Ohio Real Estate Practice Test (Free)
The Ohio real estate salesperson exam has 120 questions and a 3 hours limit. Below are the exact numbers the OH exam uses, and a free practice test to see where you stand.
The Ohio exam at a glance
- License
- Real Estate Salesperson
- Administered by
- PSI Services LLC, under contract with the Ohio Division of Real Estate and Professional Licensing
- Total questions
- 120 (80 national and 40 Ohio-specific)
- Time limit
- 3 hours
- Passing score
- A scaled score of at least 70% on each portion separately: 70% on the 80-question national portion and 70% on the 40-question state portion. Ohio does not average the two portions and does not allow a single combined pass line. Broker applicants must reach 75% on each portion instead.
- How it is taken
- Computer based at PSI test centers in Ohio, or online proctored through the PSI remote proctor. Candidates must report 30 minutes before the appointment for check-in.
- If you fail
- There is no limit on the number of attempts under R.C. 4735.09(C). If you pass one portion but not the other, you retake only the failed portion, and that passed portion stays valid for the rest of the 12-month eligibility window (OAC 1301:5-1-05(E) and (F)). A single-portion retake costs the state portion fee of $43 or the national portion fee of $46, and retaking both together costs $66 (PSI 7/1/2026 bulletin). Under OAC 1301:5-1-05(E) you must also reapply and pay a new $81 application processing fee to the Division each time you retake. Ohio publishes no mandatory waiting period between attempts, so waitDays is null rather than an invented number.
What Ohio requires before you can sit the exam
- Minimum age
- 18+
- Pre-license education
- 100 hours
- Real Estate Principles and Practices, 40 hours
- Ohio Real Estate Law, 40 hours, including civil rights, housing discrimination and desegregation (not required of an applicant admitted to practice law before the Supreme Court of Ohio)
- Real Estate Appraisal, 10 hours
- Real Estate Finance, 10 hours
- Exam / application fee
- $81
- License term
- 3 years
- Background check
- Fingerprints and a criminal history check are required.
Free Ohio practice questions
10 questions written for the Ohio exam, drawn from 12 in the ApexAgent bank. The correct answer and the reasoning are under each one.
1. How many members serve on the Ohio Real Estate Commission?
- A. Three
- B. Five ✓
- C. Seven
- D. Nine
Why: Section 4735.03 of the Ohio Revised Code creates the Ohio Real Estate Commission with five members appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate. Four members must have been licensed real estate brokers in Ohio for the ten years immediately before appointment, one member represents the public, and each serves a five-year term.
2. Of the five members of the Ohio Real Estate Commission, how many must have been engaged in the real estate business as licensed brokers for at least ten years before appointment?
- A. Two
- B. Three
- C. Four ✓
- D. Five
Why: Section 4735.03, Ohio Revised Code provides that four of the five commission members must have been engaged in the real estate business as licensed real estate brokers in Ohio for the ten years immediately preceding appointment. The remaining member represents the public.
3. What fee must accompany a Salesperson Examination Application filed with the Ohio superintendent of real estate?
- A. $45
- B. $81 ✓
- C. $135
- D. $182
Why: Section 4735.09(B), Ohio Revised Code requires a nonrefundable fee of $81 with the salesperson application, and that fee includes the initial year of the licensing period. The $135 figure is the broker application processing fee under Ohio Administrative Code 1301:5-1-05(B), and $182 is the salesperson renewal fee.
4. The minimum age at which an applicant may be licensed as an Ohio real estate salesperson is:
- A. 16
- B. 18 ✓
- C. 19
- D. 21
Why: Section 4735.09(F)(4), Ohio Revised Code requires a salesperson license applicant to be at least eighteen years of age. The same statute requires the applicant to be honest and truthful and, if born after 1950, to hold a high school diploma or its equivalent.
5. Ohio requires a salesperson license applicant to complete how many total hours of pre-license instruction?
- A. 90
- B. 100 ✓
- C. 120
- D. 135
Why: Section 4735.09(F)(6), Ohio Revised Code requires forty hours of instruction in real estate practice, forty hours in Ohio real estate law (including civil rights, housing discrimination and desegregation), ten hours in real estate appraisal, and ten hours in real estate finance, for a total of 100 hours. House Bill 238, effective April 9, 2025, reduced the appraisal and finance courses from twenty hours each to ten, so material that still says 120 hours is out of date.
