Maryland Real Estate Salesperson Exam — Study Guide

State-specific supplement to the national real estate salesperson manuscript. This chapter covers only the Maryland law, regulation, and practice tested on the state portion of the Maryland salesperson licensing exam. Everything on national principles — contracts, financing, agency theory, valuation, federal fair housing, federal lead-paint (RRP/disclosure) rules — is covered in the shared national chapters and is not repeated here except where Maryland adds a stricter or different rule.

YMYL / accuracy note. Real estate licensing is a "your-money-or-your-life" subject: acting on a wrong figure can cost a consumer money or a licensee a license. Every dollar amount, hour requirement, percentage, and renewal interval in this chapter is a changeable figure. Statutes and regulations are amended, fees are set by regulation and reviewed periodically, and county tax rates change with local budgets. Where you see the flag "verify current with the Maryland Real Estate Commission" (or, for taxes, with the county), treat the number as a study anchor only and confirm it against the primary source before you rely on it in a transaction. The primary sources are the Maryland Business Occupations and Professions Article, Title 17 (the "Real Estate Brokers Act"), the Commission's regulations in COMAR Title 09, Subtitle 11, and the Commission itself.

1. The Maryland Real Estate Commission and where the law lives

Real estate licensing in Maryland is administered by the Maryland Real Estate Commission (MREC). The Commission sits inside the Maryland Department of Labor — specifically its Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing. (Long-time Maryland licensees may know the department by its older name, the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, or "DLLR"; the agency was renamed "Maryland Department of Labor," but the Commission's authority is unchanged. Exam questions may use either name.)

The Commission is a body of commissioners appointed by the Governor. By statute it includes both licensed real estate industry members and consumer/public members, so that the public interest is represented alongside the trade. The exact number of commissioners and the composition of the board are set in Title 17 — verify current with the Maryland Real Estate Commission if an exam item asks for a precise count.

What the Commission actually does:

• Issues, renews, and denies salesperson, associate broker, and broker licenses.
• Adopts regulations (COMAR Title 09, Subtitle 11) that fill in the operating detail the statute leaves open.
• Investigates complaints against licensees and holds disciplinary hearings.
• Sanctions licensees — reprimand, civil penalty, suspension, revocation, or denial.
• Administers the Real Estate Guaranty Fund (Section 6 below).
• Approves pre-licensing and continuing-education schools and courses.

Two bodies of law you must keep straight:

1. The statute — Business Occupations and Professions Article, Title 17 (the Maryland Real Estate Brokers Act). This is the law the legislature passed. It defines who must be licensed, the categories of license, prohibited conduct, the disclosures required, and the Guaranty Fund.
2. The regulations — COMAR Title 09, Subtitle 11. COMAR is the Code of Maryland Regulations. The Commission cannot contradict the statute, but it fills in procedure — trust-account handling, advertising rules, CE course standards, exam and application detail. On the exam, if a rule is procedural and granular, it usually lives in COMAR; if it is a defined right or prohibition, it usually lives in Title 17.

A key licensing principle from Title 17: a person may not provide real estate brokerage services in Maryland for compensation without a license, and it is unlawful to pay a referral fee or commission to an unlicensed person for brokerage activity. "Brokerage services" includes selling, buying, leasing, or negotiating for others for consideration.

2. Salesperson licensing: qualifications, education, exam, affiliation, renewal, CE

Who may apply

An applicant for a Maryland real estate salesperson license must be an individual who meets the good-character and education requirements and passes the licensing examination. Maryland does not impose a state-residency requirement to be licensed; non-residents may be licensed and must consent to Maryland jurisdiction. The minimum age and specific eligibility conditions are set in Title 17 — verify current with the Maryland Real Estate Commission.

Pre-licensing education

Before sitting for the exam, a salesperson applicant must complete a Commission-approved pre-licensing course. The commonly cited requirement is 60 hours (clock hours) of approved salesperson pre-licensing education. Flag this number — verify current hour requirement with the Maryland Real Estate Commission, because the required hours and course-approval standards are set by the Commission and can change.

