Utah Real Estate Broker Exam — All Questions

A new environmental ordinance leaves a landowner with no economically viable use of a parcel, although the government takes no title to it. The owner's strongest constitutional claim is:

• a.The ordinance is void because zoning cannot restrict use
• b.A regulatory taking entitling the owner to payment✓
• c.Escheat has occurred and the state now owns the parcel
• d.Spot zoning, since only this parcel lost its value

Regulation that goes so far it denies an owner all economically viable use is treated as a regulatory taking, and just compensation is owed even though the government never took title. Arguing that zoning simply cannot restrict use fails, because regulating land is a valid exercise of the police power and owners have no right to the most profitable use. Escheat moves property to the state only when an owner dies with no will and no heirs, which has nothing to do with an ordinance. Spot zoning describes singling out one parcel for a different classification, not a general environmental rule applied to a class of land.

Reviewing a title report, a broker finds an old recorded covenant, written decades ago, that bars resale of the lot to members of a specified race. Its legal effect today is:

• a.It binds the buyer because it was recorded before purchase
• b.It is void, so a court will never enforce it or enjoin it✓
• c.It stays valid until the homeowners association removes it
• d.It is enforceable by the association but not by an owner

A private restriction that discriminates on a protected basis is void and unenforceable under the federal Fair Housing Act and the Civil Rights Act of 1866, so no court will order compliance or enjoin a violation, and the association has no power the courts would back. Recording rescues nothing, because an illegal restriction gains no force from sitting in the public record. No association vote is required to strip it of effect, although many states let an owner have the language formally struck. Valid CC&Rs, by contrast, are enforced privately by injunction brought by an owner or the association. A broker must never repeat or give effect to such language.

A grantor signs and notarizes a deed naming a nephew as grantee, locks it in a safe deposit box, and tells no one. The grantor later dies. What is the deed's effect?

• a.Title passed when the grantor signed the deed
• b.Title passed because the deed was acknowledged
• c.No title passed, because delivery never occurred✓
• d.Title passes when the estate later records it

A deed operates only when the grantor delivers it with the present intent to pass title and the grantee accepts, and both must happen while the grantor is alive. Signing accomplishes nothing while the instrument stays under the grantor's control in a box no one knows about. Acknowledgment before a notary serves recording, not validity, so notarizing it changes nothing here. An estate representative cannot supply the delivery the grantor failed to make, and recording an undelivered deed does not revive it. The nephew takes only through the will or the intestacy statute, which is why closings hand over the executed deed rather than merely signing it.

A deed is signed by a competent grantor and handed to a grantee who accepts it, but the grantor's signature was never notarized. As between those two parties, the deed is:

• a.Void, since notarizing is a validity requirement
• b.Valid, though it cannot be recorded as it stands✓
• c.Valid only if the grantee later pays a recording fee
• d.Voidable at the option of the grantor's creditors

Acknowledgment is a recording requirement, not an element of a valid deed. Delivered and accepted, the deed transfers title between grantor and grantee even with no notary, but the recorder will reject it, leaving the grantee exposed to later purchasers and lienholders who record first. Calling it void confuses the two ideas: validity turns on a competent grantor, an identifiable grantee, words of conveyance, an adequate legal description, the grantor's signature, and delivery and acceptance. Paying a fee cannot cure a missing acknowledgment, because the recorder cannot accept the instrument at all. Creditors of the grantor gain no power to undo a completed conveyance.

In a deed, which clause opens with the words 'to have and to hold' and defines the extent of the estate the grantee is receiving?

• a.The granting clause containing the words of conveyance
• b.The habendum clause, following the granting clause✓
• c.The acknowledgment taken before a notary public officer
• d.The legal description identifying the land conveyed

The habendum clause follows the granting clause, begins with the traditional phrase 'to have and to hold,' and spells out the estate conveyed, for example a fee simple absolute or a life estate. The granting clause holds the words of conveyance that actually transfer the interest and names the grantee. The acknowledgment is the notary's certificate that the signature is genuine, which the recorder requires but the transfer does not. The legal description identifies the land by metes and bounds, lot and block, or government survey, and it fixes what is conveyed rather than how much of an estate. Reading both clauses tells a broker exactly what the buyer is getting.

A relocation company that has owned a home for three months conveys it, warranting title only against defects that arose during its own ownership. The deed it delivers is a:

• a.Bargain and sale deed implying ownership without covenants
• b.General warranty deed covering the entire chain of title
• c.Quitclaim deed conveying only the interest actually held
• d.Special (limited) warranty deed covering the grantor's period✓

Warranting only against defects created or suffered while the grantor held title describes the special or limited warranty deed, the customary instrument for corporate, relocation, and fiduciary sellers who cannot vouch for what earlier owners did. A general warranty deed reaches back through the whole history of the property and offers the broadest protection, which is more than this seller is giving. A quitclaim carries no warranties at all and passes only whatever interest the signer happens to hold. A bargain and sale deed implies that the grantor owns the property but adds few or no covenants. A buyer taking narrower covenants should lean on an owner's title policy.

A title search shows that a seller's former spouse may still hold a possible interest in the property. What is the usual instrument used to release that interest and clear the record?

• a.A quitclaim deed from the former spouse✓
• b.A general warranty deed from the former spouse
• c.A trustee's deed issued after a foreclosure
• d.A correction deed fixing the legal description

A quitclaim releases whatever interest the signer may hold, with no warranties attached, which makes it the standard tool for removing a cloud such as a possible marital interest, a stale easement claim, or a name discrepancy. Demanding a general warranty deed asks the former spouse to guarantee title he or she may never have owned, and it is normally refused. A trustee's deed is what the trustee under a deed of trust issues to the purchaser at a foreclosure sale. A correction deed reforms a mistake in an earlier deed between the same parties and cannot release an outsider's claim.

