Real Estate Recovery Fund
The outline gives this area 2 to 3 of the 90 state items and prints no subtopics. Everything it can test sits in Utah Code Title 61, Chapter 2f, Part 5, the Real Estate Education, Research, and Recovery Fund Act.
Purpose and Funding
Section 61-2f-503(1) creates the fund as an expendable special revenue fund, and Subsection (3) directs the division to administer it to reimburse the public for damages caused in a real estate transaction by an individual licensed under the chapter, and then to investigate violations involving fraud, misrepresentation, or deceit and to advance education and research. Subsection (4) limits it to damages caused by an individual licensee: there is no reimbursement for a final judgment against an entity. Subsection (5) makes $100,000 available at the start of each fiscal year to satisfy final judgments, and Section 61-2f-504(1) sends only what accumulates above that figure to investigation and education. The money comes from Section 61-2f-505, which adds an annual fee of up to $18 for a principal broker or associate broker and up to $12 for a sales agent on top of the application or renewal fee, from certification fees under Section 61-2f-105(2), and from fines under Section 61-2f-405(3).
Making a Claim
Section 61-2f-502(3) defines a final judgment as either a civil judgment awarding actual damages against a licensee on the basis of fraud, misrepresentation, or deceit in a real estate transaction, or a criminal restitution judgment for an offense involving the same conduct. Section 61-2f-506(1) requires the claimant to have obtained such a judgment, to be free of complicity in the wrongdoing, and to hold a judgment that has not been discharged in bankruptcy. Subsection (2)(a) requires the claimant to send the division a signed notification alleging fraud, misrepresentation, or deceit within 10 business days of bringing the civil action, and Subsection (2)(b) gives the division 30 days to exercise an unconditional right to intervene. Subsection (3)(a) then has the claimant file a verified petition in the court that entered the judgment, and Subsection (5) requires proof of a writ of execution returned unsatisfied, reasonable searches for assets, and reasonable diligence in seeking payment, any of which the court may waive under Subsection (6) where compliance is not practicable.
Caps and the Consequence for the Licensee
Section 61-2f-506(3)(c) caps the fund's liability at $15,000 for a single transaction and $50,000 for one licensee, regardless of the number of claimants or parcels involved, and Subsection (3)(b) excludes punitive damages, attorney fees, interest, and court costs from recovery. Section 61-2f-509 pays unsatisfied claims in the order originally filed when money becomes available, with accumulated interest at 8% per annum. Section 61-2f-510(1) subrogates the division to the claimant's rights for what it pays out, and Subsection (2)(a) automatically revokes the license of the licensee for whom payment was made, with Subsection (2)(b) barring a new application until the amount and interest are repaid in full. Section 61-2f-511 confirms that repayment does not nullify or modify any other disciplinary proceeding, and Section 61-2f-512 makes a failure to comply with the part a waiver of any right under it.
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State-specific details
State exam facts
- State regulator
- Utah Division of Real Estate (Dept. of Commerce)
- Exam vendor
- Pearson VUE
- Prelicensing education
- 120 hours (30-hour Utah Law + 45-hour Broker Principles + 45-hour Broker Practices)
- Passing score
- Scaled score of 75 on each portion (not a percentage)
- Scored questions
- 170
- Time limit
- 240 minutes
Who regulates real estate brokers in Utah?
The Utah Division of Real Estate, within the Department of Commerce, licenses brokers, associate brokers and sales agents under the Real Estate Licensing and Practices Act (Utah Code Title 61, Chapter 2f) and the R162-2f rules. The Division contracts with Pearson VUE to deliver the licensing exams.
What experience do I need before the Utah broker exam?
Utah Code § 61-2f-203(1)(f) requires three years' full-time experience as a sales agent or the equivalent. Rule R162-2f-202b(1)(f) defines the equivalent and adds a second test: within the five years before you apply, either three years of full-time licensed active experience, or two years of it plus one year of full-time professional real estate experience from the rule's Appendix 3 table, AND at least 60 documented experience points, submitted in a package of 60 to 80 points, with at least half of the Table 1 and Table 2 points from Utah properties. The education is 120 hours of approved broker prelicensing (45 Broker Principles, 45 Broker Practices, 30 Utah Law).
How is the Utah broker exam structured?
170 scored questions in two separately scored portions: an 80-question national/general portion and a 90-question Utah state portion, taken in one 4-hour session, plus 5 unidentified pretest items on the national portion and 5 to 10 on the state portion. The Utah broker state portion is nearly twice the 50-item salesperson state portion, so salesperson material does not cover it. You must pass both portions; if you pass one and fail the other, Rule R162-2f-202b(5) gives you six months from the passed component to retake and pass the failed one.
What score do I need to pass the Utah broker exam?
A scaled score of 75 on the general portion and 75 on the state portion. The Pearson VUE candidate handbook is explicit that this is a scaled score and that the number reported to you "is neither the number of questions you answered correctly nor the percentage of questions you answered correctly" — so 75 is not 75%. Salesperson candidates are held to 70 on each portion.
What does the Utah broker state portion actually test?
Pearson VUE's Utah broker outline (document #094502, state outline effective July 15, 2016) divides the 90 state items into eight areas, each published as a range: Definitions (5-7), Licensing (15-17), Licensee Practice (33-35), Disciplinary Action (9-11), Real Estate Recovery Fund (2-3), Additional Utah State Topics (8-10), Property Management (4-6) and Closing Statements (6-8). Licensee Practice alone is about a third of the state exam, and its heaviest subtopic is the role of the broker — supervision and trust accounts.
Sources: https://realestate.utah.gov, https://www.pearsonvue.com/content/dam/VUE/vue/en/documents/publications/094502.pdf, https://www.pearsonvue.com/content/dam/VUE/vue/en/documents/publications/094500.pdf, https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title61/Chapter2F/61-2f.html, https://adminrules.utah.gov/public/rule/R162-2f/Current%20Rules
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