The Commission keeps a real estate recovery fund for unsatisfied judgments against licensees. What is the most the fund may pay for each person?SDCL 36-21A-104
For unprofessional conduct the Commission may revoke or suspend a license or issue a reprimand. What is the largest monetary penalty it may also impose?SDCL 36-21A-68
How is the South Dakota Real Estate Commission made up?SDCL 36-21A-13
How long is a term on the Commission, and how many full terms in a row may a member serve?SDCL 36-21A-14
Licensing requirements 6
A broker associate first licensed after June 30, 2009 must complete how many more class hours by the second active renewal deadline?SDCL 36-21A-30.2
After written notice of passing the examination, how long does a person have to file the license application with all the required documents?SDCL 36-21A-36.1
By what date must a licensee apply to renew in the year the current license expires?SDCL 36-21A-61
How many class hours of approved education must an applicant for a broker associate license have completed?SDCL 36-21A-30.1
How many hours of approved continuing education must a broker associate show for the preceding two-year period?SDCL 36-21A-62
What experience must an applicant for a responsible broker's license have?SDCL 36-21A-31
Show all 52 questions (42 more)
Activities: agency relationships 16
A buyer client asks the buyer's agent whether a registered sex offender lives near a property. What does the law require of the agent?SDCL 36-21A-138.1
A customer refuses to sign the acknowledgment on the relationships disclosure. What does the licensee do?SDCL 36-21A-147
A seller or buyer has no written agreement with a broker. When must the licensee disclose in writing the agency and brokerage relationships the broker offers?SDCL 36-21A-147
After an agency agreement has ended, which duties does a licensee still owe the former client?SDCL 36-21A-150
How may a brokerage appoint certain affiliated licensees to act as a client's agents to the exclusion of the firm's other licensees?SDCL 36-21A-141.1
South Dakota limits a licensee to four relationships: single agent, limited agent, subagent and which other?SDCL 36-21A-131
What does a seller's agent owe a buyer who is a customer?SDCL 36-21A-134
What does South Dakota call a licensee who has a written agency relationship with both the seller and the buyer in the same in-company transaction?SDCL 36-21A-1
What is a transaction broker in South Dakota?SDCL 36-21A-1
When may a licensee act as a limited agent?SDCL 36-21A-140
Which agreement may provide for automatic renewal when it expires?SDCL 36-21A-130
Which of these is a transaction broker under no duty to do?SDCL 36-21A-145
Which of these is substantive contact, as opposed to an initial act that is only informative?SDCL 36-21A-129
Which of these must a written agency agreement to represent a seller contain?SDCL 36-21A-130
Who signs an agency agreement for the brokerage?SDCL 36-21A-130
Without the informed written consent of the client concerned, which of these may a limited agent not disclose?SDCL 36-21A-141
Activities: trust money 8
A buyer offers a promissory note as earnest money. What does the licensee need before accepting it?SDCL 36-21A-71
A seller is unable to close, through no fault of the purchaser. What happens to the purchaser's deposit?SDCL 36-21A-77
A written contract lets a responsible broker hold a principal's money until the transaction closes. By when must the broker deposit it in a special trust account?SDCL 36-21A-80
An accepted offer and agreement to purchase does not close. How may the broker pay out the funds held in trust for it?SDCL 36-21A-81
How often must a trust account be reconciled to the bank statements, the trust ledger and the check register?SDCL 36-21A-80
Unless the buyer and seller agree otherwise, where is earnest money held in a cooperative or cobrokerage transaction?SDCL 36-21A-76
What must a broker tell the Commission about a trust account, on the Commission's forms?SDCL 36-21A-82
When may a responsible broker take compensation out of money paid to the broker in a transaction?SDCL 36-21A-84
Activities: unprofessional conduct 10
A buyer asks the licensee handling the sale whether the title is merchantable. What does the law say about the licensee giving a title opinion?SDCL 36-21A-71
A court orders payment from the real estate recovery fund on a judgment against a licensee. What happens to the license?SDCL 36-21A-114
A licensee agrees to take as compensation whatever a sale brings above the price set in the listing contract. What is this?SDCL 36-21A-71
A licensee obtains a second written offer while the seller is still considering the first. What must the licensee do with it?SDCL 36-21A-71
A licensee plans to buy, through a relative, a property that is listed with the licensee's own office. What must the licensee do?SDCL 36-21A-71
A licensee tells a seller that the firm will buy the home if it has not sold in ninety days. What does the law require of that guarantee?SDCL 36-21A-71
