam

Minimum age
18+
Pre-license education
40 hours
  • LARA-approved 40 clock-hour salesperson prelicensure course in the principles of real estate, including at least 4 clock hours of instruction on civil rights law and equal opportunity in housing. The 40 hours must be completed within the 36-month period before the application. The completion certificate is uploaded in MiPLUS before LARA authorizes the candidate to test.
Exam / application fee
$79
License term
3 years

Free Michigan practice questions

10 questions written for the Michigan exam, drawn from 12 in the ApexAgent bank. The correct answer and the reasoning are under each one.

  1. 1. Which Michigan law licenses and regulates real estate brokers and salespersons?

    • A. Article 25 of the Occupational Code, 1980 PA 299 (MCL 339.2501 et seq.) ✓
    • B. The Michigan Consumer Protection Act
    • C. The Land Division Act, Public Act 591
    • D. The Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act

    Why: Article 25 of the Occupational Code, 1980 PA 299, MCL 339.2501 et seq., is the statute that governs the licensing and regulation of real estate brokers and salespersons in Michigan. It defines a real estate salesperson and a real estate broker in MCL 339.2501 and creates the Michigan Board of Real Estate Brokers and Salespersons. The other statutes listed address consumer protection, land division, and civil rights, not real estate licensing.

  2. 2. Before sitting the Michigan real estate salesperson examination, an applicant must show proof of completing how much prelicensure education, and how much of it must cover civil rights law and equal opportunity in housing?

    • A. 40 clock hours, including at least 4 clock hours of civil rights law and equal opportunity in housing ✓
    • B. 40 clock hours, including at least 9 clock hours of civil rights law and equal opportunity in housing
    • C. 63 clock hours, including at least 4 clock hours of civil rights law and equal opportunity in housing
    • D. 90 clock hours, including at least 9 clock hours of civil rights law and equal opportunity in housing

    Why: MCL 339.2504(2) requires an applicant to complete at least 40 clock hours of approved prelicensure classroom courses in the principles of real estate, including at least 4 clock hours of instruction on civil rights law and equal opportunity in housing, before being permitted to take the salesperson examination. The 90-hour figure with 9 civil rights hours in MCL 339.2504(1) applies to the real estate broker license, not the salesperson license.

  3. 3. The 40 hours of Michigan salesperson prelicensure education must be completed within what period before the application?

    • A. The 12 months preceding the application
    • B. The 24 months preceding the application
    • C. The 36 months preceding the application ✓
    • D. The 60 months preceding the application

    Why: MCL 339.2504(2) states that the applicant must complete the 40 hours of prelicensure education within the 36-month period preceding the date of the application. The LARA Real Estate Salesperson Licensing Guide repeats this 36-month rule. The shorter 12-month window in the guide applies only to the relicensure path for a license that has been expired for 3 years or more.

  4. 4. How many clock hours of approved prelicensure education must a Michigan real estate broker license applicant complete, and how many of those hours must cover civil rights law and fair housing law?

    • A. 40 clock hours, including at least 4 clock hours of civil rights and fair housing law
    • B. 40 clock hours, including at least 9 clock hours of civil rights and fair housing law
    • C. 90 clock hours, including at least 9 clock hours of civil rights and fair housing law ✓
    • D. 90 clock hours, including at least 4 clock hours of civil rights and fair housing law

    Why: MCL 339.2504(1)(b) requires a broker applicant to successfully complete at least 90 clock hours of approved prelicensure classroom courses in real estate, of which at least 9 clock hours must be instruction on civil rights law and fair housing law. MCL 339.2504(1)(b)(ii) adds that these 90 hours are in addition to the hours required to obtain a real estate salesperson license.

  5. 5. Under the Michigan Occupational Code, from whom may a real estate salesperson accept a commission or valuable consideration for performing a licensed act?

    • A. Directly from the buyer or seller in the transaction
    • B. From any licensee involved in the transaction
    • C. Only from the real estate broker that employs the salesperson ✓
    • D. From the title company at closing

    Why: MCL 339.2510(1) provides that a real estate salesperson shall not accept a commission or valuable consideration for the performance of an act specified in Article 25 from any person other than the real estate broker that employs the salesperson. A related provision, MCL 339.2512(1)(h), bars sharing or paying a fee or commission to a person not licensed under Article 25, with a limited exception for a broker licensed in another state.

  6. 6. A Michigan real estate salesperson receives a deposit from a buyer in a transaction. Under the Occupational Code, what must the salesperson do with that money?

    • A. Open a personal escrow account and hold it until closing
    • B. Deposit it into the brokerage's trust account within 5 days
    • C. Pay or deliver it to the real estate broker on receipt ✓
    • D. Return it to the buyer until the transaction closes

    Why: MCL 339.2512(1)(k)(ii) requires a real estate salesperson to pay or deliver to the real estate broker, on receipt, a deposit or other money paid in connection with a transaction in which the salesperson is engaged on behalf of the broker. The trust or escrow account itself must be maintained by the broker under MCL 339.2512(1)(k), so a salesperson does not hold client funds in a personal account.

