Disclosure Requirements
Seven state items. PSI lists seven subtopics under this heading: property disclosure including the Chesapeake Bay Act, aircraft noise and crash disclosure, septic disclosure, Megan's Law, stigmatized properties, HOA and POA disclosures with their timing for review and cancellation, and advertising rules. One each.
The Residential Property Disclosure Act: Buyer Beware
Subsection A of Section 55.1-703 has the owner furnish a disclosure statement "for the buyer to beware of certain matters," and every one of the nineteen items in subsection B is a statement that the owner makes no representation and that purchasers should exercise whatever due diligence they deem necessary. The list includes resource protection areas under a locality's Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act ordinance, lot lines and setbacks, adjacent parcels, historic districts, the sexual offender registry, dam break inundation zones, wastewater systems, special flood hazard areas, conservation easements, community development authorities, marine clays, radon zones, non-lead-free plumbing, defective drywall, impounding structures, public-use airport noise and military ground installations. Section 55.1-702 exempts foreclosures, fiduciary and court-ordered transfers, transfers between co-owners or family, and first sales of a dwelling. Section 55.1-712 makes the licensee's duty a duty to inform the parties of their own rights and obligations under the chapter.
Timing, Termination and the Affirmative Disclosures
Subsection A of Section 55.1-709 requires the disclosures before ratification. Delivered late, the buyer's sole remedy under subsection B is to terminate, at the earliest of three days after personal or electronic delivery, five days after a postmark if mailed, settlement, occupancy, a mortgage application containing the ending disclosure, or a separate written waiver. Two things are still affirmative rather than buyer-beware. Section 55.1-704 requires an owner in a locality with a military air installation to disclose whether the parcel sits in a noise zone or accident potential zone as designated on the official zoning map, naming the zone, on a Board form — and it survives even the first-sale exemption. Subsection B of Section 55.1-702 requires the builder of a new dwelling to disclose known material defects violating the building code. Subsection A of Section 55.1-713 goes the other way on stigma: no cause of action arises against an owner or licensee for failing to disclose an occurrence with no effect on the structure, or a homicide, felony or suicide.
Resale Certificates: HOA and POA Disclosure Timing
The 2023 Acts of Assembly chapters 387 and 388 repealed both the property owners' association disclosure packet at Section 55.1-1808 and the condominium resale certificate at Section 55.1-1990, and replaced them with one instrument under the Resale Disclosure Act, Sections 55.1-2307 through 55.1-2317. Subsection A of Section 55.1-2309 makes the seller or seller's agent obtain the resale certificate from the association and provide it to the purchaser, and says the requirement cannot be waived or changed by agreement. Subsection B gives the association 14 days after a written request to deliver, after which the certificate is deemed unavailable. Section 55.1-2310 lists the thirty required contents. Section 55.1-2311 allows an updated resale certificate where the original is more than 30 days but less than 12 months old, delivered within 10 days, and a financial update within three business days. Section 55.1-2312 gives the purchaser three days to cancel where no period was agreed, running from ratification or from delivery, and cancellation at any time before settlement where nothing was ever delivered.
Advertising Rules
Subsection A of 18VAC135-20-190 puts all advertising under the direct supervision of the principal or supervising broker, in the name of the firm, with the firm's licensed name clearly and legibly displayed, and requires compliance with the limited service agent disclosure in Section 54.1-2138.1 where applicable. Subdivision B 1 requires a clear, legible and conspicuous advertising disclosure carrying the firm's name and the office contact information, with anything further specified in the firm's written policies. Subdivisions B 3 and B 4 require property information to be consistent with the property's condition and current contract status and to be updated in a timely manner on any material change, and require a licensee who knows a third party controls the advertising to make a timely written request for the change. Subdivision 1 of 18VAC135-20-300 separately forbids bait-and-switch advertising.
State-specific details
State exam facts
- State regulator
- Virginia Real Estate Board (DPOR)
- Exam vendor
- PSI
- Prelicensing education
- Not less than 12 semester hours of real estate courses (Va. Code § 54.1-2105(B)(2)(b))
- Passing score
- 60 of 80 points national; 38 of 50 state
- Scored questions
- 125
- Time limit
- 160 minutes
Who regulates real estate brokers in Virginia?
The Virginia Real Estate Board, within the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR), licenses brokers and salespersons. Va. Code § 54.1-2104 gives the Board nine members — seven licensees of at least seven consecutive years and two citizen members — and § 54.1-2105 gives it the power to regulate. DPOR contracts with PSI to administer the licensing exams.
What experience do I need before the Virginia broker exam?
Under 18VAC135-20-35(C), a broker applicant must have been “actively engaged … as a real estate salesperson for a period of 36 of the 48 months immediately preceding application,” verified by the principal or supervising broker for whom the applicant worked. 18VAC135-20-10 defines “actively engaged” as active licensure performing licensed activity for an average of at least 40 hours per week. Va. Code § 54.1-2105(B)(2) adds a high school diploma or equivalent and not less than 12 semester hours of real estate instruction, which subsection D specifies must be in real estate brokerage, finance, appraisal, law and related Board-approved subjects.
How is the Virginia broker exam structured?
PSI candidate information bulletin 466 gives the broker exam a national portion of 75 items scored to 80 points in 105 minutes and a Virginia state portion of 50 items worth 50 points in 55 minutes — 125 items in 160 minutes together. Passing is published as points correct rather than a percentage: 60 of 80 on the national portion and 38 of 50 on the state portion, and you must pass both. If you are applying for a reciprocal license you need only pass the state portion.
Sources: https://www.dpor.virginia.gov/Boards/Real-Estate/Pre-License, https://test-takers.psiexams.com/api/content/bulletin/466, https://law.lis.virginia.gov/admincode/title18/agency135/chapter20/, https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title54.1/chapter21/
Practice stays free. The full Virginia Real Estate Broker study guide is the material itself, taught start to finish — a downloadable PDF + EPUB you keep.