Wyoming Real Estate Salesperson Exam — All Questions

The principle of contribution states that the value of a component or improvement is measured by:

• a.The raw number of square feet of floor area or land area that the improvement happens to occupy
• b.The owner's personal emotional attachment to and sentimental feelings about that improvement
• c.Its original construction or installation cost in every case, dollar for dollar, with no exception
• d.How much it adds to the overall value of the property, not its cost✓

Under contribution, an improvement is worth the amount it adds to the whole property's market value, which may be more or less than its cost. This principle explains why some renovations do not fully return their expense, a key point in over-improvement analysis.

Under Internal Revenue Code Section 121, a qualifying homeowner may generally EXCLUDE from taxable capital gain:

• a.Up to $250,000 of gain if single, or $500,000 if married filing jointly✓
• b.Up to a full one million dollars of gain on any property at all, at any time and any frequency
• c.All gain on any and every investment or rental property the taxpayer happens to own and sell
• d.Absolutely nothing, because gain on the sale of a home is always fully and entirely taxable

Section 121 lets homeowners who owned and used the home as their principal residence for at least two of the prior five years exclude up to $250,000 of gain (single) or $500,000 (married filing jointly). It applies to a primary residence, not to investment property.

Depreciation recapture on the sale of investment real estate means that:

• a.All of the depreciation deductions previously claimed are simply refunded to the investor in cash
• b.The investor is legally required to physically restore and rebuild the depreciated building itself
• c.Gain from prior depreciation may be taxed, often at a special rate✓
• d.No income tax is ever owed at all on the sale of a property that has previously been depreciated

When depreciated property is sold at a gain, the portion of gain due to depreciation deductions is 'recaptured' and taxed under special rules, reflecting the earlier tax benefit. It is a tax concept, not a requirement to rebuild, and it increases, not eliminates, tax on sale.

Which appraisal approach is generally MOST reliable for a special-purpose property, such as a church or public school, that rarely sells and earns no market income?

• a.The sales comparison approach, which depends on recent sales of similar comparable properties
• b.The income approach, which converts a property's market rental income into an indicated value
• c.The gross rent multiplier method, which relies on typical market rents that these lack entirely
• d.The cost approach✓

Special-purpose properties have few or no comparable sales and generate no market rent, so the cost approach (replacement cost new, less depreciation, plus land) is typically most reliable. Sales comparison lacks comparables and the income/GRM methods need market income these properties do not produce.

The four characteristics an item must have to possess value in the market, often remembered as DUST, are:

• a.Debt, Utility, Supply, and Taxes, a mix of unrelated financing and cost terms rather than value
• b.Demand, Utility, Scarcity, and Transferability✓
• c.Depreciation, Use, Sale, and Title, which describe stages of ownership rather than value itself
• d.Demand, Ownership, Scarcity, and Time, which swaps in two terms that are not part of the concept

For something to have market value it must have Demand (buyers who want it), Utility (usefulness), Scarcity (limited supply), and Transferability (the ability to convey it). The DUST acronym captures these four essentials of value.

Real estate salespersons in Wyoming are licensed and regulated by:

• a.The county clerk
• b.The Wyoming Real Estate Commission✓
• c.The Wyoming Secretary of State
• d.The Wyoming Association of Realtors

The Wyoming Real Estate Commission licenses and disciplines brokers and salespersons under the Wyoming Real Estate License Act (W.S. Title 33, Chapter 28). A trade association is a private membership group and does not issue licenses.

In Wyoming, a licensed salesperson may conduct real estate brokerage:

• a.Only while associated with and supervised by a responsible broker✓
• b.Independently after the license issues
• c.For any broker willing to share a fee
• d.Only after also becoming a responsible broker

A Wyoming salesperson must be associated with and supervised by a responsible broker and may not operate independently. The responsible broker is accountable for the affiliated licensees and for the brokerage's trust accounts and records.

A Wyoming salesperson may lawfully be paid a commission by:

• a.Any cooperating broker in the transaction
• b.The seller directly upon listing
• c.The buyer directly at closing
• d.The responsible broker with whom the license is associated✓

A Wyoming salesperson is compensated only through the responsible broker with whom the license is associated, not directly by a buyer, seller, or another broker. The responsible broker supervises the salesperson and handles client funds.

