Illinois · Real estate exam prep
20 free Illinois practice questions with no signup required. When you're ready for more, the full RealReady bank has 1,055 questions for the 2026 exam that cover both national principles and Illinois law.
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: C Affiliate with a sponsoring managing broker
An Illinois broker cannot practice independently. Before engaging in any licensed activity, the broker must affiliate with a sponsoring managing broker who will supervise their work. The license remains inactive until this affiliation is established.
Correct: D The terminating party and the new sponsoring broker each notify IDFPR within 24 hours
225 ILCS 454/5-40 requires the person or entity initiating the termination of a sponsorship to notify the Department within 24 hours, and requires a sponsoring broker to notify the Department within 24 hours after establishing a new sponsorship. The broker's license automatically becomes inactive upon termination, and she may not practice until the new sponsorship is registered with IDFPR.
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 When beginning to work as the buyer's agent
Under 225 ILCS 454/15-35(a), a licensee acting as a designated agent must advise the consumer in writing no later than beginning to work as a designated agent on the consumer's behalf, in practice when the broker starts discussing the buyer's specific property needs, not at a later stage such as offer submission or closing. If the licensee is not acting as the buyer's agent, a written no-agency disclosure is required before confidential information is shared and no later than preparation of an offer.
Correct: D The designated managing broker
Under 68 Ill. Adm. Code 1450.705(b)(5), the designated managing broker's supervisory duties include supervising all advertising, in any medium, of any service requiring a license. Pre-publication review and approval is specifically required only for advertising by new brokers who have not completed the 45-hour post-license education (225 ILCS 454/10-55(b)). A managing broker who fails to properly supervise is subject to discipline.
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
Under the attorney review provision in standard Illinois contracts such as the Multi-Board Residential Real Estate Contract, the five-business-day period runs from the Date of Acceptance, with Day 1 being the first business day after both parties have signed. Since both signed on Monday, the 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 Real Estate 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 residential leasing agent license is limited to licensed activities related to leasing residential real property (68 Ill. Adm. Code 1450.200). Leasing agents may not negotiate sales or work on commercial transactions. Sandra would need a broker license to handle the sale.
Correct: B No, changes must be reported within 24 hours
225 ILCS 454/5-41 and 68 Ill. Adm. Code 1450.150(a)(2) require a licensee to inform IDFPR of any change of address, email address, phone, or office location within 24 hours after the change, so waiting 60 days is a violation. The separate 14-day deadline in Section 1450.150(b) applies to name changes, not address changes.
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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About the exam
Illinois doesn't issue a salesperson license, so new agents sit the broker exam, with the national and Illinois state-law portions scored separately. A strong national score won't carry you if your grasp of Illinois law is thin, so Illinois-specific prep matters as much as the national material.
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, 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.
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.
The two portions are scored separately: PSI's current standard is 70 of 100 (70%) on the national portion, which PSI notes is equivalent to the previously reported scaled score of 75, and 30 of 40 (75%) on the Illinois state portion. 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 Illinois Real Estate Broker Examination is administered by PSI for the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR). You register and schedule your exam date through PSI.
The 75 percent cutoff on the state portion (30 of 40, with each portion passed separately) 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.
The 20 Illinois practice questions on this page are free, no account or signup needed. Unlocking the rest of the Illinois 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 Illinois question bank built for the Illinois real estate exam, covering the national principles every candidate sees plus the Illinois law that trips people up, like designated agency as the default under the Real Estate License Act of 2000, the Radon Awareness Act disclosure, and the Real Estate Recovery Fund.
No. RealReady is exam practice, not a pre-license course, so it doesn't count toward Illinois'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.
