Responsibilities Specific to Brokerage Practice
Area IV is 5 of the 40 state items and is on the broker exam only. Its three subtopics are corporations, place of business, and supervision of licensees.
Corporations and organizational licensure
D.C. Official Code § 47-2853.183 bars a broker's license to any firm, franchise, partnership, association or corporation unless the Mayor finds that the applicant is organized and exists under applicable District and federal law, that every member, partner, trustee or officer engaged in licensed activity is licensed, that every employee rendering professional services holds a valid license or certificate, and that every branch office is managed by a licensed real estate broker. Section 47-2853.185 lets the Mayor refuse to issue, renew or transfer a license in a name that is misleading or false advertising, implies a partnership or corporation that does not exist, includes a salesperson's name or the name of an unlicensed person, has been used by someone whose license was suspended, or is deceptively similar to another licensee's name.
Place of business
A broker who maintains more than one place of business in the District receives a duplicate license for each office on payment of the fee, and a copy of the license must be posted within each office (D.C. Official Code § 47-2853.184(a)). On changing the location of the principal place of business or discontinuing the business, the broker notifies the Mayor in writing within 15 days and returns the broker's license together with the licences of all salespersons employed (§ 47-2853.184(b)). Failure to notify or to return the licences results in immediate suspension until the broker complies (§ 47-2853.184(c)). Where a broker's license is itself suspended or revoked, affiliated salespersons must mail in their licences within 15 days and may not practice until reemployed and relicensed (§ 47-2853.186(a)).
Supervision of licensees
17 DCMR § 2614.1 makes the broker responsible for the day-to-day supervision of affiliated salespersons, associate brokers and property managers, and § 2614.3 assigns that duty within a licensed organization to the broker managing the particular branch. Supervision must be "reasonable and adequate" (§ 2614.4), judged against firm size, branch count, management staffing and activity type (§ 2614.6), and evidenced by training, availability of supervisory review, and written policies on escrow handling, fair housing, advertising, contract review, unlicensed assistants, agency disclosure, legal updates and the unauthorized practice of law (§ 2614.7). Once inadequate supervision is shown, § 2614.8 puts the burden on the broker to prove the supervision actually provided was reasonable and adequate — and § 47-2853.161(2) holds the broker accountable for the day-to-day job-related activities of employees regardless.
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State-specific details
State exam facts
- State regulator
- District of Columbia Real Estate Commission (Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection)
- Exam vendor
- PSI
- Prelicensing education
- 135 hours of broker pre-licensing education
- Passing score
- 75%
- Scored questions
- 115
- Time limit
- 210 minutes
Who regulates real estate brokers in Washington, DC?
The District of Columbia Real Estate Commission licenses brokers, salespersons, and property managers in the District. The Commission now sits within the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (DLCP), which took over the licensing functions of the former Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) — older PSI bulletins and study guides still reference DCRA. The Commission contracts with PSI to deliver the licensing exams.
What experience do I need before the DC broker exam?
Broker applicants must complete 135 clock hours of approved broker pre-licensing education covering nine named subjects (17 DCMR § 2601.3) and must have been licensed and actively engaged as a real estate broker or salesperson, in the District or elsewhere, for the two years immediately preceding the application (D.C. Official Code § 47-2853.162(2); 17 DCMR § 2601.7). 17 DCMR § 2601.9(b) allows equivalent experience — two continuous years in the real estate business with at least six verified transactions a year as a builder, investor, developer, attorney, or in a closely related occupation. The separate 3-hour DCREC-approved DC Fair Housing course is required of reciprocity and endorsement applicants, not of first-time DC broker applicants; there is no separate property-management course requirement. 17 DCMR § 2601.5 gives a candidate six months after passing to pay the fee and file, or be reexamined.
How is the DC broker exam structured?
PSI bulletin 5587 (updated 6/3/2026) gives the broker exam as a 75-item national portion scored to 80 points in 120 minutes plus a 40-item DC state portion worth 40 points in 90 minutes — 115 scored items and 120 points in 210 minutes. The 120 is the POINTS total, not the item count: a note in the same table explains that national broker items can be scored up to two points. The 80-item general portion belongs to the salesperson exam. You must score at least 75% and pass both portions; up to 10 unscored pretest items may also appear, with extra time added for them.
What does the DC state portion actually test?
PSI bulletin 5587's State Portion Content Outline splits the 40 broker items four ways: Duties and Powers of the Real Estate Commission (5 items, 12.5%), Licensing Requirements (6 items, 15%), Statutory Requirements Governing the Activities of Licensees (24 items, 60%) and Responsibilities Specific to Brokerage Practice, which is broker-only (5 items, 12.5%). Agency is not a top-level area — it is sub-item III.I, alongside advertising and technology, the broker/salesperson relationship, commissions, disclosure and conflict of interest, handling of documents, handling of monies, fair housing and ADA, the tenant's right to purchase, property disclosures and environmental issues. The tenant's right to purchase (TOPA) is one lettered sub-item, not a quarter of the exam.
Sources: https://dlcp.dc.gov/page/real-estate-commission, https://test-takers.psiexams.com/api/content/bulletin/5587
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