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Ohio Real Estate Salesperson Practice Exam (State Portion)

What This Practice Exam Covers

The Ohio Real Estate Salesperson state exam is 40 questions. You have 60 minutes to complete it. You need a 70% — that's 28 correct answers — to pass.

This practice exam covers the four state-law topic areas Ohio tests: State Governance of the Real Estate Profession, Licensing Requirements, License Law and Rules of the Ohio Real Estate Commission, and Brokerage Relationships (Agency Law).

Free practice exam: 10 questions per attempt, pulled from a limited question pool. No time pressure, no account required. Take it as many times as you want to get a feel for the format and question style before committing.

Full practice exam (paid): 40 questions, 60-minute timer — same structure as the real thing. Drawn from a pool of 244+ questions, so every attempt gives you a different set. No duplicate exams. Every question maps to the official exam topic breakdown.

Start with the free exam. If your score is rough, that tells you something useful before you sit down with the real test.

What You'll Be Tested On

State Governance of the Real Estate Profession — 4 exam items

Four questions doesn't sound like much, but these questions reward precision. You need to know the structure and authority of the Ohio Real Estate Commission and the Division of Real Estate — who does what, and what powers each body holds.

General Powers and Structure of Governing Bodies: Know the difference between the Ohio Real Estate Commission and the Superintendent of the Division of Real Estate. The Commission hears cases and sets rules. The Superintendent handles day-to-day licensing administration. Confusing the two costs you points.

Audit of Records: Brokers can be audited. Know what records are subject to review and who has the authority to conduct an audit.

Investigations, Hearings and Appeals: Understand the complaint process from filing through hearing. Know who has the right to appeal, and to what body.

Violations and Penalties: Know the range of sanctions — reprimands, fines, suspension, revocation. Education sanctions are specifically tested. The exam will present a scenario and ask what penalty applies.

Recovery Fund: Know who can make a claim, what the maximum payout is per transaction and per licensee, and what happens to the licensee's license after a Recovery Fund payment is made on their behalf.

Licensing Requirements — 6 exam items

Activities Requiring a License: The exam tests whether you know what triggers the license requirement. Certain activities — selling your own property, acting as an attorney-in-fact, specific property management arrangements — have exemptions. Know the exemptions cold.

License Renewal and Maintenance: Ohio salesperson licenses renew every 3 years. Know the renewal cycle, deadlines, and what happens if a license lapses.

Change in License Status: Know the rules for military status, retired licensee status, and inactive status. Each carries specific conditions for returning to active practice. Military provisions in particular show up on the exam.

Post License Education and Continuing Education: New salespersons have post-licensing education requirements separate from continuing education. Know the hours required for each, the timing, and the approved subject matter. Missing a CE deadline has consequences — the exam will ask about those.

License Law and Rules of the Ohio Real Estate Commission — 16 exam items

This is the heaviest topic. Forty percent of your exam comes from here. Budget your time and study accordingly.

Advertising/Use of Business Name/Misrepresentation/Team Advertising: Salesperson ads must include the brokerage name in equal prominence. Team advertising has its own rules. Misrepresentation — including omission — is tested through scenario questions.

Broker/Salesperson Employment or Independent Contractor Agreement: Know what must be in writing and what the agreement must address. The distinction between employee and independent contractor status has specific requirements under Ohio law.

Commissions and Fees Paid Through Broker Only/Agent Compensation: Salespersons cannot accept compensation directly from anyone other than their broker. Know who can pay whom, and under what circumstances a referral fee is permissible.

Document Handling and Record Keeping: Know retention periods for contracts and listings. Know who holds the documents and who gets copies.

Handling of Monies/Considerations: Earnest money, deposits, items of value — know the timing requirements for delivery and deposit. Know what "items of value" means under Ohio law and when accepting them is a violation.

Trust or Special Accounts: Know the rules for establishing and maintaining a trust account. Commingling is tested directly and through scenarios. Know what triggers a violation and what the licensee's obligations are.

Brokerage Relationships (Agency Law) — 14 exam items

Fourteen questions. This and License Law together make up 75% of your exam.

