License Law and Rules of the Ohio Real Estate Commission
The largest area on the Ohio state portion — sixteen of forty items — and the widest: PSI lists fifteen lettered subtopics under it, from advertising to fair housing. Most of the answers sit in the disciplinary grounds of ORC 4735.18 and the rules in OAC 1301:5.
Advertising, Business Names and Teams
A licensee advertising property the licensee does not own must be identified by name and must name the affiliated brokerage, "displayed in equal prominence with the name of the salesperson" (ORC 4735.16(B)(1) and (3), OAC 1301:5-1-02(B)). Advertising property the licensee does own must say it is agent owned. Internet advertising must disclose the brokerage on every viewable web page, and outdated information must be updated within fourteen days (OAC 1301:5-1-02(D) and (E)). A team advertising under a group name must include "team" or "group" in the name, must not use "realty" or "associates," must show the brokerage in equal or greater prominence, and must identify any unlicensed member as unlicensed (OAC 1301:5-1-21).
Compensation, Records, and Documents
A broker may not pay a commission to anyone who is not licensed (ORC 4735.20(A)); a salesperson may collect only "in the name of and with the consent of" their broker, may sue only that broker for it, and may not assign a commission to an unlicensed person (ORC 4735.21). A broker who receives a commission must account to and pay the salesperson's earned share within a reasonable time (ORC 4735.18(A)(31)). Records of all transactions — listings, earnest money receipts, offers and acceptances, receipts and disbursements — must be kept complete and accurate for three years from the date of the transaction (ORC 4735.18(A)(24)), and every party must be given a true copy of any listing or agreement at the time they sign it (ORC 4735.18(A)(25), ORC 4735.16(D)).
Trust Accounts and Disputed Deposits
The broker must maintain at all times a special or trust bank account in a state or federally chartered depository in Ohio, noninterest-bearing and separate from any personal or other account, for escrow funds, security deposits and other fiduciary money (ORC 4735.18(A)(26)). The broker's own funds may sit there only to satisfy a minimum balance or a service charge, and deposit tickets and checks must read "trust account" or "special account" (OAC 1301:5-5-08). Earnest money stays in the account until the transaction closes and is disbursed under the purchase agreement, both parties sign separate written instructions, a final court order directs it, the sale is canceled by a record owner under ORC 5301.95, or it becomes unclaimed funds remitted to the director of commerce (ORC 4735.24).
Listings, Offers, Inducements and the Broker's Lien
ORC 4735.01 distinguishes the exclusive right to sell or lease listing (the broker is paid whoever produces the buyer) from the exclusive agency agreement (no commission if the seller sells solely through the seller's own efforts) and the nonexclusive agency agreement. A licensee must inform the client that an offer or counteroffer exists and present it in a timely manner unless the client instructs otherwise (ORC 4735.18(A)(36)), even where the property is already under contract (ORC 4735.63(A)(2)). Offering anything of value other than the consideration recited in the sales contract as an inducement, or offering real estate as a lottery prize, is a disciplinary ground (ORC 4735.18(A)(14)). Ohio's broker lien reaches only commercial real estate — anything other than one to four residential units — under a written contract signed by the owner, and belongs only to the named broker (ORC 1311.85 to 1311.93).
Property Management, Rentals, Office Display and Fair Housing
A brokerage managing property for owners must keep a separate property management trust account for rents, security deposits and owner funds; it may earn interest, which is paid pro rata to the owners at least quarterly, and a separate ledger is kept for each owner (ORC 4735.18(A)(27), OAC 1301:5-5-11). Salaried on-site staff performing only limited duties are exempt from licensure, but may not negotiate, vary terms, approve applications or offer inducements (OAC 1301:5-5-07). A licensee charging tenants a fee for rental referrals must use a written contract disclosing how the listings were obtained, must refund any fee above ten dollars on demand between thirty and sixty days if no conforming rental is found, and may not refer a tenant to a property without the owner's consent or to a nonexistent address (ORC 4735.021). The broker's license is prominently displayed at a definite place of business, which may not be a post office box, with a duplicate license at each branch office (ORC 4735.13(A)), and in the same immediate area the office must post the fair housing statement bearing the HUD equal housing logo and stating that blockbusting is illegal (ORC 4735.16(D)).