Under Wyoming's brokerage-relationships law, until a written agency agreement is signed, a licensee working with a consumer is presumed to be:

• a.A dual agent for both parties
• b.Working with the consumer as a customer, not as the consumer's agent✓
• c.The consumer's fiduciary agent
• d.An attorney-in-fact for the consumer

Wyoming law presumes a licensee is working with a consumer as a customer, not as that consumer's agent, until a written agency agreement is signed. This distinctive rule is explained in the required written brokerage disclosure the licensee must give at the first reasonable opportunity.

In Wyoming, a licensee who assists both the buyer and the seller in a transaction without being the agent of either party is acting as:

• a.A designated agent
• b.An intermediary✓
• c.A subagent
• d.A dual agent

Wyoming recognizes the intermediary, who assists both parties in a transaction without being the agent of either. This differs from a dual agent, who represents both the buyer and the seller and may act only with the written consent of both parties, without disclosing one party's confidential information to the other.

Regarding a known adverse material fact about a property, a Wyoming licensee must:

• a.Ignore it under caveat emptor
• b.Disclose it only when acting as an agent, never as a customer's licensee
• c.Conceal it if the seller requests
• d.Disclose the known adverse material fact and deal honestly with the parties✓

Whether acting as an agent or working with a customer, a Wyoming licensee must disclose known adverse material facts about a property and deal honestly with all parties. A licensee may not conceal or misrepresent a known defect even at the seller's request.

Earnest money a Wyoming salesperson receives from a buyer must be:

• a.Held by the salesperson in a personal account until closing
• b.Given directly to the seller when the offer is made
• c.Delivered promptly to the responsible broker for deposit in the brokerage trust account✓
• d.Sent to the Real Estate Commission for safekeeping

Client funds such as earnest money must be handled through the brokerage's trust account, which the responsible broker maintains and keeps separate from personal funds. A salesperson who receives money must deliver it promptly to the responsible broker. Commingling or converting client money is a serious violation of Wyoming license law.

To qualify for a Wyoming salesperson license, an applicant must first:

• a.Already hold a responsible broker license
• b.Hold a four-year college degree in real estate
• c.Complete the Commission-approved pre-license education, then pass the licensing exam✓
• d.Work two years as an unlicensed assistant

Wyoming requires an applicant to complete the Commission-approved pre-license education, including the required fundamentals and practice coursework, and to pass the salesperson licensing examination. After passing and meeting eligibility requirements, the salesperson must associate with a responsible broker to activate the license.

An applicant for a Wyoming associate broker's license must show two of the four years immediately preceding the application spent actively as a salesperson, or instead show:

• a.five years of unlicensed experience in property management
• b.proof of a degree in real estate from an accredited college or university✓
• c.a broker's license held in a reciprocal state
• d.completion of 120 hours of approved coursework

The associate broker route accepts either the two-of-four-years experience or a real estate degree, evidenced by official college transcripts filed with the application. Cite: Wyo. Stat. §33-28-106(n)(ii); §33-28-102(b)(xiv) ("degree in real estate").

An applicant for a Wyoming responsible broker's license must have first served actively as a real estate salesperson or associate broker for:

• a.three of the five years immediately preceding the application
• b.one of the two years immediately preceding the application
• c.four consecutive years at any time before the application
• d.two of the four years immediately preceding the application✓

The responsible broker applicant must also have reached the age of majority and satisfy the commission as to honesty, truthfulness, integrity and competency. Cite: Wyo. Stat. §33-28-106(c)(i)-(iii).

Wyoming requires proof of errors and omissions insurance coverage from:

• a.applicants, renewing licensees, and licensees going active✓
• b.responsible brokers only, and then only at the time of original licensure
• c.every licensee, but only once every three renewal cycles
• d.licensees who have had a claim filed against them

Coverage may be obtained through the commission's group program or certified individually, and all licensees must obtain and maintain it. Cite: Wyo. Stat. §33-28-401(a)-(b).