A court-appointed personal representative sells a decedent's home during probate, and the buyer's broker asks what instrument will convey title. The answer is:

• a.A trustee's deed given after a nonjudicial foreclosure
• b.A sheriff's deed issued following a judicial sale
• c.A general warranty deed with full title covenants
• d.An executor's or personal representative's deed✓

Estate property is conveyed by an executor's deed when a will names the executor, or by a personal representative's or administrator's deed when the court makes the appointment; these deeds recite the court authority and give only limited covenants. A trustee's deed comes from the trustee under a deed of trust after a nonjudicial foreclosure sale. A sheriff's deed, called a referee's deed in some states, follows a judicial sale ordered by a court. A general warranty deed is not used, because a fiduciary will not personally guarantee title against the acts of the decedent or of owners further back in the chain.

After closing under a general warranty deed, a buyer discovers a recorded utility easement that the deed never disclosed. Which covenant did the grantor breach?

• a.Quiet enjoyment, a promise against eviction by better title
• b.Seisin, a promise that the grantor owns the estate conveyed
• c.Against encumbrances, a promise of no undisclosed burdens✓
• d.Further assurance, a promise to sign curative papers

The covenant against encumbrances promises that no liens, easements, or similar burdens exist beyond those the deed discloses, so a recorded easement left unmentioned breaches it at the moment of delivery. Seisin promises the grantor actually owns the estate being conveyed, which is not the trouble when ownership is sound but burdened. Quiet enjoyment shields the grantee from later eviction by someone holding superior title, and an easement holder's use is not an eviction. Further assurance obliges the grantor to sign additional documents needed to perfect title. A general warranty deed carries all of these along with the right to convey and warranty forever.

A neighbor has openly farmed and fenced a strip of an absentee owner's land, excluding others and never asking permission. To take title by adverse possession the neighbor must prove:

• a.Payment of the owner's property taxes for every year
• b.Open, notorious, continuous, hostile, and exclusive possession✓
• c.A written agreement signed by the record title owner
• d.A recorded deed describing the disputed strip of land

Adverse possession requires possession that is open and notorious, continuous, hostile in the sense of being without permission, and exclusive, held for the statutory period set by state law. Some states add payment of taxes or color of title, but those elements are not universal, so a broker should never assume them from another state's rule. A written agreement from the record owner would destroy the claim outright, since permission defeats hostility. Recording a deed creates no possession and cannot manufacture the required years of use. Adverse possession is one form of involuntary alienation, alongside descent, escheat, foreclosure, eminent domain, and accretion.

An owner dies leaving no will, and after a diligent search no heirs can be located. A broker asked to list the property should understand that title:

• a.Passes by devise to the beneficiaries named in a will
• b.Descends to the decedent's nearest surviving creditors
• c.Vests permanently in the administrator the court appoints
• d.Escheats to the state, an involuntary transfer of title✓

Escheat is the state's claim to property when an owner dies intestate and no heirs can be found, and it is a classic involuntary transfer rather than a voluntary one by deed or will. Devise is a gift of real property by will, so it cannot operate where there is no will and no named beneficiary. Descent carries property to heirs under the intestacy statute, but creditors are paid as claimants out of the estate and never inherit the land itself. An administrator has authority to manage and convey estate property during probate, not to own it permanently. Each state sets its own escheat procedure and waiting period.

A search reveals an old mortgage of record that was paid off but never released, and the lender no longer exists. Which step clears that cloud so title is marketable?

• a.Ordering an abstract of title with an attorney's opinion
• b.Buying an owner's title policy that insures over it
• c.Filing a quiet title action asking a court to clear it✓
• d.Recording a correction deed signed by the current seller

A quiet title action asks a court to determine ownership and extinguish a stale or unreleasable claim, which is the practical cure when the mortgagee has vanished and no release can be obtained. An abstract of title with an attorney's opinion summarizes and evaluates the recorded chain; it reports the cloud rather than removing it, and it offers no indemnity. An owner's policy may insure over a known risk, but insurance pays for loss and leaves the defect on the record for the next buyer to confront. A correction deed fixes a drafting error between the original parties and cannot release a third party's lien.

A seller deeds a parcel to one buyer and later deeds the same parcel to a second buyer, who records first. Which framework decides who owns the land?

• a.A federal recording statute applied in all fifty states
• b.The state's recording act, race, notice, or race-notice✓
• c.The order in which the two deeds were signed and dated
• d.The county recorder's discretion over competing claims

Priority between competing grantees is governed by the recording act of the state where the land lies, and the schemes differ: a pure race state protects whoever records first, a notice state protects a later purchaser who took without notice of the earlier deed, and a race-notice state protects one who took without notice and recorded first. No federal statute governs land recording. Signing dates do not decide the contest, which is precisely why a public recording system exists. Recorders act ministerially and have no power to resolve claims. Because the gap between closing and recording is the danger zone, a broker should press for prompt recording.

