Tennessee Real Estate Exam Study Guide – Avoid Retakes & Pass Now!

Want to pass the Tennessee real estate exam on your first try? This study guide gives you everything you need: a breakdown of what’s on the test, the topics where most people struggle, and the exact study strategies that help candidates pass.

It’s not just about memorizing facts and concepts—it’s about focused preparation with a professional exam prep and knowing how to study the right way.

How many questions are on the Tennessee Real Estate Exam?

The Tennessee Real Estate Licensing Exam is a standardized test required for anyone seeking to become a licensed real estate broker or salesperson in the state. The exam is divided into national and state portions:

• 80 National questions covering general real estate principles and practices.
• 40 State questions focused on Tennessee-specific laws and regulations.

These make a total of 120 multiple choice questions for which you’ll have 160 minutes for the national portion and 80 minutes for the state portion, totaling 4 hours to complete the exam.

Special Areas of Practice

Forget trying to memorize every single detail from your coursework. Focus on these heavy hitters:

• Property ownership and land use – This isn’t just about who owns what. You need to understand easements, encroachments, and all those boundary issues that come up constantly in real deals.
• Contracts and agency relationships – Every transaction revolves around contracts. Know the difference between express and implied agreements, what makes a contract valid, and your duties as an agent.
• Tennessee-specific laws – The state portion loves to test on local regulations. Know your disclosure requirements, license law, and how Tennessee handles things differently from other states.
• Financing and mortgages – Even if you’re not a lender, you better understand how people actually buy houses. FHA, VA, conventional loans – know the basics.
• Property valuation – How do appraisers determine value? What factors affect market price? This stuff comes up more than you’d think.
• Real Estate Calculations (expect 8–13 math questions) – Learn all real estate math formulas you might need for your Tennessee exam and practice with realistic exam-like questions.

How to Perform Your Real Estate Education?

Reading through materials once only won’t cut it. Here’s what works:

• Take practice tests religiously. The questions won’t be identical on the real exam, but you’ll start recognizing patterns in how they ask things.
• Use flashcards for definitions and formulas. Yeah, it feels like high school, but it works. Especially for all those real estate terms that sound similar but mean completely different things.
• Study in short bursts. Your brain can only absorb so much at once. Thirty-minute sessions beat cramming for hours.
• Find a study buddy or join a group. Explaining concepts to someone else forces you to really understand them. 
• Use the right tools to maximize your study time. Studying with outdated resources is one of the most common mistakes, make sure to use the right study materials

Lexawise combines all these proven study methods into one smart platform: adaptive practice tests, topic-based quizzes, spaced repetition, vocabulary flashcards, , Study Guide and Math cheat sheet, and a progress tracker that shows exactly when you’re ready to pass the exam.

The Day Before and Day Of

You’ve done the hard work, now it’s time to finish strong. Here’s how to handle the day before and exam day with confidence:

• Don’t try to learn anything new the day before your exam. Seriously. Do a light review of your notes, maybe run through some flashcards, but mostly just relax.
• On exam day, show up early. Bring two forms of ID – they’re strict about this. Get a good night’s sleep, eat breakfast, and remember that most people pass this thing.
• During the exam, read each question carefully. They love to throw in words like “except” or “not” that completely change what they’re asking. If you’re stuck on a question, mark it and come back. Don’t let one tricky question derail your whole test.
• Aim for at least 70% correct answers in both sections (56/80 national, 28/40 state).

What Happens If You Don’t Pass?

Look, it happens. About 40% of people don’t pass on their first attempt, so you’re not alone if you need a second shot.

The good news? You only have to retake the section you failed. So if you pass the national portion but struggle with the state section, you just retake that part.

Your License Study Timeline

Give yourself at least 6-8 weeks to prepare. That might sound like overkill, but you want this material to really stick. Here’s how I’d break it down:

• Weeks 1-3: Complete your required coursework and take good notes.
• Weeks 4-5: Start taking practice exams and identify weak areas.
• Weeks 6-7: Focus heavily on your problem areas and Tennessee-specific material. 
• Week 8: Light review and final practice tests.

The Bottom Line

The Tennessee real estate exam isn’t designed to trick you. It’s designed to make sure you know enough to help people with probably the biggest purchase of their lives. Take it seriously, prepare thoroughly, and you’ll do fine.

Once you pass, you’re looking at a career where you can genuinely help people while building your own business. Tennessee’s real estate market offers plenty of opportunities, whether you’re in Nashville’s booming scene, the mountain communities, or anywhere in between.

Ready to get started? Your future clients are out there waiting for someone who knows their stuff. Make sure that someone is you.