LALouisiana

Real estate exam prep

At a glance

The exam, in numbers.

Questions: 135 multiple-choice (80 national + 55 state)
Time: 180 minutes (3 hours)
Passing score: 70% national (56/80) AND 73% state (40/55), scored independently
Pre-license education: 90 hours, LREC-approved Real Estate Salesperson Pre-License course
License type: Real Estate Salesperson (entry-level; brokers take a separate exam)
Administered by: PSI Services LLC on behalf of LREC
Format: computer-based testing at PSI centers across Louisiana
Result: issued at the testing center; pass/fail per section with numeric score per section
Exam fee: $85 per attempt, paid to PSI at scheduling
Retake wait: none; reschedule with PSI as soon as a slot is available
Score validity: single integrated exam (one section; passes don't roll forward)
Sponsorship: a Louisiana-licensed broker must employ the salesperson before the license issues

Louisiana real estate exam: format, score, what to expect in 2026

Louisiana is the only US state whose real estate law operates under a civil-law system. The other forty-nine states (and the District of Columbia) inherited English common law as their foundational legal tradition. Louisiana inherited the civil law of France and Spain, codified into the Louisiana Civil Code, which is itself descended from the Napoleonic Code of 1804. Real estate practice in Louisiana uses different vocabulary, different ownership concepts, different inheritance rules, and different transfer mechanisms than the rest of the country. "Immovable property" is what every other state would call real property. "Usufruct" is a use-and-enjoyment right that doesn't quite map to a life estate or a leasehold in common-law states. "Forced heirship" is a Napoleonic Code concept that constrains how an owner can dispose of property at death; the children of a deceased owner have constitutional rights to a share of the estate that no will can override. The Louisiana Real Estate Commission's exam tests all of this, and a candidate who studied from generic national real estate materials without the Louisiana-specific civil-law overlay will recognize fewer than half the state portion's terms.

The exam is administered by PSI Services LLC on behalf of the Louisiana Real Estate Commission (LREC). The format is 135 multiple-choice questions over 180 minutes, scored as 80 national + 55 state. The passing standard is 70% on the national portion (56/80) and 73% on the state portion (40/55), scored independently. The state portion is heavier than typical at 55 items, reflecting the depth of Louisiana civil-law content the exam tests.

This guide walks through the LREC content outline, how to study for the civil-law overlay, and what exam day looks like at a PSI center.

Written by

Chris Reese

May 8, 2026

§ 01 What's tested

Louisiana runs the exam in two scored sections, with the national portion (80 items) covering general real estate principles and the state portion (55 items) covering Louisiana-specific licensing law and the civil-law concepts that govern property in the state. The state portion is anchored on La. R.S. 37:1430 et seq. (the Real Estate License Law) and the relevant titles of the Louisiana Civil Code.

National portion (80 scored items)

The national portion follows PSI's standard national real estate outline. Topic areas: real property characteristics, ownership and title, value and appraisal, contracts and agency, real estate practice, disclosures and environmental issues, financing and settlement, and math. Louisiana candidates encounter an unusual challenge here: many "national" concepts are framed in common-law vocabulary (fee simple, life estate, mortgage, deed of trust) that don't precisely map to Louisiana civil-law equivalents. Candidates have to know both vocabularies and be able to translate between them in scenario questions.

State portion (55 scored items)

The state portion is anchored on La. R.S. 37:1430 et seq. and the Louisiana Civil Code. The major topic areas:

Louisiana License Law and the Real Estate Commission. La. R.S. 37:1430 et seq., LREC's structure and powers, the salesperson-broker affiliation rules, license issuance and renewal, continuing education requirements, and the standards for license suspension and revocation.
Civil-law property concepts. Immovable property (the Louisiana term for what other states call real property), corporeal vs. incorporeal things, ownership in indivision (the Louisiana version of co-ownership), usufruct (a use-and-enjoyment right separate from ownership), naked ownership (ownership without the right of use), and predial servitudes (the Louisiana equivalent of easements but with different acquisition and termination rules). The exam tests the civil-law vocabulary in scenario questions.
Forced heirship and successions. Louisiana's Civil Code reserves a portion of the deceased owner's estate to the children, called the legitime. A will cannot disinherit a forced heir except for narrow statutory grounds. The exam tests how forced heirship affects clear title, marketable title, and estate-related real estate transactions.
Community property and matrimonial regimes. Louisiana is a community property state with civil-law origins (different from the other community property states, which inherited the concept from Spanish law independently). Property acquired during marriage is community property unless the spouses execute a matrimonial agreement (a notarial act) declaring otherwise. The exam tests how community property interacts with title transfers, mortgages, and homestead.
Authentic acts and notarial acts. Louisiana real estate transfers must be by authentic act (signed before a notary and two witnesses) or by act under private signature duly acknowledged. The notary's role in Louisiana is significantly larger than in common-law states; Louisiana notaries are quasi-judicial officers with authority to draft and execute legal acts. The exam tests the authentic-act requirements directly.
Agency and the LREC Disclosure of Brokerage Relationships. Louisiana recognizes seller agency, buyer agency, dual agency (with informed consent), and designated agency. The Disclosure of Brokerage Relationships form is mandatory at first substantial contact.
Trust accounts and brokerage operations. LREC's trust account rules, escrow handling, advertising compliance, the broker's supervisory responsibilities, and recordkeeping standards.
Fair housing. Federal Fair Housing layered with the Louisiana Open Housing Act.

Standout state-specific content

Two Louisiana content areas almost always confuse candidates who studied from generic national materials:

The civil-law / common-law translation challenge. The national portion uses common-law vocabulary; the state portion uses civil-law vocabulary. A property concept that's familiar in one form on the national side appears in unfamiliar civil-law form on the state side. Candidates have to study both vocabularies and the translation between them.
Forced heirship as a title-clearing issue. Louisiana's forced heirship rules constrain estate planning and create title issues that don't exist in common-law states. The exam tests scenarios where a property transfer post-death has to account for the legitime of forced heirs.

§ 03 How to study

Louisiana's 90-hour pre-license course is required to introduce both the civil-law overlay and the national real estate principles. The course is dense because it has to teach two vocabularies. Most candidates report that the civil-law content is the harder half, even though it's only 55 items on the exam (vs. 80 national).

What works in Louisiana is volume on practice questions tied to both the national and state outlines, with extra reps on the civil-law concepts (immovable property, usufruct, predial servitudes, forced heirship), authentic-act requirements, and the LREC Disclosure of Brokerage Relationships timing. Most who pass have worked through somewhere in the low thousands of practice questions before sitting.

Passd's Louisiana question bank is organized by both national and state content areas, with per-area accuracy tracked so you know whether your weak spot is the civil-law overlay, agency disclosure, trust accounts, or finance before booking the exam. Your Passd Score updates as you answer and gives a single read on whether the test is in reach yet. Tier details are on the pricing page.

A few specific things help in Louisiana:

Build a glossary of civil-law / common-law translations. Immovable / real property. Usufruct / life estate (approximately). Naked ownership / remainder interest (approximately). Predial servitude / easement. Authentic act / acknowledged deed. The translations are imperfect; understanding where they break down is testable.
Drill forced heirship scenarios. The legitime, the grounds for disinherison, the effect on marketable title, and the practical role of the notary in succession-related transfers all show up in scenario questions.
Read the LREC Disclosure of Brokerage Relationships form. LREC publishes it. The first-substantial-contact timing rule is testable.

§ 04 What to expect on exam day

The Louisiana salesperson exam is administered at PSI testing centers across Louisiana (New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Shreveport, Lafayette, and additional locations). You schedule directly through PSI after LREC has approved your pre-license course completion and authorized you to test.