  7. 7. After a real estate broker receives notice that an offer to purchase has been accepted by all parties, how soon must the broker deposit money belonging to others into a separate custodial trust or escrow account?

    • A. Within 1 banking day
    • B. Not later than 2 banking days ✓
    • C. Not later than 5 banking days
    • D. Not later than 10 banking days

    Why: MCL 339.2512(1)(k)(v) requires a real estate broker to deposit money that belongs to others and is made payable to the broker into a separate custodial trust or escrow account not later than 2 banking days after the broker has received notice that an offer to purchase is accepted by all parties. The broker must account for the full amount at consummation or termination of the transaction.

  8. 8. What is the maximum amount of its own money a Michigan real estate broker may deposit in each trust account to cover bank service charges and minimum balance requirements?

    • A. $500
    • B. $1,000
    • C. $2,000 ✓
    • D. $5,000

    Why: MCL 339.2512(1)(k)(iv) allows a real estate broker to deposit not more than $2,000.00 of its own money in each trust account to cover bank service charges and bank minimum balance requirements or to avoid the account being closed for lack of funds. The broker must account for its own money in the trust account records described in MCL 339.2512(1)(k)(vi).

  9. 9. Under the Michigan Occupational Code, how long is a passing score on the real estate examination valid?

    • A. 6 months from the date of the examination
    • B. 1 year from the date of the examination ✓
    • C. 2 years from the date of the examination
    • D. 3 years from the date of the examination

    Why: MCL 339.2505(6)(b) states that a passing score on an examination, or on a portion of an examination if the examination is given in separate parts, is valid for 1 year from the date of the examination. The LARA Real Estate Salesperson Licensing Guide FAQ states the same, that exam results are valid for one year from the date of passing.

  10. 10. Under MCL 339.2505, the department shall not issue a real estate broker license to a new applicant who has been convicted of which offense?

    • A. Embezzlement or misappropriation of funds ✓
    • B. Any misdemeanor punishable by a fine
    • C. A single traffic violation
    • D. Failure to file a state income tax return

    Why: MCL 339.2505(2) provides that the department shall not issue a real estate broker license to an individual who has been convicted of embezzlement or misappropriation of funds. The LARA salesperson guide FAQ highlights the same rule and notes that other convictions are reviewed case by case under the good moral character requirement of Article 25, with a right to appeal a denial to the board.

Want more Michigan-specific questions? Practice the full Michigan state-law set.

Frequently asked questions

Does Michigan score the national and state portions of the real estate exam separately?
No. Michigan delivers the salesperson examination as one 115-question sitting and grades it as one exam: you need 80 of the 115 points (70%) to pass, with a single pass line. The PSI content outline does describe an 80-question Real Estate Principles and Practices portion and a 35-item Michigan Specific portion (duties and powers of the department and board, licensing requirements, statutory requirements governing licensees, contractual relationships, and additional state topics such as the Land Division Act and the state transfer tax). There is no separate passing score for each part, so a strong national result can offset a weaker Michigan law result, and the reverse. Candidates who fail receive a section-by-section breakdown for study only. That is different from states such as Texas or Pennsylvania, where each portion is passed on its own.
What score do you need to pass the Michigan real estate salesperson exam?
80 out of 115 raw points, which the PSI Candidate Information Bulletin records as a 70% passing standard. The exam carries 115 points. Candidates who pass are told only PASS, and no numeric score is released to them. A small number of experimental questions (the bulletin says 5 to 10) may be embedded in the exam; those items are not scored, and the time spent on them does not count against your 180 minutes.
How much education does Michigan require before you can take the salesperson exam?
You must complete 40 clock hours of LARA-approved prelicensure courses in the principles of real estate, including at least 4 clock hours on civil rights law and equal opportunity in housing, under MCL 339.2504(2). Michigan is unusual in making that 4-hour civil rights component a fixed part of the salesperson requirement. The 40 hours must be completed within the 36 months before you apply, and the completion certificate is uploaded in MiPLUS before LARA will authorize you to test.
How much does it cost, and how long is a Michigan real estate salesperson license good for?
The PSI exam fee is $79 per attempt. The LARA new salesperson application is $88 and bundles the initial license, so there is no separate issuance fee; renewal is $78 and relicensure after an expiration of under 3 years is $108. The license runs on a 3-year cycle. Within each 3-year cycle you must complete at least 18 clock hours of continuing education, including at least 2 hours per year on laws, rules, and court cases regarding real estate and at least 1 hour per year on compliance with fair housing laws.
Do you need a sponsoring broker or fingerprints to get a Michigan salesperson license?
You need a Michigan-licensed broker. A salesperson license lets you work only under a broker, the application must be signed by the broker who will employ you under MCL 339.2505(4), and after you pass the exam you enter your employing broker's 10-digit license number in MiPLUS. The broker must approve the request before the license is issued. Fingerprints are not listed as a standard step in the LARA salesperson licensing guide. Michigan screens applicants through the good moral character and conviction questions in the MiPLUS application, and LARA may request fingerprints case by case. No primary source lists an up-front fingerprint step for every salesperson applicant.

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