6. A salesperson license applicant in Ohio must achieve what passing scaled score on each portion of the licensing examination?
- A. 65%
- B. 70% ✓
- C. 75%
- D. 80%
Why: Ohio Administrative Code 1301:5-1-05(E) requires a salesperson applicant to achieve a scaled score of at least seventy per cent on each portion of the examination in order to pass both. A broker applicant must reach seventy-five per cent on each portion.
7. Under Ohio Administrative Code 1301:5-1-05, the real estate examination is divided into a national law portion and an Ohio state law portion. The Ohio state law portion makes up what share of the examination?
- A. One-third ✓
- B. One-half
- C. Two-thirds
- D. Three-quarters
Why: Ohio Administrative Code 1301:5-1-05(E) segments the examination into a national law portion comprising two-thirds and an Ohio state law portion comprising the remaining one-third. In practice PSI delivers this as 80 national items and 40 Ohio items.
8. How long does an Ohio salesperson applicant have to pass both portions of the licensing examination after the Division of Real Estate notifies the testing vendor of the applicant's eligibility?
- A. Six months
- B. Twelve months ✓
- C. Eighteen months
- D. Twenty-four months
Why: Ohio Administrative Code 1301:5-1-05(A) and (F) give the applicant twelve months from the date the division notifies the testing vendor of eligibility to pass both portions. If the applicant passes one portion but does not retake and pass the other within that period, the previously passed portion becomes invalid and the applicant's file is closed.
9. Within how long must a newly licensed Ohio real estate salesperson complete and submit proof of the required 20-hour post-license course?
- A. Six months after the license issue date
- B. Twelve months after the license issue date ✓
- C. Twelve months after the first renewal
- D. Three years after the license issue date
Why: Section 4735.09(J), Ohio Revised Code requires the licensee to submit proof of completion of twenty hours of post-license instruction not later than twelve months after the date the salesperson license is issued. If the proof is not submitted, the license is suspended automatically, and it is revoked automatically if the licensee fails to clear that suspension within another twelve months.
10. The Ohio real estate recovery fund pays valid claims filed against any one licensee up to what amount?
- A. $10,000
- B. $25,000
- C. $40,000 ✓
- D. $100,000
Why: Section 4735.12, Ohio Revised Code sets the fund's liability at $40,000 for the valid claims of all aggrieved persons against any one licensee. If valid claims exceed that amount they are distributed in proportion to the claims. A licensee whose license is suspended because of a fund payment cannot be reactivated until the amount paid on that licensee's account is repaid in full plus interest.
Want more Ohio-specific questions? Practice the full Ohio state-law set.
Frequently asked questions
- Does Ohio split the real estate exam into a national part and a state part?
- Yes, and unlike single-exam states the two parts are scored separately. Under Ohio Administrative Code 1301:5-1-05(E) the exam is segmented into a national law portion worth two-thirds and an Ohio state law portion worth one-third. PSI delivers 80 national items and 40 Ohio items, 120 scored questions in total, in one session. You must pass both portions, at 70% each, within a 12-month eligibility window, and you are not allowed to split the national and state items into two different sessions unless you have already passed one portion.
- What score do you need to pass the Ohio real estate salesperson exam?
- A scaled score of at least 70% on each portion, national and state. Ohio scores the two portions separately, so a strong national score cannot rescue a failed state score, or the reverse. That differs from states such as Florida that grade the whole exam on one pass line. A small number of experimental questions (5 to 10) are embedded in the exam and are not scored, though they do count against your testing time.
- How many hours of pre-license education does Ohio require?
- 100 hours, split into four courses: Real Estate Principles and Practices (40), Ohio Real Estate Law (40, including civil rights, housing discrimination and desegregation), Real Estate Appraisal (10) and Real Estate Finance (10). House Bill 238, effective April 9, 2025, cut the appraisal and finance courses from 20 hours each to 10, dropping the total from 120 to 100. Material published before that date, including many prep-school pages, still quotes 120 hours.
- Can you retake the Ohio real estate exam, and how soon?
- Yes, with no limit on the number of attempts (R.C. 4735.09(C)). If you fail only one portion you retake just that portion, and the portion you passed stays valid for the balance of your 12-month eligibility window (OAC 1301:5-1-05(F)). Ohio publishes no mandatory waiting period, so you can reschedule as soon as a seat is available. Each retake requires a new $81 application processing fee to the Division plus the PSI exam fee, which is $43 for the state portion, $46 for the national portion, or $66 for both.
