South Dakota's real estate exam is administered by PSI and candidates must schedule their exam online. Candidates may also schedule exams by calling PSI at 855-557-0623. 

Current Processing Timeframes: South Dakota real estate licenses are processed in 2-4 weeks.

Associate Broker

• Applicants must be at least 18 years of age and:
• Be competent to transact the business of a licensee in a manner as to safeguard the interest of the public
• Must be a citizen of the United States or resident of South Dakota
• Must have successfully completed at least 116 classroom hours in a course of study approved by the commission 
• Must successfully pass both the Broker State and National multiple-choice examinations AND simulation examination
• Must submit completed application form for license furnished by the South Dakota Real Estate Commission within 60 days of passing the last portion of the examination 
• Must pay the exam fee ($190)

Broker Exam

• Applicants must be at least 18 years of age and:
• Must complete an application form
• Must provide proof of having completed 116 hours of Pre-License Education 
• Must provide proof of having worked full-time as an associate broker for at least 2 years
• Must request fingerprint cards from the Commission and submit them to the Real Estate Commission with the completed application, as well as a check for $43.25
• Must include a broker's letter to activate the applicant's license
• Must successfully complete the real estate exam
• Must visit this site to enroll in the group policy for errors and omissions insurance
• Must pay the exam fee ($190)

Associate Broker Examination: The exam consists of a national portion and a state portion. Candidates have 2.5 hours to complete the national portion and 1.5 hours to complete the state portion. The national portion includes 100 questions and 11 simulation problems, and the state portion includes 57 questions. 

Broker Examination: The exam consists of a national portion and a state portion. There are 11 simulation problems on the exam.

The exam is given by computer and can be taken at the following locations: Madison, Rapid City, and Sioux Falls at PSI testing centers. 

The following categories are featured on both the Associate Broker and Broker Licensing Exam. 

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

The state portion includes the following topics:

• Duties and powers of the Real Estate Commission (4 questions)
• Licensing Requirements (6 questions)
• Statutory requirements governing the activities of licensees (42 questions)  

The broker simulation exam covers the following topics:

• Agency relationships and property representations (3 questions)
• Fair Housing and other governmental regulations (2 questions)
• Handling money (2 questions)
• Training and supervision of licensees (1 question)
• Plus one primary issue varying by examination form (1 question)

Section Topics: 

• Agency
• Contracts
• Freehold and Leasehold
• Property management 
• Finance
• Government regulations and private restrictions 
• Description and measurement
• Valuation 
• Conveyance 
• Calculations 
• Ethical behavior (must be incorporated into at least 4 questions)

Property types:

• Residential (4 problems)
• Commercial (2 problems)
• Property management (1 problem)
• Plus two property types varying by examination form (2 problems)

Associate Broker Examination: A passing score is 75% or higher.

Broker Examination: A passing score is 75% or higher. 

All applicants must provide 2 forms of identification which are current, contain a signature, and match the applicant's exam registration. This can be any of the following:

• Driver's license 
• Passport 
• Green card
• Social Security card
• Debit card or credit card 

Candidates are permitted to bring a basic, non-scientific calculator.

• Approved Real Estate Education Providers 
• South Dakota Real Estate Commission  
• South Dakota Real Estate Candidate Handbook‍
• South Dakota Real Estate Licensing Guide