NH Real Estate Broker Exam: Requirements and Format

To sit for the New Hampshire real estate broker exam you need 60 hours of approved study finished before your test date. To get the license afterward, you also need a year of full-time work for a principal broker or 2,000 part-time hours as a New Hampshire salesperson, plus 6 transactions you were paid for (RSA 331-A:10). The exam itself is given by PSI in two portions: 75 national questions worth 80 points in 150 minutes, and 40 state questions in 90 minutes. You need 56 points on the national and 28 on the state, which is 70% on each (PSI candidate bulletin, updated July 1, 2025).

The exam at a glance

Portion	Scored questions	Points	Time allowed	Passing score
National	75	80	150 minutes	56 points
State	40	40	90 minutes	28 points
Both in one sitting	115	120	240 minutes	84 points

The national portion has fewer questions than the salesperson version but the same 80 points, because some broker questions are scored up to 2 points (same source). These are scenario-based. In PSI’s sample, you read a short situation and pick the best of six responses: the best answer earns 2 points, a couple of reasonable alternatives earn 1, and the rest earn nothing. In the sample, two questions share one scenario.

You must reach 70% on each portion separately, even if you take both in one sitting (Rea 303.05). The tutorial, the 5 to 10 unscored experimental questions, the on-screen format and the calculator rules are the same as on the salesperson exam, covered in the NH salesperson exam guide.

What the national portion covers

PSI uses one national outline for both licenses and marks a few topics as broker only. Broker weights (PSI bulletin):

Topic	Broker share	Salesperson share
Contracts	19%	19%
Agency	13%	13%
Practice of real estate	12%	12%
Property ownership	10%	10%
Financing	9%	10%
Valuation	8%	8%
Property disclosures	7%	7%
Transfer of title	6%	6%
Real estate calculations	6%	7%
Land use controls	5%	5%
Property management	5%	3%

The broker-only material sits in two areas. Under property management, you’re tested on a manager’s duties for maintenance, improvements, reporting and risk management, on handling landlord and tenant funds through trust accounts, and on the terms of property management contracts. Under practice of real estate, a supervisory section covers a broker’s responsibility for licensees, teams and unlicensed assistants, and the broker’s relationship with licensees who are employees or independent contractors.

What the state portion covers

The broker and salesperson state portions share one outline of 40 questions on RSA 331-A and the Commission’s Rea rules: the Commission (3 questions), licensure (5), licensee conduct (11), agency conduct (11) and New Hampshire principles and practice (10) (same source). The salesperson guide breaks down what each of those areas includes. As a broker candidate, give extra time to the parts that fall on brokers: trust accounts and escrow funds (RSA 331-A:13 and Rea 702), recordkeeping, branch offices, brokerage contracts, and the broker and salesperson relationship.

The 60 hours of approved study

The 60 hours must be done before your exam date (RSA 331-A:10, II(b)). Under the current rule, any one of these meets the requirement on its own (Rea 301.03(k)):

• A law degree, if you’re a licensed attorney who practices or practiced real estate law within the last 5 years.
• A bachelor’s degree with a real estate major, a bachelor’s degree with coursework equivalent to a real estate major, or an associate’s degree in real estate, earned within 5 years before the exam.
• The CCIM or GRI designation, earned within 5 years before the exam.

Otherwise you build the 60 hours from these pieces (Rea 301.03(l) to (o)):

Source of hours	How it counts
Commission-approved continuing education taken within 24 months before the exam (one 3-hour core course plus electives)	1 hour per course hour
A new 40-hour accredited prelicensing course that began within 6 months before the exam	1 hour per course hour
Real estate related college credit courses from the last 5 years, such as accounting, finance, real estate law or appraisal	12 hours for each approved course of 3 credits or more

The prelicensing course you used for your salesperson license can’t be counted again. The new course follows the same delivery limits as the salesperson course: at least 32 hours in a classroom or real-time live online class, and no more than 8 hours of other distance education. Other courses can be submitted to the Commission for accreditation. If you test before the 60 hours are complete, you have to retake the entire exam, even portions you passed (Rea 301.03(r)).

