Approved Forms and Legal Advice
Area IV, 6 of 100 items. Its five lettered subtopics are the section headings of Wis. Admin. Code ch. REEB 16: definitions, approved forms, when to use them, legal advice and the practice of law, and how to use them.
What counts as an approved form
The board approves forms under Wis. Stat. § 452.05 (1) (b), and § REEB 16.03 (1) adds state bar of Wisconsin forms for deeds, mortgages, mortgage notes, truth-in-lending disclosures, land contracts and mortgage and land contract releases and assignments; listed uniform commercial code forms; contractual forms customarily used where out-of-state property lies; forms prepared by governmental, quasi-governmental and tribal agencies for their own programs; and property management agreements prepared by the broker, an attorney or the landlord. Section REEB 16.02 also defines the listing types: exclusive right to sell, exclusive agency, open, one-party, and the buyer agency variants.
When approved forms must be used
Section REEB 16.04 (1) requires a licensee acting as agent or as a party to use approved forms. Where the board has approved no form for that kind of transaction, subsection (2) allows a form drafted by a party or an attorney provided the drafter's name is imprinted on it before the licensee uses it. Subsection (3) allows the licensee to negotiate and then let the parties or an attorney draft the contract embodying the negotiated terms.
The legal-advice boundary
Section REEB 16.05 (1) and Wis. Stat. § 452.40 (2) both bar a licensee from advising on the legal rights or obligations of the parties, the legal effect of a specific contract or conveyance, or the state of title. What is permitted is a general explanation of the provisions in an approved form, given at the time of completing the form or when delivering it for acceptance. A licensee may not make a separate charge for completing an approved form, and § REEB 24.06 adds that licensees may not engage in the unauthorized practice of law or discourage anyone from retaining an attorney.
Reproducing and modifying forms
Section REEB 16.06 requires the latest approved version of any board form, identical line numbering and contents, retention of the board's approval statement and date in the upper left corner, and an indication that the firm reproduced it. A licensee may not add blank lines or textual lines or otherwise alter the format, may cross out provisions to reflect the parties' agreement only if the deletions stay legible, and may use addenda only on the conditions in subsections (4) and (5) — an addendum that supplants or alters printed provisions must be drafted by an identified attorney and carry no optional provisions or fill-in blanks.
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State-specific details
State exam facts
- State regulator
- Wisconsin Dept. of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS)
- Exam vendor
- Pearson VUE
- Prelicensing education
- 72-hour approved broker program (or 20 semester-hour credits, or a Wisconsin law license)
- Passing score
- Scaled score of 75 on a 0-100 scale
- Scored questions
- 100
- Time limit
- 195 minutes
Who regulates real estate brokers in Wisconsin?
The Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS), through the Real Estate Examining Board, licenses real estate brokers under Wis. Stat. ch. 452 and the board's rules in chs. REEB 11 to 25. DSPS contracts with Pearson VUE to deliver the exams.
What education do I need before the Wisconsin broker exam?
Per the Pearson VUE Wisconsin Real Estate Candidate Handbook, broker applicants must first satisfy the salesperson education and examination requirements or hold a Wisconsin salesperson license, and then complete one of three routes: an approved broker education program (72 hours for resident applicants), 20 semester-hour credits in real estate or real-estate-related law at an accredited institution, or a license to practice law in Wisconsin. Wisconsin sets no fixed period of salesperson experience for the broker license.
How is the Wisconsin broker exam structured?
The Wisconsin broker exam is a single 100-question all-Wisconsin paper, plus 5 to 10 unidentified pretest items, with 3.25 hours allotted. There is no national portion: the Pearson VUE broker content outline (#095006) publishes six Wisconsin areas summing to 100 items — Real Estate Practice 19, Trust Accounts 12, Conduct and Ethical Practices 22, Approved Forms and Legal Advice 6, Drafting and Supervision Knowledge 37, and Miscellaneous 4. Passing is a scaled score of 75 on a 0-100 converted scale set by DSPS, which the handbook notes is neither the number nor the percentage of questions answered correctly. The exam fee is $65.
Sources: https://www.pearsonvue.com/content/dam/VUE/vue/en/documents/publications/095006.pdf, https://www.pearsonvue.com/content/dam/VUE/vue/en/documents/publications/095000.pdf, https://dsps.wi.gov/Pages/Professions/REBroker/Exams.aspx, https://www.pearsonvue.com/us/en/wi/realestate.html
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