Creating Agency and Types of Agency Relationships: Ohio recognizes seller's agency, buyer's agency, dual agency, and designated agency. Know how each is created and what it requires in writing.

Licensee Duties and Obligations: Know the duties owed to clients versus customers. The distinction is tested heavily. Clients get fiduciary-level duties. Customers get honesty and disclosure of material facts. Know what can and cannot be waived.

Termination of Agency: Know the ways agency ends — expiration, completion, mutual agreement, death, destruction of property. Each has different legal effects.

Confidentiality: What information must stay confidential, for how long, and under what circumstances disclosure is required despite a confidentiality obligation.

Disclosure of Agency Relationships and Listing Information: Ohio has specific timing and format requirements for agency disclosure. Know when the disclosure must happen and what triggers it.

Disclosures Required When Dealing with Own Properties: When a licensee buys, sells, or leases property they own — or property owned by a family member — specific disclosures are required. These questions are scenario-based. Read them carefully.

Worked Sample Questions

Question 1
In Ohio, a real estate salesperson may advertise property using only their own name without including their broker's name or company name.

Correct Answer: FALSE

A salesperson's advertisement must identify both the salesperson by name and the brokerage with which they are affiliated. The brokerage name must appear in equal prominence — not smaller font, not buried in fine print. A solo-name ad is a violation. Source: ORC 4735.16(B)(1) and (B)(3)

Question 2
When a person engages in unlicensed real estate activity in Ohio, the Ohio Real Estate Commission may assess a civil penalty not to exceed ______ per violation, with each day the violation occurs or continues constituting a separate violation.

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

Correct Answer: B — $1,000

The cap is $1,000 per violation. The exam will test whether you know that each day counts as a separate violation, which means penalties stack quickly. Don't confuse this figure with other penalty amounts that appear elsewhere in Ohio license law. Source: Ohio Chapter 4735, Section 4735.052(C)(4)

Question 3
How often must Ohio real estate salesperson licenses be renewed?

• A. Every year
• B. Every 2 years
• C. Every 3 years
• D. Every 4 years

Correct Answer: C — Every 3 years

The 3-year cycle is a straightforward fact question, but candidates mix it up with broker renewal schedules. Continuing education requirements attach to this cycle. Source: OAC 1301:5-1-22(A)(B)

How to Read Your Score

Passing is 70% — 28 out of 40 questions correct.

Your first practice attempt is a diagnostic. It tells you where you stand right now, not where you'll be on exam day. Don't treat a low first score as a verdict. Treat it as a map.

Use the topic breakdown after each attempt. If you're dropping points in License Law and Rules — the 16-question topic — that's where your study time goes. If you're solid on Licensing Requirements but shaky on Brokerage Relationships, you have a clear priority.

Scoring in the low 70s on practice is not comfortable margin. The real exam has different question phrasing, and test-day pressure adds friction. If you're hitting 70–74% on practice, keep going. Aim to be consistently above 80% before you sit for the real thing.

Take the full practice exam more than once. The 244+ question pool means you'll see different questions on each attempt, which gives you a more accurate picture of your actual knowledge.

Where Candidates Lose Points

Advertising rules: Candidates know the brokerage name is required but miss the equal prominence requirement. That specific detail shows up on the exam.

Trust account rules: The timing of deposit — not just the fact of deposit — is tested. Candidates know money must go into trust; they lose points because they don't know when.

Client versus customer duties: Mixing up what you owe a client versus a customer costs multiple points across the Brokerage Relationships section. These are scenario questions. Read who the licensee is representing before you answer.

Recovery Fund details: Candidates remember the fund exists but blank on the payout caps and the license consequence after a payout. Both get tested.

Agency disclosure timing: Ohio has specific trigger points for when disclosure must occur. "At first substantive contact" means something specific. Vague answers on timing questions are wrong answers.

Unlicensed activity penalties: The $1,000-per-day structure is easy to confuse with other penalty amounts in the statute. Know the exact figure for unlicensed activity separately from other violation penalties.

Running out of time: 40 questions in 60 minutes is 90 seconds per question. The License Law and Brokerage sections are heavier reading. Pace yourself from the start — don't lose easy points on later questions because you burned time early.

Exam Quick Facts