MTMontana

Real estate exam prep

At a glance

The exam, in numbers.

Questions: 113 multiple-choice (80 national + 33 state)
Time: 240 minutes (4 hours)
Passing score: 70% on EACH section, scored independently
Pre-license education: 70 hours, Board of Realty Regulation-approved
License type: Real Estate Salesperson (entry-level; brokers take a separate exam)
Administered by: Pearson VUE on behalf of the Board of Realty Regulation
Format: computer-based testing at Pearson VUE centers in Montana, OR Pearson VUE OnVUE remote proctoring (since March 2025)
Result: issued at the testing center (or on-screen for remote proctoring); pass/fail per section
Exam fee: $120 per attempt, paid to PSI at scheduling
Retake wait: none; reschedule with PSI as soon as a slot is available
Score validity: a passed section stays valid for 12 months while you retake the other
Sponsorship: a Montana-licensed broker must employ the salesperson before the license issues

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

Montana's licensing authority is named the Board of Realty Regulation. Not the Montana Real Estate Commission, not the Montana Real Estate Board, not the Montana Division of Real Estate. The naming convention is statutory under Montana Code Annotated Title 37 Chapter 51, which uses "realty" rather than "real estate" as the term of art throughout the licensing chapter. The Board sits within the Montana Department of Labor and Industry and regulates licensees, schools, and continuing education. Montana also enabled Pearson VUE's OnVUE remote online proctored option in March 2025, broadening access to the exam for candidates outside the major Montana cities (Billings, Missoula, Helena, Bozeman, Great Falls). The state portion is also smaller than typical at 33 items, which gives proportionally more weight per question on the state-specific content the Board tests.

The exam is administered by Pearson VUE on behalf of the Board of Realty Regulation. The format is 113 multiple-choice questions over 240 minutes, scored as 80 national + 33 state. The passing standard is 70% on each section, scored independently.

Written by

Chris Reese

May 9, 2026

§ 01 What's tested

Montana runs the exam in two scored sections, with the national portion (80 items) covering general real estate principles and the state portion (33 items) covering Montana-specific licensing law and regulations. The state portion is anchored on MCA Title 37 Chapter 51 and the Board rules at ARM 24.210.

National portion (80 scored items)

The national portion follows the Pearson VUE 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. Montana candidates should know the state operates under a deed-of-trust model with non-judicial foreclosure (typical of Western states), and the Montana Property Disclosure Statement layers on top of national disclosure content.

State portion (33 scored items)

The state portion is anchored on MCA Title 37 Chapter 51 and ARM 24.210. The major topic areas:

License Law and the Board of Realty Regulation. MCA Title 37 Chapter 51, the Board's structure within the Department of Labor and Industry, the salesperson-broker affiliation rules, license issuance and renewal cycles, continuing education requirements, and the standards for license suspension and revocation.
Agency in Montana. Montana recognizes seller agency, buyer agency, dual agency (with informed written consent), and statutory broker (a non-agency representation status under Montana law). The Relationships in Real Estate Transactions Act disclosure must be presented to a buyer or seller before specific real estate services are performed.
Montana Property Disclosure Statement. Required under MCA Title 70 Chapter 28 for most residential transfers, with statutory exemptions.
Trust accounts under Board supervision. Montana's escrow account rules require the broker to maintain a separate clients' funds account at a Montana-chartered or federally chartered insured institution.
Montana fair housing and the Human Rights Act. Federal Fair Housing layered with the Montana Human Rights Act (MCA Title 49 Chapter 2).
Water rights and rural property considerations. Montana's prior-appropriation water-rights doctrine creates licensee considerations for rural and ranch property transactions.

Standout state-specific content

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

The statutory broker relationship as a non-agency status. Most states' agency frameworks recognize agency or transaction brokerage as the available relationships. Montana's "statutory broker" is a non-agency status where the licensee provides ministerial services without representing the buyer or seller as a fiduciary. The exam tests scenario questions where the candidate has to identify which relationship applies.
Water rights in rural transactions. Montana's prior-appropriation doctrine treats water rights as a distinct property interest that can be transferred separately from the underlying land. Generic national materials don't cover prior-appropriation; Montana-specific scenario questions on water rights require state-specific study.

§ 03 How to study

Montana's 70-hour pre-license course covers the national and state outlines, but the exam tests applied judgment in scenario questions that pull from MCA Title 37 Chapter 51, the Relationships in Real Estate Transactions Act, statutory broker rules, and water-rights considerations simultaneously.

What works in Montana is volume on practice questions tied to both the national and state outlines, with extra reps on the statutory broker concept, water-rights basics, and the agency disclosure timing. Most who pass have worked through somewhere in the low thousands of practice questions before sitting.