Wyoming's errors and omissions insurance requirement does not apply for a year in which the commission cannot obtain group coverage at an annual premium not exceeding:

• a.$150 per licensee, with no inflation adjustment
• b.$500 per licensee, adjusted every three years
• c.$300 per licensee✓
• d.$1,000 per real estate company

The statutory ceiling is adjusted each year by the state's rate of inflation for the preceding twelve months as calculated by the department of administration and information, and the ceiling covers premium only, not the commission's administrative fee. Cite: Wyo. Stat. §33-28-401(d)-(e).

Wyoming real estate licenses are renewed for successive periods of:

• a.one year
• b.three years✓
• c.two years
• d.four years

The commission may set a grace period for renewal of no more than 60 days and a late renewal fee of no more than $75. Cite: Wyo. Stat. §33-28-118(a).

By statute, the continuing education the Wyoming commission may require by rule is capped at:

• a.60 hours per three-year period✓
• b.30 hours each year of the renewal period
• c.14 hours each year of the renewal period
• d.45 hours allocable over each two-year period

The statute sets only the ceiling; the actual hours are fixed by commission rule. Cite: Wyo. Stat. §33-28-118(b).

A Wyoming licensee whose license has expired and whose grace period has ended must, before a license will be reissued:

• a.pay the late renewal fee together with a reinstatement penalty set by the commission
• b.complete double the continuing education hours
• c.petition the commission for a hearing
• d.comply with all requirements of a new applicant, including the examination✓

Failure to submit a complete renewal application, proof of the required continuing education and the fees when due causes the license to expire automatically. Cite: Wyo. Stat. §33-28-118(c)-(d).

A Wyoming license that has been on inactive status for more than three years may not be reissued on active status unless the licensee has first:

• a.retaken the national portion of the examination
• b.obtained a new sponsoring responsible broker and a new company license
• c.completed the required continuing education✓
• d.paid three years of back renewal fees

A license inactive for less than three years may simply be renewed on active status with the renewal fee and application before the renewal deadline. Cite: Wyo. Stat. §33-28-118(f)-(g).

Before a Wyoming license is issued to a nonresident, the nonresident must file a written designation appointing:

• a.the director of the commission as agent for service of process✓
• b.the Wyoming attorney general as agent for service of process
• c.a Wyoming-resident responsible broker as agent for service of process
• d.the secretary of state as agent for service of process

Service on the designated agent equals personal service on the licensee, and the director then mails a copy by certified mail to the licensee's last known business address. Cite: Wyo. Stat. §33-28-110(f).

A Wyoming resident responsible broker may lawfully establish and hold licenses for:

• a.exactly one real estate company, with no exceptions
• b.any number of real estate companies that the broker is able to supervise adequately in person
• c.no more than five real estate companies statewide
• d.at least one but no more than three real estate companies or sole proprietorships✓

Each company or sole proprietorship must keep a fixed principal office in Wyoming, and the address of each office is designated on every license associated with it. A sole proprietorship does not need a separate company license. Cite: Wyo. Stat. §33-28-109(a).

The administrative fine the Wyoming Real Estate Commission may impose for each separate offense is capped at:

• a.$1,000
• b.$5,000
• c.$2,500✓
• d.$10,000

Alongside the fine the commission may censure a licensee, impose probation and set its terms, or suspend or revoke the license. Cite: Wyo. Stat. §33-28-111(a).

An individual convicted of a first offense of performing real estate activity in Wyoming without a license faces:

• a.a fine of up to $500 and no jail exposure
• b.a fine of up to $2,500, up to six months in the county jail, or both✓
• c.a felony conviction and up to two years in prison
• d.a fine of up to $5,000 and up to one year in the county jail

A subsequent violation raises the exposure to a fine of up to $5,000 or up to one year in the county jail or both; a convicted corporation, partnership or association is fined up to $5,000. Cite: Wyo. Stat. §33-28-114(a).

