Massachusetts Real Estate Exam: What to Expect

The Massachusetts real estate salesperson exam is a computer-based test given by PSI in two portions. The general portion has 80 questions with 150 minutes, and the state portion has 40 questions with 90 minutes, so 120 questions and 240 minutes if you take both in one sitting. You need at least 70% to pass. Before you can sit for it, you must be at least 18, finish 40 hours of education at a Board-approved school, and be approved by the Board (PSI candidate bulletin, updated June 12, 2025; Board exam page).

The exam at a glance

Portion	Questions	Time allowed
General (national principles and practices)	80	150 minutes
State (Massachusetts law and Board rules)	40	90 minutes
Both in one sitting	120	240 minutes

The two portions are graded as separate parts. If you pass one and fail the other, you only retake the one you failed (PSI bulletin).

PSI may add 5 to 10 unscored “experimental” questions it’s testing for future exams. Unlike some states, Massachusetts counts the time you spend on them against your exam time, so don’t linger on any one question. A tutorial of up to 15 minutes, with sample questions, runs first and doesn’t count against your time. Questions appear one at a time, and you can go back and change answers until time runs out. Your score shows on screen when you finish, and PSI emails you a score report. If you fail, the report includes a breakdown of your strengths and weaknesses (same source).

What the general portion covers

The general portion uses the same content outline PSI uses for its national salesperson exam (PSI bulletin):

Topic	Share of general questions
Contracts	19%
Agency	13%
Practice of real estate (fair housing, advertising, handling others’ funds)	12%
Property ownership	10%
Financing	10%
Valuation	8%
Property disclosures	7%
Real estate calculations	7%
Transfer of title	6%
Land use controls	5%
Property management	3%

The math questions cover a seller’s net proceeds, the funds a buyer needs at closing, property tax and other prorations, transfer fees and PITI payment estimates, plus equity, capitalization rates, loan-to-value and discount points.

What the state portion covers

The 40 state questions test Massachusetts real estate law and the Board’s rules. The bulletin gives the exact number of salesperson questions for each area (PSI bulletin):

Topic	Questions	Covers
Duties and powers of the Board	2	Examination of records, fines, suspension and revocation
Licensing requirements	4	Activities that need a license, active, inactive and expired licenses, renewal and continuing education, Board notifications
Requirements governing licensees	13	Advertising, the broker and salesperson relationship, commissions, required disclosures (including rental fee disclosures), agency relationships, handling documents and money, home inspectors
Contracts	2	Offers to purchase, purchase and sale agreements, leases, listing and buyer agreements
Consumer protection laws	5	Property disclosures, misrepresentation, privacy, sanctions and enforcement
Environmental issues and hazardous materials	4	Lead, private sewage disposal, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, wetlands and rivers protection
Massachusetts fair housing law	4	Protected classes that differ from federal law, state exceptions, the MA Commission Against Discrimination, accommodations
Landlord and tenant law	4	Rental deposits, receipts and statements of condition, the State Sanitary Code, short-term vacation rentals
Additional topics	2	Ownership, condominiums, cooperatives and timeshares, registered land

Requirements governing licensees is by far the largest area, with 13 of the 40 questions. If you’re comparing states, New Hampshire and Texas also give a separate 40-question state portion, and their topic lists are quite different (see the New Hampshire salesperson exam guide and the Texas state portion guide).

What you need before you can test

State law requires 40 classroom hours of Board-approved real estate courses before the salesperson exam. Applicants who completed a real property course at an accredited Massachusetts law school can also take the exam (M.G.L. c. 112, § 87SS).

The Board’s exam page lists what a salesperson applicant needs (Board exam page):

• Be at least 18 years old.
• Complete 40 hours of real estate education.
• Provide a Massachusetts Board of Real Estate Educational Certificate of Completion, filled out by a Board-approved school.
• Get three candidate endorsements on the Board’s form. They can’t come from relatives or from classmates in your real estate course.

The endorsement rule has changed over time. The Board’s licensure regulation says the three recommendations must come from people who live or do business in Massachusetts (254 CMR 2.00(7)). The Board’s current exam page and PSI’s 2025 bulletin both say endorsers don’t need to be Massachusetts residents. They are the Board’s more recent guidance, so follow them.

Your education certificate is good for 24 months after you finish the course (254 CMR 2.00(3)). The bulletin says you must apply for and pass the exam within that two-year window and warns against waiting until the certificate is close to expiring (PSI bulletin).

The license application also asks discipline questions. A “yes” answer may affect whether you can be licensed, and the bulletin says the Board doesn’t currently license applicants who are on probation or parole. You must also provide a Social Security or tax ID number and confirm you’ve filed your state tax returns and paid state taxes (same source).

