A seller's agent knows the listed house lies in an area that the federal emergency agency has designated. Which designation must the agent disclose under the natural hazard article of the Civil Code?Civil Code section 1103
A tenant fastened display shelves to the walls of a leased shop for the tenant's trade. When may the tenant take them away?Civil Code section 1019
Before lots in a subdivision under the Subdivided Lands Law are sold or offered for sale, what must first be obtained?Business and Professions Code section 11018.2
For how many continuous years must a claimant occupy land and pay all the taxes levied on it to establish adverse possession?Code of Civil Procedure section 325
For which act on community real property must both spouses join in signing the instrument?Family Code section 1102
The owner of an easement across a neighbor's lot buys that lot. What happens to the easement?Civil Code section 811
Spouses take title as community property with right of survivorship. What happens to the property when one spouse dies?Civil Code section 682.1
Under the Subdivision Map Act, a tentative and final map is generally required for a subdivision that creates how many parcels?Government Code section 66426
What does Civil Code section 683 require for two or more persons to hold a joint interest?Civil Code section 683
Show all 60 questions (51 more)
Laws of agency and fiduciary duties 10
A listing with a false statement in it is placed in a multiple listing service. Who answers for the truth of the statement to someone injured by it?Civil Code section 1088
A responsible broker writes supervision policies under Regulation 2725. Which subject must they cover?10 CCR 2725
A seller dies while the house is listed. The broker's agency is not coupled with an interest. What becomes of it?Civil Code section 2356
An agent acted without authority in a matter where oral authority would have been enough. How may the principal ratify the act?Civil Code section 2310
An owner tells a friend by telephone to sign a contract selling the owner's land. Is that authority enough?Civil Code section 2309
By when must a buyer's agent and the buyer execute a buyer-broker representation agreement?Civil Code section 1670.50
How may an agency be created under Civil Code section 2307?Civil Code section 2307
How often must a responsible broker review the Department's online list of debarred persons under Regulation 2725.5?10 CCR 2725.5
What must a broker have with each salesperson, and with each broker working as a salesperson, under Regulation 2726?10 CCR 2726
Which event terminates an agency under Civil Code section 2355?Civil Code section 2355
Property valuation and financial analysis 8
A building is 25 years old, but it is as well maintained and would sell for as much as adjoining 20-year-old properties. What is its effective age?DRE Reference Book, chapter 15
A licensee is unhappy with an appraisal ordered for a buyer's loan. Which request to the appraiser does Regulation 2785 allow?10 CCR 2785
A swimming pool cost far more to build than buyers in the market will pay for it. What kind of depreciation is this over-improvement?DRE Reference Book, chapter 15
An appraiser capitalizes a net income assumed to be perpetual. What happens to the value estimate as the capitalization rate used goes down?DRE Reference Book, chapter 15
From which figure are the estimated annual operating expenses deducted to obtain the net income of an investment property?DRE Reference Book, chapter 15
In the cost approach, the appraiser deducts accrued depreciation from the cost of the improvements as new. What is then added to reach the value indication?DRE Reference Book, chapter 15
Value tends to be set by the cost of acquiring an equally desirable substitute. Which principle, the basis of the appraisal process, is this?DRE Reference Book, chapter 15
Which is one of the four elements of value in the Department's Reference Book?DRE Reference Book, chapter 15
Financing 6
A borrower in default wants to reinstate the loan by paying the amounts in default. Until when before a trustee's sale does the right of reinstatement last?Civil Code section 2924c
A broker negotiates a loan secured by a lien on real property. If the borrower is not obligated sooner, within how many business days after receiving the completed written loan application must the broker deliver the written disclosure statement?Business and Professions Code section 10240
A buyer gives the seller a deed of trust for the unpaid balance of the price, then defaults, and the sale brings less than the debt. What may the seller recover of the shortfall?Code of Civil Procedure section 580b
A notice of default is recorded under a deed of trust. At least how long must pass before notice of the trustee's sale may be given?Civil Code section 2924
On a loan secured by a single-family, owner-occupied dwelling, an installment is not a late payment for late-charge purposes until at least how long after its due date?Civil Code section 2954.4
On a loan secured by owner-occupied residential property of four units or less, how much of the original principal may be prepaid in any 12-month period with no prepayment charge?Civil Code section 2954.9
Transfer of property 5
A broker handles the escrow in the broker's own transaction under the exemption from the Escrow Law. By when must money received as escrow agent be deposited?10 CCR 2950
An earlier deed is never recorded. Against which later buyer of the same property is it void?Civil Code section 1214
At what rate may a county impose the documentary transfer tax on a deed?Revenue and Taxation Code section 11911
When does a grant of real property take effect so as to vest the interest transferred?Civil Code section 1054
Which covenant does the word "grant" in a deed imply on the grantor's part?Civil Code section 1113
Practice of real estate and mandated disclosures 15
A broker stores transaction documents as electronic images. What kind of storage does Regulation 2729 require?10 CCR 2729
A deposit holds money that belongs partly to the principal and partly to the broker and cannot practicably be separated. Within how many days must the broker's undisputed part be disbursed?10 CCR 2835
A disbursement would leave a trust account holding less than the broker's total liability to all owners of the funds. What must the broker obtain first?10 CCR 2832.1
A licensee solicits listings by warning owners that people of another race are moving into the neighborhood. What does Regulation 2781 call this?10 CCR 2781
