A business does not sell at auction itself, but in the regular course of business lets its building be used for auctions. What is it under G.S. 85B-1?N.C. General Statutes § 85B-1(3)
A candidate has now failed the North Carolina auctioneer examination twice. What is the waiting period?N.C. General Statutes § 85B-4(d)
A church hires a person whose business is conducting auctions for compensation to run its auction. Does the charity exemption cover that person?N.C. General Statutes § 85B-2(b)
A nonresident with a reciprocal license consents that service on one official is good service of process. Which official?N.C. General Statutes § 85B-5(b)
A reciprocal licensee loses the license in the home state. How soon must the Commission be notified, by certified mail?N.C. General Statutes § 85B-5(e)
An applicant has not served an apprenticeship. What lets the applicant sit for the auctioneer examination?N.C. General Statutes § 85B-4(d)
An apprentice auctioneer keeps renewing instead of sitting the examination. Where does G.S. 85B-4(e) draw the line?N.C. General Statutes § 85B-4(e)
An auction firm starts trading under a new assumed name. How long does Rule .0601 give to report it?21 NCAC 04B .0601(e)
Show all 85 questions (77 more)
Licensing law: licenses and exemptions, continued
An auctioneer let the license lapse and comes back after three years. What does Rule .0402 require?21 NCAC 04B .0402(d)
An owner sells all her own goods at auction. When does Chapter 85B still apply to her?N.C. General Statutes § 85B-2(a)(1)
Besides the actual calling of bids, which of these counts as "auctioneering" under G.S. 85B-1?N.C. General Statutes § 85B-1(5)
How is the board that licenses auctioneers made up under G.S. 85B-3?N.C. General Statutes § 85B-3
How long before a scheduled examination must a completed application reach the Board office?21 NCAC 04B .0202(a)
How long is the apprenticeship that G.S. 85B-4(d) asks of a would-be auctioneer who has not been to auction school?N.C. General Statutes § 85B-4(d)
How many sales a year may a civic club conduct for itself outside Chapter 85B?N.C. General Statutes § 85B-2(a)(9a)
How much experience must a licensed auctioneer have to be approved as an apprentice's supervisor?21 NCAC 04B .0403(a)
May a county charge its own fee or require its own license of a licensed auctioneer?N.C. General Statutes § 85B-6(b)
May an apprentice auctioneer agree to conduct an auction on the apprentice's own say?N.C. General Statutes § 85B-4(c1)
No owner or officer of an auction firm ever calls bids. Must the firm be licensed?N.C. General Statutes § 85B-4(g)
On what date does a license issued under Chapter 85B run out?N.C. General Statutes § 85B-4(e)
What grade of offense is selling at auction without the license G.S. 85B-4(a) requires?N.C. General Statutes § 85B-9(a)
What is the fewest sittings of the auctioneer examination that G.S. 85B-4(d) allows in a year?N.C. General Statutes § 85B-4(d)
What is the least classroom continuing education a licensee must complete each year?21 NCAC 04B .0801(d)
What score passes the license examination?21 NCAC 04B .0303(a)
Which of these bars a person from being licensed under G.S. 85B-4(b)?N.C. General Statutes § 85B-4(b)(3)
Which of these marks an "absolute auction" in G.S. 85B-1?N.C. General Statutes § 85B-1(1)
Which sale does G.S. 85B-2 leave outside the auctioneer licensing law?N.C. General Statutes § 85B-2(a)(10)
Who is a "designated person"?N.C. General Statutes § 85B-1(7)
Recovery Fund and discipline 14
A consignor's loss is small and easy to prove. Up to what amount may it be paid from the Recovery Fund with no lawsuit first?N.C. General Statutes § 85B-4.5(1)
A helper is planted in the crowd to run the price up. Which ground in G.S. 85B-8(a) covers this?N.C. General Statutes § 85B-8(a)(6)
An aggrieved person sues a licensee over a loss of $8,000. How soon after the suit begins must written notice of it reach the Commission?N.C. General Statutes § 85B-4.2(1)
An application for a license is denied. How long does the applicant have to file a written appeal?N.C. General Statutes § 85B-8(e)(1)
An auctioneer is found to have advertised falsely and is to be fined. What ceiling does G.S. 85B-3.1 set on the civil penalty?N.C. General Statutes § 85B-3.1(b)
An auctioneer loses a commission on a sale. May the auctioneer claim it from the Recovery Fund?N.C. General Statutes § 85B-4.11
An order authorizes payment from the Recovery Fund on a claim against an auctioneer. What does G.S. 85B-4.8 do to the auctioneer's license?N.C. General Statutes § 85B-4.8
Funds belonging to another come to a licensee through an auction sale. What is the outer limit of a "reasonable time" to pay them over?N.C. General Statutes § 85B-8(a)(3)
