You passed National but failed State. What now?
Passing National still counts. A failed State attempt does not erase a valid National result. Your next job is to check that you can retake State, then change how you prepare for that portion.
Start with these three steps:
- Check your dates. Find your National passing date and TREC application expiration date. They are separate deadlines.
- Check your attempts. A third consecutive failed examination triggers additional qualifying education before another attempt.
- Choose your first study area. Compare your State score-report categories with fresh practice. Start with the rules you struggle to apply, then revisit all six State areas.
If your eligibility is clear, begin with the free test below. If you need to review first, the State study guide explains all six areas. For a plan you can download and keep, use the retake planner and error log.
A useful next step, before you pay
Practice the portion you still need.
Try the free Texas State Law practice test, then review the explanations for the questions you miss or guess. These are original practice questions, not Pearson examination questions.
Free on this website. No account required. A practice result is a study starting point, not a prediction of your official score.
Do you have to retake the whole Texas exam?
Normally, no. If National is passed and your eligibility remains valid, book State only. Pearson explains the failed-portion retake process in its Texas candidate handbook, printed page 8.
Before booking, check both of these clocks:
| What to check | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| National passing date | Under TREC Rule §535.57, that result is valid for one year from the date you passed it. |
| TREC application expiration | Your application expires one year from filing. Complete the licensing requirements within that window. A later National pass does not extend it. |
Example: You filed your application in January and passed National in July. The National result has its own one-year validity period, but the original application still reaches its one-year deadline the following January. Use the exact dates on your TREC notices, not the later score date, to plan your State retake. TREC explains the application window here.
If your application has expired, TREC says you do not need to repeat a passed portion when you reapply less than one year after passing it. Reapplying does not create a new one-year life for the old score. Both portions must be passed before the application expires. See TREC's explanation of passed results and expired applications.
If either deadline is close, or your attempt history includes different combinations of passed and failed portions, confirm your eligibility with TREC before paying. Booking an appointment is not the same as meeting a passing deadline.
Your State-only retake at a glance
These figures are for Texas sales agents, not brokers.
| Retake fact | Current requirement |
|---|---|
| Questions presented | 50: 40 scored and 10 unidentified pretest items |
| Passing score | 28 correct out of the 40 scored items |
| Time allowed | 90 minutes |
| Examination fee | $58 for the State-only appointment |
| Rebooking wait | Wait 24 hours after the examination before scheduling again |
Pearson lists the same fee for State, National or Both. A State-only retake does not cost half the combined appointment. Confirm the amount in Pearson checkout; course tuition or a new application fee is separate.
The 24-hour wait is a booking rule, not a promise of a next-day appointment. Available dates depend on Pearson's scheduling system. Answer all 50 items because you cannot identify the unscored ones.
Sources: Pearson handbook, printed pages 8–9 and Sales Agent State Law outline, effective January 1, 2026.
What if this was your third consecutive failed examination?
Under TREC Rule §535.57(f), you must complete additional qualifying education after the third consecutive failed examination before applying for reexamination or submitting a new license application.
The rule lists 30 hours for a failed State part and 60 hours for both parts. If earlier appointments included failures on both portions, give TREC your complete attempt history and confirm the education required for your record. Do not assume passing National starts a new three-attempt allowance for State.
Pass Texas practice questions and app access do not satisfy this qualifying-education requirement. Complete the appropriate mandatory qualifying course after the third failure, follow TREC's document instructions and wait for reauthorization. Current TREC REALM guidance directs licensing documents to the portal and says to email only when specifically requested. The third-failure steps in the retake guide explain the handbook's different submission instructions.
Where do the 40 state-portion points sit?
The three largest areas account for 29 of 40 scored items. That makes them useful priorities, but not permission to skip the other 11 items. This is the current sales agent outline, not the broker outline.
| State area | Scored items | Start with free questions |
|---|---|---|
| Agency/Brokerage | 11 | Intermediary, duties and supervision |
| Standards of Conduct | 9 | Trust accounts, advertising and discipline |
| Contracts | 9 | Texas contracts, forms and addenda |
| Special Topics | 5 | Texas property and other special topics |
| Commission Duties and Powers | 3 | TREC authority and complaints |
| Licensing | 3 | License requirements and exemptions |
| Total | 40 | Review every area before retesting. |
Source: Pearson's Texas Sales Agent State Law content outline.
Use your score report without overreading it
Pearson provides the number answered correctly in each content area, but describes that breakdown as a general study guide. A category with three questions is a small sample. Combine the report with what you miss in fresh practice; do not treat one category percentage as a complete measure of your knowledge.
Worked example: A State result of 24/40 is 60%. On that attempt, you were four correct answers below the 28-answer passing requirement. That tells you the size of the gap, not which four questions you will see next time. Write down the rules you confuse, rather than trying to recover remembered exam questions.
For help interpreting the report, use the Pearson score-report walkthrough. Pearson recommends reviewing all content areas before retaking, including those that looked stronger.
Why can the Texas state portion feel harder?
National and State test different material. Knowing a general agency principle will not always answer a question about Texas intermediary practice. Recognizing a contract term is different from choosing the right TREC form.
When you miss a practice question, ask:
- Which Texas rule controls? Name the rule, form or duty.
- What fact changes the answer? Look for the person's role, written consent, a deadline or an exception.
- Why is the tempting answer wrong? Explain that distinction without looking at the answer key.
