TNTennessee

Real estate exam prep

At a glance

The exam, in numbers.

Questions: 120 multiple-choice (80 national + 40 state)
Time: 240 minutes (4 hours)
Passing score: 70% on EACH section (56/80 national AND 28/40 state), scored independently
Pre-license education: 90 hours total (60 hours Basic Principles of Real Estate + 30 hours New Affiliates Course, sequenced)
License type: Affiliate Broker (entry-level; the salesperson tier doesn't exist in Tennessee)
Administered by: PSI Services LLC on behalf of the Tennessee Real Estate Commission
Format: computer-based testing at PSI centers in Tennessee
Result: issued at the testing center; pass/fail per section with numeric score per section
Exam fee: $39 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 6 months while you retake the other
Sponsorship: a Principal Broker must affiliate the Affiliate Broker before the license issues

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

The entry-level real estate license in Tennessee is called the Affiliate Broker. The next step up is Broker, then Principal Broker. There's no salesperson tier; new licensees start as Affiliate Brokers, working under a Principal Broker. The pre-license requirement is unusual too: 60 hours of "Basic Principles of Real Estate" plus a separate 30-hour "New Affiliates" course, completed at an approved Tennessee real estate school. The two courses are sequenced; New Affiliates can only be taken after Basic Principles is done. Total seat-time before the exam is 90 hours, but the structure forces candidates through the foundational material first and the application-focused material second.

The Tennessee Real Estate Commission (TREC, abbreviated identically to but unrelated to the Texas Real Estate Commission) regulates the license. PSI Services LLC administers the exam. The format is 120 multiple-choice questions over 240 minutes, scored as 80 national + 40 state. The passing standard is 70% on each section, scored independently (you need 56 correct of 80 national items AND 28 correct of 40 state items). Both must be cleared in the same exam attempt for the Affiliate Broker license to issue.

This guide walks through the Tennessee TREC content outline, how to study, and what exam day looks like at a PSI center.

Written by

Chris Reese

May 8, 2026

§ 01 What's tested

Tennessee runs the exam in two scored sections, with the national portion (80 items) covering general real estate principles and the state portion (40 items) covering Tennessee-specific licensing law and regulations. The state portion is anchored on the Tennessee Real Estate Broker License Act of 1973 (Tenn. Code Ann. Title 62, Chapter 13) and the Tennessee Real Estate Commission rules.

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. Tennessee candidates should know the state operates under a title-theory model with deeds of trust as the standard mortgage instrument, and the Tennessee Residential Property Condition Disclosure overlays national disclosure content in scenario questions.

State portion (40 scored items)

The state portion is anchored on Tenn. Code Ann. Title 62 Chapter 13 and the related TREC rules. The major topic areas:

License Law and TREC. The Tennessee Real Estate Broker License Act, the structure of the Tennessee Real Estate Commission, the Affiliate Broker / Broker / Principal Broker tier structure, license issuance and renewal, continuing education requirements, and the standards for license suspension and revocation.
Agency in Tennessee. Tennessee recognizes seller agency, buyer agency, dual agency, designated agency, and transaction brokerage. The Working with a Real Estate Licensee disclosure must be provided early in the transaction. The exam tests the disclosure timing and the duties owed under each relationship in scenario form.
Tennessee Residential Property Condition Disclosure. Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-5-201 et seq. requires the seller to deliver a Residential Property Condition Disclosure for most residential transfers. The exam tests when delivery is required, the statutory exemptions, and the buyer's rights under the Disclosure Act.
Trust accounts and brokerage operations. TREC rules on escrow handling, advertising compliance, the Principal Broker's supervisory responsibilities, and recordkeeping standards.
TREC's Education and Recovery Account. Tennessee maintains a state-administered Recovery Account that compensates consumers harmed by licensee misconduct, financed by license fees. The exam tests the claim mechanics, the per-transaction and per-licensee caps, and the licensee consequences when a Recovery Account claim is paid.
Fair housing. Federal Fair Housing layered with the Tennessee Human Rights Act (Tenn. Code Ann. § 4-21-101 et seq.).

Standout state-specific content

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

The Affiliate Broker / Broker / Principal Broker tier structure. Tennessee skips the salesperson tier entirely. Affiliate Brokers operate under a Principal Broker, with specific supervisory rules. Brokers (the middle tier) have additional qualifications. The exam tests the tier-specific responsibilities and the consequences of operating outside the licensee's tier.
TREC's Education and Recovery Account mechanics. The Recovery Account has statutory caps and an automatic license-suspension consequence for the licensee whose conduct triggers a payout. Candidates who studied a generic recovery-fund concept without the Tennessee-specific caps and suspension rules miss the testable specifics.

