Regulations Governing the Activities of Licensees
Area IV is the other quarter of the state portion: advertising, broker/salesperson relations, and the prohibited acts of section 604 with the Chapter 35 rules that fill them in.
Advertising
A firm may advertise only under the business name on its license (section 35.305(a)). An advertisement by an associate broker or salesperson must carry the employing broker's business name and telephone number, of equal size, which Commonwealth Court enforced in Campo and D'Alonzo. A licensee advertising his own property must disclose that he is a licensee unless the property is listed with a company (section 35.304). Claims about sales volume or production may count only closed transactions, market claims must name the municipality, and office-count claims may count only licensed branch offices (section 35.307). Prize and contest advertising must state each prize's fair market value and the odds, in type as large as the description (section 35.306), and section 604(a)(4) makes misleading advertising, or claiming membership in an association the licensee does not belong to, a prohibited act.
Broker and salesperson relations
Section 604(a)(16) makes a broker's failure to exercise adequate supervision over affiliated salespersons and associate brokers a disciplinable act, and section 604(a)(27) extends it to supervised campground and time-share salespersons. Section 35.244(c) requires every associate broker and salesperson to practice in affiliation with a broker. Section 35.287 permits a salesperson to assist with property management under the broker's supervision but forbids independently negotiating lease terms or executing a lease for the lessor. Section 608.5(c) requires the salesperson to pay deposits over to the broker promptly, and section 608.5(k) bars a salesperson or a qualified association from holding escrow.
Prohibited conduct
Section 604(a) runs to thirty-one paragraphs. Records of a transaction must be kept three years after consummation (paragraph 6); copies of any listing, sale or lease contract go to every signatory at the time of execution (paragraph 9); a listing must state a definite termination date not subject to prior notice (paragraph 10), which section 35.332(c) supplements by barring terms over one year, automatic renewals, cancellation-notice requirements, broker options to purchase and confessions of judgment. Paragraph 13 requires written disclosure to the owner when the licensee acquires or intends to acquire an interest in a listing of his own office, directly or through a third party, and section 35.283 states the same duty plus a continuing obligation to disclose conflicts. Section 35.303 treats an attempt at panic selling as bad faith under paragraph 20.
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State-specific details
State exam facts
- State regulator
- Pennsylvania State Real Estate Commission (BPOA)
- Exam vendor
- Pearson VUE
- Prelicensing education
- 240 hours (16 credits) of broker-level real estate education, including 2 credits in a Commission-approved office management course and 2 in a Commission-approved law course
- Passing score
- Scaled score of 75 on each portion
- Scored questions
- 120
- Time limit
- 210 minutes
Who regulates real estate brokers in Pennsylvania?
The Pennsylvania State Real Estate Commission, part of the Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs in the Department of State, licenses brokers and salespersons under the Real Estate Licensing and Registration Act. The Commission has contracted with Pearson VUE to administer its examinations.
What experience do I need before the Pennsylvania broker exam?
RELRA section 511 requires three years as a licensed salesperson, or educational and experience qualifications the Commission deems equivalent, plus 240 hours of approved broker-level education. Commonwealth Court held in Bhala v. State Real Estate Commission that simply holding a salesperson's license for three years is not by itself enough; 49 Pa. Code section 35.271 requires experience qualifications the Commission considers adequate for practice as a broker.
How is the Pennsylvania broker exam structured?
The broker exam has two separately timed portions: 80 scored national/general questions in 150 minutes and 40 scored Pennsylvania questions in 60 minutes, 120 scored questions over 210 minutes, plus 5 to 10 unidentified pretest questions on each portion. Pearson VUE's handbook lists a minimum passing score of 75 on each portion; scores are scaled to a 0-100 range and are, in the handbook's words, neither the number nor the percentage of questions answered correctly.
Sources: https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dos/programs/professional-licensing.html, https://www.pearsonvue.com/content/dam/VUE/vue/en/documents/publications/093900.pdf
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