QUICK ANSWER
The Texas real estate sales agent exam has 120 scored questions: 80 national and 40 Texas state. Pearson VUE also uses unscored pretest items. Its handbook lists 125 items for a combined appointment, while the separate outlines list 85 national and 50 state items, which add to 135. Those documents do not reconcile. The confirmed facts are 120 scored items, 240 minutes for both portions, and separate passing scores of 56 of 80 national and 28 of 40 state.
EXAM PREP ONLY
This guide explains how the Texas sales agent exam is built. It is not legal or licensing advice. Item counts, pretest counts, and timing come from the Pearson VUE Texas Real Estate Candidate Handbook and content outlines, which can change. Verify the current handbook and TREC before your test date.
If you are about to register, you want one clear number, not a paragraph of hedging.
Here is the clean version, then the detail that actually matters for your score.
How many questions are on the Texas real estate exam?
The Texas real estate sales agent exam has 120 scored questions, split into an 80-question national portion and a 40-question Texas state portion. Pearson VUE adds unscored pretest questions on top of those, so the number you see on screen is higher than 120.
The number that decides whether you pass is the scored count. Everything else is noise you should still answer.
| Portion | Scored questions | Time |
|---|---|---|
| National | 80 | 150 minutes |
| Texas state | 40 | 90 minutes |
| Total scored | 120 | 240 minutes |
If you schedule both portions together, you take them in one appointment, and you must pass each one on its own. A strong national score cannot rescue a failing state score, and the reverse is also true. Retakers sit for only the portion they failed, and out-of-state candidates with the national portion waived sit for the Texas state portion alone.
National vs Texas state portion
The national portion has 80 scored items and the Texas state portion has 40 scored items. The national outline also lists 5 pretest items and the state outline lists 10 pretest items, so the on-screen totals are about 85 and 50.
The national portion covers general real estate principles that apply across the country: property, ownership, agency, contracts, finance, valuation, and real estate math. The Texas state portion covers Texas-specific law: TREC, TRELA, promulgated contract forms, intermediary brokerage, and special Texas topics.
| Portion | Scored items | Pretest items | Items shown on screen |
|---|---|---|---|
| National | 80 | 5 | 85 |
| Texas state | 40 | 10 | 50 |
Treat the pretest items as if they count, because you cannot tell them apart from the scored ones.
What pretest questions are, and why you still answer them
Pretest questions are unscored items Pearson VUE is testing for future exams. They are mixed in with scored questions and are not labeled, so they do not affect your score but you should answer every question as if it counts.
Pearson VUE uses pretest items to collect performance data before a question becomes a scored item on a later exam. Your answers to pretest items do not change your result.
The practical takeaway is simple. You will never know which questions are pretest, so there is no question you can safely skip or rush. Answer all of them with the same care.
How much time you get
If you schedule both portions together, you get 240 minutes total: 150 minutes for the national portion and 90 minutes for the Texas state portion. If you are retaking only one portion, or your national portion is waived, the time limit applies to that portion alone.
Using the displayed-item counts in the separate outlines, the average pace is about 1 minute 46 seconds per national item and 1 minute 48 seconds per state item. Those are averages, not targets for every question. Use the time-management guide for checkpoints, math allocation, and flag-and-return decisions.
PRACTICE THE REAL COUNT
Train on 80 national and 40 state style questions.
Pass Texas mirrors the real Texas exam structure so the number of questions and the pace feel familiar before test day. Full Texas question bank, Math Coach, and Trap Library drills. Native Texas exam prep. Original questions. No copied exam questions. Not affiliated with TREC or Pearson VUE. Not a pass guarantee.
What score do you need to pass?
You need 56 of 80 scored national items and 28 of 40 scored state items, which is about 70 percent on each portion. You must pass both portions, but they do not have to be passed in the same appointment. If one portion passes and the other does not, the passed result has its own one-year validity period under TREC Rule §535.57.
Passing is per portion, not an average. The score report tells you whether you passed each portion and gives diagnostic feedback on any portion you failed. For the full breakdown of how scoring and the report work, see the Texas exam format and scoring guide and the score report walkthrough.