Worked example: consent is not an appointment
Original practice scenario: A broker has the parties' written consent to act as intermediary, but has not appointed separate associated license holders. A sales agent says the consent automatically lets them advise the buyer on the price to offer. Is that enough?
No. Consent to intermediary status and the appointment of an adviser are different steps. With the parties' written consent, the broker may appoint separate associated license holders to work with and advise their respective parties. The scenario supplies no appointment, so the agent cannot assume that authority from intermediary consent alone. See TREC's explanation of advice with and without appointments.
What to put in your mistake log: “I treated consent and appointment as the same thing.” Then change the setup: the broker appoints separate license holders to the buyer and seller with the required consent and written notice to both parties. Explain why the buyer's appointed person can advise the buyer while the intermediary broker remains subject to the intermediary restrictions. The Texas intermediary guide covers the distinction in detail.
Use this method across the six State study areas. The aim is to spot the controlling fact in a new question, rather than recognize an answer you have seen before.
A study plan for your State retake
Use this sequence at your own pace. It is a study method, not a promised seven-day route to passing.
1. Review one weak area, then test the rule
Start with an area that both your score report and fresh practice suggest needs work. If two areas seem equally weak, use the outline weight to decide which comes first.
Read the explanation or official source, close it, and explain the rule in your own words. Then answer new questions on that topic. Repeating an answer you remember is not the same as applying a rule.
2. Keep a short mistake log
Use three columns in a notebook:
| What I confused | What I need to check | How I will test it |
|---|---|---|
| Intermediary consent versus appointments | Who consents, who receives notice, and who may advise | Explain the difference, then try fresh agency questions |
| Contract delivery versus termination deadlines | The controlling paragraph and any extension rule | Work a new date scenario using the actual form |
| Broker identification in an advertisement | The required name and size relationship | Check a different sample advertisement |
These are suggested study prompts, not findings about your personal performance. Add your own mistakes and guessed answers. Keep each note specific enough to be useful tomorrow.
3. Revisit all six areas and practice under time pressure
After focused review, mix the topics again. Include the smaller areas and revisit questions you guessed correctly. The real State appointment allows 90 minutes for 50 displayed questions. Our free State practice test uses 40 scored questions and a proportional 72-minute timer. Practice checking flagged answers within that timer; do not mistake 72 minutes for Pearson’s official limit. A new draw may repeat questions, so a remembered answer needs the same careful review as a wrong one.
Do not use one 70% practice result as proof that you are ready. Look for consistent results on unfamiliar questions and explanations you can give without prompts. Pass Texas practice scores do not predict or guarantee a Pearson result.
4. Rebook when the study plan and eligibility line up
Check your two deadlines again, confirm any required education has been accepted, and choose an available appointment. Review the exam-day checklist, especially identification requirements, before you go.
You can continue with all six free website topic sets above. If you want ongoing practice saved to an account, the app is the next option.
When you want to keep going
Keep working on the Texas rules you miss.
Get focused State topic practice, answer explanations and saved app progress with full access. Use the same account in your browser or on iPhone, iPad or Android.
Try the app free with a diagnostic and National Contracts & Agency practice. Focused Texas State topic practice requires full access: $59.99 USD once, with no subscription. Confirm the price at checkout.
The State question sets on this website stay free. App practice does not replace TREC qualifying education.
Already have an account? Sign in to continue. Opening the app from this article does not import your Pearson score report or website answers. To attach a completed website State test to your web-app account, choose “Save my score to my account” on its results screen. See what free and full access include.
Frequently asked questions
Can a high National score make up for a failed State score?
No. The portions are scored separately. A Texas sales agent candidate must meet the passing requirement on each portion; scores are not averaged together.
Does passing National give me three new State attempts?
Do not treat the portions as independent three-attempt counters. TREC's rule concerns three consecutive failed examinations. Ask TREC to confirm the requirement when your history includes different combinations of passed and failed portions.
Can I use the app instead of the 30-hour course?
No. After the third consecutive failed examination, the required additional qualifying education is separate from exam prep. Complete the applicable course and follow TREC's reauthorization process.
Should I study National again?
Make State the focus while your National pass remains valid. Review a National concept when it helps you understand a Texas question, but you do not need to retake National merely because State was failed. If your National result expires, confirm the testing requirements with TREC.
Sources and verification
Last reviewed: October 13, 2026. Checked the retake rules, State exam figures, deadlines and outline against the sources below. This guide concerns the Texas sales agent exam. The study sequence, worked scenario and mistake-log examples are Pass Texas editorial recommendations, not Pearson or TREC instructions.
- Pearson VUE Texas candidate handbook: appointment fees, retakes, timing, passing scores and score-report limits.
- Pearson VUE Texas content outlines: Sales Agent State Law section, effective January 1, 2026.
- TREC Rule §535.57: score validity and additional education after three consecutive failed examinations.
- TREC's expired-application FAQ: how a still-valid passed portion is treated after reapplication.
- TREC sales agent requirements: the application window runs from filing, not the National passing date.
- TREC REALM guidance: current licensing-document instructions.
- TREC intermediary explanation: consent and separate appointments to advise the parties.
- TREC: intermediary with and without appointments: who may offer transaction advice.
- TRELA §1101.560: appointments, written consent and notice to the parties.
For other retake situations, see the Texas failed-exam guide. Confirm your individual eligibility with TREC and your appointment details with Pearson before paying for another examination.