Illinois · Real estate exam prep
Practice Illinois real estate questions free below. RealReady has 1,055 questions in the bank covering both national real estate principles and Illinois state law. Pay $17.99 once and own it forever. No subscription like the other prep services.
The Illinois real estate broker exam is one of the toughest in the country. PSI delivers it for the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) as a 140-question test split into a 100-question national portion and a 40-question Illinois state-law portion, with 150 minutes allowed for the national portion and 90 minutes for the state portion. You need at least 75 percent on each section, scored separately, so Illinois-specific prep matters as much as the national material.
State-specific prep matters more here than almost anywhere else. Illinois abolished the salesperson tier in 2011 and made "Broker" the entry license under the Real Estate License Act of 2000 (225 ILCS 454), so every new licensee operates under a sponsoring broker and the law uses designated agency as the default. Add the Residential Real Property Disclosure Act and its statutory form, the Radon Awareness Act disclosure rule that does not exist in most states, the Illinois Human Rights Act with its expanded protected classes, the Predatory Lending Database Program in Cook, Kane, Peoria, and Will counties, and the Real Estate Recovery Fund administered by IDFPR's Real Estate Administration and Disciplinary Board, and you see why an Indiana or Missouri prep tool will not catch what Illinois tests. 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 Illinois-specific practice questions.
Below are 20 free Illinois real estate test questions and answers from RealReady's full Illinois bank. Each tests a specific topic with the correct answer and a plain-English explanation under the card. Read each one, commit to an answer, then reveal. Treat it like a real IDFPR practice test, and the ones you miss show you what to focus on next.
Get the RealReady app on iPhone, iPad, or Android for the rest of the Illinois question bank. The full app includes short articles that walk you through the why behind each topic, detailed explanations on every question, a missed-question drill mode, and progress tracking that shows your per-category accuracy.
Practice
Use this like a free Illinois 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 IDFPR
The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) is the state agency that regulates real estate licensees. Illinois does not have a standalone real estate commission. The Department of Commerce and the Attorney General's office serve different functions.
Correct: A 75% on each section, 140 questions total
The Illinois broker exam consists of 140 questions, and candidates must achieve at least 75% on each section. A passing score on one section does not offset a failing score on another.
Correct: B Both old and new managing brokers
When an Illinois broker changes sponsoring managing brokers, both the departing and receiving managing brokers must notify IDFPR. This dual notification ensures accurate records of which managing broker currently supervises each licensee.
Correct: A Commingling trust funds with personal funds
Placing client funds into a general operating account constitutes commingling, which is mixing trust money with the broker's own funds. Illinois law requires earnest money and other trust funds to be held in a separate escrow or trust account.
Correct: C Designated agency
Illinois uses designated agency as its default model. The managing broker designates specific brokers to represent the buyer and seller separately, allowing each designated agent to owe full fiduciary duties to their client.
Correct: B At first substantive contact
Illinois law requires written agency disclosure at the point of first substantive contact with a consumer. This means the disclosure must occur when the broker begins discussing specific property needs or financial details, not at a later stage such as offer submission or closing.
Correct: B The managing broker of the brokerage
Illinois law holds the managing broker responsible for all licensed activities of sponsored brokers, including advertising. The managing broker must review and approve all advertising before publication.
Correct: B No later than the next business day, Friday
Illinois requires that trust funds be deposited no later than the next business day after contract acceptance. Since the offer was accepted on Thursday, the deposit deadline is Friday.
Correct: B Refuse because unlicensed persons cannot be paid
Illinois law prohibits sharing real estate compensation with unlicensed individuals. Regardless of the amount or method of payment, only persons holding an active real estate license may receive compensation for brokerage activities.
Correct: A Tuesday, the day after both parties sign
In Illinois, the attorney review period begins the day after both parties have signed the contract. Since both signed on Monday, the five-business-day clock starts on Tuesday.
Correct: A The seller must provide the disclosure report
The Illinois Residential Real Property Disclosure Act (765 ILCS 77) applies to residential property of one to four units. A three-unit building falls within that range, so the seller must provide the Residential Real Property Disclosure Report.
Correct: A Tenancy in common with no right of survivorship
In Illinois, when unrelated parties take title without specifying ownership type, the default presumption is tenancy in common. Each owner holds an undivided interest that passes to their heirs at death, not to the other co-owner.
Correct: C $250 in state transfer tax
The Illinois state transfer tax rate is $0.50 per $500 of value, which equals $1.00 per $1,000. For a $250,000 sale: $250,000 / $500 = 500 increments x $0.50 = $250. The $500 distractor confuses the rate with $1.00 per $500, and $125 confuses the county rate.
Correct: B $100,000
In most Illinois counties outside Cook County, property is assessed at 33.33% of fair market value. $300,000 x 0.3333 = $100,000 EAV. Cook County uses different assessment ratios for different property classes.
