Why 42% Fail the Texas Real Estate Exam on TREC Forms

Texas requires 180 hours of prelicense education and still posts a 58 percent first-time pass rate, but the mandatory hours don't offset the difficulty of the state-specific content.

The Texas real estate exam covers 85 national questions and 40 state specific questions, administered by Pearson VUE on behalf of the TREC. You need a minimum score of 70% to pass. Promulgated contract forms, the Deceptive Trade Practices Act, and homestead protections are the three areas where most candidates leave points on the table. These sections are specific to Texas and are not covered adequately by any national prep course. Let me break this down: 180 prelicense hours is a lot of study time, and it's a shame to burn points on topics you could have owned.

Promulgated Contract Forms

Texas's promulgated form requirement catches most candidates off guard because no other state mandates Commission-approved forms with so few exceptions. National prep courses teach contract principles but never explain that in Texas, licensees have almost no flexibility to deviate from the approved form set.

TREC mandates Commission promulgated contract forms with almost no exceptions, with only a 58% first time pass rate, this is the #1 reason candidates fail the Texas state exam.

The Pearson VUE exam tests which specific form applies to a given transaction type, what addenda must accompany the contract, and what the narrow exceptions allowing attorney-drafted forms actually require. Know the names of the major promulgated forms. The One to Four Family Residential Contract is just the starting point. In Texas, using the wrong contract form isn't just a procedural error. It's a license law violation.

DTPA (Deceptive Trade)

Texas's Deceptive Trade Practices Act classifies residential real estate as a consumer good, a characterization that most candidates trained nationally have never encountered and that changes how misconduct claims are analyzed and remedied.

The Deceptive Trade Practices Act treats residential real estate as a "consumer good" with treble damages for knowing misconduct, the exam tests specific violations and the mandatory 60-day pre-suit notice.

The Pearson VUE exam tests the mandatory 60-day pre-suit notice requirement, the treble damages standard for knowing violations, and how the DTPA applies to a licensee's misrepresentation during a transaction. Candidates who know only the general concept of consumer protection law will fail the questions that require Texas-specific thresholds and procedures.

The DTPA's application to real estate is a Texas-specific topic that has no equivalent on most other state exams. Study both what counts as a violation and what the buyer must do before filing a claim. Why did the Texas buyer wait 60 days before suing? Because the DTPA said so, and because the treble damages were worth the wait.

Homestead Protections

Texas homestead protections are constitutionally grounded, not just statutory, and the exam tests which lien types can pierce that protection and which cannot, a distinction most candidates get wrong because they assume all judgment liens attach the same way.

Texas constitutionally protects homesteads from forced sale (up to 10 acres urban, 200 acres rural) with only narrow exceptions, the exam tests which lien types can and cannot pierce homestead protection.

Know the 10-acre urban and 200-acre rural size limits, the specific lien types that are exempt from homestead protection (purchase money mortgage, home equity, contractor's lien for improvements, taxes), and the procedural requirements for a valid homestead designation. The exam builds multi-step scenarios around the line between protected and non-protected homestead situations.

Homestead protections vary widely from state to state. Florida has strong homestead exemptions that protect primary residences from most creditor claims, and Colorado offers a homestead exemption capped at a dollar amount. Texas's homestead protections are among the strongest in the nation, and the exam tests both the coverage and the limits of what that protection includes.