Ohio Real Estate Broker Exam — All Questions

Which agency issues and regulates Ohio real estate broker licenses?

• a.The Ohio Attorney General's Consumer Protection Section
• b.The Ohio Association of Realtors
• c.The Division of Real Estate & Professional Licensing within the Ohio Department of Commerce✓
• d.The county auditor where the brokerage is located

Real estate licensing in Ohio is administered by the Division of Real Estate & Professional Licensing within the Department of Commerce, under Ohio Revised Code Chapter 4735. The Ohio Real Estate Commission adopts rules and hears disciplinary appeals, but the Division issues, renews, and investigates licenses. A trade association such as the Ohio Association of Realtors is a private membership group with no licensing authority.

Ohio real estate license law is found primarily in which body of law?

• a.Ohio Revised Code Chapter 1301 (Uniform Commercial Code)
• b.Ohio Revised Code Chapter 4735 and Ohio Administrative Code 1301:5✓
• c.Ohio Revised Code Chapter 5321 (Landlords and Tenants)
• d.The Ohio Constitution, Article II

Ohio's real estate statutes are in Revised Code Chapter 4735, and the implementing rules are in Ohio Administrative Code 1301:5. Together they define who must be licensed, the difference between a salesperson and a broker, and the standards of conduct enforced by the Division and the Ohio Real Estate Commission.

A key legal difference between an Ohio real estate salesperson and a licensed broker is that only a broker may:

• a.Show property to prospective buyers
• b.Complete continuing education
• c.Hold an active license
• d.Operate a brokerage and hold client funds in a trust account in the brokerage's name✓

Under Chapter 4735 a salesperson must be affiliated with and supervised by a broker and cannot operate independently. A broker may own and operate a brokerage, employ salespersons, and maintain the brokerage trust (escrow) account. This supervisory and fiduciary authority is the core distinction the broker exam tests.

The Ohio Real Estate Recovery Fund is used to:

• a.Reimburse a member of the public who obtains an uncollectible court judgment against a licensee for conduct that violates the license law✓
• b.Pay the salaries of Division of Real Estate staff
• c.Provide down-payment assistance to first-time buyers
• d.Cover a brokerage's ordinary operating losses

The Recovery Fund (originally the Recovery Special Account) compensates consumers who win a final court judgment against a licensee based on conduct that violates Ohio license law and who cannot otherwise collect. When the fund pays a claim, the licensee's license is suspended until the fund is repaid. It is not a general operating, lending, or business-loss fund.