Real Estate License Exam Study Notes (California + Texas)
How to use these pages
- Start with how your state's exam is set up: one state exam in California, or state and national sections in Texas.
- Learn the study method: recall cards, five practice questions and a trap review in one 25-minute block.
- Memorize agency duties with OLDCAR, then test it on a 60-second practice fact pattern.
- Take each page's quiz and keep a list of the questions you missed.
- Licensed already? Use the CE checklist before your renewal date.
Exam and CE facts below come from the California Department of Real Estate and the Texas Real Estate Commission, checked 10/20/2026.
Start here
- Real Estate License Exam: National vs State Portions (CA + TX)
How the California salesperson exam (one DRE exam) differs from Texas (state and national sections), with links to each board. - How to Study for the Real Estate License Exam
A 25-minute block: 10 minutes of recall cards, 10 minutes on five multiple-choice questions, 5 minutes reviewing traps. - Real Estate Agency Mnemonics: Drive the OLDCAR
OLDCAR (Obedience, Loyalty, Disclosure, Confidentiality, Accounting, Reasonable care) is common public shorthand for agency duties. It's a memory hook, not a statute. - Real Estate Continuing Education: What CE Is + a Renewal Checklist
What CE is, the California and Texas hour requirements, and a checklist to run before you renew.
Exam and renewal facts from the boards
Numbers below are quoted from each board's own page. Rules change, so the board page is the final word.
| State | Fact | Source (checked 10/20/2026) |
|---|---|---|
| California | Salesperson exam: 3 hours, 150 multiple-choice questions | DRE: Taking the exam, checked 10/20/2026 |
| California | To pass the salesperson exam, you must correctly answer at least 70% of the questions | DRE: Taking the exam, checked 10/20/2026 |
| California | Laws of Agency and Fiduciary Duties: about 17% of the salesperson exam; Practice of Real Estate and Disclosures: about 25% | DRE: Salesperson exam content, checked 10/20/2026 |
| California | Salespersons renewing for the first time: 45 clock hours of DRE-approved CE | DRE: CE requirements, checked 10/20/2026 |
| Texas | Sales agent applicants pass both a State and a National section; each section's result is valid for one year from the passing date | TREC: Sales agent, checked 10/20/2026 |
| Texas | 18 hours of CE each two-year license period, including Legal Update I (4 hours) and Legal Update II (4 hours) | TREC: Renew a sales agent license, checked 10/20/2026 |
| Texas | First renewal: 270 hours of Sales Apprentice Education plus Legal Update I and II | TREC: Renew a sales agent license, checked 10/20/2026 |
These pages cover California and Texas salesperson licenses only. Broker licenses and other states aren't covered; check your state's real estate board.
Study methods these pages use
The real estate pages lean on three general study methods. Each has its own page: Spaced repetition for exams · Active recall vs rereading · Mnemonics under the clock (bar prep, same method).