How the scoring actually works
You find out whether you passed before you leave the building. What you do not get is the exam back, or in most states any real detail about what you got wrong — unless you fail, in which case the report suddenly becomes useful.
Two portions, scored separately
In most states the national and state portions are scored independently. This matters more than anything else on this page: pass one and fail the other and you normally retake only the portion you failed. Texas states it plainly — you retake just the failed part, provided you do so within a year of filing your application.
California is the exception among the big states. It runs a single combined 150-question salesperson paper and asks for 70% overall, so there is no portion to retake in isolation — you sit the whole thing again.
Raw scores, not scaled ones
Texas reports a raw score — the actual number of questions you answered correctly — rather than a scaled score. To pass as a salesperson you need 56 correct on the national portion and 28 on the state portion. For brokers it is 60 and 38.
| State | Scoring | To pass |
|---|---|---|
| Texas | Raw score, portions scored separately | 56/85 national, 28/50 state |
| California | Single combined paper | 70% of 150 questions |
| Florida | Points, single paper | 75 of 100 points |
Verified from the Texas Real Estate Candidate Handbook, September 2026, and the California Department of Real Estate.
Because multiple versions of each exam are in circulation, a statistical procedure called equating is used to keep difficulty comparable between forms. It is the reason your score is not simply a percentage of the questions you saw.
Unscored questions are mixed in
Some of the questions you answer do not count. Texas’s handbook is explicit: pretest questions are being trialled for future exams, they do not affect your score, and they are mixed in with the scored questions and not identified. You cannot tell which is which, so the only workable strategy is to treat every question as real.
What the score report tells you
Pass, and you get a report marked “pass” and not much else — Texas sends the license document by email within five to ten business days once your background check has cleared. Fail, and the report becomes genuinely useful: it carries a numeric score plus diagnostic information showing how many questions you got right in each content area, so you know where to concentrate before the retake.
What you never get is the questions themselves. They are withheld for exam security, so there is no review process and no way to challenge an individual item.
It does not. Regulator pass-rate data shows real spread between providers, but the state exam is the same regardless of what you paid for education.
No — California runs one combined paper at 70%; Texas scores national and state separately and lets you retake only the one you failed.
They do not count toward your score, but they are mixed in unmarked. You cannot identify them, so every question has to be treated as live.
Common questions
Do I get my result the same day?
Yes, at the test center. California confirms results are provided on completion for electronic exams, with written confirmation following within about five business days.
If I fail one portion do I lose the other?
Not immediately, but it is time-limited. Texas holds your passed portion as long as you retake the failed one within a year of filing the application. Miss that window and the application expires.
Can I challenge a question I think was wrong?
No. Exam questions are not released for review, and in Texas a calculator malfunction is explicitly not grounds for challenging results or claiming extra time either.