Before trying to secure a listing, what must a licensee first tell the owner?SDCL 36-21A-71
The seller has signed an acceptance of the buyer's offer. What must the licensee promptly do?SDCL 36-21A-71
Which of these documents may a licensee prepare without it being unprofessional conduct?SDCL 36-21A-71
Which of these is unprofessional conduct?SDCL 36-21A-71
Activities: promotion, records and office management 8
A licensee advertises, in the licensee's own name, a house the licensee owns. What must the advertisement disclose?SDCL 36-21A-72
A licensee moves from the registered place of business. By when must the licensee and the responsible broker give the Commission written notice?SDCL 36-21A-52
How long must a licensee preserve listings, offers to purchase, closing statements and other records of a real estate transaction?SDCL 36-21A-74
Licensees are affiliated with a firm as independent contractors. Who is responsible for their real estate activities?SDCL 36-21A-79
Under the Commission's rule on office management, who may be assigned management responsibilities by a broker?ARSD 20:69:03:16
What must an advertisement by an individual licensee clearly state?SDCL 36-21A-72
What must an advertisement of a real estate team clearly state?SDCL 36-21A-72
Who furnishes the closing statement to the buyer?SDCL 36-21A-75
How this list was compiled: Written from South Dakota Codified Laws chapter 36-21A, Real Estate Licensing, and the Administrative Rules of South Dakota, article 20:69, as published by the South Dakota Legislature at https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/36-21A and https://sdlegislature.gov/Rules/Administrative/20:69, read 2026-10-12. The spread of topics follows the South Dakota State Content Outline in the Real Estate Broker Associate Examination Candidate Information Bulletin dated September 1, 2025, at https://test-takers.psiexams.com/api/content/bulletin/5101, and the South Dakota Real Estate Commission's examination page, https://dlr.sd.gov/realestate/exam_information.aspx, links the edition of October 1, 2023, which has the same outline. Licence: Own work. Questions, answer choices and explanations were written for this site from the statute and rule text; nothing is copied from another practice test, a prep book or the state exam. Short quotations from the statutes and rules are marked.
How it works
This unofficial South Dakota real estate license practice test has 52 of our own questions on the state part of the broker associate exam, most from SDCL chapter 36-21A. It is not affiliated with the South Dakota Real Estate Commission.
Read the full guide
What the state part of the South Dakota exam asks
South Dakota's entry license is the broker associate, so the test is the Real Estate Broker Associate Examination. Its Candidate Information Bulletin gives the state part 52 scored questions: duties and powers of the Real Estate Commission, 4; licensing requirements, 6; statutory requirements governing the activities of licensees, 42. This bank holds those counts and sorts the 42 into agency relationships, trust money, unprofessional conduct, and promotion, records and office management.
Use it as a South Dakota real estate law study guide
Each explanation names the section of SDCL chapter 36-21A, or the Commission's rule in ARSD 20:69, that the answer rests on and links to the Legislature's copy. Agency is the largest topic: the chapter allows only single agent, limited agent, subagent and transaction broker relationships (SDCL 36-21A-131).
A limited agent represents both the seller and the buyer, and needs the informed written consent of all parties (SDCL 36-21A-140).
Trust money is deposited on the first legal banking day after the contract is accepted (SDCL 36-21A-80).
The recovery fund pays at most $15,000 for each person, and the license stays suspended until the fund is repaid (SDCL 36-21A-104, 36-21A-114).
Questions and answers
How many questions are on the South Dakota real estate exam?
The bulletin dated September 1, 2025 lists 90 national questions in 150 minutes and 52 state questions in 120 minutes; 5 to 10 unscored questions may be added. On October 12, 2026 the scheduling site listed 90 minutes for the state part, so confirm yours.
What is the passing score for the South Dakota real estate exam?
75 percent on each part, by the bulletin, and the Commission's rule ARSD 20:69:03:07 sets the passing score at 75. A candidate who passes one part and fails the other retakes only the failed part.
What is a broker associate in South Dakota?
A broker who acts in association with or under a responsible broker (SDCL 36-21A-1). It is the license a new applicant tests for after 116 class hours of approved education (SDCL 36-21A-30.1).
Are these the real South Dakota real estate exam questions?
No. Every question was written for this page from SDCL chapter 36-21A and ARSD 20:69, and nobody at this site has seen the state's exam. No licensed South Dakota broker or attorney has reviewed the answers yet.