In Wyoming, a person who performed real estate activity while unlicensed may:

• a.sue for the reasonable value of the services actually rendered to the client
• b.sue only the responsible broker who accepted the work
• c.recover the fee if the client knew of the lack of a license
• d.not institute or recover in any suit for compensation for that activity✓

The bar is absolute: no action or suit may be instituted, and no recovery had, unless the person was licensed at the time of engaging in the real estate activity. Cite: Wyo. Stat. §33-28-115.

Wyoming requires a responsible broker to keep a full set of transaction records for:

• a.not less than two years from the company's last participation✓
• b.five years from the date on which the transaction was consummated
• c.three years from the date the listing was taken
• d.seven years from the date of the last payment

The commission's forms rule repeats the two-year floor for readily available and properly indexed copies of unrecorded documents. Cite: Wyo. Stat. §33-28-123.

A Wyoming licensee advertising the sale of real estate the licensee personally owns must:

• a.omit the real estate company name from the advertisement
• b.obtain the commission's written approval before publishing
• c.state that an owner is a licensee✓
• d.list the property with an unaffiliated brokerage

Licensees advertising property they do not own must include the company name under which they are licensed; the owner-licensee rule adds the ownership disclosure. Cite: Wyo. Stat. §33-28-119(f)-(h).

Every printed or electronic broker's price opinion prepared in Wyoming must carry a statement that the document:

• a.was prepared for a lender's internal use only
• b.may not be shown to any third party
• c.is valid for 90 days from the date of preparation
• d.is an opinion of price and not a certified appraisal of market value✓

The statute prescribes the sentence and adds that if an appraisal is desired, the service of a certified appraiser must be obtained. A licensee may give a price opinion to a potential seller, a potential buyer, or any third party for a purpose permitted by law. Cite: Wyo. Stat. §33-28-125(a)-(b).

Contested cases arising under the Wyoming Real Estate License Act may be heard by an independent hearing officer, who may not be:

• a.a licensed Wyoming attorney
• b.an employee of the attorney general's office or of the commission✓
• c.a person who has at any time held a Wyoming real estate license or permit
• d.a resident of the county where the violation occurred

The hearing officer makes written findings of fact and conclusions of law in each contested case and forwards them to the commission; judicial review may be had in the district court of the county where the violation allegedly occurred. Cite: Wyo. Stat. §33-28-113(a)-(c).

The Wyoming Real Estate Commission consists of:

• a.five commissioners appointed by the governor, no more than one from any county✓
• b.seven commissioners elected by the licensee population
• c.nine commissioners appointed by the attorney general
• d.five commissioners, every one of whom must be an active Wyoming real estate licensee

Not less than three nor more than four members must have been licensees in Wyoming for at least five years before appointment; terms run three years, and three members are a quorum. Cite: Wyo. Stat. §33-28-105(a), (h).

The most a claimant may be paid out of the Wyoming real estate recovery account on a single judgment is:

• a.$20,000 of the actual damages, including costs and interest
• b.$50,000, the statutory balance of the account
• c.$10,000 of the actual damages included in the judgment and left unpaid✓
• d.the full amount of the judgment, because the statute sets no ceiling at all

The claimant must also show a writ of execution returned unsatisfied, and must file the verified petition within one year of the termination of all proceedings, appeals included. Cite: Wyo. Stat. §33-28-202(a).

A judgment against a Wyoming licensee qualifies for payment from the real estate recovery account only if it rests on:

• a.negligence in preparing a comparative market analysis
• b.fraud, willful misrepresentation, deceit, or conversion of trust funds✓
• c.breach of a written listing agreement
• d.any judgment arising out of a licensed real estate activity

The transaction must also have occurred while the licensee was licensed and performing real estate activity, and the account pays only the actual damages included in the judgment. Cite: Wyo. Stat. §33-28-202(a).

After the Wyoming commission pays a claim from the real estate recovery account, the judgment debtor's license is suspended until the debtor repays the amount in full with interest at:

• a.18 percent a year✓
• b.8 percent per year
• c.12 percent per year
• d.the statutory post-judgment rate

The suspension is immediate, a discharge in bankruptcy does not relieve the licensee of it, and repayment does not stop the commission from taking separate disciplinary action. Cite: Wyo. Stat. §33-28-204.

