Iowa · Real estate exam prep
Practice Iowa real estate questions free below. RealReady has 1,030 questions in the bank covering both national real estate principles and Iowa state law. Pay $17.99 once and own it forever. No subscription like the other prep services.
The Iowa real estate salesperson exam is one of the toughest in the country. PSI delivers it for the Iowa Real Estate Commission, known as IREC, as a 120-question test split into an 80-question national portion and a 40-question Iowa state-law portion, with two hours allowed for the national portion and one hour for the state portion. You need at least 70 percent on each section, scored separately, so Iowa-specific prep matters as much as the national material.
State-specific prep matters more here than almost anywhere else. Iowa Code Chapter 543B and Iowa Administrative Code Chapter 193E define IREC's membership and disciplinary powers, the strict trust-account rules brokers follow when handling earnest money, the agency-disclosure framework before a brokerage agreement is signed, the seller's property condition disclosure under Chapter 558A, the Iowa Civil Rights Act of 1965 that adds protected classes beyond the federal Fair Housing Act, the supervision rules for unlicensed assistants, the contract-for-deed framework common in rural transactions, and the state real estate transfer tax under Chapter 428A. 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 Iowa-specific practice questions.
Below are 20 free Iowa real estate test questions and answers from RealReady's full Iowa 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 IREC 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 Iowa 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 Iowa 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: D 7 members
IREC consists of 7 members appointed by the Governor: 5 licensed real estate professionals and 2 public members. All appointments must be confirmed by a two-thirds vote of the Iowa Senate.
Correct: A Every 3 years
Iowa uses a 3-year renewal cycle with a December 31 deadline. Licensees must complete 36 hours of continuing education during each 3-year period to qualify for renewal.
Correct: B Commingling of funds
Depositing client funds into a personal account is commingling, a specific ground for discipline under Iowa Code Chapter 543B. Client funds must be kept in a separate trust or escrow account, never mixed with personal or business operating funds.
Correct: A Disclose this to the seller client
Under Iowa agency law (Chapter 543B), a seller's agent owes the duty of disclosure to the client (seller). Information about a buyer's willingness to pay more is material and must be communicated. The agent has no duty of confidentiality to the buyer in a seller-agency relationship.
Correct: C Yes, if the institution is federally insured
Iowa Code §543B.46(1) requires the trust account to be maintained in a federally insured depository institution. Neither the statute nor IAC 193E—13.1 imposes an in-Iowa location requirement, so an online-only or out-of-state bank may be used as long as it carries federal deposit insurance (FDIC or NCUA) and the broker files the required Consent to Examine and Audit Trust Account form with the Commission.
Correct: B The supervising broker
Under Iowa law (543B/193E), the broker is responsible for supervising all salespersons and unlicensed assistants. When an unlicensed assistant performs a licensed activity like giving pricing advice, disciplinary action falls on the broker for failure to supervise.
Correct: C Yes, these are permitted clerical activities
Iowa law allows unlicensed assistants to perform clerical and administrative tasks such as answering phones and scheduling appointments. These activities do not require real estate licensure because they do not involve negotiation, property evaluation, or substantive real estate advice.
Correct: C Iowa's law predates the federal FHA
The Iowa Civil Rights Act was enacted in 1965, three years before the federal Fair Housing Act of 1968. Iowa was among the states that established housing discrimination protections before the federal government acted.
Correct: D On acceptance and communication to buyer
In Iowa, a purchase agreement becomes binding when the seller accepts the offer AND that acceptance is communicated back to the buyer or buyer's agent. Simply signing the acceptance without communication is insufficient to create a binding contract.
Correct: A The seller retains legal title
Under an Iowa contract for deed, the seller retains legal title to the property until the buyer completes all payments. The buyer receives equitable title and possession, but legal title does not transfer until the contract is fulfilled.
Correct: D For residential property transfers
Iowa law requires sellers to provide a disclosure statement for residential property transfers. The statement covers known defects related to structural, mechanical, water/sewer, environmental, and other conditions of the property.
Correct: B Yes, a license is required
Iowa requires a real estate license to manage property for compensation. Property managers must operate under a licensed broker and maintain written property management agreements specifying scope, compensation, duration, and responsibilities.
Correct: D $0.80 per $500 of value
Iowa's real estate transfer tax is $0.80 per $500 of consideration, which equates to $1.60 per $1,000. The tax applies when the property value exceeds $500 and is collected by the county recorder at the time of recording.
