Statutory Requirements Governing the Activities of Licensees
Area III is worth 13–15 items — a quarter of the state exam. It runs through advertising, compensation, disclosures, conflicts of interest, documents, money, listings, offers, the place of business, records and property management, drawing on R.S. 37:1444–1468 and the commission's rules in LAC 46:LXVII.
Advertising, Place of Business, and Records
LAC 46:LXVII §2505 requires advertising to be an accurate representation and forbids anything misleading, and §2507 requires every printed advertisement for the sale or lease of residential real estate to show the month and year it was printed, published or distributed. R.S. 37:1444 treats the address a broker registers with the commission as his place of business and requires a separate branch office license for each additional place of business. R.S. 37:1449(D) and (E) require brokers to keep, readily available and properly indexed for five years, bank statements, deposit slips and canceled checks on all escrow and trust accounts together with copies of every document pertaining to transactions in which the broker or his sponsored licensees appeared in a licensing capacity; LAC 46:LXVII §1803 lists the same period for disclosures, listing and buyer agreements, contracts, property management agreements, CMAs and sponsorship paperwork.
Compensation and Conflicts of Interest
R.S. 37:1446(F) allows an active licensee to accept compensation for licensed activity from no one but the sponsoring or qualifying broker, and Subsection A forbids paying a commission to anyone not licensed. R.S. 37:1447 makes it unlawful to demand a referral fee without reasonable cause or to interfere with an existing brokerage relationship. On the conflict side, R.S. 37:1455(A)(9) makes acting in the dual capacity of agent and undisclosed principal a cause for discipline — a licensee buying or selling in his own interest must disclose it — and (A)(10) forbids guaranteeing future profits on the resale of real property. LAC 46:LXVII §3503 provides that buyer-broker compensation may not be paid as part of the seller's closing costs unless it is disclosed in a written offer, in a specific amount, that the seller accepts. Note that R.S. 37:1448.4, enacted in 2024, requires a buyer agreement between broker and buyer stating the compensation or how it is calculated, but contains no timing requirement and applies only to buyers of a 'home' of one to four dwelling units — leasing and non-home property are expressly excluded.
Disclosures
The Louisiana Residential Property Disclosure Act, R.S. 9:3196 et seq., requires the seller of residential real property to complete the property disclosure document the commission prescribes, disclosing known defects — conditions actually known to the seller that substantially affect value, impair health or safety, or shorten the property's normal life (R.S. 9:3196(1)). R.S. 9:3199 makes the licensee's duty to inform the party of those rights, and shields a licensee from liability for the seller's errors absent actual knowledge; R.S. 37:1455(A)(33) makes failure to provide the form a disciplinary cause. R.S. 37:1455(A)(27) separately requires disclosure of a known material defect. Cutting the other way, R.S. 37:1468 provides that a property being psychologically impacted — the site of a homicide, another felony or a suicide, or occupied by someone with HIV or AIDS — is not a material fact or defect that must be disclosed, and bars any action for failing to disclose it. R.S. 37:1469 requires the sex-offender database notice in residential leases and sale contracts.
Documents, Listings, Offers, and Money
R.S. 37:1449(A) requires that a principal signing a document receive a copy immediately, and Subsection B requires each signer of a multi-party document to receive a fully signed copy within five days after the last signature. Subsection C requires every written agreement for the sale or management of real estate to specify a definite expiration date that is not subject to qualifying terms or conditions, which is what rules out 'until sold' listings and automatic renewals. LAC 46:LXVII §3901 requires written offers and counteroffers to be presented immediately, without delay, with the time of day and date of signing, acceptance, rejection or counter recorded on the document; §3907 requires a rejected offer to be marked, signed and returned within five days. On money, R.S. 37:1455(A)(17) requires an associate broker or salesperson to place deposit money in the custody of the sponsoring broker as soon after receipt as practicable; (A)(6) makes commingling a cause for discipline; and (A)(24) allows something other than cash as an earnest-money deposit only if the owner is told before accepting the offer and the fact appears on the face of the purchase agreement. When entitlement to escrowed funds is genuinely disputed, LAC 46:LXVII §2901 requires written notice to all parties and then, within sixty days, disbursement on the parties' written mutual consent, disbursement on a court order, or deposit into the registry of a court through a concursus proceeding — the broker holds, and does not decide.
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State-specific details
State exam facts
- State regulator
- Louisiana Real Estate Commission (LREC)
- Exam vendor
- Pearson VUE
- Prelicensing education
- 150 hours (Real Estate 201 – 90h, Real Estate 202 – 30h, Real Estate 203 Broker Responsibilities – 30h)
- Passing score
- 75 scaled (of 100) on each portion
- Scored questions
- 135
- Time limit
- 240 minutes
Who regulates real estate brokers in Louisiana?
The Louisiana Real Estate Commission (LREC) licenses brokers and salespersons under the Louisiana Real Estate License Law, La. R.S. 37:1430 et seq. LREC's exams are delivered by Pearson VUE, which replaced PSI.
What experience do I need before the Louisiana broker exam?
La. R.S. 37:1437(C)(1) requires a broker applicant to have first been licensed for four years, with two of those four years occurring immediately preceding submission of the broker license application, plus 150 hours of approved broker education — at least 30 hours of it on broker responsibilities (the Real Estate 203 course).
How is the Louisiana broker exam structured?
135 scored questions in 240 minutes: an 80-question national portion in 150 minutes and a 55-question Louisiana state portion in 90 minutes, plus 5–10 unscored pretest items. Brokers must reach a scaled score of 75 out of 100 on each portion (salespersons need 70). That scaled score is not a percentage of questions answered correctly.
What does the Louisiana state portion actually test?
Pearson VUE content outline #091901 splits the 55 items five ways: the Commission's duties and powers (4–6), licensing requirements (7–9), statutes governing licensee activities (13–15), the Louisiana civil law system (13–15) and the Louisiana law of agency (13–15). Because Louisiana is a civil-law state, half the exam is civil-law and agency material — immovables, usufruct, servitudes, lesion beyond moiety, redhibition, bond for deed, reconduction, the authentic act and La. R.S. 9:3891–3899.
Sources: https://lrec.gov, https://www.pearsonvue.com/content/dam/VUE/vue/en/documents/publications/091900.pdf, https://www.pearsonvue.com/content/dam/VUE/vue/en/documents/publications/091901.pdf, https://legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=93259
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