Duties and Powers of the Commission
Area I of Pearson VUE outline #092901 is 5% of the Nevada broker state portion - about 2 or 3 of the 50 scored items, up from 2% on the salesperson exam. It covers how the Real Estate Division and the Real Estate Commission determine misconduct, what they may do about it, and the Real Estate Education, Research and Recovery Fund.
Determining misconduct: investigations, hearings and appeals
NRS 645.195 obliges the Division to inspect regularly the transaction files, trust records and pertinent business accounts of every broker and owner-developer, and NAC 645.670 lists what an inspection covers: the office address, the office sign, the deposit procedure, the trust records, the indexing or numbering system, advertising, whether current statutes and regulations are available at the place of business, and any affiliation with a developer under NRS Chapter 119 or 119A. NAC 645.645 requires the broker, on demand, to give the Division the documents and the written permissions an inspection or audit needs, on a form releasing the bank or other holder from liability for the disclosure. NRS 645.210 lets the Division sue in its own name to enjoin a violation, and NRS 645.215 lets it investigate transactions in unimproved land or a subdivision where it suspects fraud, deceit or false advertising.
Enforcement: fines, additional education, suspension, revocation
NRS 645.630(1) is the operative sentence: the Commission may require a licensee, property manager or owner-developer to pay an administrative fine of not more than $10,000 for EACH violation, or suspend, revoke, deny renewal of or place conditions on the license, permit or registration, or impose any combination of those. The ceiling is per violation, so three violations reach $30,000. NRS 645.630(2) makes the disciplinary order and its findings of fact and conclusions of law public records. NRS 645.633 adds grounds - violating any provision of Chapter 645, 116, 119, 119A, 119B, 645A or 645C or a regulation under them; a felony relating to practice or any crime of fraud, deceit, misrepresentation or moral turpitude; failing to put a fixed expiration date in a brokerage agreement or leave a copy with the client; gross negligence or incompetence. NRS 645.635 adds more, including failure to deliver a seller's closing statement within 10 business days of closing.
The Real Estate Education, Research and Recovery Fund
NRS 645.844(1) sets two ceilings that operate together. A person who has a final judgment against a licensee on grounds of fraud, misrepresentation or deceit in a transaction requiring a license, and who has executed on it without recovering, may petition for payment of the unpaid actual damages — "but not more than $25,000 per judgment" — and "[t]he liability of the Fund does not exceed $100,000 for any person licensed pursuant to this chapter." Before payment, the petitioner must show a writ of execution returned unsatisfied, reasonable searches for the debtor's assets, reasonable efforts against every judgment debtor, and a petition filed no more than 1 year after all proceedings including appeals ended. A licensee may not recover for a transaction in which he or she acted as a licensee, and the section does not apply to owner-developers.
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State-specific details
State exam facts
- State regulator
- Nevada Real Estate Division (NRED)
- Exam vendor
- Pearson VUE
- Prelicensing education
- 64 college credits, including a 45-hour (3-credit) Broker Management course and 45 hours (3 credits) of real estate law with at least 18 hours of Nevada law
- Passing score
- 75% (each portion scored separately)
- Scored questions
- 130
- Time limit
- 240 minutes
Who regulates real estate brokers in Nevada?
The Nevada Real Estate Division (NRED), within the Department of Business and Industry, licenses brokers and salespersons under NRS Chapter 645, and the Nevada Real Estate Commission adopts the regulations and imposes discipline. NRED contracts with Pearson VUE to deliver the licensing exams; Nevada no longer uses PSI, so a PSI bulletin found for Nevada is out of date.
What experience do I need before the Nevada broker exam?
Under NRS 645.330(4), a broker applicant must have been actively engaged full time as a licensed real estate broker-salesperson or salesperson in Nevada, or as a licensed broker, broker-salesperson or salesperson in another state or the District of Columbia, for at least 2 of the 4 years immediately preceding issuance of the broker's license. Education is separate: NRS 645.343 requires 64 semester units of college-level course work, including three semester units (45 hours) in broker management and three units in real estate law with at least 18 classroom hours of Nevada law. NRS 645.343(4) grants 16 semester units of credit for each 2 years of licensed experience in the preceding 10 years, up to 8 years, but that credit cannot be applied against the broker management course or the 18 hours of Nevada law.
How is the Nevada broker exam structured?
Pearson VUE's Nevada candidate handbook lists the Broker Combination exam as 130 scored items in 240 minutes: an 80-item national/general portion in 150 minutes and a 50-item Nevada state portion in 90 minutes. Each portion also carries 5 to 10 unscored pretest items inside the same clock. You need 75% correct to pass, and the two portions are scored separately — pass one and fail the other and you retake only the failed part, within 12 months.
What does the Nevada state portion actually test?
Pearson VUE publishes the Nevada outline (effective 15 January 2025) as percentages rather than item counts, with a separate percentage for salespersons and for brokers. For brokers the 50 state items are weighted: Duties and Powers of the Commission 5%, Licensing Requirements 5%, Agency and Duties Owed 20%, License Practice 20%, Disclosures 15%, Contracts 22%, Record Keeping 8%, and Special Topics 5%. Five subtopics are marked "Broker Only" — branch offices and license display, cooperative certificates, inspection of records, trust account records and management, and subdivisions. Record keeping is 8% for brokers against 3% for salespersons, while disclosures drops from 20% to 15%.
Sources: https://red.nv.gov, https://www.pearsonvue.com/content/dam/VUE/vue/en/documents/publications/092900.pdf, https://www.pearsonvue.com/content/dam/VUE/vue/en/documents/publications/092901.pdf, https://www.leg.state.nv.us/NRS/NRS-645.html, https://www.leg.state.nv.us/NAC/NAC-645.html
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