Case Studies
Area VII is ten scored items — a fifth of the Texas state portion, and a question type no other state in this family uses. The booklet says these items "include both narrative cases and contract cases. Narrative cases require candidates to read a case study and respond to multiple associated items. Contract cases require candidates to respond to items based on use of TREC-promulgated contracts."
What a case study asks that a recall item does not
A case-study item gives you a fact pattern and asks for a conclusion that follows only when two or three rules are applied together. The commonest trap is a fact that satisfies one rule while a second rule, unmentioned, decides the outcome — a buyer whose termination notice is perfectly timely but who never had a termination right because the option-fee blank was empty, or an agent who owed no IABS notice at an open house but did owe a written buyer agreement before the showing that followed. Read for which rules are in play before reaching for the answer.
Narrative cases
Narrative cases are drawn from areas I to VI: agency and the new written buyer agreement under §§ 1101.562-1101.563, intermediary appointments under §§ 1101.559-1101.560, trust money timing under 22 TAC § 535.146, who a broker may lawfully pay under § 1101.651 and 22 TAC § 535.147, and the special topics — a homestead mechanic's lien failing on the signature, the timing and the filing all at once.
Contract cases
Contract cases are worked on the promulgated forms themselves, most often TREC No. 20-19, the One to Four Family Residential Contract (Resale). Know paragraph 5 cold: earnest money and option fee delivered to the escrow agent within three days of the effective date, the unrestricted right to terminate in paragraph 5B, and paragraph 5D's rule that no stated option fee means no such right. Know paragraph 7B's two different disclosure-notice clocks, paragraph 11's confinement to informational items, and paragraph 18C's fifteen days for a written objection to a demand on the earnest money.
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State-specific details
State exam facts
- State regulator
- Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC)
- Exam vendor
- Pearson VUE
- Prelicensing education
- 900 classroom hours (270 qualifying + 630 related)
- Time limit
- 240 minutes
Who regulates real estate brokers in Texas?
The Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) licenses brokers and sales agents under the Texas Real Estate License Act (Occupations Code Chapter 1101) and the TREC rules at 22 Texas Administrative Code Part 23. TREC contracts with Pearson VUE to schedule and deliver the licensing exams at test centers across Texas.
What experience do I need before the Texas broker exam?
Broker applicants must have four years of active experience as a license holder during the 60 months preceding the application (Occupations Code § 1101.356(a)(1)) and must document not less than 720 qualifying experience points on TREC's Qualifying Experience Report (22 TAC § 535.56(b)(2)) — the points floor rose from 360, so older study material understates it. The education requirement is 270 hours of qualifying real estate courses plus 630 classroom hours of related education, and the six-hour Broker Responsibility Course is now required of every broker applicant.
How is the Texas broker exam structured?
Pearson VUE delivers a national portion of 80 scored questions and a Texas state portion of 50 scored questions in a single 4-hour session. Content outline #094401 splits the 50 state items into seven areas: TREC's duties and powers (3), licensing (4), standards of conduct (9), agency and brokerage (10), contracts (8), special topics (6) and case studies (10). Each portion is scored separately and you must pass both; confirm the current scored-question counts in TREC's Candidate Handbook.
What are the Texas case-study questions?
A fifth of the Texas state portion is case studies. Pearson VUE's outline says these "include both narrative cases and contract cases. Narrative cases require candidates to read a case study and respond to multiple associated items. Contract cases require candidates to respond to items based on use of TREC-promulgated contracts" — so expect fact patterns worked on forms such as TREC No. 20-19, the One to Four Family Residential Contract (Resale).
Sources: https://www.pearsonvue.com/content/dam/VUE/vue/en/documents/publications/094401.pdf, https://www.trec.texas.gov/agency-information/rules-and-laws/trec-rules, https://www.trec.texas.gov/exam-topic-reports, https://www.pearsonvue.com/us/en/tx/realestate.html
In the Texas Real Estate Broker guide: A 60-question national practice exam, with a key that explains all four options and not just the right one. Practice here stays free.