Why the item counts can look different
You may see 120, 125, or 135 quoted for the Texas exam. The 120 is scored items. Pearson VUE's appointment table lists the combined sales exam at 125 items in 240 minutes, while the per-portion outlines list 85 national and 50 state including pretest. The two figures do not reconcile exactly.
This is the part that confuses candidates, so here is the honest version.
- 120 is the count that decides your result: 80 scored national plus 40 scored state.
- 135 is what you get if you add the two per-portion outline totals: 85 national (80 scored plus 5 pretest) plus 50 state (40 scored plus 10 pretest).
- 125 is Pearson VUE's own combined figure for the sales exam in its appointment table, paired with the 240-minute seat time.
So 135 is a sum of the separate outlines and 125 is Pearson's combined appointment number. They are not the same thing, which is why you see different totals quoted. Do not try to force these to add up. Anchor on the scored counts, 80 and 40, and treat every on-screen question as if it counts. If a study site quotes a single tidy total with no mention of pretest items, it is simplifying.
How to use these numbers in your study plan
Weight your study toward the scored counts: the national portion is twice the scored size of the state portion, but the state portion is where Texas-specific law trips people up, so do not under-study it.
A few practical moves:
- Build national stamina first. With 80 scored items, the national portion rewards broad, steady coverage and fast math.
- Do not treat the 40-item state portion as optional. It carries its own pass line and uses Texas-specific licensing, agency, conduct, and contract rules.
- Drill the math until it is quick, since timing pressure shows up there. Start with Texas real estate math.
- Take a free Texas practice test to feel the full question load, then check how hard the exam is for difficulty context.
While your application remains active, you retake only the failed portion. The three-attempt rule explains the additional education required after a third consecutive failed examination.
Frequently Asked Questions
For quick answers to every common Texas exam question, see the Texas real estate exam FAQ.
How many questions are on the Texas real estate exam in total?
There are 120 scored questions: 80 on the national portion and 40 on the Texas state portion. Pearson VUE adds unscored pretest items on top, so you answer more than 120 questions on screen.
How many questions are on the national portion?
The national portion has 80 scored questions. The current national outline also lists 5 pretest items, so you typically see about 85 questions, and you need 56 correct to pass.
How many questions are on the Texas state portion?
The Texas state portion has 40 scored questions, plus about 10 pretest items listed in the state outline, for roughly 50 on screen. You need 28 correct to pass.
How many do I need to get right to pass?
You need 56 of 80 scored national items and 28 of 40 scored state items, about 70 percent on each. You must pass both portions separately.
How long is the Texas real estate exam?
If you take both portions together, you get 240 minutes total: 150 minutes for the national portion and 90 minutes for the Texas state portion. If you sit for only one portion, a retake or a waived national portion, the time limit is for that portion alone. For what to bring and check-in steps, see the exam day checklist.
Do pretest questions count toward my score?
No. Pretest questions are unscored items Pearson VUE is trying out for future exams. They are not labeled and are mixed in with scored questions, so answer every question as if it counts.
KNOW THE COUNT, THEN BEAT IT
Feel what the full question count is like.
Reading that the exam is 80 national and 40 state is one thing; sitting a timed set is another. The free Texas practice exam runs a timed, scored mock across the content areas so you build stamina and pacing before exam day, with an explanation after every miss. No signup. Native Texas exam prep. Original questions. No copied exam questions. Not affiliated with TREC or Pearson VUE. Not a 180-hour pre-license course or a pass guarantee.
Sources and Methodology
The scored counts, per-portion pretest counts, time limits, and raw passing scores come from the Pearson VUE Texas Real Estate Candidate Handbook and content outlines. Pearson lists 125 items for the combined appointment, but its separate portion counts add to 135. This article reports both published figures instead of inventing a reconciliation. TREC Rule §535.57 supplies the separate passing and passed-section validity rules.
Official source links
- Pearson VUE Texas Real Estate Candidate Handbook
- Pearson VUE Texas Real Estate content outlines
- Pearson VUE Texas Real Estate exam scheduling
- TREC: Become a Real Estate Sales Agent
- TREC Rule §535.57: Examinations
This post is educational content for Texas real estate sales agent candidates. It is not legal, tax, or licensing advice. Exam item counts, pretest counts, timing, and passing standards can change, so confirm the current Pearson VUE Texas Real Estate Candidate Handbook and TREC requirements before you register or test.