Wyoming collects an additional $20 from every person obtaining or renewing a license. Once the real estate recovery account balance reaches $20,000:

• a.the entire fee is refunded to licensees at renewal
• b.collection of the fee stops until the account balance falls below $20,000
• c.the entire fee is transferred to the state general fund
• d.half goes to the recovery account and half to the education fund✓

When the recovery account reaches $50,000 the whole fee goes to the education fund, and when the recovery and education funds each exceed $50,000 the commission stops collecting the fee. No general fund money may be appropriated for these payments. Cite: Wyo. Stat. §33-28-201(b)-(c); §33-28-206(a).

A Wyoming licensee engaged as an intermediary must disclose to the parties that the intermediary:

• a.represents whichever party first signed with the brokerage
• b.owes no fiduciary duty to either party and may not negotiate on behalf of either one✓
• c.owes the same duties as a buyer's agent to both parties
• d.becomes a dual agent once both parties sign a consent

The required disclosure also tells the parties that the intermediary may have to reveal information learned about a property, and may be barred from revealing information about the other party that could materially affect negotiations. Cite: Wyo. Stat. §33-28-305(a), (b)(ii)(K).

A Wyoming intermediary may cooperate with other responsible brokers but:

• a.shall not show competing properties
• b.shall not accept compensation from the seller
• c.shall not engage any subagents✓
• d.shall not close the transaction

An intermediary may show alternative properties not owned by the seller, list competing properties, and show a buyer's properties of interest to other buyers without breaching any obligation. Cite: Wyo. Stat. §33-28-305(f)-(g).

Under Wyoming's broker relationships article, dual agency is:

• a.prohibited; a licensee shall not establish dual agency with any seller or buyer✓
• b.permitted with the written consent of both parties
• c.permitted only in commercial transactions
• d.permitted if a separate designated licensee serves each side

A licensee may serve as agent for the seller with the buyer as a customer, or as agent for the buyer with the seller as a customer, but not as agent for both. A licensee may be designated to act as an intermediary for both parties. Cite: Wyo. Stat. §33-28-302(k), (o).

In Wyoming, the relationship between a licensee and a party to a transaction is a customer relationship:

• a.unless the party pays some part of the licensee's compensation at closing
• b.until the party makes a written offer on a property
• c.only while the party remains unrepresented by any brokerage
• d.unless a written agreement establishes agency or intermediary status✓

The statute adds that a licensee owes no duty of confidentiality to a customer, and that when one party has a written listing agreement, another licensee may work with the other party as a customer. Cite: Wyo. Stat. §33-28-302(p).

Wyoming's written relationship disclosure must include a statement that a customer shall not:

• a.be shown property listed by the licensee's own company
• b.be given an estimate of closing costs before an offer
• c.be required to sign a written agency agreement to view or tour real estate during showings✓
• d.be asked for proof of financing before a showing

The 2026 amendment also broadened the definition of "customer" to include a person who has expressed an interest in buying, selling or leasing real estate or who attends a showing without any agency relationship. Cite: Wyo. Stat. §33-28-306(a)(vii); §33-28-102(b)(xiii), as amended by 2026 Wyo. Sess. Laws ch. 50 (SF0105, effective July 1, 2026).

Wyoming's relationship disclosure must be printed in a font size of:

• a.8 point or greater
• b.12 point or larger✓
• c.10 point or greater
• d.14 point or greater

The disclosure also needs a signature line for the buyer or seller to acknowledge receipt, and the acknowledgment by itself is not a contract with the licensee. Cite: Wyo. Stat. §33-28-309; §33-28-306(b).

In Wyoming, the fact that a party pays a responsible broker's compensation:

• a.establishes an agency relationship with the paying party
• b.makes the paying party vicariously liable for the broker's acts
• c.converts the relationship into an intermediary relationship by operation of law
• d.does not establish an agency or intermediary relationship with that party✓

Compensation may come from the seller, the buyer, a third party, or a split between responsible brokers, and a broker may be paid by more than one party where all have consented in writing before the parties contract to buy or sell. Cite: Wyo. Stat. §33-28-308(a)-(b), (g).

