Missouri Real Estate Exam Study Guide PDF (Free) | 2026
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Missouri’s real estate exam asks you to clear two different bars. You answer 100 national questions and 40 Missouri questions, and you need 70% on the national part but 75% on the state part. The shorter half carries the higher bar, and a strong score on one half can’t rescue a weak score on the other. Add a six-month window that starts the day you finish your 48-hour course, plus an agency topic where Missouri hands you three frameworks to tell apart, and you can see why a plan beats rereading your course book. This guide covers how the exam works, where the points are, and a four-week schedule for both halves. Prefer to study on paper? Our free Missouri Real Estate Exam Study Guide PDF has all of it in a printable format.
Want this study guide on paper? Download our free Missouri Real Estate Exam Study Guide PDF. No email, no sign-up, just the guide.
Missouri’s Three Agency Frameworks
National prep keeps agency simple. You represent the seller, or you represent the buyer. Missouri lets three frameworks coexist, and the exam asks which one applies in each scenario and what has to be in writing. A typical question describes a deal and asks who the licensee represents, or what paperwork is missing.
| Dual agency | Designated agency | Transaction brokerage | |
| How it works | One licensee represents both sides as a limited agent for each | The designated broker names a different affiliated licensee as the limited agent of each client | The licensee assists without representing either party |
| When it fits | Both sides want the same representative | The firm has clients on both sides | Neither side wants representation, and it is the default |
| What must be in writing | Written consent of all parties | The appointment, in the brokerage agreement or a written notice to the client | A written agreement when the broker expects to be paid by the party assisted |
| Duties owed | Limited agency duties to both clients | Agency duties to their own client | No fiduciary duties |
The default is transaction broker. If nobody signed a written agency agreement, the licensee is a transaction broker, with a short list of exceptions such as ministerial acts. Agency has to be created on purpose.
Two traps to watch. The designated broker in Missouri law is the broker responsible for the firm, not the licensee named for a client. And when one broker supervises licensees on both sides of a deal, that broker becomes a dual agent or a transaction broker after learning confidential information about either party.
If you studied only one agency model in national prep, these questions will catch you. Our free study guide PDF goes deeper on all three.
What’s on the Missouri Real Estate Exam
PSI runs the exam for the Missouri Real Estate Commission, and it comes in two portions with separate passing scores. You have to pass both portions. PSI also mixes in 5 to 10 unscored experimental questions that nothing identifies and that still use up your clock, so treat every question as if it counts.
| National | State | Both | |
| Scored questions | 100 | 40 | 140 |
| Time limit | 150 min | 120 min | 270 min |
| Passing score | 70% (70 of 100) | 75% (30 of 40) | Graded separately |
On the national side, Contracts is the heaviest category at 19 questions, followed by Agency at 13 and Practice of Real Estate at 12. Practice of Real Estate is where fair housing, antitrust, and the handling of other people’s money live.
The state portion is more lopsided. Business Conduct and Practices alone is 17 of the 40 questions, and it covers advertising, listings, offers, earnest money disputes, and closing statements. Add Licenses at 7 and those two categories hold 24 of the 40. Brokerage Relationships has only 6, but is where the agency frameworks above get tested.
| National – Topic Area (100 scored items) | Exam % | State – Topic Area (40 scored items) | Items | Exam % |
| Contracts | 19% | Business Conduct and Practices | 17 | 43% |
| Agency | 13% | Licenses | 7 | 17% |
| Practice of Real Estate | 12% | Disciplinary Proceedings | 6 | 15% |
| Property Ownership | 10% | Brokerage Relationships | 6 | 15% |
| Financing | 10% | General Rules | 2 | 5% |
| Valuation | 8% | Educational Requirements | 2 | 5% |
| Property Disclosures | 7% | |||
| Real Estate Calculations | 7% | |||
| Transfer of Title | 6% | |||
| Land Use Controls | 5% | |||
| Property Management | 3% |
Source: PSI Missouri Real Estate Candidate Handbook, dated 7/18/2024.
A few mechanics help too. You can sit the exam at a PSI test center or take it remotely with a proctor. The tutorial before you start, up to 15 minutes, doesn’t count against your time. Your score appears on screen when you finish, and if you don’t pass, the emailed score report shows your strengths and weaknesses so you know where to aim a retake.
Fair housing keeps its weight after you pass, too. TMREC required a Fair Housing CORE course for the renewal that closed on September 30, 2026, so it pays to learn the Practice of Real Estate material well the first time.
Your 4-Week Missouri Exam Study Plan
This plan takes about 60 hours of new material over three weeks, plus a final week of timed practice. The hours are our suggestion, not an official number. We study the national portion first and the Missouri portion second.
