South Dakota Broker Associate Exam — All Questions

For whose real estate activities is a South Dakota responsible broker accountable?

• a.Only those affiliated licensees who are employees of the brokerage firm
• b.Only those affiliated licensees the responsible broker personally trained
• c.Only those affiliated licensees working out of the registered main office
• d.All affiliated licensees, whether employees or independent contractors✓

SDCL 36-21A-79 is a single sentence with no exceptions: "A responsible broker is responsible for the real estate activities conducted by affiliated licensees, whether as employees or independent contractors." The employment classification set out in SDCL 36-21A-124, under which a licensee is an independent contractor if the broker does not specify time, method and location beyond general policy and compensates without withholding taxes, settles tax and employment questions but does not shift supervisory responsibility. SDCL 36-21A-46.1(3) makes the same point about a licensee who forms a business corporation or limited liability company: the responsible broker "is not relieved of any obligation to supervise." Neither training history nor office location narrows the duty, and SDCL 36-21A-70 lets discipline against a responsible broker reach the firm's license as well.

A South Dakota responsible broker moves the brokerage office. What notice does SDCL 36-21A-52 require?

• a.Written notice to the commission within thirty days after the move is made
• b.A new firm license application filed before the move takes place at all
• c.Written notice to the commission only where the move crosses county lines
• d.Written notice to the commission before or within ten days after the move✓

SDCL 36-21A-52 requires every licensee to register a place of business with the commission, which for a broker associate or salesperson is the responsible broker's place of business and for a responsible broker or restricted broker is the licensee's main place of business. On a move, "the licensee and responsible broker shall give written notice to the commission before the removal or within ten days after removal." The consequence of ignoring it is automatic: "If a licensee fails to register a new place of business, the commission must place the licensee on inactive status," which SDCL 36-21A-9(4) confirms from the definitions side. Thirty days is longer than the statute allows, no new firm application is triggered, and county lines are irrelevant. SDCL 36-21A-53 adds that a branch office must operate under the same name as the parent office.

By what date must a South Dakota license renewal reach the commission, and when does the license expire if it does not?

• a.By December 31, and the license expires on January 31
• b.By November 30, and the license expires on December 31✓
• c.By June 30, and the license expires on July 31
• d.By November 30, and the license expires on June 30

SDCL 36-21A-61 requires every licensee, active or inactive, to register every two years and provides that "The application for renewal of a license shall be made to the commission by November thirtieth of the year the current license expires. Failure of a person or firm to register results in the expiration of the license on December thirty-first." June 30 is a real deadline in this scheme but a different one: SDCL 36-21A-66 allows a late registration application with a late fee of up to twenty dollars for each month or fraction of a month past November 30 and states that "No late application may be accepted by the commission after June thirtieth." That section also warns that a licensee may not perform any act under the chapter before the commission renews the license, so practicing during the late window is itself a violation.

How many hours of approved continuing education must a South Dakota broker associate show for each two-year period?

• a.Not less than twelve hours
• b.Not less than sixteen hours
• c.Not less than twenty-four hours✓
• d.Not less than thirty-six hours

SDCL 36-21A-62 requires a responsible broker, broker associate, salesperson, auctioneer or property manager to provide proof of "not less than twenty-four hours" of approved continuing education in the preceding two-year period. Twelve hours is the figure the same section sets for a residential rental agent, so it is the right number for the wrong licensee. Sixteen and thirty-six hours appear nowhere in the chapter. ARSD 20:69:11:02 adds that at least 12 of the 24 hours must fall in the required subject areas listed in ARSD 20:69:11:01.05. The consequence of falling short is set out in SDCL 36-21A-64: a licensee who submits a renewal application without proof of continuing education "shall be an inactive licensee until proof of such continuing education has been provided." Attorneys licensed in South Dakota and time-share agents are exempt.

What does South Dakota require before it will license a corporation or limited liability company as a real estate firm?

• a.It must be owned entirely by licensed South Dakota real estate brokers
• b.It must designate a responsible broker, who signs the license application✓
• c.It must post a surety bond in an amount the commission sets by rule
• d.It must register each affiliated licensee as an officer of the entity

SDCL 36-21A-38 provides that no license may be granted to a corporation, limited liability company, partnership or association "unless the corporation, limited liability company, partnership, or association designates a responsible broker who will represent" it, and that "The responsible broker shall sign the application for the license." The same section permits a nonlicensed individual to hold an ownership interest in the firm, so full broker ownership is not required, but no nonlicensed individual "may control or supervise the professional real estate activity of any real estate licensee associated with the firm," and none may own any interest in a sole proprietorship engaged in professional real estate activity. There is no bond requirement in the chapter; consumer protection runs instead through the recovery fund of SDCL 36-21A-101 and the errors and omissions coverage of SDCL 36-21A-119. SDCL 36-21A-39 requires notice of dissolution within ten days.

How quickly must a South Dakota team leader report a change in licensed team members to the responsible broker?

• a.Within 24 hours of making the change
• b.Within 10 days of making the change
• c.Within 72 hours of making the change✓
• d.At the brokerage's next scheduled office meeting

ARSD 20:69:18:01 requires that "A team leader shall provide a current list of all licensed team members, and any changes to the list of licensed team members, to the responsible broker within 72 hours of making the change," and that the responsible broker maintain a current record of all team leaders and licensed team members "in a manner that can be made readily available to the commission staff upon request." The rule took effect in 2019 alongside the statutory definitions in SDCL 36-21A-1(21) and (22), which make the team leader responsible for supervising the team's real estate activities "subject to the overall supervision of the responsible broker." Twenty-four hours is stricter than the rule, ten days and the next office meeting are looser, and the whole point of the deadline is that the broker's supervisory duty under SDCL 36-21A-79 cannot be met on a stale roster.