Correct: C Two-thirds vote of the Iowa Senate
All IREC members are appointed by the Governor and must be confirmed by a two-thirds vote of the Iowa Senate. This confirmation process provides a check on the appointment power.
Correct: D Complete the reinstatement process
When an Iowa license lapses or expires, the licensee must complete a reinstatement process. This differs from a simple late renewal and may require additional education, fees, or examination depending on how long the license has been lapsed.
Correct: B Paying unlicensed persons for referrals
Iowa law prohibits paying compensation to unlicensed individuals for performing activities that require a real estate license. Referral fees to unlicensed persons are a specific ground for disciplinary action under Chapter 543B.
Correct: B Honesty and fair dealing
Iowa law requires licensees to treat all parties with honesty, fair dealing, and to disclose material facts and avoid misrepresentation. The fiduciary duties of loyalty, obedience, confidentiality, and accounting are owed specifically to clients, not to all parties.
Correct: D Interest-bearing federally insured account
Iowa Code §543B.46(1) requires the broker's trust account to be an interest-bearing account in a federally insured depository institution. Interest earned is transferred quarterly to the Iowa Finance Authority for the state housing trust fund (Iowa Code §16.181) unless the buyer and seller agree in writing to direct it elsewhere. Fixed-term accounts like CDs cannot be used without the written consent of the parties whose funds are deposited (IAC 193E—13.1(1)"b").
Correct: B In Iowa
Iowa requires a broker's principal place of business to be physically located within the state of Iowa. Out-of-state offices, even in reciprocal states, cannot serve as the principal office for an Iowa brokerage.
Correct: D Assembling documents for closing
Unlicensed assistants may perform administrative tasks such as assembling closing documents, placing signs, delivering keys, and bookkeeping. They cannot explain contracts, show properties for sale, or provide market analyses, as these are licensed activities.
The RealReady app has all 1,030 questions covering both national real estate principles and Iowa-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. Once you buy, it's yours forever.
FAQ
The Iowa Real Estate Salesperson Examination has 120 scored multiple-choice questions, split into an 80-question national portion and a 40-question Iowa state-law portion. PSI may also include a small number of unscored experimental questions that look identical to the scored ones, and the time spent on those does not count against you.
You need at least 70 percent on each section, scored separately. That works out to 56 of 80 on the national portion and 28 of 40 on the state portion. If you pass one section and fail the other, you only have to retake the section you failed, and your application to the Commission must be filed no later than the last working day of the sixth month after the exam pass date.
The PSI examination fee is $95 per attempt, paid when you schedule the test with PSI. Registration fees are not refundable or transferable. After you pass, the initial salesperson license fee paid to the Iowa Real Estate Commission is $125, and the license is issued for three calendar years from the date the application is processed, counting the remaining portion of the year of issue as one full year.
180 minutes total. The national portion is allotted two hours and the state portion is one hour, taken back-to-back at a PSI testing center. PSI runs Iowa sites in West Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, and Council Bluffs. Each registration expires after 90 days, so you must sit for the exam within 90 days of registering.
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 Iowa's 40 state-law questions cover narrow topics like the powers of IREC, the disciplinary framework under Chapter 543B, trust-account handling, Iowa-specific agency rules, the Chapter 558A seller's disclosure, the Iowa Civil Rights Act of 1965, broker supervision of unlicensed assistants, and the contract-for-deed framework. Honest practice on an Iowa-specific practice exam is the difference between passing on the first try and retaking the $95 exam.
The 80-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 Iowa state portion is weighted toward contracts (7 items), agency (6 items), property disclosure requirements (5 items), and disciplinary actions (4 items), then covers licensing requirements, license maintenance, real estate education, trust accounts, the Iowa Civil Rights Act of 1965, unlicensed assistants, broker responsibilities, and property management. PSI publishes the exact item counts in its current Iowa Licensing Information Bulletin.
After finishing your 60-hour Commission-approved pre-license course in real estate principles, the highest-leverage thing you can do is grind through Iowa-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 Iowa's unique rules, especially Chapter 543B disciplinary procedures, Iowa's trust-account requirements, and the additional protected classes under the Iowa Civil Rights Act of 1965. The RealReady app gives you the full bank of Iowa questions plus the national bank, with progress tracking and a missed-question mode so you can drill what you're weak on.