How much may be charged each year, on top of license fees, for the Auctioneer Recovery Fund?N.C. General Statutes § 85B-4.1(a)
What balance must be kept in the Recovery Fund at the least?N.C. General Statutes § 85B-4.1(b)
What is the Fund's total limit for any one licensee, over all years?N.C. General Statutes § 85B-4.7(a)(3)
What is the most the Fund will pay on one transaction, however many persons were aggrieved?N.C. General Statutes § 85B-4.7(a)(2)
Where do civil penalties collected under G.S. 85B-3.1 go?N.C. General Statutes § 85B-3.1(b)
Which of these will the Recovery Fund not pay?N.C. General Statutes § 85B-4.7(a)(4)
Conduct of auctions and bidding 11
A firm brings in a licensed auctioneer for one day to cry the sale. Must that auctioneer be one of the firm's designated persons?21 NCAC 04B .0606(d)
A sale adds 10 percent to every winning bid, payable by the bidder. What do the rules call a charge like that?21 NCAC 04B .0103(4)
A sale includes a buyer's premium. When must its amount be announced?21 NCAC 04B .0602(l)
A student at an approved auction school calls bids without a license, for training. Under whose direct supervision must it be done?21 NCAC 04B .0506
An auction firm holds a sale. Who must be on the premises while the sale is conducted?21 NCAC 04B .0606(c)
The auctioneer will bid, or procure a bid, at the sale. What must be done?21 NCAC 04B .0605(a)
The hammer is on its way down for a $400 bid when someone calls $425. What choices does G.S. 25-2-328 give the auctioneer?N.C. General Statutes § 25-2-328(b)
In a sale with reserve, how far may the auctioneer bid on the reserve item without intending to buy it?21 NCAC 04B .0605(a)
May a minimum opening bid be required in an absolute auction?21 NCAC 04B .0605(b)
What must be carried by a licensee while auctioneering activities are being conducted?21 NCAC 04B .0401(b)
Where must the supervising auctioneer be while an apprentice is calling bids?21 NCAC 04B .0403(b)
Contracts, records and settlement 14
A payment that partly belongs to others is not disbursed on auction day. How soon must it go into an escrow account?21 NCAC 04B .0603(a)
For how long may an auction house make one written agreement with a repeat seller?21 NCAC 04B .0604(b)
For how long must the licensee keep a copy of the written agreement with the owner?N.C. General Statutes § 85B-7(a)
How many years of escrow deposit and withdrawal records does G.S. 85B-7.1(b) make an auctioneer hold?N.C. General Statutes § 85B-7.1(b)
How must the separate bank account for sellers' money be designated?21 NCAC 04B .0603(c)
On consigned property, how is a buyer's premium calculated, collected and distributed?21 NCAC 04B .0604(g)
Seller and buyer dispute a lot and the money sits in the licensee's escrow account. What must the licensee do with it?21 NCAC 04B .0603(f)
What must a licensee have before conducting an auction of an owner's property?N.C. General Statutes § 85B-7(a)
What must the bidder registration records contain?21 NCAC 04B .0604(e)
What must the sales records show about the purchaser of goods sold?N.C. General Statutes § 85B-7(d)
When must a licensee enter goods in the consignment records?N.C. General Statutes § 85B-7(b)
When must a licensee keep a trust or escrow account?N.C. General Statutes § 85B-7.1(a)
Which of these must the settlement statement given to the seller include?N.C. General Statutes § 85B-7.1(a)
Who signs the settlement statement?N.C. General Statutes § 85B-7.1(a)
Advertising 9
A licensee advertises an "Estate Sale". What must all the advertisement materials disclose?21 NCAC 04B .0602(b)
An advertisement calls a sale "Urgent". What must it also disclose, and how?21 NCAC 04B .0602(e)
An advertisement uses the word "Contents" for goods at a house. How long must the items have been on the premises before the contract was signed?21 NCAC 04B .0602(k)
An auctioneer lets a seller run an advertisement carrying the auctioneer's name and license number without seeing it first. Is that a violation?21 NCAC 04B .0602(j)
An auctioneer works in conjunction with an auction firm on a sale. What must the advertisement show?21 NCAC 04B .0602(a)
May an auction advertisement mention the U.C.C.?21 NCAC 04B .0602(h)(1)
What must every advertisement relating to an auction give?21 NCAC 04B .0602(a)
When may an item not be advertised as "Absolute" or "Without Reserve"?21 NCAC 04B .0602(d)
Which advertisement needs no name or license number under Rule .0602?21 NCAC 04B .0602(a)
Auction math 9
A sale offers 240 folding chairs "by the piece, take all" and the bid is $17.50 a chair. What is the selling price of the lot?Own arithmetic question; the answer is worked from the numbers in the question
A settlement statement shows $5,320 in goods sold, a 20 percent commission and $185 of advertising charged to the consignor. What are the net proceeds?Own arithmetic question; the answer is worked from the numbers in the question