- Week 1 is national foundations, about 17 hours. Start with Property Ownership, then cover Land Use Controls and Transfer of Title. Give the biggest block to Contracts, the heaviest national category. Spend two days on it and cover what makes a contract valid, the Statute of Frauds, void versus voidable versus unenforceable, offers and counteroffers, and how contracts end. Finish the week with Financing. Together these five topics cover 50 of the 100 national questions, and the property topics come first because they show up inside almost everything else.
- Week 2 finishes the national portion, about 18 hours. Begin with Agency, because it sets you up for the Missouri content, and read through the three frameworks above while they’re fresh. Then cover Practice of Real Estate, Property Management, Valuation, and Property Disclosures. Give Real Estate Calculations its own day with real problems on net proceeds, prorations, PITI, loan-to-value, and cap rate, because formulas only stick with practice. End the week with scenarios that mix agency and contracts.
- Week 3 is the Missouri content, about 25 hours, and it’s the heaviest week for a reason. The state portion is shorter but needs 75%, so every question counts for more. Spend the most time on Business Conduct and Practices. It deserves two full days, covering use of the license and office, branch offices, advertising, listings, offers, earnest money, closings, and commissions. Then move to Brokerage Relationships, then Licenses, Disciplinary Proceedings, General Rules, and Educational Requirements. Four of those six categories hold 36 of the 40 state questions. Keep a running list of what you miss, and read it again at the end of the week.
- Week 4 is timed practice, about 10 to 12 hours. Take a national practice exam at 150 minutes and a state practice exam at 120 minutes, and keep the two separate because they have different passing scores. Review every miss, spend a day on the topics that keep slipping, and finish with key terms, formulas, and Missouri rules. Save the last two days for review only, with no new material.
If you’re still in your 48-hour course, don’t wait for it to end. Your six months start the day you finish it, so start this plan while you’re still in class.
Missouri Real Estate Exam Study Tips
Here are some tips every student should remember on exam day.
- Treat the state portion as a full exam. It’s 40 questions against 100, which makes it feel lighter, but it needs 75% and you can miss only 10. Don’t assume the short half is the easy half.
- Learn the agency frameworks by what has to be in writing. On every scenario, ask three questions. Is there a written agency agreement? Does one licensee represent both sides, or do two licensees at the same firm each represent one? Did everyone consent in writing? If nobody signed anything, you’re looking at a transaction broker.
- Start studying during your course. Your six-month clock starts when you finish the 48-hour course and runs until you submit a complete license application. The 24-hour MREP course can be taken before or after the exam, but you have to finish it before you apply, so it helps to schedule it early.
- On exam day, answer every question. There’s no penalty for guessing, and you can go back and change answers while time remains. At a test center you can bring your own calculator if it’s non-programmable, non-solar, and non-printing, and the exam has a calculator on screen too. If you test remotely, PSI doesn’t allow scratch paper, so practice your math with the on-screen calculator.
Once you have a plan, it helps to see where you stand. When you’re ready to practice, take our free Missouri real estate practice exam and see which topics need more time.
Missouri Real Estate Exam Requirements
Here is the path to a Missouri salesperson license at a glance.
- Be at least 18 years old.
- Complete the 48-hour pre-exam salesperson course. Your certificate must be in hand on or before your exam date.
- Pass both portions of the PSI exam. The fee is $52 for both portions, and $52 for each retake.
- Complete the 24-hour Missouri Real Estate Practice (MREP) course before you apply. You can take it before or after the exam.
- Register with MACHS and get fingerprinted before you apply. The fee is $40.50, and you enter the Commission’s registration number, 0004.
- Submit a complete license application within six months of finishing the 48-hour course. The fee is $100, your sponsoring broker signs it, and it asks for proof of citizenship or lawful presence.
Already hold an active license in another state? You take only the state portion and complete the MREP. The 48-hour course is waived, and you apply within six months of passing the state portion. Include a license history certification issued no more than three months before you apply.
This guide covers the salesperson exam. The broker exam has its own course, experience requirement, and format. Confirm current fees and forms with the Missouri Real Estate Commission before you apply, and see our Missouri license requirements page for the full process.
Download Your Free Missouri Exam Study Guide
Our free Missouri Real Estate Exam Study Guide PDF takes everything in this post and goes further. You get topic-by-topic sections for all 17 exam categories, plain-English key terms, the three agency frameworks in a comparison table, the full four-week schedule with daily tasks, and a final checklist for exam day, so you can see exactly what to study and when. It’s free with no sign-up, so you can print it, mark it up, and keep it next to your course materials.
Download the free Missouri Real Estate Exam Study Guide PDF, then take our free Missouri practice exam to see where you stand. When you want the full question bank and progress tracking, our Missouri exam prep gives you both.