Experience and transactions

The statute gives three ways to meet the experience requirement, each measured within 5 years of the date you apply for the license (RSA 331-A:10, II(c)):

1. At least one year employed full time by an active principal broker.
2. At least 2,000 part-time hours as a licensed salesperson in New Hampshire.
3. Experience the Commission finds equivalent. You file the Commission’s equivalent experience form, and PSI’s bulletin says you may be asked to meet with the Commission (Rea 301.03(j); PSI bulletin).

Separately, you must show at least 6 real estate transactions in which you were actively involved and were paid, or prove equivalent experience (RSA 331-A:10, II(g)). Your employing broker signs a statement listing their license number, the dates you worked for them, your hours per week and whether you were full or part time (OPLC application checklist, rev. 02/2026).

You also need to be at least 18, have no record of unprofessional conduct, give evidence of good reputation, and complete a criminal records check (same statute).

Registering, fees and scheduling

You apply and book with PSI online, the same way salesperson candidates do. The salesperson guide walks through the steps. You must test within 3 months of the date your registration is received, and you can cancel or reschedule without losing the fee if you give at least 2 calendar days’ notice (PSI bulletin).

Item	Fee	Paid to
Broker national portion	$36	PSI
Broker state portion	$34	PSI
Both portions	$70	PSI
Broker license application (2-year license)	$121	OPLC
Surety bond, principal or managing broker only	At least $25,000 in coverage	Bought from a surety company

PSI’s exam fees are non-refundable and valid for one year from payment (same source). The $121 license fee is on OPLC’s fee page and in Plc 1002.45, effective July 1, 2025. The Commission’s older rule, Rea 301.02, still lists a $110 broker license fee and a $170 exam fee from when the Commission ran registration (Rea 301.02). The OPLC fee rule is newer and is what OPLC charges. The bond amount is set by RSA 331-A:14; the bulletin doesn’t list a premium, and the cost depends on the surety.

If you don’t pass

You retake only the portion you failed, with a new registration and fee. Under the current rule, you must pass both portions within 6 months of your original exam date and within 8 attempts. Otherwise you have to complete another accredited prelicensing course and retake the whole exam (Rea 303.05).

After you pass

Don’t send the license application until you’ve passed both portions, and don’t sign it more than 30 days before you submit it (Rea 301.03(s) and (t)). You apply through OPLC’s online portal (OPLC license applications). OPLC’s checklist asks brokers for (OPLC checklist):

• The Universal Application for Initial Licensure and the Real Estate Broker Application Form.
• Affidavits from three character references who aren’t related to you by blood or marriage.
• The employing broker’s experience statement, or the equivalent experience form.
• Proof of your 60 hours of study.
• A New Hampshire criminal history check, and a report from any other jurisdiction where you have a conviction that hasn’t been annulled, dated within 6 months.
• The $25,000 surety bond, if you’re applying as a principal or managing broker.
• If you live outside New Hampshire, an irrevocable consent and power-of-attorney statement.

New Hampshire has three broker license types. An associate broker works under a principal broker, a managing broker runs a branch office, and the principal broker is the one the Commission holds responsible for the licensees assigned to them (RSA 331-A:2). Each type needs its own application (OPLC FAQs). OPLC asks you to allow 10 to 14 business days for processing and sends licenses by email (same source).

The salesperson guide explains a conflict on score reports that applies to brokers too: OPLC’s checklist says you must arrange for the testing company to send your scores directly to OPLC, while PSI’s bulletin says to mail your original score reports. Ask OPLC which it wants when you apply.

Proposed rule changes

In December 2025 the Commission proposed replacing its Rea 300 licensing rules. A public hearing was held on February 17, 2026, and as of October 19, 2026 OPLC still lists the rules as proposed, so the current rules above still apply (OPLC laws and rules). For brokers, the proposal would (proposed Rea 300):

• Let the 60 hours be any combination of a law degree, a real estate degree, CCIM or GRI education, and approved continuing education from the prior 24 months. The proposed list doesn’t include a new 40-hour prelicensing course or college credit courses.
• Define equivalent experience as 3 years of full-time work as an assistant or administrator for a licensee, or as a paralegal in a New Hampshire real estate law firm where real estate is at least half the work.
• Require that your involvement in each of the 6 transactions equal at least 50% of the overall brokerage involvement.
• Drop the 6-month and 8-attempt limits on passing both portions.

If you’re starting your 60 hours now, check whether the new rules have been adopted before you count on any piece of your plan.