Statutory Requirements Governing the Activities of Licensees
Area III is the largest block on the Delaware state portion, 17 of 50 scored items, and it is where Delaware's statutory agency scheme lives. It is identical on the salesperson and broker examinations.
Advertising, relationships and documents
Rule 8.6 defines advertising broadly — signs, cards, mail, broadcast, email, text, social media, vehicle signage — and forbids misleading or deceptive advertising. Rule 8.6.5.3 requires the registered brokerage organization name and registered office phone number, displayed in greater size and visibility than the licensee's own name; Rule 8.6.5.4 applies the same rule to team names, and Rule 8.5.2 requires the words team, group or associates in a team name while forbidding realty, real estate or realtors. A licensee advertising property they own, or an offer to purchase, must disclose their licensee status under Rule 8.6.5.1 and 8.6.5.2. Rule 8.4.1 requires each party to get a copy on signing and a fully executed copy after all parties sign. Section 2917 automatically suspends affiliated licensees when the broker's license is revoked, pending a new employing broker.
Disclosures
Rule 10.7.1 requires the Seller's Disclosure of Real Property Condition Report from a residential seller before the licensee accepts a written listing agreement, and delivery to the buyer before the agreement of sale, with the report made part of that agreement. Rule 10.7.2 substitutes the Commission's New Construction form where no certificate of occupancy has issued. Rule 10.7.3 substitutes the Exempt Property Certification for an exempt seller, on the same front-loaded timing. Rule 10.8.1 requires the Radon Disclosure plus a copy of "Radon Rights, Risks and Remedy for the Home Buyer". Section 2927 goes the other way on psychological impacts: they are not material facts, no cause of action arises from silence, a specific written request must be answered truthfully — and HIV, AIDS and similar conditions may not be disclosed even if asked.
Money, public responsibility and the CMA
Section 2923(d) gives the broker 72 hours from the signing of the agreement by all parties, excluding weekends and federal holidays, to deposit escrow money. Rule 8.8.1 bars using commission income as a finder's fee or inducement to an unlicensed person, while Rule 8.8.2 permits a rebate or discount directly to the purchaser or seller and Rule 8.8.3 requires timely written disclosure to the principal. Section 2936(e)(6) lets licensees help prepare offers and counteroffers provided the forms advise the parties they may seek legal advice — the boundary against unauthorized practice of law. Section 2931 permits a competitive market analysis for a seller, owner, buyer or tenant, forbids one for the mortgagee on a property under a signed agreement of sale, and requires a 12-point bold disclosure that the CMA is not an appraisal.
Agency: presumption, the CIS, confidentiality and duties
Section 2933(a) expressly abrogates the common law of agency for statutory agents, and Section 2902(a)(25) makes the statutory agent an independent contractor rather than a fiduciary. Section 2933(c) presumes the licensee working for the buyer represents the buyer, the one working for the seller represents the seller, and the one working for both is a statutory dual agent; the presumption is rebutted only by the consumer signing a consumer information statement establishing a different relationship. Section 2932(c)(4) bars common law agency in one-to-four family residential work unless the broker's policy is single agency and never dual. The CIS must be delivered by the earlier of the first scheduled appointment, first showing or making an offer, and signed before any agreement of sale, listing agreement or other brokerage agreement. Confidentiality under Section 2936(c) begins at first contact and survives termination; other statutory duties begin at the later trigger points. Section 2936(e) lists the permitted actions, and Section 2937 removes vicarious liability between licensee and client while leaving the employing broker liable under respondeat superior.
Voluntary Treatment Option
Rule 15.0 sets out the Voluntary Treatment Option for chemically dependent or impaired professionals. The chairperson must contact the professional in writing within seven days of a report; the initial drug and alcohol screening happens within 30 days. The professional may keep practicing, subject to any limits needed to protect the public, while progressing in an approved treatment plan and paying the costs. Records of participation do not reflect disciplinary action and are not public, though the Commission may consider them when setting a sanction in a later matter in which impairment is again at issue. Failure to cooperate or to progress disqualifies the professional and triggers an immediate investigation. Note that the Pearson VUE outline still cites this as Rule 14; in the current Commission rules it is Section 15.0.
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State-specific details
State exam facts
- Exam vendor
- Pearson VUE
- Passing score
- Scaled score of 70
- Scored questions
- 130
Who regulates real estate brokers in Delaware?
The Delaware Real Estate Commission, within the Division of Professional Regulation, licenses brokers and salespersons under 24 Del. C. Chapter 29. The Commission's exams are delivered by Pearson VUE (candidate handbook #090800).
What experience do I need before the Delaware broker exam?
A broker applicant must meet the associate broker requirements — actively licensed for five continuous years and a list of at least 30 completed sale or lease transactions from those five years — and, under Commission Rule 4.1.1, must also have been actively engaged in real estate services as a licensed salesperson or associate broker for the three years immediately preceding application. A broker applicant also applies for a real estate office permit.
How is the Delaware broker exam structured?
The Delaware broker exam has 130 scored questions (80 national/general + 50 Delaware state law) plus 10 unscored pretest items, is delivered by Pearson VUE in a four-hour appointment, and requires a scaled score of 70 to pass. The 50 state items are split 4 / 3 / 17 / 16 / 10 across the handbook's five state areas.
Sources: https://dpr.delaware.gov/boards/realestate/, https://www.pearsonvue.com/content/dam/VUE/vue/en/documents/publications/090800.pdf
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