A buyer pays for a lender's title policy at closing and asks the broker whether it also protects the buyer's equity in the home. The correct answer is that the policy:

• a.Protects both parties equally up to the full purchase price
• b.Protects the buyer once the mortgage has been fully repaid
• c.Protects the buyer against defects arising after closing
• d.Protects only the lender, declining with the balance✓

A lender's, or mortgagee's, policy insures only the lender's security interest, and its coverage shrinks as the principal is paid down, ending altogether when the loan is satisfied. It never covers the buyer's equity, which is why a separate owner's policy is offered at closing for a one-time premium and lasts as long as the insured holds an interest. Repaying the mortgage does not convert the lender's coverage into the buyer's; it extinguishes it. And no title policy insures defects that first arise after its date. Brokers should explain this plainly before a buyer waives owner's coverage to save money.

Six months after closing, a contractor the buyer hired records a mechanic's lien against the home. The buyer files a claim under the owner's title policy. The insurer will most likely:

• a.Deny, because the defect arose after the policy was issued✓
• b.Pay, because owner's policies cover all future liens
• c.Pay, because the standard exceptions were removed
• d.Deny, because only a lender may file a title claim

Title insurance looks backward: it covers defects that already existed when the policy was issued but were not discovered or excepted, not events that happen later. A lien for work the buyer ordered after closing is a new problem the buyer must resolve directly. Buying extended coverage removes standard exceptions and broadens what is insured as of the policy date, but it does not push coverage forward in time. Owners plainly may claim under their own policies; the lender's policy is the one limited to the lender. Extended coverage typically depends on a current survey, which reveals encroachments and boundary issues a records search alone cannot.

A buyer tours a house and finds an occupant who is not the seller living there under an unrecorded lease. What kind of notice does that occupancy give the buyer?

• a.Actual notice, given by the seller's written disclosure
• b.Constructive notice, given by the public record
• c.No notice at all, since the lease was not recorded
• d.Inquiry notice, requiring the buyer to ask about it✓

Someone in possession who is not the seller puts a buyer on inquiry notice: the buyer is charged with whatever a reasonable investigation of that occupancy would have turned up, including an unrecorded lease or an option to purchase. Actual notice is what a party genuinely knows, typically from a disclosure or a conversation, and no one has told this buyer anything. Constructive notice comes from the public record, which by definition cannot reveal an unrecorded lease. Treating an unrecorded interest as invisible is the classic error, because possession is itself notice. A broker should always ask who occupies a property and on what terms.

Utah Code Section 61-2f-102 defines an associate broker as an individual who is:

• a.Licensed as a broker and answerable to the division for the firm
• b.Licensed to manage rental property but not to list real estate
• c.Licensed as a sales agent and placed in charge of a branch office
• d.Licensed as a broker but engaged by or for a principal broker✓

Section 61-2f-102(4) defines an associate broker as an individual who is "employed or engaged as an independent contractor by or on behalf of a principal broker to perform an act described in Subsection (30) for valuable consideration" and who is licensed or required to be licensed as an associate broker. So the license is broker-level; what places it below the principal broker is the engagement, not the grade. A sales agent license is a different license class under Subsection (42), and a branch office is run by a branch broker, who Subsection (5) defines as an associate broker. Being the individual answerable to the division for the firm describes the principal broker under Subsection (30). And a license limited to rental property describes the separate property manager license under Subsection (34).

Utah Code Section 61-2f-102 defines a dual broker as a principal broker who also functions as the:

• a.Principal broker of a competing brokerage in another county
• b.Licensed appraiser for property the brokerage has listed
• c.Branch broker of a second office of the same brokerage firm
• d.Principal property manager of a separate property company✓

Section 61-2f-102(20) defines "dual broker" as "a principal broker who functions as the principal property manager of a property management company that is a separate entity from a brokerage." Rule R162-2f-202b(7)(a) adds that a dual broker may not conduct real estate sales activities from the separate property management company. Supervising a second office of the same firm makes someone a branch broker under Subsection (5), not a dual broker. Section 61-2f-206(4) bars a principal broker from being responsible for more than one registered entity at the same time except as the chapter or a rule allows, so heading a competing brokerage is not what the term describes. And Rule R162-2f-401b(1)(n)(ii) forbids acting as an agent and an appraiser in the same transaction.

Utah Code Section 61-2f-102 separates an admonition from a reprimand. An admonition is a public discipline that:

• a.Suspends the license until the licensee retakes the exam
• b.Removes the finding from division records after one year
• c.Declares the conduct improper without naming the person✓
• d.Declares the conduct improper and names the person

Section 61-2f-102(1) defines "admonition" as "a public discipline that declares the conduct of a person as improper and does not identify the person." Subsection (40) defines "reprimand" the same way except that it "includes the name of the person." Both are public and both are listed as sanctions the commission may authorize under Section 61-2f-404(1)(a)(v) and (vi), so the naming is the whole of the difference. Neither one suspends a license: suspension is a separate sanction under Subsection (1)(a)(iii)(B), and Section 61-2f-402(6)(a) lets the division publish notices of admonition, reprimand, suspension, revocation, and surrender with discipline pending, which is the opposite of removing the finding.

Which body issues, renews, and disciplines Utah real estate broker licenses?

• a.The Utah Division of Real Estate, in the Commerce Department✓
• b.The Utah State Tax Commission, through its property tax division
• c.The Utah Attorney General, as legal counsel for the state
• d.The Utah Association of Realtors, a private trade group

Section 61-2f-102(17) defines "division" as the Division of Real Estate, and Section 61-2f-103(1) creates the Real Estate Commission within that division. Licensure runs through the division under Part 2 of the chapter, and Rule R162-2f applies its detail. A trade association can set standards for its own members but has no power to grant or take away a state license. The State Tax Commission works on taxation under Title 59, not occupational licensing. The Attorney General approves the standard forms with the commission under Section 61-2f-306(1) and enforces subrogation claims for other funds, but does not issue or renew real estate licenses.

