Pass Your Alabama Real Estate Exam the First Time

AL is a "Caveat Emptor" (Buyer Beware) state. Students often confuse this with the "Full Disclosure" rules taught in national prep.

Questions

120

80 NAT / 40 STATE

To Pass

70%

SCALED SCORE

Time Limit

3.5 Hrs

210 TOTAL MINUTES

Provider

Pearson VUE

AREC

Exam data verified August 2026Licensed CC-BY 4.0

Pass your Alabama Salesperson or Broker License

Alabama is one of the only states still operating under Caveat Emptor, and every candidate trained on national materials walks in expecting rules that do not apply here.

Courses built for a national audience teach seller disclosure as the default. Alabama takes a different approach, and the gap between what candidates expect and what AREC actually enforces is wide enough to fail entire sections. AI generated question banks were built for states with mandatory disclosure regimes. The content that defines Alabama exam performance was never part of those banks because those banks were not written by people who practice in this state.

The License Professor is built by licensed Alabama professionals who know what AREC tests. Every question on AREC regulations, trust accounting rules, and brokerage procedures is drawn from Alabama law and Commission rule, not from a shared national bank.

Alabama Sample Exams

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Salesperson

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 Alabama Students Most

Caveat Emptor Rule

Alabama is one of only a handful of states that still follows "buyer beware" for used homes, meaning sellers have almost no duty to disclose defects — students bomb this because they confuse the three narrow exceptions (fiduciary duty, health/safety threats, direct buyer inquiry) with the full-disclosure rules taught in national prep.

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Violations & Disciplinary Actions

Violations is 15 of the 40 state questions per AREC's content outline — more than a third of the state portion — yet most prep courses barely touch it because it isn't a single memorable rule like caveat emptor. Students lose points on misrepresentation, improper advertising, and trust-account commingling scenarios they never practiced.

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RECAD Disclosures

The Real Estate Consumers Agency and Disclosure Act requires both a Brokerage Services Disclosure form AND an Agency Disclosure Office Policy, and the exam tests exact timing and signature requirements that trip up students who lump all Alabama disclosure forms together.

Read the full breakdown →

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

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Alabama Real Estate Practice Questions

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

1. After buyer Priya tells salesperson Robert she won't sign an agency agreement and wants to negotiate independently, Robert is later asked by the seller to represent the seller's interests in that same transaction. Is Robert legally barred from doing so because he previously acted as Priya's transaction facilitator?

  1. A.Yes, once he facilitates for one party he can never represent anyone else in that transaction.
  2. B.No, because Robert never became Priya's agent as a facilitator, he is not barred by a prior fiduciary relationship with her from later representing the seller in the same transaction.
  3. C.Yes, but only if Priya objects in writing within 10 days.
  4. D.No, but only if Priya pays Robert a release fee first.
Explanation: Because Robert only ever acted as Priya's transaction facilitator, not her agent, no fiduciary relationship or duty of loyalty was created that would bar him from later representing the seller in the same deal, consistent with Ala. Code Section 34-27-82 and AREC Rule 790-X-3-.13. Alabama law imposes no 10-day objection window or release-fee mechanism governing this situation. The facilitator's non-agency status is precisely what makes the later representation permissible.

2. How long must an Alabama broker retain transaction records and documentation after a real estate transaction closes?

  1. A.1 year from closing date
  2. B.2 years from closing date
  3. C.3 years from closing date
  4. D.5 years from closing date
Explanation: Alabama law requires brokers to maintain all transaction records, including contracts, agreements, and correspondence, for at least three years from the date of closing or from the date of the listing if no closing occurs.

3. In Alabama, John and Mary Jones purchased a home for $25,000, held as tenants in common with each spouse owning a one-half separate-property interest. Upon John's death, Mary inherited his one-half interest, and by then the home's fair market value had increased to $35,000. Mary later sold the home for $35,000. What is Mary's reportable federal income tax gain from the sale?

  1. A.$5,000
  2. B.$10,000
  3. C.$35,000
  4. D.None of the above.
Explanation: Alabama is a common-law, separate-property state -- there is no automatic step-up in basis for a surviving co-owner's own share, only for the share inherited from the deceased co-owner. Mary's basis in her own one-half interest remains $12,500 (half of the $25,000 purchase price). John's one-half interest receives a stepped-up basis equal to its fair market value at his death: $17,500 (half of $35,000). Mary's combined basis is therefore $12,500 + $17,500 = $30,000. Selling for $35,000 produces a taxable gain of $35,000 - $30,000 = $5,000.
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Alabama Real Estate Exam Structure: What to Expect

The Alabama Salesperson exam combines 80 general questions and 40 state-specific questions — 120 scored questions total, plus 10-15 unscored pretest items — in 210 minutes (3.5 hours). Pearson VUE reports one overall scaled score covering both portions combined, not a separate pass/fail threshold per portion — a scaled score of 70 or higher on the combined exam is a pass.

Question breakdown

General portion: 80 questions

Standard Pearson VUE national content.

Alabama portion: 40 questions

Topics:

  • Violations & Disciplinary Actions (15 questions) — the largest single category
  • Licensing Requirements (7 questions)
  • Broker Licenses, Company Licenses, and Place of Business (5 questions)
  • RECAD (3 questions)
  • License Status, Recovery Fund, Trust Funds, Estimated Closing Statement (10 questions combined)

The Broker exam uses this same 120-question, 3.5-hour structure and 70-point passing threshold as the Salesperson exam — if you've reviewed the breakdown above, you already know what to expect.

Time management

210 minutes for 120 scored questions = 105 seconds per question. Generous.

Cost structure

  • Pre-licensing (60 hours): $300-$600
  • Exam: $73
  • License: $30
  • Background check: ~$40
  • Total: $443-$743

Retake rules

Retakes allowed within your 6-month exam authorization window (unlimited attempts). $73 per attempt. A passing result is valid for 90 days when applying for your license.

Topics Covered on the Alabama Real Estate Exam

National Exam Topics (80 questions)

  1. Property Ownership — Estates, deeds, easements
  2. Land Use Controls — Zoning, government powers
  3. Valuation — Three approaches, CMA
  4. Financing — Mortgages, FHA/VA, RESPA, TILA
  5. Agency Principles — National agency framework
  6. Disclosures — Federal disclosures including lead paint
  7. Contracts — Listing agreements, purchase contracts
  8. Leasing — Lease provisions, landlord-tenant law

Alabama State Exam Topics (40 questions)

  1. Violations & Disciplinary Actions — Misrepresentation, advertising rules, failure to disclose, commingling — by far the largest state-portion category
  2. Alabama Licensing Requirements — Title 34 Chapter 27, AREC rules, qualifications, renewal, CE
  3. Broker Licenses, Company Licenses, and Place of Business — Qualifying broker rules, branch offices
  4. RECAD — Brokerage Services Disclosure, Agency Disclosure Office Policy, single agency vs. transaction brokerage
  5. License Status, Recovery Fund, Trust Funds, Estimated Closing Statement — smaller but scored categories

Why this list matters

Per AREC's official content outline (effective February 1, 2026), Violations Which May Result in Disciplinary Actions is 15 of the 40 state questions — more than a third of the state portion, and the largest single category by far. Licensing Requirements is next at 7. RECAD, despite the attention it gets in national prep courses, is only 3.

Source: AL state content outline #093301, effective 2026-02-01.

What this list doesn't tell you

Pearson VUE writes scenario-based questions. Practice questions, not just topic review.

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