On exam day:

Arrive at least 30 minutes before your scheduled appointment. Late arrivals can be turned away.
Bring two forms of valid signature identification, one of them government-issued with photo (driver's license, state ID, passport, or military ID). Names must match the LREC application.
Personal items go in a locker. Phones, smart watches, study materials, food, and bound notes stay outside the testing room.
Calculators are permitted with restrictions: silent, battery-operated, non-printing, and without an alphabetic keypad.
The exam is closed-book.

Results print at the testing center after the exam, showing pass or fail per section plus your numeric score on each. Candidates who pass move into the licensure phase: LREC application, broker employment, fingerprinting, and the license fee. Candidates who fail one section can retake just that section, paying the per-section fee.

§ 05 Common mistakes

Louisiana candidates who fail the exam tend to fail in a handful of specific ways:

Studying only common-law vocabulary. The state portion uses civil-law terms (immovable property, usufruct, predial servitude, authentic act, forced heir, legitime). Candidates who studied from generic national materials and skipped Louisiana-specific civil-law content miss the state-portion translation questions.
Confusing community property with common-law marital property. Louisiana's community property has civil-law origins distinct from the other community property states' Spanish-law origins. The matrimonial regime concept (and the option for spouses to opt out via notarial act) is testable in detail.
Underestimating forced heirship. The legitime constrains how an owner can dispose of property at death. Generic national estate-planning content doesn't cover forced heirship; the Louisiana exam does.
Missing the authentic-act requirement. Most Louisiana real estate transfers must be by authentic act (notary plus two witnesses) or by acknowledged private act. Candidates who imported a generic deed-recording mental model miss the notary's role.
Skipping the 73% state-portion threshold. The state portion requires 73% (40/55), higher than the 70% national threshold. Candidates who study to a "70% across the board" mental model tend to underperform on the state side.
Showing up without an unexpired ID or with a name mismatch. PSI turns candidates away for ID problems. Names on the IDs must match the LREC application exactly.

§ 02 Frequently asked questions

How many questions are on the Louisiana real estate salesperson exam?

135 multiple-choice questions: 80 on the national portion and 55 on the Louisiana state portion.

How is the exam scored?

70% required on the national portion (56/80) AND 73% required on the state portion (40/55), scored independently.

How long is the exam?

180 minutes (3 hours) total.

Why is Louisiana's real estate law different from other states'?

Louisiana inherited the civil law of France and Spain, codified into the Louisiana Civil Code, which is descended from the Napoleonic Code of 1804. Every other US state inherited English common law. The two traditions use different vocabulary and different ownership and transfer rules; the LREC exam tests Louisiana's civil-law concepts directly.

Where do I take the exam?

At a PSI testing center in Louisiana (New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Shreveport, Lafayette, and additional locations).

What pre-license education do I need before the exam?

90 hours of LREC-approved Real Estate Salesperson Pre-License coursework, completed at an approved school before submitting the salesperson application.

What's an authentic act?

A document signed before a notary public and two competent witnesses, with the notary signing as well. In Louisiana, most real estate transfers must be by authentic act or by acknowledged private act. Notaries in Louisiana have quasi-judicial authority to draft and execute the acts.

What's forced heirship?

A Civil Code rule reserving a portion of the deceased owner's estate to the children, called the legitime. A will cannot disinherit a forced heir except on narrow statutory grounds. Forced heirship is a Louisiana-specific issue that affects how property transfers post-death and creates title-clearing requirements that don't exist in common-law states.

How much is the Louisiana exam fee?

$85 per attempt, paid to PSI when you schedule. Each retake is the same amount.

How long must I wait between retakes?

There's no statutory waiting period in Louisiana. You can reschedule with PSI as soon as a slot is available.

How long is my passing score valid?

Louisiana runs a single integrated exam, so there's no "passed section" to roll forward. You either pass the whole exam or take it again.

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