Utah Code Section 61-2f-103 sets the makeup of the Real Estate Commission. It consists of:

• a.Nine members, six of them licensees and three from the public
• b.Three members, two of them licensees and one from the public
• c.Seven members, five of them licensees and two from the public
• d.Five members, four of them licensees and one from the public✓

Section 61-2f-103(4)(a) provides that "the commission consists of five members that the governor appoints and the Senate approves," and Subsection (4)(b) requires four of them to have at least five years' experience in the real estate business and to hold an active principal broker, associate broker, or sales agent license. Subsection (4)(c) makes one member a member of the general public. Subsection (9) then makes three members a quorum, which only works with a five-member body. Terms run four years under Subsection (5)(a), and Subsection (5)(d) bars more than two consecutive terms.

Ann is unlicensed. For a fee she finds a buyer for one neighbor's house, and does nothing else in real estate that year. Under Utah Code Section 61-2f-201 she:

• a.Acted lawfully, because a single transaction is not a business
• b.Needed a license only if the fee was paid as a commission
• c.Acted lawfully, because she never held herself out as an agent
• d.Needed a license, because one act for consideration is enough✓

Section 61-2f-201(2) provides that an individual "is required to be licensed as a principal broker, associate broker, or a sales agent if the individual performs, offers to perform, or attempts to perform one act for valuable consideration of: (a) buying, selling, or exchanging real estate for another person; or (b) offering for another person to buy, sell, or exchange real estate." One act is the whole test, so counting transactions does not help. Offering or attempting counts too, which is why staying quiet about her role changes nothing. And the statute says valuable consideration, not commission, so the label put on the fee is beside the point. The exemptions are in Section 61-2f-202, and acting for a neighbor is not among them.

Utah Code Section 61-2f-201 makes it unlawful for an unlicensed person to do which of these with respect to Utah real estate?

• a.Serve as a court-appointed executor selling estate land
• b.Advertise or assume to act as a broker or sales agent✓
• c.Buy a home to live in and later sell it at a profit
• d.Post a for-sale sign in the yard of the person's own house

Section 61-2f-201(1) makes it unlawful for an unlicensed person to engage in the business of a principal broker, associate broker, or sales agent, to act in that capacity, or to "advertise or assume to act" as one. Holding out is enough; no transaction has to close. The other three sit inside the exemptions. Section 61-2f-202(2)(a)(i) exempts a person who as owner performs the listed acts as to real estate that person owns, which covers both buying a home to live in and putting a sign in one's own yard. Section 61-2f-202(3)(c) exempts "a receiver, trustee in bankruptcy, administrator, executor, or an individual acting under order of a court."

For the owner exemption in Utah Code Section 61-2f-202, the statute says "owner" does not include:

• a.A person who owns the land jointly with a second person
• b.A person who owns the land but lives in another state
• c.A corporation whose officer signs the listing agreement
• d.A beneficiary or a trustee under a deed of trust✓

Section 61-2f-202(1) provides that "owner" does not include a person that holds an option to purchase real property, a mortgagee, a beneficiary under a deed of trust, a trustee under a deed of trust, or a person that owns or holds a claim that encumbers real property. All of these hold security or contract interests rather than ownership, so they cannot sell another person's land under the owner exemption. Rule R162-2f-200(1)(a) confirms the other side of the line by defining an exempt owner to include a person holding an interest as a joint tenant or a tenant in common. Rule R162-2f-200(2)(a)(i) lets an officer or director act for a corporation that owns the property, and nothing in the section turns on where the owner lives.

A salaried employee manages apartment buildings that the employer owns, without a license. Utah Code Section 61-2f-202 allows this only if the employee:

• a.Manages no more than seven individual units at one time
• b.Holds a written power of attorney from the building owner
• c.Files an exemption statement with the division each year
• d.Manages real estate for that one employer and no other✓

Section 61-2f-202(2)(a)(iii) exempts "a regular salaried employee of the owner of real estate who performs property management services with reference to real estate owned by the employer, except that the employee may only manage real estate for one employer." The one-employer limit is written into the exemption itself. Subsection (36) defines a regular salaried employee as someone paid wages with federal employment taxes withheld, and excludes project-by-project or commission work. The power-of-attorney exemption in Section 61-2f-202(3)(a) is a separate route and is limited to an isolated transaction under an unsolicited instrument. The seven-unit figure comes from Rule R162-2f-403b(1)(a)(i), which decides when a broker needs a separate property management trust account, not who is exempt. And the section requires no annual filing.

Utah Code Section 61-2f-202 states that the exemptions in Subsection (2)(a) do not reach an employee who is engaged in the sale of:

• a.Farm ground the employer has held for over ten years
• b.Interests governed by the Timeshare and Camp Resort Act✓
• c.Warehouse space the employer leases to a single large tenant
• d.Vacant lots the employer bought at a county tax sale

Section 61-2f-202(2)(b)(i) states that Subsection (2)(a) "does not exempt from licensing an employee engaged in the sale of real estate regulated under: (A) Title 57, Chapter 11, Utah Uniform Land Sales Practices Act; or (B) Title 57, Chapter 19, Timeshare and Camp Resort Act," and Subsection (2)(b)(ii) adds cooperative interests under Title 57, Chapter 23. The carve-out is written by statute rather than by property type, so how long the employer has held farm ground, whether a warehouse has one tenant, and how vacant lots were acquired all leave the ordinary owner-employee exemption intact. Section 57-19-14 separately requires a person marketing a timeshare or camp resort development to register with the division as a salesperson.

