Rhode Island Real Estate Salesperson Exam — All Questions

To qualify for a Rhode Island salesperson license, an applicant must first complete:

• a.A Commission-approved 45-hour pre-license course✓
• b.A 90-hour broker course
• c.A four-year college degree in real estate
• d.An apprenticeship of two years under a broker

Rhode Island requires an applicant to complete a Commission-approved 45-hour pre-license course before taking the salesperson licensing examination. After passing the exam and meeting eligibility requirements, the salesperson must associate with a sponsoring broker to activate the license.

A Rhode Island salesperson wants to upgrade to a broker's license. Beyond passing the examination, the applicant must prove:

• a.Five years of continuous licensure and 45 additional classroom hours
• b.One year of licensure and a bachelor's degree in business
• c.Two years full time as a salesperson and 90 classroom hours✓
• d.Three years of licensure and sponsorship by two brokers

The broker applicant must show full-time service as a real estate salesperson for at least the two years immediately before the application and completion of at least 90 hours of approved classroom study at a school defined in Section 5-20.5-19, or an equivalent college correspondence course. Cite: R.I. Gen. Laws Section 5-20.5-4(b).

A Rhode Island broker application must be accompanied by the names of at least three people who will vouch for the applicant. Those people must be:

• a.Rhode Island residents who have known the applicant three years and are not related to the applicant✓
• b.Licensed Rhode Island brokers in good standing
• c.Members of the Rhode Island Real Estate Commission
• d.Former clients of the applicant

The statute requires three Rhode Island residents who have known the applicant for three years, are not related to the applicant, will attest to the applicant's reputation for honesty and trustworthiness, and will recommend that the license be granted. Cite: R.I. Gen. Laws Section 5-20.5-3(c).

The Department of Business Regulation sets the minimum errors and omissions coverage a Rhode Island licensee must carry. For an individual licensee the policy must be at least:

• a.$25,000 per claim and $100,000 aggregate
• b.$100,000 per claim and $300,000 aggregate
• c.$300,000 per claim and $1,000,000 aggregate
• d.$50,000 per claim and $150,000 aggregate✓

The regulation fixes the individual minimum at $50,000 for each claim and $150,000 in the aggregate. A principal broker's blanket policy must either multiply those figures by the number of affiliated licensees or carry at least $300,000 per claim with a $1,000,000 annual aggregate. Cite: 230-RICR-30-20-2.28(A)(1) and (2).

An attorney admitted by the Rhode Island Supreme Court applies for a real estate broker's license. On application and payment of the fee, that attorney:

• a.Must still pass the state portion of the examination
• b.Is granted the license without examination✓
• c.Must complete the 90-hour classroom requirement first
• d.Must serve two years under a sponsoring broker

When an attorney at law licensed by the state supreme court wants a broker's or salesperson's license, the license is granted without examination on application and payment of the applicable fee. Cite: R.I. Gen. Laws Section 5-20.5-4(d).

A Rhode Island licensee renewing a license must show 24 clock hours of approved courses from the preceding two years. Of those 24 hours:

• a.At least nine must be core subjects, and at least three of the nine must be fair housing✓
• b.At least six must be core subjects, with no fair housing minimum
• c.All 24 must come from the core subject list
• d.At least twelve must be core subjects, and six of those fair housing

The rule requires 24 clock hours every two years, at least nine from the listed core subject areas, and at least three of those nine in federal, Rhode Island and local fair housing law and the treatment of protected classes under Chapter 34-37. The remaining fifteen hours may be any department-approved real estate course. Cite: 230-RICR-30-20-2.30(A) and (B).

Which Rhode Island licensee is exempt from continuing education as a condition of renewal?

• a.A licensee over the age of sixty-five
• b.A licensee who renews on inactive status
• c.An attorney in good standing with the Rhode Island Supreme Court who was licensed under Section 5-20.5-4(d)✓
• d.A licensee who completed 45 hours of pre-licensing within the cycle

Two exemptions exist: licensees holding a valid license originally issued before December 12, 1984, and, effective January 1, 2022, attorneys in good standing with the Rhode Island Supreme Court who hold a real estate license granted under Section 5-20.5-4(d). Age and inactive status are not exemptions. Cite: 230-RICR-30-20-2.30(D); R.I. Gen. Laws Section 5-20.5-6(d).

A Rhode Island salesperson completed the 45 required classroom hours two years ago and now applies for a broker's license. Those 45 hours:

• a.Count in full toward the 90 hours required of a broker
• b.Count toward 45 of the 90 hours if taken within four years
• c.Count only if the same school offers the broker course
• d.May not be used toward the 90 hours required of a broker✓

The regulation states plainly that the 45 classroom hours used to qualify for a salesperson's license shall at no time be used to qualify for the 90 hours required for a broker's license. Broker classroom hours older than four years are also disregarded. Cite: 230-RICR-30-20-2.7(C).

A Rhode Island salesperson's license was first issued in June 2023. Under the department's rule that license renews:

• a.On May 1 of each even-numbered year
• b.Every two years on the anniversary of the issue date✓
• c.Every three years on the anniversary of the licensee's birthday
• d.Annually on July 1

Licenses issued before January 1, 2020 renew every two years on May 1 of each even-numbered year. Licenses issued after that date renew every two years on the anniversary of the date the license was issued. Cite: 230-RICR-30-20-2.9(B) and (C).

A Rhode Island applicant fails one section of the salesperson examination. The applicant may retake just that section:

• a.Within one year; after that the entire examination must be retaken✓
• b.Within 90 days; after that the entire examination must be retaken and passed
• c.At any time, with no deadline
• d.Only twice, and then only with the department's written permission

There is a one-year time limit for reexamination on a failed section. If the year expires, the applicant must retake the entire examination. Cite: 230-RICR-30-20-2.6(B).

The minimum age for a Rhode Island real estate salesperson license applicant is:

• a.Twenty-one
• b.Eighteen✓
• c.Nineteen
• d.Twenty-five

A salesperson applicant must be at least eighteen years of age and a citizen or legal resident of the United States. A broker applicant must have reached the legal age of majority. Cite: R.I. Gen. Laws Section 5-20.5-3(c).