- What happens after you pass the Ohio exam and get licensed?
- You must complete a single 20-hour post-licensure course and submit the certificate within 12 months of the license issue date. Missing that deadline suspends the license automatically, and failing to clear the suspension within another 12 months revokes it (R.C. 4735.09(J)). Your first renewal falls on the first birthday after licensure and needs no continuing education, only renewal information and the $182 salesperson renewal fee. After that you renew every three years, tied to your birthday, with 30 hours of continuing education including 3 hours each in civil rights, core law and canons of ethics.
See where you stand in 10 minutes
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- PSI Services LLC, Ohio Real Estate Salesperson and Broker Candidate Information Bulletin, updated 7/1/2026 (salesperson national 80 items / 120 minutes, state 40 items / 60 minutes, both 120 items / 180 minutes, 70% on each portion; exam fees national only $46, state only $43, state and national together $66; 5 to 10 experimental unscored questions that count against time; report 30 minutes early; test center or online proctored) (verified 2026-10-03)
- Ohio Department of Commerce, Division of Real Estate and Professional Licensing, Requirements for an Ohio Real Estate Salesperson's License (age 18; high school diploma if born after 1950; sponsor by an Ohio broker; education 40 plus 40 plus 10 plus 10 hours; $81.00 Salesperson Examination Application fee; state and FBI criminal records checks; pass both the State and National portions, passing score 70) (verified 2026-10-03)
- Ohio Department of Commerce, Division of Real Estate and Professional Licensing, Real Estate FAQ (renew every three years; salesperson renewal fee $182; 30 hours of CE with 3 hours each of canons of ethics, core law and civil rights; first renewal on the first birthday after licensure with no CE; 20-hour post-licensure certificate due one year from the license issue date; $91 late fee; $34 reactivation fee) (verified 2026-10-03)
- Ohio Administrative Code, Rule 1301:5-1-05, Examinations, effective March 28, 2025 (applicant has 12 months from the date the division notifies the vendor of eligibility to pass both portions; content segmented into national law two-thirds and Ohio state law one-third; salesperson must achieve a scaled score of at least 70% on each portion, broker 75%; applicant retakes only the failed portion but must reapply and remit a new application processing fee; a passed portion stays valid for the eligibility period) (verified 2026-10-03)
- Ohio Administrative Code, Rule 1301:5-7-02, Continuing education requirements, effective February 10, 2019 (licensees must certify completion of 30 hours of continuing education every three years, including a minimum of three classroom hours each in civil rights, core law, and canons of ethics) (verified 2026-10-03)
- Ohio Revised Code, Section 4735.09, Salesperson's application and license qualifications, effective September 30, 2025 (application recommended by an associated broker; $81 nonrefundable fee that includes the initial year of the licensing period; no limit on retakes; 18 years old; high school diploma if born after 1950; 40 plus 40 plus 10 plus 10 hours of pre-license instruction; 20 hours of post-license instruction within 12 months of license issue, with automatic suspension and then revocation for noncompletion) (verified 2026-10-03)
- Ohio Revised Code, Section 4735.141, Continuing education (30 hours on or before the licensee's birthday three years after initial licensure and every three years thereafter; licensees 70 or older complete 9 hours; renewal denied for noncompliance) (verified 2026-10-03)
- Ohio Revised Code, Section 4735.03, Ohio real estate commission, effective October 3, 2023 (five members appointed by the governor with senate consent; four must have been licensed brokers for the preceding ten years and one represents the public; five-year terms) (verified 2026-10-03)
- Ohio Revised Code, Section 4735.12, Real estate recovery fund (the fund's liability is $40,000 for claims against any one licensee; a licensee cannot be reactivated until the amount paid on that licensee's account is repaid in full plus interest) (verified 2026-10-03)
- Ohio Revised Code, Section 4735.21, Right of action and limits on salespersons (a salesperson may not sell, assign or otherwise transfer any interest in a commission to an unlicensed person or entity, and the broker shall not pay the transferee any portion of the commission) (verified 2026-10-03)
- Exam details are checked against the Ohio Division of Real Estate and Professional Licensing, Ohio Department of Commerce and its testing vendor. Always confirm current requirements with the board before your exam.