Rule R162-2f-202b requires a Utah broker applicant to complete 120 hours of prelicensing education made up of:

• a.60 hours of broker principles and 60 hours of Utah law
• b.90 hours of broker practices and 30 hours of broker principles
• c.45 hours of principles, 45 of practices, 30 of Utah law✓
• d.40 hours each of principles, practices, and Utah law

Rule R162-2f-202b(1)(c)(i) requires the applicant to "successfully complete 120 hours of approved prelicensing education, including: (A) 45 hours of broker principles; (B) 45 hours of broker practices; and (C) 30 hours of Utah law and testing." The Pearson VUE candidate handbook prints the same three lines on its education certifying document. Section 61-2f-203(1)(d)(ii)(A) sets the 120-hour floor by statute and leaves the split to rule, and Subsection (1)(d)(v) adds that an hour means 50 minutes of instruction in each 60 minutes, with a maximum of eight program hours per day.

Utah Code Section 61-2f-203 sets the experience an applicant must have before securing a principal broker or associate broker license. It requires:

• a.Three years of full-time sales agent experience or the equivalent✓
• b.Two years of part-time licensed experience in any single state
• c.Five years of full-time sales agent experience without a break
• d.One year of licensed experience plus a real estate degree

Section 61-2f-203(1)(f)(i) provides that "three years' full-time experience as a sales agent or the equivalent is required before an applicant may apply for, and secure a principal broker or associate broker license in this state," and Subsection (1)(f)(ii) directs the commission to set by rule the criteria for accepting equivalent experience or special education. Rule R162-2f-202b(1)(f)(i) then supplies the equivalent: within the five-year period before the application, either three years of full-time licensed active experience, or two years of that experience plus one year of full-time professional real estate experience from the Appendix 3 table. Part-time work does not meet a full-time standard, five years is the lookback window rather than the requirement, and a degree by itself substitutes for education under Subsection (1)(c)(ii), not for experience.

Beyond the years of experience, Rule R162-2f-202b requires a Utah broker applicant to document experience points totaling at least:

• a.30 points, of which half must come from Utah property
• b.80 points, of which half must come from Utah property
• c.45 points, of which half must come from Utah property
• d.60 points, of which half must come from Utah property✓

Rule R162-2f-202b(1)(f)(ii) requires the applicant to evidence "a total of at least 60 documented experience points" accumulated within the five-year period before the application, and Subsection (1)(f)(iv)(B) has the applicant submit documentation of at least 60 and no more than 80 points for division review. Rule R162-2f-501(1) repeats both figures. So 80 is the ceiling on what may be submitted rather than the floor that must be earned. Rule R162-2f-202b(2) and R162-2f-501(2) set 45 as the minimum number of the 60 points that must comply fully with the agency requirements of Section R162-2f-401a, leaving up to 15 as partial points. Subsection (1)(f)(iii) adds that a minimum of one half of the points from Tables 1 and 2 must derive from transactions of properties located in Utah.

A Utah broker candidate passes the state component and fails the national one. Under Rule R162-2f-202b the failed component must be retaken and passed within:

• a.Six months of the passed component, and 12 of the education✓
• b.Three months of the passed component, and 6 of the education
• c.Nine months of the passed component, and 18 of the education
• d.Twelve months of the passed component, and 24 of the education

Rule R162-2f-202b(5)(a) provides that a candidate who passes one test component but fails the other "shall retake and pass the failed component: (i) within six months of the date on which the individual achieves a passing score on the passed component; and (ii) within 12 months of the date on which the individual completes the prelicensing education." Both clocks run at once, so the earlier of the two controls. Subsection (5)(b) then requires the license application to be filed within 90 days of achieving passing scores on both components and within 12 months of completing the education, and Subsection (5)(c) pushes any deadline that falls on a day the division is closed to the next business day.

Under Rule R162-2f-204, a Utah real estate license issued under the rule is valid for a period of:

• a.Three years from the date of licensure
• b.Two years from the date of licensure✓
• c.One year from the date of licensure
• d.Four years from the date of licensure

Rule R162-2f-204(1)(a) states that "a license issued under this rule is valid for a period of two years from the date of licensure." Section 61-2f-204(1)(c) backs this by directing the division to issue a license "for a period of not less than two years." The two-year term is what makes the continuing education cycle work: Section 61-2f-204(2)(a)(ii) has an active licensee demonstrate competence "by completing 18 hours of continuing education within a two-year renewal period." Rule R162-2f-204(1)(b) adds that to renew on time without a late fee the licensee must finish the required continuing education by the fifteenth day of the month of expiration, so that providers have time to bank the hours.

To renew after the first renewal cycle, Rule R162-2f-204 requires an actively licensed Utah individual to complete 18 hours including:

• a.Six hours of core, three of which are the Mandatory 3-Hour course
• b.Twelve hours of core, three of which are on trust accounts
• c.Nine hours of core, three of which are the Mandatory 3-Hour course✓
• d.Fifteen hours of core, three of which are on agency duties

Rule R162-2f-204(2)(b)(ii)(A) requires 18 non-duplicative hours of continuing education certified by the division, "including at least nine non-duplicative hours of core curriculum, three hours of which are for completion of the Mandatory 3-Hour CE Course," taken during the previous license period. Section 61-2f-204(2)(a)(ii) fixes the 18-hour total by statute. Subsection (2)(b)(iv) of the rule notes that the division has certified both the mandatory 3-hour course and the 12-hour new agent course as core hours. Neither trust accounts nor agency duties is singled out as a mandated subject, and no version of the rule sets the core share at six or fifteen hours.

