Duties and Powers of the Real Estate Commission
Six of the fifty Tennessee state items cover the Commission itself: what it is for, what it will not touch, how a complaint becomes a hearing, and what it can do to a licensee at the end of one.
What the Commission Is and What It May Do
Tenn. Code Ann. 62-13-201 creates the Tennessee Real Estate Commission and gives it nine members appointed by the governor: seven who have been principally engaged as a licensed broker or affiliate broker in Tennessee for at least five years, and two who are not in the business. Three come from each grand division, terms run five years, and no member may serve more than one full successive term. Section 62-13-203 gives the Commission power to do all things necessary and proper for carrying out the Real Estate Broker License Act, to promulgate rules under the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, and to establish canons of ethics and minimum standards of practice. The Commission sits within the Department of Commerce and Insurance.
Disputes the Commission Will Not Decide
Tenn. Comp. R. and Regs. 1260-02-.02(8) states that the Commission will not intervene in the settlement of debts, loans, draws, or commission disputes between firms, brokers, and affiliates. Money quarrels among licensees belong in the courts or in the firm's own agreements. Rule 1260-01-.18 shows the narrow exception where the Commission does referee between licensees: it may refuse a firm name that is the same as or confusingly similar to an existing firm's, with an appeal to the executive director and then to the Commission, whose decision is final.
Complaints, Notice, and Hearings
Under Tenn. Code Ann. 62-13-313(a)(1) the Commission must, before refusing a license or suspending or revoking one on a verified written complaint, notify the accused in writing and enclose a copy of the complaint. The accused has ten days to file an answer, a copy of which goes to the complainant. Only after investigation does the Commission set a hearing. Section 62-13-313(c) requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the Commission to revoke or suspend, and section 62-13-313(e) sets the filing window for complaints at two years from the violation, the applicable criminal statute of limitations, or ten days after a criminal prosecution becomes final.
What the Commission Can Impose
Tenn. Code Ann. 62-13-312(b) lists twenty-one grounds for refusing, suspending, or revoking a license. Subsection (c) adds a distinctly Tennessee remedy: the Commission may order that a broker be downgraded to affiliate broker status. Tenn. Comp. R. and Regs. 1260-02-.32 allows a civil penalty of $0 to $1,000 for each separate violation, applies the same range to unlicensed persons acting as brokers, and provides that each day of a continued violation may be a separate violation. Section 62-13-311 is separate again: where a court revokes a license as part of a judgment, reissuance requires the consenting vote of six commission members.
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State-specific details
State exam facts
- State regulator
- Tennessee Real Estate Commission (TREC)
- Exam vendor
- PSI
- Prelicensing education
- 120 classroom hours, including 30 hours covering office or brokerage management
- Passing score
- 75% on each portion
- Scored questions
- 125
- Time limit
- 240 minutes
Who regulates real estate brokers in Tennessee?
The Tennessee Real Estate Commission (TREC), within the Department of Commerce and Insurance, licenses brokers and affiliate brokers under the Tennessee Real Estate Broker License Act of 1973 (Tenn. Code Ann. tit. 62, ch. 13). TREC contracts with PSI to deliver the licensing exams.
What experience do I need before the Tennessee broker exam?
Tenn. Code Ann. § 62-13-303(c) requires a broker applicant to certify 120 classroom hours in real estate, including 30 hours covering office or brokerage management, and — for anyone licensed as an affiliate broker after May 12, 1988 — to have held an active real estate license for at least 36 months, or 24 months with a baccalaureate degree with a major in real estate. Within three years of the original broker license, § 62-13-303(h) requires a further 120 classroom hours.
How is the Tennessee broker exam structured?
PSI bulletin 511 sets the broker exam at 125 scored items in two independently passed portions: a 75-item national portion scored to 80 points in 150 minutes, and a 50-item Tennessee state portion (50 points) in 90 minutes. You need 75% on each — 60 of 80 national points and 38 of 50 state items. Do not use the Affiliate Broker column printed beside it in the same bulletin; that tier is 80 national items and 40 state items at 70%.
What is on the Tennessee broker state portion?
PSI bulletin 511 sets nine areas for the Broker tier: Duties and Powers of the Real Estate Commission (6 items), Licensing Requirements (5), Advertising and Marketing (7), Broker/Affiliate Relationships (6), Handling of Documents and Record Keeping (6), Handling of Trust/Escrow Funds (7), Other Improper Activities and Consumer Protection (3), Agency and Disclosure Issues (7), and Special Areas of Practice (3). Advertising, trust and escrow funds, and agency are the joint-largest at 14% each, so most of your study time belongs in Tenn. Code Ann. tit. 62, ch. 13 and TREC rules 1260-01 and 1260-02.
Sources: https://test-takers.psiexams.com/api/content/bulletin/511, https://www.tn.gov/commerce/regboards/trec.html, https://publications.tnsosfiles.com/rules/1260/1260.htm
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