South Carolina Real Estate Exam Prep and Crash Course

The South Carolina real estate exam is administered by PSI. Candidates may schedule an exam online or by calling PSI at 855-340-3701. 

Current processing time: Licenses are generally processed within 5-10 business days.

Salesperson Exam

• Applicants must be at least 18 years of age and:
• Must have a high school diploma or equivalent 
• Must show proof of having completed at least 60 hours of course work in the fundamentals of real estate OR possess a law degree or bachelor's degree with a major in real estate
• Must successfully complete the real estate exam
• Within one year of passing the exam, the applicant must be sponsored by a broker-in-charge and apply for a license, which is mailed to the broker-in-charge
• Before applying, the applicant must complete the 30 hours Unit II Advanced Real Estate Principles Course 
• Must undergo a background check
• Must pay exam fee ($63) and license fee (initial $25 + $50 after passing the exam)  

Broker Exam

• Applicants must be at least 21 years of age and:
• Must have at least 3 years of active experience as a salesperson within the last 5 years 
• Must submit proof of having completed at least 150 hours of Commission-approved education OR possess a law degree or bachelor's degree with a major in real estate
• Within one year of passing the exam, the applicant must apply for a license as a broker or broker-in-charge 
• Must undergo a background check
• Must successfully complete the real estate exam
• Must pay exam fee ($63) and license fee (initial $25 + $250 after passing the exam for a broker in charge or $125 for a broker)

Salesperson Examination: The exam consists of a national portion and a state-specific portion. The national portion has 80 questions and candidates are given 120 minutes to complete it. The state portion has 40 questions and candidates have 80 minutes to complete it.

Broker Examination: The exam consists of a national portion and a state-specific portion. The national portion has 75 questions and candidates have 120 minutes to complete it. The state portion has 50 questions and candidates are given 80 minutes to complete it.

The exam is given on computer and is multiple choice. It may be taken at the following locations: Greenville/Spartanburg, Columbia, Charleston, Beaufort/Hilton Head, Myrtle Beach, and in Charlotte, North Carolina. 

The following categories are featured on both the Salesperson and Broker Licensing Exam. The percentages show the make-up of how many questions you should expect to see from each category:

• Property ownership (Salesperson 8%; Broker 10%)
• Land use controls and regulations (Salesperson 5%; Broker 5%)
• Valuation and market analysis (Salesperson 7%; Broker 7%)
• Financing (Salesperson 10%; Broker 8%)
• General principles of agency (Salesperson 13%; Broker 11%)
• Property condition and disclosures (Salesperson 6%; Broker 7%)
• Contracts (Salesperson 17%; Broker 18%)
• Transfer of title (Salesperson 8%; Broker 7%)
• Practice of real estate (Salesperson 13%; Broker 14%)
• Real estate calculations (Salesperson 10%; Broker 8%) 
• Leasing and property management (Salesperson 3%; Broker 5%)

The state-specific portion consists of the following topics:

• South Carolina Real Estate Commission and Licensing Requirements (Salesperson 9 items; Broker 10 items)
• Statutes governing the activities of licensees (Salesperson 11 items; Broker 16 items)
• South Carolina Agency and Non-Agency relationships and issues (Salesperson 11 items; Broker 13 items)
• Additional South Carolina statutes and topics (Salesperson 6 items; Broker 7 items)
• Closing details (Salesperson 3 items; Broker 4 items)

Salesperson Examination: In order to pass the exam, candidates must score at least 56 questions correct on the national portion and at least 28 questions correct on the state portion. 

Broker Examination: In order to pass the exam, candidates must score at least 60 questions correct on the national portion and at least 36 questions correct on the state portion. 

All candidates must provide 2 forms of identification. One must be a valid, government-issued, and includes a signature and photograph. The secondary identification must include the candidate's signature and preprinted legal name. All forms of identification must exactly match the name on the candidate's registration.

The primary forms of identification can by any of the following:

• Driver's license
• State identification
• Passport 

• South Carolina Real Estate Candidate Handbook 
• South Carolina Real Estate Commission
• Salesman and Broker License Requirements  
• South Carolina Real Estate Licensing Guide