Record Keeping, Inspection and Trust Account Management
Record Keeping is 8% of the broker state portion against 3% for salespersons - the sharpest broker/salesperson divergence in the whole outline, and two of its three subtopics are marked (Broker Only). About 4 of the 50 items land here, and they are the items a salesperson-derived study bank cannot supply.
Retention, and the salesperson's five days
NAC 645.650(1) requires a broker to keep complete real estate transaction and property management records for at least 5 years after the date of the closing or the last activity involving the property, "including, without limitation, offers that were not accepted and transactions that were not completed," unless the Division directs otherwise. Two details matter: the clock starts at closing or last activity, not at the signing of the agreement, and files that never became transactions are covered. Subsection 2 sets the other clock: a salesperson or broker-salesperson must give the broker any paperwork "within 5 calendar days after that paperwork is executed by all the parties." A shorter and different rule governs subdivision files - NRS 119.182(1) requires the purchaser's signed receipt and copies of all contracts to be kept in the broker's files WITHIN NEVADA for 3 years or 1 year after final payment, whichever is longer - and a timeshare project broker keeps the public offering statement receipt for 3 years under NRS 119A.400(3). NRS 645.6051 additionally requires a record of work performed on residential property that a licensee helps a client schedule, naming the Chapter 624 licensee, the date, the contract and the invoice.
Inspection of records (Broker Only)
NRS 645.195 obliges the Division to inspect regularly the transaction files, trust records and pertinent real estate business accounts of all brokers and owner-developers. NAC 645.655(1) requires each transaction to be numbered consecutively or indexed so an audit is possible. Subsection 2 requires a complete record of each transaction, together with the records NRS 645.310 requires, to be kept IN THIS STATE and open to inspection and audit by the Division on request during its usual business hours and during other hours the licensee regularly works. Subsection 3 requires access to the computer or other equipment where records are stored electronically. Subsection 4 requires the broker to give the Division written notice of the exact location of the records and forbids removing them until a notice of the new location has been delivered - notice before the move, not after. NAC 645.645 requires the broker on demand to supply the documents and the written permissions an inspection or audit needs. NRS 645.313 lets the Division investigate and audit non-trust accounts where it has reason to suspect insolvency or where an audit is reasonably necessary to enforce the chapter, and NRS 645.314 lets the Administrator charge the broker for the audit's actual costs where the broker fails to produce required documentation within a reasonable time.
Trust account records and management (Broker Only)
NRS 645.310(5) requires records of all money deposited in a trust account showing the date and source of each receipt, the date of deposit, the dates of withdrawals, for whose account the money is held and to whom it belongs; requires the broker to balance each separate trust account at least MONTHLY; and requires an ANNUAL accounting on a Division form showing an annual reconciliation of each account. Accounts must designate the broker as trustee and allow withdrawal without previous notice, and subsection 6 requires the broker to tell the Division which banks and credit unions hold the accounts and the account names. NAC 645.655(9) adds that accounts must be reconciled monthly within 30 days after receipt of the bank statement, and that letting any trust or ledger account sit in deficit more than 45 consecutive days in one year exposes the broker to discipline under NRS 645.633(1)(h). NAC 645.655(5)-(6) forbid withdrawals without a licensee's signature - a rubber stamp does not count - and forbid a salesperson from being the only required signatory, though a salesperson may cosign with the broker. NAC 645.655(8) requires a broker engaged in property management to keep TWO property management trust accounts distinct from other trust accounts, one solely for rental operations and one solely for security deposits, with a ledger account for each managed unit. NAC 645.655(7) requires a broker who files for bankruptcy relief to terminate each trust account immediately and place the money in escrow with executed disbursement instructions. NRS 645.630(1)(g)-(h) make failure to balance monthly, failure to file the annual accounting, and commingling or conversion independent grounds for discipline.
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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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