- You need 75% on both the national and state portions to pass - no averaging across sections.
- Contracts is the single heaviest national domain at 19%; License Law and Rules is the heaviest Ohio domain at 40%.
- The July 1, 2026 PSI form has 115 scored items plus up to 10 unscored experimental questions.
- Both portions must be passed inside the same 12-month eligibility period - plan retakes accordingly.
Fees, Registration & the 12-Month Clock
The Ohio Department of Commerce, Division of Real Estate and Professional Licensing, sets the rules for the Ohio Real Estate Broker Exam, and PSI Services LLC administers the actual test day. Before you memorize a single domain, lock in these numbers because they determine how you register and how much flexibility you have if you need a retake.
- Combined appointment (both portions): $66
- National portion only: $46
- State portion only: $43
- Broker license application fee: $135 (separate from exam fees)
Every candidate operates inside a 12-month eligibility period. Both the national and Ohio portions must be passed within that window - if you pass one and let the clock run out before passing the other, you'll need to re-establish eligibility. For a full walkthrough of how these fees stack up against license application and renewal costs, see the OHREB Certification Cost breakdown. If you're still confirming when and where you can sit for the test, the OHREB Exam Dates guide covers testing windows and scheduling logistics in detail.
Exam Format: Timing, Item Counts & Scoring
The Ohio Real Estate Broker Exam is computer-based and closed-book, delivered at PSI test centers or through remote proctoring. Handheld calculators are prohibited - any calculations you need to perform happen using the on-screen tool PSI provides, so practicing math without a physical calculator matters more than most candidates expect.
On the July 1, 2026 form, you'll face 115 scored items:
- 75 national items worth 80 points
- 40 Ohio-specific items
- An additional 5-10 unscored experimental items may appear anywhere, indistinguishable from scored ones
You get 120 minutes for the national portion and 60 minutes for the state portion. To pass, you need 75% on each portion separately - a strong national score cannot offset a weak state score, and vice versa. The OHREB Passing Score guide breaks down exactly what that threshold means in raw item terms.
National broker items are notable for including weighted scenario questions - multi-sentence situational prompts where several answer choices sound plausible but only one is best. These aren't recall questions; they test whether you can apply agency, contract, and disclosure rules to a specific fact pattern. If you want a deeper sense of how difficult this format feels in practice, the How Hard Is the OHREB Exam guide walks through common trouble spots.
Key Takeaway
Treat the national and state portions as two separate exams that happen to share an appointment. Track your practice-test scores for each portion independently, not as a blended average.
National Portion: Domains 1-11 at a Glance
Domains 1 through 11 make up the national portion and are weighted as percentages of that 75-item, 120-minute section. Contracts dominates at 19% - nearly one in five national questions touches contract formation, contingencies, or remedies for breach.
| Domain | Weight (National Portion) |
|---|---|
| 1. Property Ownership | 10% |
| 2. Land Use Controls | 5% |
| 3. Valuation | 8% |
| 4. Financing | 9% |
| 5. Contracts | 19% |
| 6. Agency | 13% |
| 7. Property Disclosures | 7% |
| 8. Property Management | 5% |
| 9. Transfer of Title | 6% |
| 10. Practice of Real Estate | 12% |
| 11. Real Estate Calculations | 6% |
Domain 5: Contracts (19%)
The highest-weighted domain on the entire national portion. Candidates must master offer and acceptance mechanics, contingency clauses, addenda, breach and remedies, and how weighted scenario items test whether a contract term is enforceable given a specific fact pattern.
- Practice reading multi-paragraph scenario stems slowly before selecting an answer
- Know the difference between voidable and void contracts
Domain 6: Agency (13%)
Agency questions blend fiduciary duty concepts with real-world broker supervision situations. Expect scenario items about dual agency disclosures and duties owed to both clients and customers.
- Memorize the fiduciary duties and where they overlap with Ohio's brokerage relationship rules
Domain 10: Practice of Real Estate (12%)
Covers day-to-day brokerage operations - advertising rules, trust account handling at a conceptual level, and professional conduct standards that apply across state lines.
