South Dakota Broker Associate Exam — All Questions

How much prelicensing education must an applicant for a South Dakota broker associate license complete?

• a.60 class hours in a course of study approved by the commission
• b.90 class hours in a course of study approved by the commission
• c.116 class hours in a course of study approved by the commission✓
• d.160 class hours in a course of study approved by the commission

SDCL 36-21A-30.1 states that "An applicant for a broker associate license must have completed one hundred sixteen class hours of education in a course of study approved by the commission," and ARSD 20:69:04:02 repeats the figure as "a minimum of 116 instructional hours" while listing the subject areas, beginning with South Dakota license law and rules. Sixty hours is a real South Dakota number but a different one: SDCL 36-21A-30.2 requires 60 additional hours of postlicensing education after initial licensure, split 30 and 30 across the first two active licensing periods. Ninety and 160 hours are other states' figures. ARSD 20:69:04:14 defines a class hour as at least 50 minutes of instruction in each 60-minute segment, and 20:69:04:15 caps a course day at eight hours.

Which personal qualification does SDCL 36-21A-30 impose on every South Dakota real estate license applicant?

• a.Being twenty-one and a South Dakota resident for at least one year
• b.Being eighteen and a registered voter resident in South Dakota
• c.Being eighteen and a United States citizen or South Dakota resident✓
• d.Being nineteen and a United States citizen or a lawful permanent resident

SDCL 36-21A-30 grants a license only to persons "of reputable character who have attained the age of eighteen years" and who are "competent to transact the business of a licensee in a manner as to safeguard the interest of the public," and closes with the citizenship sentence: "No one except a citizen of the United States of America, or resident of South Dakota, is eligible to secure a license as a broker." Because citizenship and residency are alternatives joined by "or," a nonresident United States citizen qualifies and no waiting period applies, which disposes of the one-year residency option. Twenty-one and nineteen are not the statutory ages. Voter registration is not a licensing condition anywhere in the chapter. The same section also bars an applicant whose license was revoked in any state within the previous five years.

How long after written notice of passing the examination does a South Dakota applicant have to file the license application?

• a.Thirty days, after which the registration and the passing score are canceled
• b.Six months, after which the registration and the passing score are canceled
• c.One year, after which the registration and the passing score are canceled
• d.Sixty days, after which the registration and the passing score are canceled✓

SDCL 36-21A-36.1 requires the person to file the application "within sixty days of the notice date" and adds the consequence in the same breath: "If the person fails to file an application and proof of required education within the sixty-day period, the person's registration and all rights deriving from a passing score are canceled." ARSD 20:69:03:01 states the same 60-day window from the rules side, and the PSI candidate information bulletin repeats it in its list of licensing requirements. The shorter 30-day period and the longer six-month and one-year periods appear nowhere in the chapter, and the difference matters because a canceled score cannot be revived by paying a late fee; the applicant has to sit the examination again.

What does SDCL 36-21A-31 require of an applicant for a South Dakota responsible broker's license?

• a.Three years served actively and 24 more class hours
• b.Two years served actively and 60 additional class hours
• c.Two years served actively and 24 more class hours✓
• d.One year served actively and 24 more class hours

SDCL 36-21A-31 requires that the applicant "shall have served actively for two years as a licensed salesperson or broker associate, or a combination thereof," and "shall furnish evidence of completion of twenty-four additional class hours beyond the broker associate level" in an approved course. ARSD 20:69:04:04 describes that course as the responsible broker course, "a minimum of 24 hours long" with a final examination, and 20:69:04:05 requires the broker associate prelicensing or upgrade course to be completed first. SDCL 36-21A-1(17) defines serving actively as holding the license on active status with the commission, so inactive time does not count. The statute lets the commission approve an applicant conditionally with six months to furnish the 24 hours, and exempts anyone licensed as a broker before July 1, 1996.

What criminal background check does South Dakota require of an applicant for a real estate broker license?

• a.A fingerprint check by the Division of Criminal Investigation of this state
• b.A sworn criminal history affidavit given under penalty of perjury
• c.A records check by the sheriff of every county where the applicant has lived
• d.Fingerprint checks by the Division of Criminal Investigation and the FBI✓

SDCL 36-21A-151 requires each applicant for licensure and registration as a real estate broker, property manager or residential rental agent to "submit to a state and federal criminal background investigation by means of fingerprint checks by the Division of Criminal Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation," and provides that "This information shall be obtained prior to licensure of the applicant." A state-only check omits the federal half the statute names. A sworn affidavit is not a substitute; SDCL 36-21A-35 already puts the whole application under oath, and the fingerprint requirement was added on top of it. County sheriff checks appear nowhere in the chapter. The applicant pays the fingerprinting and investigation fees, and failing to submit or cooperate is itself a ground for denial or for revoking a license.

Which of the following is a ground on which the South Dakota Real Estate Commission may deny a license application?

• a.The applicant has a current and unpaid judgment filed against the applicant✓
• b.The applicant has changed employers more than twice in the previous year
• c.The applicant filed for personal bankruptcy within the previous seven years
• d.The applicant does not belong to a recognized real estate trade association

SDCL 36-21A-33 lists eight grounds for denial, the last of which is that "The applicant has a current and unpaid judgment filed against the applicant." The list also covers insufficient funds checks written within the calendar year before application, conviction of a felony or a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude, discipline by another regulator, failure to meet the chapter's requirements, failing the prelicense school examination, unmet education requirements, and deliberate misstatements in the application. A discharged bankruptcy is not on the list and is not the same thing as an outstanding judgment. Job changes are not a ground. Trade association membership cannot be required, because the commission licenses under the statute while an association is a private body. The PSI bulletin reprints this list under "Grounds for Denial of a License."