A Utah licensee whose license was inactive at the last renewal now wants to activate it. Rule R162-2f-203 accepts proof of:

• a.Payment of the reinstatement fee and a signed change form
• b.Nine hours of continuing education taken in the past year
• c.A written request from the incoming principal broker only
• d.18 hours of continuing education within the past two years✓

Rule R162-2f-203(2)(a)(ii)(B) lets the holder of an inactive license activate it on proof of "having completed, within the two-year period preceding the date on which the licensee requests activation, 18 hours of continuing education, including nine hours of core topics of which three hours shall include the Mandatory 3-Hour CE course." Subsection (2)(a)(ii)(C) offers the alternative of having passed the licensing examination within the previous six months, and Section 61-2f-204(3)(a) states the same pair of routes. Subsection (2)(b) adds that education used to activate may not be reused at the next renewal. A change form and a nonrefundable activation fee are also required by Subsections (2)(a)(i) and (iv), but on their own they do not answer the education test.

Utah Code Section 61-2f-204 allows the division to reinstate an expired license, on payment of a renewal fee and late fee plus proof of education, until:

• a.Two years after the day on which the license expired
• b.Six months after the day on which the license expired
• c.One year after the day on which the license expired✓
• d.Five years after the day on which the license expired

Section 61-2f-204(2)(b) gives a 30-day window after expiration in which the division may reinstate on payment of a renewal fee and a late fee, with proof of education required if the license was active when it expired. Subsection (2)(c) then extends reinstatement "after the 30-day period described in Subsection (2)(b), and until one year after the day on which an active or inactive license expires" on the same fees plus proof of the required hours. Subsection (2)(d) closes the door at that point: "the division shall relicense an individual who does not renew that individual's license within one year as prescribed for an original application." Past one year the applicant starts over, which for a broker means the education, the examination, and the experience again.

Rule R162-2f-203 provides that the license of a Utah sales agent or associate broker is involuntarily inactivated upon:

• a.Revocation or suspension of the principal broker's license✓
• b.The licensee taking a leave of absence longer than 90 days
• c.The licensee moving a home address to another Utah county
• d.The licensee failing to complete continuing education on time

Rule R162-2f-203(1)(c) inactivates a sales agent or associate broker license without the holder's assent upon termination of the affiliation with a principal broker, upon "expiration, suspension, revocation, inactivation, or termination of the license of the principal broker with whom the sales agent or associate broker is affiliated," or upon inactivation or termination of the registration of the affiliated entity. Section 61-2f-410(1)(a) states the same result and Subsection (1)(b) lets the individual affiliate with another principal broker. Section 61-2f-410(2) then requires the principal broker to give each affiliated licensee written notice before the suspension or revocation takes effect. A leave of absence is not a listed trigger, missed education bites at renewal instead, and a change of home address is simply reportable under Section 61-2f-207(1)(d).

Utah Code Section 61-2f-207 requires a licensee to notify the division of a change of principal broker, business location, or name within:

• a.10 business days of the change✓
• b.30 calendar days of the change
• c.20 business days of the change
• d.60 calendar days of the change

Section 61-2f-207(1) requires a signed statement notifying the division "within 10 business days of any change of: (a) principal broker; (b) principal business location; (c) mailing address; (d) home street address; (e) an individual's name; or (f) business name." Subsection (2)(a) adds that a business or home address must be a physical location, though Subsection (2)(b) allows a post office box as a mailing address. Subsection (3) makes failure to notify separate grounds for disciplinary action, and Subsection (4) treats the licensee as having received anything sent to the last address given. Rule R162-2f-207(7) sharpens the timing for one item: a change in affiliation must be reported before the change is made.

Under Utah Code Section 61-2f-301, a licensee must send the division a signed statement within 10 business days after:

• a.A client files a written complaint with the local board
• b.A listing expires without the property having been sold
• c.The brokerage changes the bank holding its operating account
• d.A cease and desist order is issued against the licensee✓

Section 61-2f-301(1) requires notice within 10 business days after the day on which a personal or brokerage bankruptcy is filed, if the licensee is a principal broker; a license or registration needed to engage in an occupation is suspended, revoked, surrendered, canceled, or denied in this or any other jurisdiction; or "a cease and desist order or a temporary or permanent injunction is issued" against the licensee by a court or administrative agency on the basis of conduct involving real estate or involving fraud, misrepresentation, or deceit. A complaint filed with a private board is not on the list, an expired listing is an ordinary business event, and it is a change in a trust account, not an operating account, that Rules R162-2f-403a(1)(b) and R162-2f-403b(1)(b) require the broker to report.

Utah Code Section 61-2f-205 says the license the division issues to a licensee must contain:

• a.The name and address of the licensee and the state seal✓
• b.A list of the licensee's education and experience credits
• c.The name of the principal broker and the license fee paid
• d.A photograph of the licensee and the expiration date

Section 61-2f-205 provides that "the division shall issue to a licensee a license that contains: (1) the name and address of the licensee; (2) the seal of the state; and (3) any other matter prescribed by the division." The list is short, and the third item is what lets the division add anything further by its own direction rather than by statute. A photograph is not required by the section, the principal broker's identity is tracked through affiliation records rather than printed as a statutory element, and education and experience are proved on application under Section 61-2f-203 rather than displayed on the license itself.