Correct: D Source of income discrimination under state law
Illinois prohibits source of income discrimination, which includes refusing to rent to tenants who use housing vouchers. This protection goes beyond the federal Fair Housing Act, which does not include source of income as a protected class.
Correct: D The Secretary of IDFPR
The Secretary of IDFPR holds final authority on licensing decisions. While the Division of Professional Regulation handles day-to-day processing, disputed or significant decisions ultimately rest with the Secretary. The Governor appoints the Secretary but does not make individual licensing decisions.
Correct: D Decline, as leasing agents cannot negotiate sales
An Illinois leasing agent license is limited to residential leasing activities only. Leasing agents cannot negotiate sales, handle trust funds, or engage in commercial transactions. Sandra would need a broker license to perform those activities.
Correct: B No, changes must be reported within 14 days
Illinois Administrative Code Section 1450.150(a)(1)(B) requires licensees to inform the Division of any change of address within 14 days of the change. Waiting 60 days exceeds this deadline and constitutes a violation. The separate 24-hour rule in Section 1450.150(c) applies only to changes in office location for managing brokers, not to a licensee's individual address.
Correct: B Acting as a dual agent without informed written consent from all clients
Section 15-45 of the Real Estate License Act of 2000 (225 ILCS 454/15-45) requires informed written consent from all clients before a licensee may act as a dual agent, and acting without that consent is grounds for discipline under Section 20-20. Net listings, while widely discouraged and excluded from most MLS systems, are not explicitly banned by Illinois statute. Fee structure and open-house arrangements are business choices, not licensing violations.
Correct: C Neutral supervisor who does not advocate for either party
In designated agency, the managing broker serves as a neutral supervisor. The managing broker oversees the transaction but does not advocate for either party, ensuring that each designated agent can fulfill fiduciary duties independently.
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FAQ
The Illinois Real Estate Broker Examination has 140 scored multiple-choice questions, split into a 100-question national portion and a 40-question Illinois state-law portion. PSI also includes a small number of unscored pretest questions that look identical to the scored ones, and the time spent on those does not count against you.
You need at least a 75 scaled score on each section, scored separately. That works out to passing both the 100-question national portion and the 40-question state portion independently. If you pass one section and fail the other, you only have to retake the section you failed, and you have one year from your eligibility date to pass both portions.
The PSI examination fee is $58 per attempt, paid when you schedule the test with PSI. After you pass, the initial broker license fee is paid to IDFPR with your application. Illinois lets you attempt the exam up to four times within the one-year eligibility window before you have to repeat the 75-hour pre-license coursework.
240 minutes of testing time. The national portion is allotted 150 minutes for 100 questions and the state portion is 90 minutes for 40 questions, taken back-to-back at a PSI testing center. PSI runs Illinois sites in Aurora, Bloomington, Carbondale, Chicago, Lombard, Marion, Peoria, River Forest, Rockford, Springfield, and a few other locations, plus a Milwaukee site that serves northern Illinois candidates. You receive an on-screen pass or fail notification before you leave.
The 75 percent cutoff on each section makes Illinois one of the stricter states, and the state portion is where most first-time candidates lose ground. The national portion is the same content you'd find on any PSI real estate exam, but the 40 Illinois questions cover narrow topics like the Real Estate License Act of 2000, the sponsoring broker relationship, designated agency, IDFPR enforcement procedures, the Residential Real Property Disclosure Act form, the Radon Awareness Act, the Illinois Human Rights Act, and the Predatory Lending Database Program. Honest practice on an Illinois-specific practice exam is the difference between passing on the first try and retaking the $58 exam.
The 100-question national portion covers property ownership, land-use controls, valuation and market analysis, financing, contracts, agency, property disclosures, transfer of title, the general practice of real estate, and real estate math, in proportions set by PSI's content outline. The 40-question Illinois state portion covers IDFPR licensing requirements and the Real Estate Administration and Disciplinary Board, the Real Estate License Act of 2000 and Title 68 Part 1450 administrative rules, Illinois agency law (sponsoring broker, designated agency, written brokerage agreements, dual agency consent), Illinois disclosure rules (Residential Real Property Disclosure Act, Radon Awareness Act, lead paint), Illinois Human Rights Act fair housing, escrow account handling, advertising, unlicensed assistant rules, and the Real Estate Recovery Fund.
After finishing your 75-hour pre-license coursework at an IDFPR-approved school (60 hours of broker pre-license topics plus 15 hours of applied real estate principles), the highest-leverage thing you can do is grind through Illinois-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 Illinois's unique rules, especially the sponsoring broker structure, the designated agency default, and the Illinois-only disclosure laws. The RealReady app gives you the full bank of Illinois questions plus the national bank, with progress tracking and a missed-question mode so you can drill what you're weak on.
