QUICK ANSWER
On the Texas sales agent exam you can miss up to 24 of the 80 scored national items and up to 12 of the 40 scored state items and still pass. You need 56 correct on national and 28 correct on state, so your miss budget is 24 and 12, about 30 percent on each portion. The budgets do not combine: missing fewer on national does not let you miss more on state, because you must pass each portion separately.
EXAM PREP ONLY
This guide explains the Texas sales agent exam miss budget. It is not legal or licensing advice. The counts come from the Pearson VUE Texas Real Estate Candidate Handbook and the raw passing scores set by TREC, which can change. Verify the current handbook before your test date.
This is the reassurance question, and the answer is genuinely reassuring: you do not need to be perfect. You do need to clear each portion on its own.
How many questions can you miss and still pass?
You can miss up to 24 of the 80 scored national questions and up to 12 of the 40 scored state questions on the Texas sales agent exam. That is because you need 56 correct on national and 28 correct on state, which leaves a 24 and 12 miss budget, roughly 30 percent on each portion.
| Portion | Scored items | Correct to pass | You can miss | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| National | 80 | 56 | 24 | 30% |
| Texas state | 40 | 28 | 12 | 30% |
So a perfect score is not the bar. Roughly seven out of ten correct on each portion passes. For the cut scores behind these numbers, see what the passing score is.
Want to test your own practice scores against both lines? Use the free score calculator to see if you clear National and State.
The miss budget is per portion, not shared
The 24 and 12 miss budgets are separate. A strong national score does not buy you extra room on the state portion. You must reach 56 on national and 28 on state independently.
This is where the reassurance has a catch. The exam is two separately scored portions, so the budgets never pool.
- Miss 5 on national and 13 on state: you fail, because 13 state misses is over the 12 budget, even though national was nearly perfect.
- Miss 24 on national and 0 on state: you pass, because each portion is within its own budget.
One exception to "pass both": TREC may waive the national portion if you hold an equivalent active license in another state and passed a comparable national examination accredited or certified by a nationally recognized real estate regulator association. TREC reviews the applicant's license history to decide whether the waiver applies. If it does, only the Texas state passing score applies.
Pretest items are not free misses
The miss budget applies to scored items only. Pearson VUE mixes in unscored pretest items, but you cannot tell them apart from scored items, so do not treat them as a buffer. Answer every question as if it counts.
Pearson VUE's per-portion outlines list 5 pretest items on the national portion and 10 on the state portion, on top of the 120 scored items, so you answer more than 120 questions. Those pretest items do not count toward your score, and they are not labeled. You cannot know which question is a freebie, so the only safe plan is to answer all of them carefully. For the full count breakdown, see how many questions are on the exam.
How much cushion should you aim for?
TREC and Pearson VUE publish the passing scores. They do not publish a practice-test percentage that guarantees readiness.
The useful goal is a repeatable cushion above both passing lines on fresh timed questions. Check national and state separately, because a combined percentage can hide a failed portion. Also look for stable pacing, fewer repeat misses, and the ability to explain why the wrong choices fail.
One high score on familiar questions is weak evidence. Several fresh results that clear both lines are much stronger. The practice-volume guide explains how to judge that evidence without inventing a magic total or percentage.
BUILD THE CUSHION
Build a repeatable cushion above 56 and 28.
Pass Texas runs full national and Texas state sets so you can see your real margin on each portion before test day. Math Coach and Trap Library included. Native Texas exam prep. Original questions. No copied exam questions. Not affiliated with TREC or Pearson VUE. Not a pass guarantee.
What if you miss too many on one portion?
If you go over the miss budget on a portion, that portion is failed. Your score report shows how many questions you answered correctly in each content area on the failed portion, giving you a general guide for retake study.
While the application remains active, you retake only the failed portion. TREC separately says each passed section remains valid for one year from its passing date. If the application expires, reapply before that passed result reaches its own one-year expiration to keep the section. The score report gives diagnostic feedback on the failed portion, and the three-attempt rule explains the 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 can you get wrong on the Texas real estate exam?
You can miss up to 24 of the 80 scored national questions and up to 12 of the 40 scored state questions. You need 56 correct on national and 28 on state, about 70 percent on each portion.
How many can you miss on the national portion?
Up to 24. The national portion has 80 scored items and you need 56 correct, so 24 misses is the limit before you fail that portion.
How many can you miss on the Texas state portion?
Up to 12. The state portion has 40 scored items and you need 28 correct, so 12 misses is the limit before you fail that portion.
Can a strong national score make up for a weak state score?
No. The portions are scored separately, so the miss budgets do not combine. You must reach 56 on national and 28 on state independently.
Do missed pretest questions count against my budget?
No. Pretest items are unscored, so missing one does not hurt your result. But they are not labeled and look exactly like scored questions, so you cannot treat them as free misses. Answer everything carefully.
What percentage do you need to pass the Texas real estate exam?
About 70 percent on each portion: 56 of 80 scored national and 28 of 40 scored state. No official practice percentage guarantees that the result will carry over to the licensing exam.
KNOW YOUR MARGIN
See your real margin on a timed, scored mock.
Knowing how many you can miss only helps once you know where you stand. The free Texas practice exam runs a timed, scored 25-question mock, marks each portion, and explains every miss, so you see your actual cushion against 56 and 28 before you book. 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 24 and 12 miss budgets are direct arithmetic from Pearson VUE's raw passing scores: 56 of 80 national and 28 of 40 state. The handbook and content outlines supply the scored and pretest-item counts. TREC Rule §535.57 supplies the separate passing rule, one-year passed-section validity, and consecutive-failure requirement. No official source publishes a guaranteed practice-test target.
Official source links
- Pearson VUE Texas Real Estate Candidate Handbook
- Pearson VUE Texas Real Estate content outlines
- TREC: Become a Real Estate Sales Agent
- TREC Rule §535.57: Examinations
- TREC FAQ: national-portion waiver for an active out-of-state license
- TREC FAQ: passed section after application expiration
This post is educational content for Texas real estate sales agent candidates. It is not legal, tax, or licensing advice. Passing standards, item counts, and exam structure can change, so confirm the current Pearson VUE Texas Real Estate Candidate Handbook and TREC requirements before you register or test.