A unit in a common interest development is for sale. What must the owner give a prospective purchaser before title transfers?Civil Code section 4525
After a tenant has lawfully and continuously occupied a residential property for how long may the owner no longer end the tenancy without just cause stated in the notice?Civil Code section 1946.2
An occupant died on the property. The death and its manner need not be disclosed when it occurred more than how long before the buyer's offer?Civil Code section 1710.2
An offer arrives with the buyer's check for the deposit. Regulation 2832 lets the broker leave the check uncashed until acceptance in which case?10 CCR 2832
Apart from the listed exceptions, what is the most security a landlord may demand for a residential tenancy, in addition to the first month's rent?Civil Code section 1950.5
The buyer has already signed the offer when the seller personally delivers the Transfer Disclosure Statement. For how many days may the buyer still terminate the offer?Civil Code section 1102.3
How many calendar days after a tenant has vacated does a California landlord have to send the itemized statement of the security and refund the balance?Civil Code section 1950.5
How often must a broker reconcile the separate beneficiary records with the record of all trust funds received and disbursed?10 CCR 2831.2
Regulation 2835 lets a broker leave some personal funds in a trust account for the bank's fees without that being commingling. What is the ceiling?10 CCR 2835
Which of these is a basis on which Government Code section 12955 forbids the owner of a housing accommodation to discriminate?Government Code section 12955
Which of these must carry the licensee's eight-digit license identification number as first point of contact material?10 CCR 2773
Contracts 7
A broker plans to collect an advance fee. At least how many calendar days before the advertising and the agreement form are used must they be submitted to the Commissioner?10 CCR 2970
A broker signs a buyer-broker representation agreement with an individual home buyer. What is the longest term the agreement may have?Civil Code section 1670.50
A broker wants to be sure of a commission. Which agreement does Civil Code section 1624 make invalid unless it is written and subscribed by the party to be charged?Civil Code section 1624
A buyer contracts to purchase a home to live in, and the contract makes the deposit liquidated damages. The clause is valid, unless the buyer shows it unreasonable, when the amount paid does not exceed what share of the price?Civil Code section 1675
Civil Code section 1550 names four things essential to the existence of a contract. Which of these is one of them?Civil Code section 1550
What marks an agreement as a "real property sales contract" under Civil Code section 2985?Civil Code section 2985
Within how many years must an action on a contract founded upon an instrument in writing generally be brought?Code of Civil Procedure section 337
How this list was compiled: Written from the Department of Real Estate's own publications and from the California codes. The Regulations of the Real Estate Commissioner (Title 10, California Code of Regulations, Chapter 6), the Business and Professions Code and the excerpts from the Civil Code, the Code of Civil Procedure, the Financial Code and the Government Code were read in the Department's 2026 Real Estate Law, as of January 1, 2026 (https://www.dre.ca.gov/Publications/RealEstateLaw.html); the valuation questions rest on chapter 15, Appraisal and Valuation, of the Department's Reference Book (https://www.dre.ca.gov/files/pdf/refbook/ref15.pdf); and 27 further code sections were opened on California Legislative Information (https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/), 19 of them cited, all read 2026-10-15. The spread of topics follows the Department's Broker Examination Content page, https://www.dre.ca.gov/examinees/BrokerExamContent.html. Each statute question links to its section on the Legislature's site. Licence: Own work. Questions, answer choices and explanations were written for this site from the statute, regulation and Reference Book text; nothing is copied from another practice test, a prep book or the state exam.
How it works
This unofficial practice for the California broker exam, the Department of Real Estate's real estate broker examination, has 60 of our own questions in the outline's seven areas. It is not affiliated with the California Department of Real Estate.
Read the full guide
California real estate broker exam practice questions, by the outline's shares
The Department's Broker Examination Content page lists seven areas: property ownership and land use controls about 15 percent, laws of agency and fiduciary duties 17, valuation and financial analysis 14, financing 9, transfer of property 8, practice and mandated disclosures 25, contracts 12. This bank holds 9, 10, 8, 6, 5, 15 and 7.
Use it as a California broker exam study guide
Each explanation names the code section, the Commissioner's regulation or the Reference Book chapter behind it. Trust fund records (Regulations 2831 to 2835), broker supervision (2725) and the buyer-broker agreement law are here. The license law on our California salesperson page is not repeated.
A buyer-broker representation agreement with an individual buyer lasts at most three months and never renews by itself (Civil Code 1670.50).
A broker's own money in a trust account for bank charges stops at $200 (Regulation 2835).
Notice of a trustee's sale waits at least three months after the notice of default is recorded (Civil Code 2924).
Questions and answers
How long is the CA brokers exam?
The Department of Real Estate lists 4 hours and 200 multiple-choice questions for a broker, each with four choices, against 3 hours and 150 questions for a salesperson.
What score passes the California real estate broker exam?
Examinees must correctly answer at least 75 percent of the questions, against 70 percent for salespersons. The Department says those who pass are not told their final score.
How does the broker exam differ from the salesperson exam?
The Department says the two exams differ in emphasis and difficulty. Its broker outline weights practice of real estate and mandated disclosures at about 25 percent and laws of agency and fiduciary duties at about 17.
Is this a practice test for the California real estate broker license?
Yes: 60 practice questions of our own for the broker license examination. None is a real exam question, and each answer is checked against the section, regulation or Reference Book chapter it cites. Arithmetic and federal law are not covered.