Rule R162-2f-401a lists a licensee's duty of confidentiality but carves out an exception. The licensee must still disclose a known material fact about:

• a.The length of time the property has sat on the open market
• b.A defect in the property or the client's ability to perform✓
• c.The reason the seller has decided to move out of the area
• d.The lowest price the seller has privately said would be taken

Rule R162-2f-401a(1)(d) defines confidentiality as prohibiting the agent "from disclosing, without permission, any information given to the agent by the principal that would likely weaken the principal's bargaining position if it were known, but excepting any known material fact concerning: (i) a defect in the property; or (ii) the client's ability to perform on the contract." The two exceptions are the things a buyer or lender cannot protect themselves against. A seller's bottom price and reason for moving are the classic bargaining-position facts the duty exists to protect. Days on market is generally public through the listing service rather than confidential information given by the principal.

Before offering a Utah residential property for sale, Rule R162-2f-401a requires the licensee to disclose in writing:

• a.The date the seller acquired the property and the price paid
• b.The commission the listing brokerage expects to be paid
• c.The source relied on for the square footage used in marketing✓
• d.The name of every other brokerage that valued the property

Rule R162-2f-401a(8) requires the licensee, before offering a residential property for sale, to "disclose the source on which the licensee relies for any square footage data that will be used in the marketing of the property," both in the written agreement executed with the seller and in a written disclosure given to the buyer at or before the seller's disclosure deadline in the contract. Square footage is the number most often taken from a county record or an old listing and repeated without checking, which is why Subsection (7) also requires reasonable efforts to verify the accuracy and content of marketing information. Commission terms live in the brokerage agreement, and neither competing valuations nor the seller's purchase history is a required prelisting written disclosure.

A Utah licensee makes an offer to buy a rental house for her own account. Rule R162-2f-401a requires her to disclose that she holds a license:

• a.At closing, in the settlement statement the parties sign
• b.Only if the other party asks whether she is licensed
• c.In the initial contact with the other party to the transaction✓
• d.Only if her license is on active rather than inactive status

Rule R162-2f-401a(5) requires that "when making an offer or solicitation to buy, sell, lease or rent real property as a principal, either directly or indirectly, or as an agent for a client, a licensee shall disclose in the initial contact with the other party the fact that the licensee holds a license with the division, whether the license status is active or inactive." The disclosure is owed at first contact and is not triggered by a question, and the rule states expressly that inactive status does not excuse it. Subsection (6) then requires the licensee, before the execution of a binding purchase or lease agreement, to put the principal position and the license status in writing, which is well before the settlement statement is produced.

Rule R162-2f-102 defines a net listing as one where the commission is the difference between the actual selling price and a minimum price set by the seller. Under Rule R162-2f-401b a Utah licensee may:

• a.Take one if the principal broker approves it in advance
• b.Take one if the seller signs a separate written waiver
• c.Take one on commercial property but not on residential
• d.Not take one, because the rule prohibits the arrangement✓

Rule R162-2f-401b(1)(h) states flatly that an individual licensee may not "take a net listing," and Rule R162-2f-102(24) supplies the definition the prohibition uses: "a listing agreement under which the real estate commission is the difference between the actual selling price of the property and a minimum selling price as set by the seller." No exception is written for a seller's waiver, for a property type, or for approval by the principal broker, and Rule R162-2f-401b(1)(a)(iii) makes violating any provision of the rules its own ground for discipline. The problem the ban addresses is that the arrangement pays the agent more the less the seller is told the property is worth, which sets the agent's interest against the duty of loyalty in Subsection R162-2f-401a(1)(a).

An unlicensed friend passes a Utah licensee an unsolicited referral that becomes a closed sale. Rule R162-2f-401b permits the licensee to give the friend a gift valued at no more than:

• a.$100
• b.$500
• c.$250✓
• d.$1,000

Rule R162-2f-401b(1)(l) bars a licensee from paying a finder's fee or giving valuable consideration to an unlicensed person for referring a prospect, then makes two narrow exceptions. Under (l)(i) "a licensee may give a gift valued at $250 or less to an individual in appreciation for an unsolicited referral of a prospect that results in a real estate transaction." Under (l)(ii) a licensee in a property management transaction may compensate an unlicensed employee or a previous or current tenant up to $250 per lease for helping retain or secure a tenant. Both the ceiling and the word unsolicited matter: soliciting the referral takes the payment outside the exception, and Section 61-2f-401(5) makes paying valuable consideration to an unlicensed person grounds for discipline.

Rule R162-2f-401h governs Utah advertising. A licensee who advertises a listed property must identify the brokerage:

• a.By the trade name the licensee's team uses in the market
• b.By the brokerage license number rather than by its name
• c.Only where the advertisement appears in a printed medium
• d.By the name of the brokerage as shown on division records✓

Rule R162-2f-401h(1) requires a licensee to identify the brokerage clearly and conspicuously in any medium, and Subsection (4) fixes which version of the name counts: "the name of the brokerage identified by a licensee in an advertisement shall be the name of the brokerage as shown on division records." Subsection (5) then applies the same requirements to a team, group, or other marketing entity, so a team name does not displace the brokerage name. Subsection (2) handles electronic advertising by requiring a direct link to a display carrying the brokerage name, which is why the duty is not limited to print. Section 61-2f-401(12)(b) makes the omission grounds for discipline, and Subsection (3) supplies the one exception, for an owner-agent or owner-broker advertising a property not listed with the affiliated brokerage.

Rule R162-2f-401g limits what an unlicensed personal assistant may do. Which task is on the permitted list?