The Principal Broker and the Ancillary Trustee
Each brokerage designates at least one affiliated broker as principal broker, reporting any change within fifteen days (ORC 4735.081(A) and (B)). That broker oversees the operations of the brokerage, meets the office and sign requirements, posts the fair housing statement, renews and maintains licenses, complies with the trust account rules and keeps their records, maintains the written company policy on agency and the brokerage policy on agency, pays affiliated licensees, ensures only affiliated licensees perform licensed activity, and generally oversees the licensed activity of affiliated licensees within their competency (ORC 4735.081(C)). Any of those duties may be assigned to a management level licensee. If a sole broker dies, is revoked, or is incapacitated, suspended or incarcerated, and no other broker is in the brokerage, the superintendent may recommend an ancillary trustee — subject to probate court approval in the case of death — to conclude existing business, but not to start new ventures (ORC 4735.05(C)(3), OAC 1301:5-3-02).
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State-specific details
State exam facts
- Exam vendor
- PSI
- Prelicensing education
- 240 hours of eligible courses at an institution of higher education (40 real estate practice, 40 Ohio real estate law and civil rights, 20 appraisal, 20 finance, and 30 each in financial management, human resource management, applied business economics and business law)
- Passing score
- 75%
- Scored questions
- 115
- Time limit
- 180 minutes
Who regulates real estate brokers in Ohio?
The Ohio Division of Real Estate & Professional Licensing, within the Ohio Department of Commerce, licenses brokers and salespersons. The Division contracts with PSI to deliver the licensing examinations, and the five-member Ohio Real Estate Commission adopts the canons of ethics and decides discipline.
What experience do I need before the Ohio broker exam?
Under ORC 4735.07(B)(5) an applicant must have been "a licensed real estate broker or salesperson for at least two of the five years preceding the person's application" and have completed either at least twenty real estate transactions in which property was sold for another while acting as a broker or salesperson, or equivalent experience, which OAC 1301:5-3-04(D) leaves to Commission review. Watch how those transactions are counted: under OAC 1301:5-3-04(A) a completed sale counts as one-half transaction to the procuring agent and one-half to the listing agent, so twenty "transactions" is not twenty closings. ORC 4735.07(B)(6)(b) then requires 240 hours of eligible courses at an institution of higher education — 40 hours of real estate practice, 40 of Ohio real estate law and civil rights, 20 of appraisal, 20 of finance, and 30 each in financial management, human resource or personnel management, applied business economics and business law. No degree is required; these are course hours. (2025's HB 238 cut the appraisal and finance hours for the salesperson license only — the broker figures are still 20 and 20.)
How is the Ohio broker exam structured?
PSI delivers two portions in one session: a national portion of 75 items scored to 80 points in 120 minutes, and an Ohio state portion of 40 items worth 40 points in 60 minutes — 115 questions and 120 points over 180 minutes in total. A broker must score at least 75% on each portion, and there is no limit on retakes under ORC 4735.07(F). The state portion is weighted 4 items on state governance, 6 on licensing requirements, 16 on license law and Commission rules, and 14 on brokerage relationships (agency law).
What must a new Ohio broker do in the first year?
ORC 4735.07(G) requires a new broker to submit proof of ten hours of Commission-approved post-licensure instruction no later than twelve months after the license is issued. Missing that suspends the license automatically, and a further twelve months without proof revokes it. Thereafter the license renews on a three-year cycle on the licensee's birthday, with 30 hours of continuing education that must include a three-hour course on the duties of a principal broker (ORC 4735.141).
Sources: https://com.ohio.gov/divisions-and-programs/real-estate-and-professional-licensing/salespersons-and-brokers/guides-and-resources/salesperson-and-broker-candidate-information-bulletin, https://test-takers.psiexams.com/api/content/bulletin/1001, https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-4735.07
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