Alabama · Real estate exam prep
20 free Alabama practice questions with no signup required. When you're ready for more, the full RealReady bank has 1,035 questions for the 2026 exam that cover both national principles and Alabama law.
Practice
Use this like a free Alabama real estate practice test: read the question, commit to an answer, then tap to reveal the correct answer and a plain-English explanation. The ones you miss tell you where to focus next.
Correct: A At least one
AREC requires at least 1 consumer representative who has not been a licensee for the preceding 10 years. The remaining 8 members are typically real estate licensees nominated by the Alabama Association of REALTORS.
Correct: C Requires a real estate license
Negotiating or facilitating the sale of real estate for another person for compensation requires a license in Alabama. The form of compensation (cash, gift card, etc.) does not matter. Even occasional acts for compensation trigger the licensing requirement.
Correct: A Temporary salesperson license
After passing the exam and affiliating with a qualifying broker, the candidate receives a temporary salesperson license. It is valid for one year total: active for the first six months only, then automatically inactive for the remaining six months. To stay active, the licensee must complete the 30-hour post-license course and have the original license issued before the first six months end.
Correct: C They supervise all licensees in the company
The qualifying broker is responsible for supervising ALL licensees in the company and may not delegate that supervisory duty to a team leader. A broker may serve as qualifying broker for more than one company, but only if every company consents in writing, the consent is filed with AREC, and all the companies share the same company address. The 24-of-36-months experience rule is the requirement for obtaining a broker license, not a separate qualifying broker rule.
Correct: B $500,000
When the Recovery Fund balance falls below $500,000, the commission may order each broker and salesperson to pay a $30 fee for each license held. There is no general minimum-balance requirement for the fund. The $600,000 figure is only the floor protecting the fund under a one-time transfer provision benefiting the University of Alabama.
Correct: D Any person, including consumers and licensees
Alabama law allows any person to file a written complaint against a licensee with the Alabama Real Estate Commission. The complainant does not need to be a consumer or another licensee; the process is open to anyone with knowledge of potential violations.
Correct: D Two documents
Alabama requires licensees to present two disclosure documents at initial contact: the RECAD Brokerage Services Disclosure Form (state-mandated) and the ADOP (company-created). Both must be provided as soon as reasonably possible at initial contact.
Correct: B Full fiduciary duties including loyalty and confidentiality
Single agency in Alabama means the licensee owes full fiduciary duties to the client: loyalty, confidentiality, obedience, disclosure, accounting, and reasonable care. This is the highest level of duty a licensee can owe and distinguishes client relationships from customer relationships.
Correct: A A federally insured institution in Alabama
Alabama law requires that trust accounts be maintained in a federally insured financial institution located within the state of Alabama. Out-of-state institutions do not satisfy this requirement regardless of their insurance status.
Correct: B The qualifying broker or company name
Alabama requires all real estate advertisements to include the name of the qualifying broker or the company name as licensed with AREC. Using only an individual agent's name without the broker or company name does not satisfy this requirement.
Correct: C Material misrepresentation
Alabama Code §34-27-36(b)(3) lists 'making a material misrepresentation' as a ground for disciplinary action against a licensee. Knowingly misstating the roof age is a direct false statement about a fact a reasonable buyer would weigh in deciding to purchase, so it is material. AREC can revoke or suspend the license, impose a $100 to $5,000 fine, or both.
Correct: B Paying an unlicensed person
Alabama law prohibits paying any commission, fee, or compensation to unlicensed persons for real estate brokerage activities. All compensation for referrals or services must flow to properly licensed individuals through the qualifying broker.
Correct: C Seller owes the buyer a credit
Alabama's property tax year runs October 1 through September 30 and taxes are paid in arrears (billed each October for the year just ended). At a September 15 closing the seller has occupied the property for nearly the full tax year without paying that year's bill, and the buyer will pay it in October. The seller therefore owes the buyer a closing credit for the seller's portion of the tax year.
Correct: D A licensed Alabama attorney
Alabama is an attorney state for real estate closings. Licensed Alabama attorneys prepare deeds, mortgages, and other legal closing documents. Real estate licensees and title companies cannot prepare these legal instruments, though title companies may handle title searches and insurance.
Correct: B Protect the public
The primary purpose of real estate license law in Alabama is to protect the public in real estate transactions. All AREC regulations, licensing requirements, and enforcement actions serve this central purpose.
Correct: C 3 transactions
Under the 2025 co-brokerage amendments, out-of-state brokers are limited to a maximum of 3 transactions per year in Alabama, with a $50 million annual volume cap. An Alabama broker must supervise the out-of-state broker's actions.
Correct: B They may practice under their qualifying broker
A temporary license holder can fully practice real estate under their qualifying broker's supervision. The temporary status relates to the post-license education requirement, not their practice authority. The 30-hour course must be completed within 6 months to remain on active status; the temporary license itself lapses only if the requirements are not met within one year.
Correct: B Agency Disclosure Office Policy (ADOP)
The qualifying broker must explain the ADOP to every licensee at least once per year, and each licensee signs an acknowledgment that the broker keeps on file for three years. The ADOP is itself a RECAD mandate, though it is a different document from the RECAD Brokerage Services Form.