The course must be taken at a Commission-approved school, and the applicant receives a certificate of completion that is generally valid for a limited window before the exam must be passed — verify the current validity period with the Commission.

The licensing examination

Maryland contracts the exam to a third-party testing vendor (historically PSI). The exam has a national (general) portion and a Maryland state-law portion; a candidate must pass both. The number of questions, time limits, and the passing score are set by the Commission and vendor and are changeable — verify current exam format and passing score with the Maryland Real Estate Commission / the testing vendor. Do not memorize a specific "pass rate" or "you need X correct" figure from any secondary source; confirm it.

Affiliation with a broker — you cannot practice alone

A Maryland salesperson's license is only active when the salesperson is affiliated with (employed by / associated with) a licensed Maryland real estate broker. Key points tested:

• A salesperson may not operate independently and may not hold his or her own escrow/trust account. All trust money runs through the broker's account.
• A salesperson may accept compensation only from his or her affiliated broker, not directly from a buyer, seller, or another licensee. (This is the classic "commission flows through the broker" rule.)
• When a salesperson changes brokers, the license must be transferred through the Commission's process; the salesperson may not perform brokerage services for the new broker until the transfer is effective — verify the current transfer procedure and any fee with the Commission.
• The broker is responsible for supervising affiliated salespersons; supervisory failure is itself a disciplinable act.

Renewal and continuing education (CE)

Maryland salesperson licenses are issued for a fixed term and must be renewed before expiration. The renewal term is commonly cited as two years and the continuing-education requirement is commonly cited as 15 hours per renewal cycle, including required topics the Commission designates (for example, Maryland-specific legal-update and, in some cycles, fair-housing and ethics content). Flag every one of these figures — verify the current renewal term, total CE hours, and mandatory-topic breakdown with the Maryland Real Estate Commission, as CE composition is periodically revised by the Commission.

Practicing on an expired license is prohibited. Reinstatement after lapse has its own rules and possible additional CE — verify current reinstatement rules with the Commission.

3. Maryland agency law and the required agency disclosures

Maryland's agency statute (in Title 17) is more prescriptive than many states. Two documents anchor the exam: the "Understanding Whom Real Estate Agents Represent" disclosure and the "Consent for Dual Agency" form.

Brokerage relationships recognized in Maryland

• Seller's agent — represents the seller.
• Buyer's agent — represents the buyer.
• Dual agent — the broker (through affiliated licensees) represents both parties in the same transaction. Maryland permits dual agency only with the written informed consent of both parties.
• Intra-company agent / designated representation — within one brokerage practicing dual agency, the broker may designate one affiliated licensee to represent the seller and a different affiliated licensee to represent the buyer. The broker remains a dual agent, but each client gets an individual "intra-company agent" who advocates for that client. The designating broker acts as a dual agent overseeing both.
• Presumption of representation vs. non-representation. A licensee who assists a party without a representation agreement may be acting merely as a facilitator/"assisting" licensee; Maryland's disclosure regime exists precisely so consumers know which relationship exists.

The "Understanding Whom Real Estate Agents Represent" disclosure

This is a Commission-adopted disclosure that explains, in plain language, the different types of agency relationships (seller's agent, buyer's agent, dual agent, and the fact that a licensee may not represent the consumer at all). Its purpose is to make sure the consumer understands whom the agent works for before confidential information is shared.

Timing — heavily tested. Maryland law directs that this disclosure be presented at the first scheduled face-to-face contact where the licensee and the buyer or seller discuss the buyer's or seller's specific real estate needs — in other words, early, before substantive discussion of the consumer's motivations, price, or terms. The consumer is asked to acknowledge receipt (typically by signature). If the consumer declines to sign, the licensee notes that. Verify the current form title, content, and exact timing trigger with the Maryland Real Estate Commission, as the Commission maintains and periodically updates the official form.

The "Consent for Dual Agency" form

Because dual agency creates a structural conflict (one brokerage owing duties to both sides), Maryland requires written consent captured on the Commission's "Consent for Dual Agency" form.

