FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What topics are on the state exam?
There are two portions of the exam: the general portion, and the state-specific portion. They cover things like the general nature of contracts, legal descriptions of property, types of financing available to the purchaser, fairness in housing, and what is meant by representation. There are questions about your role as the salesperson (agent), when you’re assisting somebody through the sale & purchase of a property. For the state-specific portion, they ask about things specific to Minnesota, such as how many days our State allows to get the security deposit back to a tenant, or to get the earnest money deposited.
How hard is the state exam?
It’s actually pretty tough, so we recommend that you plan to put in some time studying. We have you writing during the class, and asking questions. We give you homework assignments to do, and a practice test as well. The responsibility for passing the state exam ultimately lies with you. We do encourage you to purchase our audio book as well – it’s a great study aid.
What else should I know about the state exam?
The general exam is 80 questions, and it lasts 2-1/2 hours. The state portion of the exam is 1-1/2 hours with 65 questions. You need to get 75% on each portion of the exam in order to pass it.
Each portion is treated separately, so if you fail either portion, you’d pay $39 again to retake whichever portion(s) you failed. You may take them as many times as you need to, in order to pass.
The exam is administered through a company called PSI Exams. They’re an international testing organization, and they have a pretty simple calendar registration system on their website. You can take the test from home, or you can take it at one of their facilities.