Correct: A Licensed brokers or salespersons
The Recovery Fund covers losses caused by licensed brokers or salespersons. Claims cannot be filed against unlicensed or inactive licensees. The fund covers only actual/compensatory damages, not interest or court costs.
Correct: B Yes, the Commission may self-initiate investigations
The Alabama Real Estate Commission has the authority to self-initiate investigations even without receiving a formal complaint. This power allows the Commission to proactively enforce licensing laws whenever it becomes aware of potential violations.
The RealReady app has all 1,035 questions covering both national real estate principles and Alabama-specific law. The full app also includes:
Unlike other real estate prep apps, we don't cut off access or charge a monthly subscription fee. It's a one-time $17.99, and it's yours forever.
About the exam
Roughly half of Alabama real estate candidates have to retake at least one portion of the licensing exam, which tells you how often the state-law section catches people off guard. The Alabama portion is scored on its own, so a strong national result won't carry a thin grasp of Alabama law. That is why Alabama-specific preparation matters as much as the national material.
Alabama's Real Estate Consumer's Agency and Disclosure Act (RECAD), the agency overhaul that took effect October 1, 2025 (ending limited consensual dual agency and introducing designated single agency), the Alabama Real Estate Recovery Fund, AREC's licensing and disciplinary powers, and the rules in Title 34 Chapter 27 of the Alabama Code all show up on the state portion. None of that looks like the material a candidate in a neighboring state studies. A generic real estate practice test won't cut it. You need Alabama-specific practice questions.
FAQ
The Alabama Real Estate Salesperson Examination has 120 scored multiple-choice questions, split into an 80-question national portion and a 40-question Alabama state law section. Pearson VUE mixes in another 10 to 15 unscored pretest items that look identical to the real ones, so plan to answer roughly 130 to 135 questions in total.
AREC requires a scaled score of 70 to pass. Pearson VUE uses a statistical equating process so the difficulty of different exam forms is matched, which means the raw number of correct answers needed varies slightly by form. Practically, aim to answer at least 70% of every section correctly. Numerical scores are only reported to candidates who fail.
The salesperson examination fee is $73 per attempt as of August 1, 2025. Reciprocal candidates (already licensed in another state) pay $53 to sit for the Alabama state portion only. The fee is paid to Pearson VUE at the time of reservation and is non-refundable.
Three and a half hours (210 minutes) total. The national portion is 2.5 hours and the state portion is 1 hour, taken back-to-back at the same Pearson VUE testing center. You'll find out whether you passed before you leave.
The Alabama Real Estate Salesperson Examination is administered by Pearson VUE for the Alabama Real Estate Commission (AREC). You register and schedule your exam date through Pearson VUE.
Roughly half of Alabama candidates have to retake at least one portion, which gives you a sense of the difficulty. The questions aren't tricky for the sake of being tricky. They're written to test whether you actually understand real estate law and Alabama-specific practice. Most people who fail aren't lazy; they underestimated how much Alabama-specific material is on the state portion (RECAD, the Recovery Fund, AREC's disciplinary procedures, the 2025 agency law changes) and over-prepared on national principles. Honest practice on an Alabama-specific practice exam is the difference between passing on the first try and retaking the $73 exam.
The 80-question national portion covers eight areas (per Pearson VUE's April 2025 outline): real property characteristics and land use (about 14% of questions); forms of ownership, transfer, and recording of title (about 11%); property value and appraisal (about 14%); real estate contracts and agency (about 20%); real estate practice (about 13%); property disclosures and environmental issues (about 11%); financing and settlement (about 9%); and real estate math calculations (about 9%). The 40-question Alabama state portion (effective February 1, 2026) covers licensing requirements and license status, broker and company licenses, the Recovery Fund, disciplinary actions, trust funds, estimated closing statements, RECAD agency disclosure, and violations that can trigger discipline. Alabama-specific topics like the post-October-2025 agency framework (single agency, designated single agency, dual agency, transaction facilitator) are tested heavily on the state portion.
After finishing your 60-hour pre-license course, the highest-leverage thing you can do is grind through Alabama-specific practice questions with honest feedback on every miss. Generic real estate practice tests will help with national principles but won't catch you on Alabama's unique rules. The RealReady app gives you the full bank of Alabama questions plus the national bank, with progress tracking and a missed-question mode so you can drill what you're weak on. Most users study 30 to 60 minutes a day for 2 to 4 weeks before sitting the AREC exam.
The 20 Alabama practice questions on this page are free, no account or signup needed. Unlocking the rest of the Alabama bank is a single in-app purchase you pay once and own, with no recurring charge and no time limit on access.
Yes. RealReady has a dedicated Alabama question bank built for the Alabama real estate exam, covering the national principles every candidate sees plus the Alabama law that trips people up, like the Real Estate Consumer's Agency and Disclosure Act (RECAD), the Alabama Real Estate Recovery Fund, and AREC's licensing and disciplinary powers.
No. RealReady is exam practice, not a pre-license course, so it doesn't count toward Alabama's required pre-license education hours. Use it after or alongside your coursework to drill realistic practice questions and find your weak spots before exam day.
