DRE salesperson exam outline
California Real Estate Exam Topics and Weights (2026)
The California DRE publishes the share of the salesperson exam that comes from each subject area. With 150 questions, every 1% is roughly one and a half questions. Here are the seven areas, what to study in each, and the California statutes PassRE uses to teach them.
| Exam area | Weight | What to study | Key law |
|---|---|---|---|
| Practice of Real Estate and Disclosures (includes Specialty Areas) | 25% | Trust funds, advertising, record keeping, transfer disclosure statements, fair housing, property management. | Civil Code 1102.3, 1710.2; Bus. & Prof. Code 10140.6, 10148; 10 CCR 2832 |
| Laws of Agency and Fiduciary Duties | 17% | Agency relationships, dual agency, disclosure duties, ostensible agency, commingling and secret profit. | Civil Code 2079.13, 2079.21, 2295, 2300; Bus. & Prof. Code 10176 |
| Property Ownership and Land Use Controls and Regulations | 15% | Estates, forms of ownership, real vs personal property, easements, subdivisions, Prop 13. | Civil Code 658, 662, 683, 685, 762; Family Code 760, 770; Bus. & Prof. Code 11000 |
| Property Valuation and Financial Analysis | 14% | Appraisal approaches, market value, depreciation, real estate math. | Appraisal principles and DRE outline |
| Contracts | 12% | Essential elements, statute of frauds, minors, liquidated damages, leases and security deposits. | Civil Code 1550, 1605, 1624, 1675, 1950.5; Family Code 6701 |
| Financing | 9% | Mortgages and deeds of trust, liens, foreclosure timelines, anti-deficiency, reconveyance. | Civil Code 2872, 2920, 2924, 2941; Code of Civil Procedure 580b |
| Transfer of Property | 8% | Deeds, escrow, recording and constructive notice, title, mechanics liens. | Civil Code 1039, 1057, 1113, 1213, 8412 |
Weights: California DRE "Salesperson Examination Content" page. The key-law column is PassRE's study mapping, not an official DRE list.
Approximate questions per area on a 150-question exam
Practice of Real Estate and Disclosures about 38 questions, Agency about 26, Property Ownership about 22, Valuation about 21, Contracts about 18, Financing about 13 to 14 and Transfer of Property about 12. These are estimates from the published weights.
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Try the free California real estate practice test (all four core areas) or the vocabulary quiz.