Florida Real Estate State Exam: Content, Cost, and Retakes
Passing the pre-license course only makes you eligible to sit Florida's state real estate exam; it does not substitute for it. This page covers what the exam tests, who administers it, what it costs, and how retakes work.
Who Administers the Florida Real Estate State Exam?
Pearson VUE administers the Florida real estate state exam under contract to DBPR, seating candidates only after DBPR issues an exam eligibility notice based on a completed FREC-approved pre-license course.
Pearson VUE is a separate company from any pre-license school; no school administers the actual state exam itself, only its own end-of-course final exam. See How It Works for where the state exam sits in the full licensing sequence.
What Does the Florida Real Estate State Exam Cover?
The sales associate exam tests Florida real estate law, principles of real estate, FREC rules, and math applications drawn from the 63-hour Course I; the broker exam instead tests brokerage management, advanced law, and Course II topics.
FREC sets the content blueprint for both exams; the pre-license course a candidate completed is meant to have already covered the material the corresponding exam tests, which is why skipping ahead to exam prep without finishing the full course is not a viable shortcut.
How Much Does the Florida Real Estate State Exam Cost?
A Pearson VUE exam fee of $36.75 has been observed on a provider's own cost breakdown, cross-checked against other providers' FAQ content, though this site has not independently confirmed that figure against a fetched DBPR or Pearson VUE fee schedule.
Treat $36.75 as a starting expectation rather than a guaranteed current price; confirm the exact fee when you actually schedule through Pearson VUE. See Cost for how this fits into the full cost picture alongside the pre-license course price and DBPR's own fees.
Is the Exam Proctored, Even for an Online Pre-License Course?
Yes - the state exam requires an in-person, proctored sitting at a Pearson VUE test center regardless of whether the pre-license course itself was completed online, livestream, or in a classroom.
Online delivery is permitted for the 63-hour (or 72-hour) course itself, but Florida draws a firm line at the state exam: no remote-proctored or take-home option is confirmed for this specific exam in this site's source set.
How Many Times Can You Retake the Florida Real Estate Exam?
This site has not confirmed a specific numeric retake limit; the practical constraint is instead the 2-year completion validity window on the underlying Course I or Course II, after which the pre-license course itself must be repeated.
A candidate who fails the state exam repeatedly is racing that 2-year clock, not a retake-count clock; each retake also likely carries its own Pearson VUE fee, though this site has not confirmed whether that fee changes between a first attempt and a retake.
What Happens Between Passing the Exam and Getting Your License?
Passing the state exam does not itself issue a license; DBPR still reviews and approves the license application, required under Fla. Stat. Section 475.17, before a sales associate or broker license becomes active.
This site has not confirmed DBPR's current processing timeline between a passed exam and an active license. See How It Works for the full sequence from enrollment through an active license, and Post-License for the 45-/60-hour requirement that follows shortly after.
See the Florida Real Estate Pre-License Course hub for the full page index.
Sources
| Fact | Value | Authority | URL | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exam administrator | Pearson VUE, under contract to DBPR | FREC/DBPR | words/the_acs/fl/drafts/real-estate/real-estate-exam-prep.md | 2026-06-07 |
| Sales associate exam content | Florida law, principles, FREC rules, math from Course I | words/the_acs corpus | words/the_acs/fl/drafts/real-estate/real-estate-exam-prep.md | 2026-06-07 |
| Broker exam content | Brokerage management, advanced law, Course II topics | words/the_acs corpus | words/the_acs/fl/drafts/real-estate/real-estate-exam-prep.md | 2026-06-07 |
| Exam fee (observed) | $36.75 | Site source dossier (real-estate.json) | words/the_acs/fl/online-courses/_data/real-estate.json | 2026-07-10 |
| Proctoring requirement | In-person, all delivery modes | Site source dossier (real-estate.json) | words/the_acs/fl/online-courses/_data/real-estate.json | 2026-07-10 |
| Governing statute | Fla. Stat. Section 475.17 | Florida Legislature | https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/475.17 | 2026-06-11 |
| Retake limit, license-issuance timeline | Not confirmed in this site's source set | n/a (VERIFY) | https://www2.myfloridalicense.com/real-estate-commission/ | 2026-09-14 |
Frequently asked questions
Can I take the Florida real estate state exam without finishing the pre-license course?
No. DBPR issues the exam eligibility notice only after a completed FREC-approved course certificate is on file.
Is the state exam the same for sales associates and brokers?
No. Each has its own content blueprint - see the section above on what each exam covers - though both are administered by Pearson VUE under the same testing agreement with DBPR.
Can I schedule the state exam from another state before moving to Florida?
This site has not confirmed Pearson VUE's scheduling rules for out-of-state candidates; confirm directly with Pearson VUE or DBPR.
Does the exam fee change if I need to retake it?
This site has not confirmed whether the $36.75 observed figure differs between a first attempt and a retake; confirm the current fee when scheduling.
What identification do I need on state exam day?
This site has not confirmed Pearson VUE's specific identification requirements for this exam; confirm directly with Pearson VUE before your scheduled test date.