Pass Your South Dakota Real Estate Exam the First Time

South Dakota requires 116 hours of pre-licensing education. The exam tests agricultural land transactions and water rights. Fun fact: South Dakota has no state income tax, which attracts businesses and creates interesting commercial opportunities!

Questions

142

90 NAT / 52 STATE

To Pass

75%

~114 / 142 TO PASS

Time Limit

4.5 Hrs

270 TOTAL MINUTES

Provider

PSI

SDREC

Pass your South Dakota Broker Associate or Broker License

South Dakota has some of the lowest license exam volume in the country and almost no study resources built specifically for this state.

National prep courses treat South Dakota as a generic western state and skip the specific disclosure rules, adverse possession standards, and agency requirements that the SDREC exam draws from directly. AI language models trained on national content cannot cover state specific requirements accurately, and candidates who rely on generic materials are preparing for an exam that does not exist.

The License Professor is written by licensed South Dakota professionals who know the PSI state portion’s content. Every question on South Dakota disclosure obligations, adverse possession rules, and broker supervision requirements is drawn from South Dakota law.

South Dakota Sample Exams

Experience the real study interface — no account required.

Broker Associate

Individuals new to real estate who want to start their career helping clients buy and sell property

Broker

Experienced professionals who want to operate independently or run their own brokerage

Three Topics that Trip Up South Dakota Students Most

Agency Disclosure (Mandatory)

South Dakota mandates written agency disclosure before any contract is signed — miss the timing rule and you will lose easy points on the state portion.

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Adverse Possession Rules

South Dakota requires 20 years of open, continuous, and hostile possession (or 10 years with color of title plus tax payments) — the exam tests the difference between those two statutory periods.

Seller Disclosure Conditions

Sellers must provide the Property Condition Disclosure Statement before the buyer makes a written offer, but the long list of exemptions (court orders, foreclosures, fiduciary transfers) is where most students get tangled.

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The South Dakota Real Estate License Professor includes specialized deep dives for each of these.

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South Dakota Real Estate Practice Questions

Sample questions from the South Dakota real estate exam — with answers and explanations.

1. A Sioux Falls listing's buyer is comparing four lenders. The one that is NOT institutional is:

  1. A.A private individual seller.
  2. B.A savings and loan association.
  3. C.A mortgage company.
  4. D.A pension fund.
Explanation: A private individual seller financing a sale directly isn't operating as a regulated lending institution at all, which sets it apart from the others. Savings and loans, mortgage companies, and pension funds are treated differently for exam purposes, but the private seller is unmistakably non-institutional.

2. Under South Dakota law, which form of property ownership allows a surviving owner to automatically acquire the deceased owner's interest without probate?

  1. A.Community property
  2. B.Tenancy in common
  3. C.Joint tenancy with right of survivorship
  4. D.Tenancy by entirety
Explanation: Joint tenancy with right of survivorship provides automatic transfer of the deceased's interest to surviving joint tenants outside probate through the right of survivorship. Tenancy in common does not include survivorship rights. South Dakota does not recognize community property or tenancy by entirety.

3. A rental policy prohibits pit bulls in all units, affecting minority tenants disproportionately. What fair housing concept applies?

  1. A.Blockbusting
  2. B.Disparate impact
  3. C.Steering
  4. D.Disparate treatment
Explanation: A facially neutral policy that causes discriminatory effects based on protected class status demonstrates disparate impact. Even without discriminatory intent, policies with disproportionate effects on protected classes may violate fair housing laws unless justified by legitimate needs.
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More on South Dakota Licensing

Deeper reading on the topics that matter most for South Dakota candidates.

South Dakota Real Estate Exam Structure: What to Expect

South Dakota's Broker Associate exam combines 90 national questions and 52 South Dakota-specific questions — 142 scored questions total — in 270 minutes.

Question breakdown

National portion: 90 questions, 150 minutes, 100 points possible, 75% passing

Contracts (19%) and Agency (13%) are the largest national categories.

State portion: 52 questions, 120 minutes, 52 points, 75% passing

  • Duties and Powers of the Real Estate Commission (4 items)
  • Licensing Requirements (6 items)
  • Statutory Requirements Governing the Activities of Licensees (42 items) — 81% of the state exam

Cost structure

  • Pre-licensing (116 hours): $400-$800
  • Exam (combo): $98
  • License application: $50
  • Background check: ~$40
  • Total: $588-$988

Retake rules

Retake only the failed portion — $98 per attempt, whether retaking one portion or both.

Topics Covered on the South Dakota Real Estate Exam

National Exam Topics (90 questions, by weight)

  1. Property Ownership (10%)
  2. Land Use Controls (5%)
  3. Valuation (8%)
  4. Financing (9%)
  5. Contracts (19%) — the largest national category
  6. Agency (13%)
  7. Property Disclosures (7%)
  8. Property Management (5%)
  9. Transfer of Title (6%)
  10. Practice of Real Estate (12%)
  11. Real Estate Calculations (6%)

South Dakota State Exam Topics (52 questions)

  1. Duties and Powers of the Real Estate Commission (4 items)
  2. Licensing Requirements (6 items)
  3. Statutory Requirements Governing the Activities of Licensees (42 items) — 81% of the state exam, the single most concentrated category found across any state in this sprint

Why this list matters

No other state reconciled this sprint concentrates its state exam this heavily into one category. Master Statutory Requirements Governing the Activities of Licensees and you've covered the overwhelming majority of South Dakota's state-specific content.

What this list doesn't tell you

Despite being one named category, "Statutory Requirements" spans a genuinely wide range — agency, disclosure, trust accounts, advertising, and license law violations. Study each sub-area individually, not as one undifferentiated block.

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