Pass Your Maryland Real Estate Exam the First Time

The Maryland salesperson exam is administered by PSI Exams in five locations across the state. It's a single sitting that combines the national and state-specific portions, totaling 110 questions in 120 minutes (90 minutes for the national portion, 30 minutes for the state portion, timed separately).

Question breakdown by section

National portion: 80 questions, 90 minutes, 56 correct to pass

The national portion covers content shared across most US real estate exams. Maryland uses the standard PSI national content library, which includes:

• Property ownership and land use controls (~17%): Estates, deeds, easements, encroachments, zoning, and government powers
• Valuation and market analysis (~14%): Comparative market analysis, the appraisal process, market value vs assessed value
• Financing (~13%): Mortgages, deeds of trust, FHA/VA loans, RESPA, TILA, lender qualifications
• Real estate calculations (~12%): Math you actually need: prorations, commission, area, taxes, loan payments
• Laws of agency (~13%): Agency relationships, fiduciary duties, disclosure requirements
• Mandated disclosures (~10%): Federal disclosure requirements, including lead-based paint
• Contracts (~13%): Listing agreements, buyer agency, sales contracts, options, leases
• Property condition and disclosures (~5%): Material defects, environmental concerns
• Other (~3%): Land descriptions, transfer of title, fair housing

Maryland portion: 30 questions, 30 minutes, 21 correct to pass

The 30 state questions are where most candidates lose points. The breakdown:

• Maryland license law and rules: MREC regulations, license categories, broker supervision
• Maryland agency law: Designated agency, dual agency, disclosure timing
• Property disclosures: Maryland-specific disclosure requirements, stigma rules
• Ground rent: Maryland's unique ground rent system (almost guaranteed to appear)
• Real estate transactions: Settlement procedures, recording, escrow handling
• Continuing education and license maintenance: Renewal requirements, fee schedules

Question format

All questions are multiple choice with four options. There's no penalty for guessing, so answer every question. Only correct answers count toward your score.

PSI uses scenario-based questions on the state portion. Expect questions like:

"A Maryland buyer asks the listing agent whether someone died in the home five years ago. The agent doesn't know. Which response is permissible under Maryland law?"

These test whether you understand the rule, not just whether you've memorized a definition.

Time management

The two portions are timed separately, so you pace each one on its own, not as one combined 110-question pool.

National portion: 90 minutes for 80 questions, about 68 seconds per question. A practical approach:

1. First pass (35 minutes): Answer questions you know quickly. Mark anything that requires extra thought.
2. Second pass (30 minutes): Work through marked questions.
3. Final pass (25 minutes): Review marked answers and use any remaining time.

State portion: 30 minutes for 30 questions, about 60 seconds per question — tighter, since it's a shorter section with no separate review pass built in. Move steadily and flag anything you're unsure of to revisit if time allows.

Running out of time is uncommon on either portion, but rushing through the state portion is the more common mistake.

Cost structure

• Pre-licensing education: $200-$400 typical
• Exam fee: $44 per attempt (PSI)
• License application fee: $90 (paid to MREC after passing)
• Background check: $35-$65 typical
• Total estimated: $369-$599 to get fully licensed

Retake rules

If you fail one or both portions:

• 24-hour minimum wait before re-scheduling
• No cap on attempts
• $44 fee per retake
• Each retake includes only the failed portion(s)

Maryland doesn't have a "fail too many times and you're out" rule. Take it as many times as you need, as long as you keep paying the fee.

Score report

PSI provides preliminary results immediately after you finish. You'll see "Pass" or "Fail" for each portion. Detailed score reports arrive by email within 1-2 business days.

If you pass: print your score report and submit it with your license application to MREC. If you fail: the report shows which content areas you weakest in, so you know where to focus on retake.

If you're taking the Associate Broker, Broker, or Branch Office Manager exam

Maryland's Associate Broker, Broker, and Branch Office Manager candidates all take the same exam (confirmed via Md. Code Bus. Occ. & Prof. §17-518) — a different exam than the Salesperson exam above, since these tiers require additional supervisory and trust-account knowledge. This platform's specific Broker-tier question count, time limit, and passing threshold have not yet been confirmed against a current PSI candidate bulletin — check with the Maryland Real Estate Commission or PSI directly for the current figures before planning your study time. Source (tier existence and sharing only): Md. Code Bus. Occ. & Prof. §17-518.

The Maryland salesperson exam tests a defined set of topics. PSI publishes a content outline that's used to build every test form. Knowing the topics tested gives you a study roadmap. Skip a topic and you're guessing on those questions.

The exam has two portions, each with its own topic list.

National Exam Topics (80 questions)

1. Property Principles and Characteristics — Physical and economic characteristics of land, legal descriptions, public and private restrictions
2. Land Use Controls and Regulations — Zoning, easements, encroachments, government powers, deed restrictions
3. Property Valuation and Appraisal — Approaches to value, comparative market analysis, the appraisal process
4. Real Estate Financing — Mortgages, deeds of trust, FHA/VA loans, RESPA, TILA, lender qualifications
5. Agency Relationships and Fiduciary Duties — Agency law, fiduciary obligations, agency disclosure, dual agency
6. Real Estate Contracts — Listing agreements, buyer agency, sales contracts, options, leases
7. Closing and Settlement — Settlement procedures, closing costs, prorations, transfer of title
8. Real Estate Practice and Calculations — Working with buyers and sellers, fair housing, advertising, math problems

Maryland State Exam Topics (30 questions)

1. Maryland Commission Regulations — MREC rules, license law, broker supervision, advertising disclosures
2. Maryland Licensing Requirements — License categories, eligibility, application procedures, renewal
3. Trust Account Rules — Escrow handling, broker trust account requirements, recordkeeping
4. Professional Ethics and Disclosure — Stigma disclosure, material defect rules, agency disclosure timing
5. Ground Rent — Maryland's unique ground rent system, redemption, transfers
6. Disciplinary Actions — MREC enforcement, license suspension/revocation, hearing procedures

Why this list matters

Each topic on the state portion typically generates 4-7 questions. Skip ground rent and you've left 2-4 points on the table before the test even starts. With only 30 state questions and a 70% pass requirement (21 of 30 correct), missing an entire topic area is often the difference between passing and retaking.

Effective candidates spend study time roughly proportional to the question weight. If MREC regulations generate 6-8 questions and ground rent generates 2-4 questions, those topics deserve significant focus alongside the broader Maryland licensing law content.

What this list doesn't tell you

The topic outline tells you what's tested. It doesn't tell you how. PSI writes scenario-based questions where the right answer requires applying the rule to a fact pattern, not just reciting a definition.

A candidate who reads "Maryland requires stigma disclosure rules" and moves on will get the conceptual question right. They'll miss the scenario question that asks about an agent answering a buyer's direct question about a death in the home and whether the response was permissible.

The fix: practice questions, not just topic review. For every state topic, do at least 10 practice questions. You'll see the patterns the test uses to translate topics into questions.