Tested mechanics:

• Consent is generally obtained in two stages: an advance/initial consent when the client signs a listing or buyer-representation agreement (agreeing that dual agency may arise later), and a confirmed consent at the point an actual dual-agency situation occurs — i.e., when the same brokerage's buyer client wants a specific property listed by that brokerage.
• Consent must be informed and in writing; a dual agent may not act as a dual agent without it.
• The dual agent (and any intra-company/designated agents) must protect confidential information — a dual agent may not disclose to the buyer that the seller will accept less, or to the seller that the buyer will pay more, without permission.
• Either party may generally refuse or withdraw consent, which forces the brokerage to restructure the relationship (for example, one side proceeds unrepresented, or the brokerage refers a party out).

Verify the current form, the two-stage consent mechanics, and disclosure timing with the Maryland Real Estate Commission before relying on them; these forms are Commission-controlled and revised over time.

Agency duties

Whatever the relationship, Maryland licensees owe clients the common-law fiduciary-type duties (loyalty, confidentiality, disclosure to the client, obedience to lawful instruction, reasonable care, and accounting) and owe all parties honesty, fair dealing, and disclosure of material facts they know. The precise statutory articulation is in Title 17.

4. Maryland-required property disclosures

The Maryland Residential Property Disclosure and Disclaimer Statement — "disclose OR disclaim"

This is Maryland's signature seller-disclosure rule and a near-certain exam topic. For most sales of single-family residential real property, the seller must deliver to the buyer the Maryland Residential Property Disclosure and Disclaimer Statement. What makes Maryland distinctive is that it is a "disclose or disclaim" statute — the seller chooses one of two paths:

1. Disclosure. The seller completes the Disclosure portion, affirmatively reporting the known condition of listed systems and components (structural, plumbing, electrical, heating/cooling, water, sewer, roof, foundation, known hazards, etc.), to the extent of the seller's actual knowledge. The seller is not required to inspect but must answer honestly about what is known.
2. Disclaimer. The seller may instead disclaim — sell the property "as is" with respect to condition and make no representations about the condition — by completing the Disclaimer portion. Even a disclaiming seller, however, must still disclose latent (hidden) defects of which the seller has actual knowledge that a buyer could not reasonably discover and that pose a threat to health or safety. You can disclaim representations; you can never conceal a known latent material defect.

Tested mechanics and exceptions:

• The statement must generally be delivered on or before entering into the contract of sale; if delivered late, the buyer may have a statutory right to rescind within a limited window before closing (and that right can be lost at settlement or occupancy). Verify the current rescission window with the Maryland Real Estate Commission / the statute.
• Certain transfers are exempt — for example, some transfers by court order, foreclosure/trustee sales, transfers between co-owners or to relatives, and (in many cases) new construction / first sale of a never-occupied dwelling. The exact exemption list is statutory — verify current exemptions.
• The disclosure/disclaimer is the seller's statement. The licensee's job is to make sure it is provided and delivered on time, not to complete it for the seller or vouch for its contents.

Lead-based paint (Maryland layer on top of the federal rule)

The federal requirement — the lead-paint disclosure, the EPA pamphlet, and the pre-1978 trigger — is covered in the national chapters and applies in Maryland. Maryland adds its own program. Under Maryland's Reduction of Lead Risk in Housing law, rental residential units built before a statutory cut-off year (commonly cited as pre-1950, later expanded to include additional pre-1978 rentals) must be registered with the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE), and owners must meet lead risk-reduction ("treatment") standards and provide tenants specified lead notices (such as the "Notice of Tenants' Rights" and the MDE lead pamphlet). This is primarily a landlord/rental obligation, but salespersons working with investor buyers and rental listings must know it exists. Verify the current registration cut-off years, standards, and required notices with the Maryland Department of the Environment, as the covered-property definitions have been expanded over time.

Other Maryland disclosures a salesperson should flag where applicable (all statutory, all verify current): deferred water/sewer charges or front-foot benefit assessments, ground rent (Maryland's distinctive ground-rent leaseholds, concentrated in Baltimore), and any HOA/condominium resale disclosure package the buyer is entitled to receive.