Passd's Montana 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 statutory broker, agency disclosure, water rights, 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 Montana:

Drill the statutory broker concept. It's unfamiliar to candidates from most other states. Walking through scenarios where a Montana licensee operates as a statutory broker (non-agency) versus an agent (with fiduciary duties) clarifies the distinction.
Read the Relationships in Real Estate Transactions Act disclosure form. The Board publishes it. The before-specific-services timing rule is testable.
Decide between in-person and OnVUE. OnVUE saves travel for candidates outside major Montana cities. Test environment requirements (quiet room, webcam, stable internet) apply.

§ 04 What to expect on exam day

The Montana salesperson exam is administered at Pearson VUE testing centers in Montana (Billings, Missoula, Helena, Bozeman, Great Falls) and via Pearson VUE's OnVUE remote proctoring (since March 2025). You schedule directly through Pearson VUE after the Board has approved your pre-license course completion and authorized you to test.

On exam day:

Arrive at least 30 minutes before your scheduled in-person appointment, or log in to OnVUE with the lead time Pearson VUE specifies.
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 Board application.
Personal items go in a locker at testing centers. Phones, smart watches, study materials, food, and bound notes stay outside the testing room. OnVUE rules cover the same items in the testing space.
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 (or display on screen for OnVUE). The report shows pass or fail per section plus your numeric score on each. Candidates who pass move into the licensure phase: Board application, broker employment confirmation, fingerprinting, and the license fee.

§ 05 Common mistakes

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

Confusing statutory broker with agency. Montana's statutory broker is a non-agency status. Candidates who treat it as a form of agency miss the scenario questions on duties owed.
Skipping water-rights content. Montana's prior-appropriation doctrine creates licensee considerations for rural transactions. Generic national materials don't cover it.
Underestimating the small state portion's per-item weight. 33 items at 70% leaves narrow margin. Skimming any topic loses recoverable points fast.
Picking OnVUE without a quiet room. OnVUE works well in a dedicated quiet space, less well in a shared apartment or office. Failing the environment check at log-in costs an appointment.
Missing the Relationships in Real Estate Transactions Act disclosure timing. The form must be presented before specific real estate services are performed.
Showing up without an unexpired ID or with a name mismatch. Pearson VUE turns candidates away for ID problems.

§ 02 Frequently asked questions

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

113 multiple-choice questions: 80 on the national portion and 33 on the Montana state portion.

How is the exam scored?

70% required on EACH section, scored independently. Failing one section means failing the exam.

How long is the exam?

240 minutes (4 hours) total.

What's a "statutory broker" in Montana?

A non-agency representation status under Montana law. The licensee provides ministerial services to a customer without representing them as a fiduciary. Distinct from agency (where fiduciary duties are owed) and from transaction brokerage in some other states.

Where do I take the exam?

At a Pearson VUE testing center in Montana (Billings, Missoula, Helena, Bozeman, Great Falls) or via OnVUE remote proctoring.

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

70 hours of Board of Realty Regulation-approved coursework, completed at an approved school before submitting the salesperson application.

Can I take the exam remotely?

Yes, since March 2025. Pearson VUE's OnVUE option became available for the Montana exam at that time.

Can I retake just the section I failed?

Yes. Pearson VUE allows retakes of the failed section only, with a per-section fee.

What's the difference between agent, statutory broker, and dual agent in Montana?

An agent owes fiduciary duties to a client (loyalty, confidentiality, disclosure, obedience to lawful instructions, accounting, reasonable care). A statutory broker provides ministerial services to a customer without representing them as a fiduciary; the customer is not a client and the licensee owes a different, narrower set of duties. A dual agent represents both buyer and seller in the same transaction with informed written consent from both parties; the dual agent's fiduciary duties are limited because of the conflict of interest, and the licensee owes both parties the duties that don't conflict. The exam tests scenario questions where the candidate has to identify which relationship applies and what duties flow from it.

How do water rights typically come up in Montana real estate transactions?

Montana's prior-appropriation doctrine means water rights are a separate property interest from the underlying land. A ranch sale might convey both the surface land and the appurtenant water rights, or it might convey the land while excluding the water rights, depending on the deed language. The licensee handling the transaction needs to confirm which is which before drafting the contract, and the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation maintains the water-rights records.

What's the role of the Montana Real Estate Recovery Account?

The Account compensates consumers harmed by licensee fraud, misrepresentation, or misappropriation when the licensee can't pay the resulting judgment. The Board of Realty Regulation administers the Account, financed through licensee fees. When a payout is made, the licensee whose conduct triggered it faces automatic license suspension until the Account is reimbursed.

How much is the Montana exam fee?

$120 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 Montana. You can reschedule with PSI as soon as a slot is available.

How long is my passing score valid?

A passed section stays valid for 12 months. If you pass national but fail state (or vice versa), you have 12 months to pass the failed section before you have to re-test everything.

Ready to see how prepared you are?

The Passd diagnostic is 20 questions across every major topic, and shows your Montana-specific Passd Score plus which Board of Realty Regulation content areas need work. Free, no credit card.

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