• a.Explaining the financing terms of an offer to a buyer
• b.Cold calling homeowners to ask whether they would sell
• c.Negotiating a repair credit with the listing brokerage
• d.Placing brokerage signs on properties the firm has listed✓

Rule R162-2f-401g(2) lists the duties an unlicensed assistant may perform, among them "placing brokerage signs on listed properties," having keys made, acting as a courier without discussing or completing forms, distributing preprinted literature at an open house where a licensee is present, and securing public records. Subsection (2)(a) allows clerical work including making appointments, but only where the prospect initiated the contact, which is why cold calling is out; Subsection (4) separately bars the assistant from telephone solicitation calculated to secure prospects. Explaining offer terms and negotiating a credit are the negotiating and advising work Subsection (2) reserves to licensees. Subsection (3) also requires the assistant to be paid at a predetermined rate not contingent on transactions.

Rule R162-2f-102 defines a double contract as executing two or more purchase agreements, one of which is not made known to the:

• a.County recorder where the deed is filed
• b.Prospective lender or loan funding entity✓
• c.Title company closing the transaction
• d.The buyer's agent who is handling the transaction

Rule R162-2f-102(17) defines "double contract" as "executing two or more purchase agreements, one of which is not made known to the prospective lender or loan funding entity," and Rule R162-2f-401b(1)(f) forbids a licensee to use or propose the use of one. The lender is the party named because the point of the second agreement is to show the lender a price or terms that are not the real ones. Rule R162-2f-401b(1)(e) covers the same ground from another angle by barring participation in a transaction where a buyer enters an agreement not disclosed to the lender that might have affected the loan. Subsection (1)(d) adds the broader prohibition on preparing any document or settlement statement the licensee knows does not reflect the true terms of the transaction.

Utah Code Section 61-2f-305 restricts who may pay a sales agent or associate broker for licensed work. As a general rule the payment must come from:

• a.Whichever brokerage in the deal holds the earnest money
• b.The seller directly, out of the proceeds shown at closing
• c.The title insurance agent conducting the settlement
• d.The principal broker with whom the licensee is affiliated✓

Section 61-2f-305(1) provides that except as Subsection (2) allows, "an associate broker or sales agent may not accept valuable consideration for the performance of an act specified in this chapter from a person except the principal broker with whom the associate broker or sales agent is affiliated." Subsection (2) is the one exception and it is narrow: payment may come by an instrument prepared by a title insurance agent, and only where that agent complies with the principal broker's written instructions in preparing and delivering it. Rule R162-2f-401c(1)(d) sets out what those instructions must contain. So a title agent is not a free-standing source of compensation, and Section 61-2f-401(6) separately bars a principal broker from paying a licensee who was not affiliated when the compensation was earned.

Utah Code Section 61-2f-302 governs affiliation. Which arrangement does it permit?

• a.A client naming which affiliated agents will also represent them✓
• b.Serving as principal broker of one entity and sales agent of another
• c.An inactive associate broker closing one pending transaction
• d.A sales agent affiliating with two principal brokers at once

Section 61-2f-302(5) permits exactly this: "an owner, purchaser, lessor, or lessee who engages the services of a principal broker may designate which sales agents or associate brokers affiliated with that principal broker will also represent that owner, purchaser, lessor, or lessee." The other three are each barred. Subsection (3) provides that a sales agent or associate broker "may not affiliate with more than one principal broker at the same time," and Subsection (4) that an individual may not be a principal broker of one entity and a sales agent or associate broker for a different entity at the same time. Subsection (2)(a) bars an inactive associate broker or sales agent from conducting a real estate transaction until affiliated and documented with the division, with no carve-out for a deal already in progress.

A Utah principal broker dies. Under Rule R162-2f-202e an acting principal broker who is designated for the brokerage may not:

• a.Sign on or supervise the escrow accounts the firm already holds
• b.Agree to represent new clients or run the firm past four months✓
• c.Notify the affiliated licensees of the individual's designation
• d.Close out the listings and contracts pending on the day of death

Rule R162-2f-202e(7) provides that an acting principal broker may not "(a) agree to represent new clients; or (b) continue the business activities of the brokerage for more than four months after the occurrence of the death or incapacity of the principal broker." The other three are duties or powers the same rule grants. Subsection (6) lets the acting principal broker close out transactions, listings, purchase contracts, and property management agreements that were active or pending when the incident occurred. Subsection (8)(a) requires maintaining or supervising each escrow or trust account until the money is transferred or disbursed as agreed, and Subsection (8)(c) requires written notice of the designation to each affiliated licensee and to each client and party to a pending contract. Subsection (1) gives the brokerage 14 days to replace the principal broker before the division may inactivate its registration.

A Utah principal broker terminates a sales agent and the termination notice takes effect. Under Utah Code Section 61-2f-304 the sales agent may:

• a.Perform no act under the chapter until affiliating anew✓
• b.Finish any transaction that was already under contract
• c.Keep working for 30 days while seeking a new brokerage
• d.Act on the agent's own account but not on behalf of other people

Section 61-2f-304(2) provides that "an associate broker or sales agent may not perform any act under this chapter, directly or indirectly, from and after the effective date of the termination notice until the day on which the associate broker or sales agent is affiliated with a principal broker." The bar is immediate and complete, so there is no grace period and no exception for transactions already under contract. Nor is acting on one's own account a way around it: Rule R162-2f-401b(1)(a) applies the prohibited-conduct rules "whether acting as agent or on the licensee's own account." Subsection (1) requires the principal broker to notify both the division and the licensee in the manner set by rule, and Section 61-2f-302(1) reinforces that an individual who is not a principal broker may not act at all without being affiliated.