Washington Real Estate Exam: Everything You Need to Know

Passing the Washington real estate exam takes knowledge, preparation, and confidence. But getting to the exam takes some paperwork and patience. That’s why we compiled this article to help you schedule your exam date and pass the real estate exam on your first try. 

Here is a list of the things that this article will cover:

• How to schedule the Washington real estate licensing exam
• What is on the Washington real estate exam
• The difficulty level of the Washington real estate exam
• How to pass the Washington Real Estate Exam

Take a Free WA Real Estate Exam

Here is a short 10-question Washington exam to test your real estate knowledge. These sample questions mimic our practice exams featured in our exam prep package. If you want the full package, tap the button below.

How to Schedule the Washington Real Estate Licensing Exam

Before you are allowed to schedule the Washington real estate licensing exam, you have to meet several basic requirements: 

• You must be at least 18 years of age
• You must hold a high school diploma or its equivalent 
• You must have completed 90 clock hours of a pre-licensing education at an approved real estate school. That is 60 hours of pre-licensing real estate fundamental coursework and 30 hours of pre-licensing real estate practical coursework.
• You must have a minimum score of 70-75% in the pre-licensing education final exam.
• You must give answers to criminal history questions and provide fingerprints for a background check.

If the above requirements are met, you are eligible for the Washington real estate licensing exam and can go ahead to schedule. The exam can be scheduled online by visiting the PSI website. PSI is the administrator for state real estate licensing exams nationwide.

You will be required to register as a student, but before that, the PSI must have electronically received a certificate of pre-licensing education completion or other related documents from your real estate school.

You will also be required to submit means of identification along with your application, such as:

• A government-issued photo ID (e.g, Driver’s license)
• A finalized live scan form

When scheduling the Washington real estate licensing exam, you will have to pay the $210 application fee, which you can pay online with a credit card. There will also be additional costs, such as licensing fees and expenses for obtaining your live scan. 

Where Do You Take the Washington Real Estate License Exam?

Candidates for the Washington real estate licensing exam are to take their exams at any of the designated PSI testing centers around the state. These locations include:

• Bellevue
• Bremerton
• Everett
• Kennewick/Richland
• Olympia
• Tacoma
• Spokane
• Vancouver
• Yakima
• East Wenatchee
• Ellensburg

Can You Take the Exam Online?

No, there are no provisions for candidates to take the Washington real estate exam online. Since the exam is to be in person, candidates are expected to choose any available exam locations closest to them while applying. 

What to Bring on the Day of Your Exam

On the day of the exam, candidates are expected to bring the following items:

• Two forms of identification ( a government-issued photo ID and another your name and signatures like a credit card or social security card)
• A simple calculator

What is on the Washington Real Estate Exam?

The Washington real estate comprises questions that are based on national real estate topics and state real estate topics. However, these questions are not divided into separate sections. You will find the following topics on the Washington real estate exam.

National Real Estate Topics

• General principles of agency
• Market valuation and analysis
• Real estate contracts
• Real estate financing
• Real property
• Real estate calculations
• Real estate marketing law
• Property ownership, management, and investment

State Real Estate Topics

• Closing and Settlement
• General Rules
• Licensing Requirements
• Washington real estate licensing laws

Will There Be Math on the Exam?

Yes, the Washington real estate licensing exam will have up to 10 math questions. These questions typically relate to credits and debits, property taxes, Loan-to-Value (LTV) ratios, property valuation and measurements, market sales price, Return On Investments (ROI), etc.

Remember that these math questions tend to be tricky and time-consuming to solve. Therefore, leaving math questions for later is good practice. This way, you can answer questions that take less time to solve first and save the longer questions for the end.

Is the Washington Real Estate Exam Hard?

Although the Washington real estate exam is generally considered quite difficult, this difficulty level may differ depending on a candidate’s preparation and knowledge of the fundamental concepts of real estate. This means the more thorough a candidate prepares, the less difficult the state licensing exam should be.

How Many Questions Are on the Washington Real Estate Exam?

The Washington real estate licensing exam has 140 multiple-choice questions comprising 100 national-specific questions and 30 questions relating to Washington real estate regulations. The exam also includes 10 pre-test questions used by PSI to assess the quality of the exam. These are pre-test questions and do not affect the candidate’s overall test score.