A tractor is knocked down for $1,750 and a 15 percent buyer's premium is added. How much is owed, tax aside?Own arithmetic question; the answer is worked from the numbers in the question
An auctioneer earned $3,900 on goods that sold for $26,000. What percent of the selling price was the commission?Own arithmetic question; the answer is worked from the numbers in the question
The buyer's premium collected on a $2,850 lot was $342. What was the premium, as a percent of the bid?Own arithmetic question; the answer is worked from the numbers in the question
The fee on a land sale is 8 percent of the first $50,000 and 5 percent of the remainder. The land brings $80,000. What is the fee?Own arithmetic question; the answer is worked from the numbers in the question
The gross of a household sale is $9,400 and the auctioneer keeps a quarter of it as the fee. What is left for the owner?Own arithmetic question; the answer is worked from the numbers in the question
One bidder card shows purchases of $460, $1,125 and $90, and the terms add a 10 percent buyer's premium. What is the total for that card, tax aside?Own arithmetic question; the answer is worked from the numbers in the question
The terms of a real estate auction call for 5 percent earnest money on the day. The property is bid to $318,000. How much earnest money is due?Own arithmetic question; the answer is worked from the numbers in the question
How this list was compiled: North Carolina General Statutes, Chapter 85B (Auctions and Auctioneers) and section 25-2-328 (sale by auction), read on October 12, 2026 on the General Assembly's site (https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/PDF/ByChapter/Chapter_85B.pdf); and the auctioneer rules, 21 NCAC 04B, read the same day on the Office of Administrative Hearings' site (http://reports.oah.state.nc.us/ncac/title%2021%20-%20occupational%20licensing%20boards%20and%20commissions/chapter%2004%20-%20auctioneers/subchapter%20b/subchapter%20b%20rules.pdf). What the examination tests is taken from G.S. 85B-4(d) and rule 21 NCAC 04B .0301, and the passing score from rule .0303. Each law question names its section or rule, and each statute question links to its section; each math question is arithmetic on the numbers it gives. Licence: Own work. Every question, wrong choice and explanation was written for this site from the text of the law, and the math questions use made-up figures. Nothing comes from the state examination, an auction school, a prep course or an exam question pool.
How it works
This unofficial NC auctioneer practice test asks 85 of our own questions on North Carolina's auction law, the board's rules and auction math. Not affiliated with the North Carolina Auctioneer Licensing Board, which gives the state examination.
Read the full guide
What the North Carolina examination tests
Rule 21 NCAC 04B .0301 names three things: a working knowledge of the auction business (conduct of auctions, ethics, contract drafting, bid calling, basic math and percentages, advertising, settlement statements), the licensing law, and the Board's rules.
What is left out
Bid calling, which is a skill. The six topics here follow the rest of the rule's list.
Where the answers come from
General Statutes Chapter 85B and section 25-2-328 on the General Assembly's site, and the rules of 21 NCAC 04B on the Office of Administrative Hearings' site, read October 12, 2026. The statute calls the Board the Auctioneers Commission.
Money not paid to the seller on auction day goes into an escrow account within three business days (Rule .0603).
Every auction advertisement gives the licensee's name and license number (Rule .0602).
The Recovery Fund pays at most $10,000 on one transaction (G.S. 85B-4.7).
Questions and answers
What is the passing score for the NC auctioneer exam?
75 percent or higher, by Rule 21 NCAC 04B .0303. The Board's examination sheet gives no question count and no time limit.
How do you become an auctioneer in NC?
Be at least 18 and a high school graduate, then either serve two years as a licensed apprentice or complete 80 hours of classroom instruction at an approved auction school, and pass the examination (G.S. 85B-4).
When is the NC auctioneer exam given?
The statute requires at least two sittings a year. The Board publishes each year's dates with a filing deadline for each; the application must be received, not postmarked, by that date. Rule .0202 sets the floor at 10 days before the examination.
How many times can you take the NC auctioneer exam?
The statute sets no total. After a second failure, a person may not take the examination again for six months (G.S. 85B-4(d)).