Applying and scheduling with PSI

You apply through the Division of Occupational Licensure’s eLIPSE portal, where you upload your documents, including a DOL CORI (criminal record check) form, and pay. An incomplete application is held open for 180 days, after which it’s treated as abandoned and you’d have to apply and pay again (Board exam page).

Once the Board approves you, you book with PSI at test-takers.psiexams.com/mare or by phone. Your account name must exactly match your government-issued ID. You can pick a test center or a remotely proctored exam (PSI bulletin).

The bulletin’s rules on test day (same source):

• To cancel or reschedule, PSI must hear from you at least 2 days before the exam. A voicemail doesn’t count.
• Arrive at least 30 minutes early. If you’re late you may not be admitted, and you lose the fee.
• At a test center, bring two forms of valid, signature-bearing ID in your registered name. One must be a primary photo ID such as a driver’s license or passport. The second can be a signed credit or debit card, a Social Security card, or another ID from the primary list.
• PSI provides an online calculator. Personal calculators aren’t allowed.
• You must test in Massachusetts. The bulletin lists test centers in Auburn, Boston (Charlestown), Fall River, Lawrence and West Springfield.

What it costs

Item	Fee	Source
Salesperson candidate (application and exam)	$85	Board exam page
Retake, or rebooking after a missed exam	$54	Board exam page, PSI bulletin
Salesperson license	Prorated by birth date	PSI bulletin

PSI’s bulletin splits the $85 into a $31 application fee and a $54 exam fee, and says the exam fee is paid by credit card when you schedule, not at the test center. Exam fees aren’t refundable or transferable and are valid for one year from payment (Board exam page; PSI bulletin).

Your first license fee is prorated because the first license runs from 2 to 3 years, ending on your birthday (PSI bulletin). The Board doesn’t publish the exact amount for new exam candidates. For reference, it lists the regular salesperson renewal fee as $103 (Board renewal page). Prelicensing course tuition is set by each school.

If you don’t pass

Pay the $54 retake fee and book again. You can’t rebook on the same day you test, but PSI’s example says someone who fails on a Wednesday can call on Thursday and may retest as soon as Friday (PSI bulletin). There’s no cap on attempts in the bulletin or the regulation. The limit is time: the failed portion has to be passed within 2 years of the completion date on your education certificate. If the certificate expires, any partial pass expires with it, and you have to retake the education and both portions (same source; Board FAQ).

After you pass

Once you’ve passed both portions, you pay your license fee to the Board in eLIPSE. Under 254 CMR 2.00(5), you have 30 days from being notified that you passed. If you miss that deadline you have to take the exam again and pay for it, unless the Board waives the requirement for good cause (254 CMR 2.00; Board FAQ).

Official sources disagree about how the license is delivered. PSI’s bulletin, updated in June 2025 after the move to eLIPSE, says PSI no longer prints licenses at the test center and that you’ll get a digital license 24 hours after passing, whether you tested in person or online (PSI bulletin). The Board’s exam page and FAQ still say licenses are printed and issued at the test center (Board exam page; Board FAQ). The bulletin is the document that describes the current eLIPSE process, and the FAQ still refers to the older paper Candidate Handbook, so expect to pay and receive your license through eLIPSE.

To renew your first license as active, you need 12 hours of continuing education. Without it, the license renews as inactive and you can’t practice (PSI bulletin).

Working under a broker

You don’t need a broker to apply for the exam, but you do to work. A salesperson can’t run their own real estate business and may act only as the representative of a licensed broker, who is responsible for the salesperson and must approve the deals they negotiate. You can be affiliated with only one broker at a time, as an employee or an independent contractor, and you can be paid only by your own broker (M.G.L. c. 112, § 87RR). The law defines a salesperson as someone who can do anything a broker does except complete the negotiation of a deal (M.G.L. c. 112, § 87PP).

If you later want a broker license, you’ll need 3 years of affiliation with a Massachusetts broker at 25 or more hours a week, plus another 40 hours of education (Board exam page).

How to study for it

• Use the outline to split your time. Contracts, agency and practice of real estate make up 44% of the general portion, and requirements governing licensees is a third of the state portion.
• Study the state topics from Massachusetts sources. Landlord and tenant law, the State Sanitary Code, lead and private sewage disposal are tested as Massachusetts rules, so a national textbook alone won’t cover them.
• Practice the math without your own calculator, since you’ll be using PSI’s on-screen one.
• Watch the clock. On the general portion, 150 minutes for 80 questions is just under two minutes each, and any experimental questions come out of that time.
• PSI sells a practice exam you can take as many times as you like, paying each time. It warns that a good practice score doesn’t guarantee a pass (PSI bulletin).