§ 03 How to study

Tennessee's 90-hour pre-license curriculum is split between Basic Principles of Real Estate (60 hours) and the New Affiliates Course (30 hours). The two courses cover the national and state outlines but in sequence; the New Affiliates Course in particular focuses on application-level material that mirrors how the exam asks scenario questions.

What works in Tennessee is volume on practice questions tied to both the national and state outlines, with extra reps on the Affiliate Broker / Principal Broker supervisory rules, the Working with a Real Estate Licensee disclosure timing, and the Recovery Account mechanics. Most who pass have worked through somewhere in the low thousands of practice questions before sitting.

Passd's Tennessee 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 tier structure, agency disclosure, the Recovery Account, 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 Tennessee:

Read the Working with a Real Estate Licensee disclosure form. TREC publishes it. Reading it once with attention to the timing rules beats reading three different study guides that summarize it.
Memorize the Recovery Account caps and the license-suspension consequence. The per-transaction cap, the per-licensee aggregate cap, and the auto-suspension rule are all testable. Knowing the Account exists isn't enough.
Plan for 4 hours of focused work. The Tennessee exam is on the longer side. Practice timed mocks at the full 4-hour length; pacing on the 80-item national portion and the 40-item state portion within the same 4-hour budget requires planning.

§ 04 What to expect on exam day

The Tennessee Affiliate Broker exam is administered at PSI testing centers across Tennessee (Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville, Chattanooga, and additional locations). You schedule directly through PSI after TREC 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 TREC 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: TREC application, Principal Broker affiliation, fingerprint and background check, and the license fee. Candidates who fail one section can retake just that section, paying the per-section fee.

§ 05 Common mistakes

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

Missing the Affiliate Broker tier structure. Tennessee doesn't have a salesperson tier. Candidates who imported a salesperson-broker mental model from another state misread the supervisory rules and the tier-specific responsibilities tested in scenario form.
Treating the state portion as a sidebar. 40 items on the state portion is one third of the scored exam, but it carries 50% of the pass weight because of the dual-section rule. The state portion needs proportional study time.
Skimming the Working with a Real Estate Licensee disclosure timing. Late delivery is testable misconduct. Candidates who memorize that the form exists without studying when it must be delivered miss the scenario questions.
Underestimating the Recovery Account. Tennessee's Account has automatic license-suspension consequences for the licensee whose conduct triggers a payout. The mechanics are testable in detail.
Confusing TREC's two TRECs. The Tennessee Real Estate Commission and the Texas Real Estate Commission share the same abbreviation but are unrelated. Texas-specific content (TREC promulgated forms, etc.) does not apply in Tennessee. Candidates who imported Texas study materials by mistake miss the differences.
Booking before ready. PSI requires fees per section on retakes; failing one section costs another testing appointment and another section fee.

§ 02 Frequently asked questions

How many questions are on the Tennessee Affiliate Broker exam?

120 multiple-choice questions: 80 on the national portion and 40 on the Tennessee state portion.

How is the exam scored?

70% required on EACH section, scored independently. You need 56 correct of 80 national items AND 28 correct of 40 state items. Failing one section means failing the exam.

How long is the exam?

240 minutes (4 hours) total.

What's an Affiliate Broker?

The entry-level Tennessee real estate license. Affiliate Brokers work under a Principal Broker and have specific supervisory rules. The next step up is Broker, then Principal Broker.

Where do I take the exam?

At a PSI testing center in Tennessee (Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville, Chattanooga, and additional locations).

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

90 hours total: 60 hours of Basic Principles of Real Estate plus 30 hours of the New Affiliates Course, completed at a Tennessee Real Estate Commission-approved school. The two courses are sequenced; New Affiliates can only be taken after Basic Principles.

Is Tennessee's TREC the same as Texas's TREC?

No. The Tennessee Real Estate Commission and the Texas Real Estate Commission share the same abbreviation but are unrelated state agencies with different statutes, different rules, and different content outlines.

Can I retake just the section I failed?

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

How much is the Tennessee exam fee?

$39 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 Tennessee. 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 6 months. If you pass national but fail state (or vice versa), you have 6 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 Tennessee-specific Passd Score plus which TREC content areas need work. Free, no credit card.

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