A Wyoming licensee acting as an agent in an in-house transaction may instead act as an intermediary to both parties when:

• a.both parties execute a written consent at the earliest opportunity✓
• b.the licensee's responsible broker approves the change in writing in advance of it
• c.the licensee gives oral notice to both parties
• d.the commission grants a written waiver

The written consent must contain a conspicuous statement of the duties and obligations that would no longer be owed once the licensee becomes an intermediary. Cite: Wyo. Stat. §33-28-307(a)(ii).

A Wyoming licensee may act as a subagent only under:

• a.an oral offer of subagency published through the multiple listing service
• b.the buyer's written consent to be treated as a customer
• c.a written seller agreement authorizing an offer of subagency✓
• d.a commission rule that presumes subagency in cooperative sales

A subagent then carries the same obligations and responsibilities the statute imposes on the seller's agent. Cite: Wyo. Stat. §33-28-302(c); §33-28-303(f)-(g).

A Wyoming responsible broker who is personally representing a buyer or seller in an in-house transaction must immediately appoint a transaction manager unless:

• a.the other licensee in the transaction is an associate broker✓
• b.the transaction involves unimproved land
• c.both parties waive supervision in writing
• d.the other licensee works from a different branch office

A transaction manager is designated in writing, is not involved in the transaction, and has the duties of an intermediary while supervising it. Simultaneous designations do not create dual agency. Cite: Wyo. Stat. §33-28-302(h)-(j); §33-28-102(b)(lx).

Wyoming's property disclosure statement for vacant land must tell the buyer, among other things:

• a.the assessed value of the parcel for the current tax year
• b.whether the underlying mineral estate has been severed in the chain of title✓
• c.the identity of every previous owner appearing in the parcel's chain of title
• d.the name of the nearest certified appraiser

The statement also covers whether the property is offered as a unified estate, the availability of utilities, water and sewer, road maintenance, fire protection, and known or recorded easements. Cite: Wyo. Stat. §34-1-151(a).

For purposes of Wyoming's vacant land disclosure statute, "vacant land" means land with no habitable dwelling, outside a platted subdivision or city or town, and:

• a.less than 40 acres
• b.less than 320 acres
• c.of any size
• d.less than 140 acres✓

All three conditions must be met for the parcel to be vacant land under the statute. Cite: Wyo. Stat. §34-1-151(d).

A separate Wyoming disclosure applies to every seller of land outside the corporate boundaries of a city or town. That seller must state in writing whether:

• a.the land lies within a designated floodplain
• b.the land has ever been used for livestock grazing
• c.fee ownership of the wind estate has been severed from the surface✓
• d.a conservation easement has ever been offered on any portion of the land

The wind disclosure reaches the existence of a wind energy agreement as defined in the statute, and like the vacant-land disclosure it may be waived by the buyer. Cite: Wyo. Stat. §34-1-151(e), (b).

A Wyoming seller fails to give the required property disclosure statement. The consequence is that:

• a.the transfer is void at the buyer's option
• b.the transfer stands, but the seller is liable for the buyer's actual damages✓
• c.the county clerk must refuse to accept the deed for recording until it is cured
• d.the listing licensee's license is automatically suspended

No transfer is invalidated solely because of a failure to comply, but a person who willfully or negligently violates the duty is liable in the amount of actual damages suffered by the buyer. Cite: Wyo. Stat. §34-1-151(c).

When a deed is presented to a Wyoming county clerk for recording, it must be accompanied by:

• a.a sworn statement of consideration disclosing the actual amount paid for the property✓
• b.documentary stamps purchased from the county treasurer
• c.a transfer tax payment computed on the sale price
• d.an appraisal prepared within the previous six months

The clerk may not accept the instrument for recording until the completed sworn statement is received, though failure to comply does not affect the instrument's validity between the parties. The statements feed county sales-price ratio studies rather than any tax computed at recording. Cite: Wyo. Stat. §34-1-142(a), (b), (d).