For a domain-by-domain breakdown with study tactics for each of the 15 areas, the OHREB Exam Domains Guide is the most thorough resource on the site.
Ohio Portion: Domains 12-15 at a Glance
The 40 Ohio-specific items in the 60-minute state portion cover Domains 12 through 15. Unlike the national domains, these don't carry individually published percentages except for one standout: License Law and Rules of the Ohio Real Estate Commission sits at 40% of the Ohio portion - meaning roughly 16 of the 40 state questions come from this single domain.
Domain 14: License Law and Rules of the Ohio Real Estate Commission (40% of Ohio Portion)
By far the most heavily tested Ohio-specific domain. Candidates should know licensing violations, disciplinary authority, recordkeeping requirements, and how the Commission enforces Ohio Revised Code and Administrative Code provisions.
- This single domain can make or break your state-portion score - prioritize it above the other three Ohio domains combined
Domain 12: State Governance of the Real Estate Profession
Focuses on how the Division of Real Estate and Professional Licensing structures oversight of brokers and salespersons in Ohio.
Domain 13: Licensing Requirements
Covers education, examination, and application requirements specific to Ohio brokers and salespersons - a natural companion to the eligibility rules below.
Domain 15: Brokerage Relationships (Agency Law)
Ohio's statutory framework for agency disclosures and brokerage relationship agreements, distinct from the general Agency concepts tested in Domain 6 on the national portion.
Eligibility Snapshot
Before you can even schedule the exam, Ohio requires you to meet specific prerequisites. This isn't a test you can sit for straight out of salesperson licensing.
- Minimum age of 18
- An active Ohio salesperson license held for at least 2 of the preceding 5 years
- At least 20 qualifying transactions or Division-approved equivalent experience
- Completion of Ohio's required broker education coursework
- A passed background check
Once licensed as a broker, you'll also complete a 10-hour post-license course within 12 months and renew every three years with 30 hours of continuing education. The OHREB Requirements guide covers documentation specifics for the transaction and experience requirements in more depth.
Final-Week Review Sequence
In the last stretch before test day, don't restart broad studying - use short, targeted review blocks tied directly to domain weight. This is the one place a study-methodology structure earns its keep, because it maps to OHREB's own weighting rather than generic advice.
Contracts & Agency
- Drill Domain 5 (19%) and Domain 6 (13%) scenario questions - together they're nearly a third of the national portion
License Law and Rules
- Focus exclusively on Domain 14, since it's 40% of the Ohio portion alone
Practice of Real Estate & Calculations
- Review Domain 10 (12%) and Domain 11 (6%) without a handheld calculator, since PSI prohibits one
Remaining Ohio Domains
- Sweep Domains 12, 13, and 15 for gaps, then take one full timed practice run for each portion separately
If you haven't yet built a full study plan around this sequence, the OHREB Study Guide lays out a longer-horizon plan for candidates starting further out from their exam date. And if you're evaluating whether the broker credential is worth pursuing at all given the fees and time investment, the ROI analysis and salary guide are useful companion reads. For general orientation on the credential itself, see What Is OHREB? and the OHREB Certification overview. Once you're confident in the material, running full-length timed drills on our practice test platform is the fastest way to confirm you're hitting 75% on both portions before you spend the $66 appointment fee.
FAQs
Yes. PSI allows you to register and pay separately for the national-only portion ($46) or the state-only portion ($43) if you're retaking just one section, rather than paying the full $66 combined fee.
You keep your passing score on the portion you passed, but you must pass the remaining portion within your 12-month eligibility period, or you'll need to re-establish eligibility from scratch.
Handheld calculators are prohibited. Real Estate Calculations questions on the national portion (Domain 11) must be solved using the on-screen calculator provided at the PSI testing station.
On the national portion, prioritize Domain 5, Contracts, at 19%. On the state portion, prioritize Domain 14, License Law and Rules of the Ohio Real Estate Commission, at 40% of that section.
The July 1, 2026 form has 115 scored items - 75 national and 40 Ohio-specific - plus up to 5-10 additional unscored experimental items that don't count toward your score.