Candidates will be given 3 hours and 30 minutes to complete the exam and obtain the minimum pass mark of 70% from both question categories. Once the test has been completed, the candidate’s result will be made available.

What is the Passing Rate for the Real Estate Exam in Washington?

The Washington real estate exam pass rates in Washington have been disclosed by WAREP.

The first-time pass rate is 73% for the national portion and 71% for the state portion.

However, it's important to note that factors such as changes in exam content, exam difficulty, and candidate study habits can influence a state's pass rate. Therefore, adequate preparation is essential to increase your chances of success.

How Many Times Can You Take the Real Estate Exam?

Candidates can take the Washington real estate broker’s exam as often as needed to acquire the minimum pass score until their pre-licensing education credits expire. When a candidate fails to earn the minimum passing score in a question category, the candidate has six months to retake and pass that category. 

Once these grace periods have elapsed, the candidate must repeat the Washington Pre-Licensing coursework, after which they must retake the entire exam. Remember that you will have to pay the $210 application fee each time you retake the exam. Also, your pre-licensing education is valid for only two years from the day you complete your coursework.

How to Pass the Washington Real Estate Exam

To pass the Washington real estate exam, you will want to put in an adequate amount of studying. Remember it’s important to keep yourself on track and to not burn out. So, here are some practices you can put into your studying to help you prepare for the exam.

Create a Study Schedule

Create a healthy schedule that suits you. Typically, your study schedule should balance your study with the other aspects of your life. It is not about working harder but about working smarter. Here are some things to consider when creating a study schedule for your real estate licensing exam:

• Develop a regular study routine that works best for you and be consistent with it. We recommend studying for an hour every night or at least every other night.

• Prioritize the real estate topics you need to cover by ranking them according to their level of importance and difficulty. You should allocate more time to those that you find challenging or have been highlighted as being extremely important. This will keep you focused and help you distribute the limited time across all the topics.

• Breaks are important when studying as they help prevent fatigue and help keep you focused. Therefore, take short breaks every hour while studying.

• Be sure to get enough sleep. It is advisable to get between 7 to 9 hours of sleep.

Use Acronyms and Mnemonic Devices

Acronyms and mnemonic devices are memory aids that help recall information by simplifying complicated information and making it easy for the human brain to process. Therefore, they are great tools for studying for the Washington real estate licensing exam.

An acronym is a word derived by taking the first letters of each word in a phrase. Using acronyms makes it easier for you to remember real estate terms and terminologies or phrases without having to get by heart what each word is. A good example of an acronym in real estate is ROI which stands for Return On Investment.

A mnemonic device is associating certain information with something easily related. For example, if you were to memorize the various types of residential properties for a certain kind of financing, a good mnemonic device would be “Sing To Children Daily”.

• SING for Single-family homes
• TO for Townhomes
• CHILDREN for Condos
• DAILY for Duplexes

Join a Study Group

Joining a study group is an effective strategy when preparing for your Washington real estate licensing exam. This is because of the several benefits it offers. Here are some reasons why joining a study group is a great way to study:

• Studying with a study group increases your ability to retain information since you actively discuss, exchange ideas, and share resources with others.
• Considering that everybody has a unique point of view concerning each topic discussed in a group, joining a study group enables you to gain different perspectives and a well-rounded understanding of various topics.
• Joining a study group can help boost your motivation and sense of accountability.

Get Guided Help

Getting guided help is one of the most essential strategies that should never be overlooked when preparing for your real estate exam. Arguably, preparing for the Washington real estate exam is laborious. Because candidates have to go over bulky sums of course materials, it is easy for them to make mistakes without assistance from an experienced instructor.

Candidates can get guided help by our real estate crash course and exam prep program. Enrolling in our real estate prep courses gives you access to over 1,500 Washington real estate exam practice questions, customizable practice state exams, vocabulary flashcards, video explanations, and an E-book study guide at the most competitive price. 

Final Thoughts on the Real Estate Exam in Washington

To ace the Washington real estate exam, you would have to study strategically to maximize your time and learn as much information as you would need to pass. Invest energy into studying correctly using the proper materials, and be sure to get guided help. This way, you can up your chances of passing the exam on the first try.