Powers and Duties of the Real Estate Commission
Four of the forty Mississippi state items sit here. PSI's published subtopics are hearings including subpoena power, the Commission's purpose and jurisdiction, violations, and the penalties MREC can impose.
Hearings, notice and the standard of proof
The Mississippi Real Estate Commission may act on its own motion and must act on a verified written complaint (Miss. Code Section 73-35-21(1)). The licensee gets fifteen (15) days' notice of the hearing, a copy of the complaint, and notice of the option of appearing before the Commission or before an administrative hearing officer (Section 73-35-23(1)). Those hearing officers are staff attorneys designated by the Attorney General who must not hold an MREC license, and they sit in the City of Jackson (subsection (7)). The burden is the same either way, and it changed recently: SB 2423 (2025 Reg. Sess.), ch. 365, eff. 2025-07-01, replaced 'preponderance of the evidence' with 'The clear and convincing standard of proof shall be used to examine factors during all hearings' in both subsection (1) and subsection (7). Any study material printed before mid-2025 has this wrong.
Investigation clocks and communication rules
The same 2025 act added two deadlines in Section 73-35-23(9), both running from the date written notice of the commencement of an investigation is given to the licensee and the licensee's responsible broker: dismissal or issuance of a formal complaint within one hundred twenty (120) days, and final dismissal, final ruling or an agreed dispositional order within one (1) year. An administrative hearing may be set up to sixty days past the one-year mark only where hearing officers are not reasonably available. Section 73-35-23(6) adds a courtesy rule with teeth: no commissioner, employee, investigator or agent may communicate with a licensee about an investigation before written notice has been delivered to the licensee's responsible broker.
What the Commission can and cannot do
MREC may refuse, suspend or revoke a license (Section 73-35-21), issue subpoenas for witnesses and for books and papers with process running to all parts of the state (Section 73-35-23(3)), have a court enforce a subpoena a witness ignores (subsection (4)), and bring injunctive proceedings against a violator (subsection (2)). It may also settle by agreed order before hearing (subsection (8)). What it cannot do is act as a court. The fines of $500 to $1,000 and jail of up to ninety days for an individual's first violation come from a criminal conviction under Section 73-35-31, and the private penalty of up to four times the compensation a violator received is recovered by the aggrieved person in a court of competent jurisdiction. An appeal from the Commission or a hearing officer goes to circuit court within thirty days, is heard without a jury, and acts as an automatic supersedeas unless the Commission shows by clear and convincing evidence that immediate and irreparable harm will occur (Section 73-35-25).
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State-specific details
State exam facts
- State regulator
- Mississippi Real Estate Commission (MREC)
- Exam vendor
- PSI
- Prelicensing education
- 120 classroom hours (150 without 36 months of active salesperson experience)
- Passing score
- 75% national (60 of 80 points) and 80% state (32 of 40 points)
- Scored questions
- 115
- Time limit
- 240 minutes
Who regulates real estate brokers in Mississippi?
The Mississippi Real Estate Commission (MREC) licenses brokers and salespersons under the Real Estate Brokers License Law, Miss. Code Title 73, Chapter 35. MREC contracts with PSI to deliver the licensing exams.
What experience do I need before the Mississippi broker exam?
Miss. Code § 73-35-7 requires a resident broker applicant to be at least 21, legally domiciled in Mississippi, to have held an active salesperson license for the 12 months immediately preceding application, and to have completed 120 classroom hours of real estate courses. An applicant who has not held an active salesperson license for at least 36 months must instead complete 150 classroom hours in courses acceptable for degree credit at a college approved by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. MREC also requires a letter of reference from the applicant's bank.
How is the Mississippi broker exam structured?
PSI delivers 115 scored questions in two separately timed and separately scored portions: a 75-question national/general portion scored to 80 points in 2.5 hours, and a 40-question Mississippi state portion worth 40 points in 1.5 hours, 4 hours in total. You must pass each portion on its own — 75% (60 of 80 points) on the national and 80% (32 of 40 points) on the state. That 80% state cut is the strictest of any state we have measured.
What is on the Mississippi state portion?
PSI Candidate Information Bulletin 2348 publishes nine areas with their broker item counts: Powers and Duties of the Real Estate Commission (4), Licensing Requirements and License Maintenance (4), Property Condition Disclosures (6), Agency Disclosure and Duties to Parties (8), Out-of-State Brokers and Developers (3), Trust Accounts (3), Broker Responsibilities Including Supervision of Sales Associates (5), Records and Documents (4), and Advertising/Marketing/Internet (3).
Sources: https://test-takers.psiexams.com/api/content/bulletin/2348, https://www.mrec.ms.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/MREC_LICENSE_LAW_2026_REVISED-7-01-2026.pdf, https://www.mrec.ms.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/MREC_RULES_AND_REGULATIONS_REV_02-21-2025.pdf
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