How to Read Your Texas Real Estate Exam Score Report
If you failed a portion of the Texas sales agent exam, Pearson VUE handed you a score report that breaks your performance down by content category. It's the only official evidence of why you failed — and it's both more useful and less trustworthy than it looks.
This guide decodes every category on the report: what it covers, how many questions it carries on the current outline, and — because some categories are measured by only three questions — how much weight the percentage actually deserves.
Updated · Facts cited to TREC and Pearson VUE — sources at the end of this page.
The short answer
The report scores you by content category: eight on the National portion (80 scored questions, 56 to pass) and six on the Texas portion (40 scored, 28 to pass). Trust the big categories, treat the 3-question ones as hints, and drill the weak areas rather than re-reading everything.
What the exam actually consists of
Because each portion is pass/fail on its own raw score, your score report is really two reports. Fail one portion by two questions and the category breakdown for that portion is where your next two weeks live.
- National portion
80 scored questions · 150 minutes · 56 correct to pass (70%)
Pearson VUE Candidate Handbook #094400 (January 2026).
- Texas State Law portion
40 scored questions · 90 minutes · 28 correct to pass (70%)
Each portion passes or fails independently.
- Unscored pretest items
Mixed in, not identified
They don't count toward your score, but you can't tell which they are.
The eight National categories, decoded
Question counts below are from the current Pearson VUE content outline (effective with the January 2026 handbook). The count is the maximum score for that category — and the honest measure of how seriously to take its percentage.
| Category | Questions | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| I. Real Property Characteristics, Legal Descriptions & Property Use | 11 | Land vs personal property, fixtures, legal descriptions, zoning and land use |
| II. Forms of Ownership, Transfer & Recording of Title | 9 | Tenancies, deeds, recording, constructive notice, chain of title |
| III. Property Value & Appraisal | 11 | Appraisal approaches, market value, adjustments, CMA vs appraisal |
| IV. Real Estate Contracts & Agency | 16 | Offer/acceptance, validity, contingencies, agency creation and duties — the heaviest category on the exam |
| V. Real Estate Practice | 10 | Fair housing, advertising, antitrust, everyday brokerage practice |
| VI. Property Disclosures & Environmental Issues | 9 | Condition disclosures, lead paint, environmental hazards |
| VII. Financing & Settlement | 7 | Loan types and instruments, TRID, closing mechanics |
| VIII. Real Estate Math Calculations | 7 | Commissions, prorations, area, loan and tax math |
The six Texas categories, decoded
| Category | Questions | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| I. Commission Duties & Powers | 3 | What TREC can and cannot do: rulemaking, discipline, the recovery fund |
| II. Licensing | 3 | Who needs a license, exemptions, obtaining and maintaining one |
| III. Standards of Conduct | 9 | Advertising rules, trust accounts, disclosure duties, prohibited conduct |
| IV. Agency & Brokerage | 11 | Fiduciary duties, intermediary practice with and without appointments — the heaviest Texas category |
| V. Contracts | 9 | Promulgated forms: which one, when license holders may fill them in, addenda |
| VI. Special Topics | 5 | Water and mineral rights disclosures, HOAs, other Texas-specific rules |
Which numbers to trust
The diagnostic section of the report shows how many questions you answered correctly in each category — counts, not percentages. Small categories swing wildly: on a three-question category, a single miss is the difference between 2 of 3 and 1 of 3 (a 33-point swing if you convert it). So 'Commission Duties: 1 of 3' might mean a real gap — or one unlucky question. Meanwhile 'Agency & Brokerage: 6 of 11' is a signal you can bank on.
Rule of thumb: act on any category of seven or more questions where you got fewer than seven in ten right. Treat the three-question categories as tie-breakers, confirmed or dismissed by further practice — not as facts about you.
This is a sample-size problem, and it's fixable
The score report can't ask follow-up questions; an adaptive diagnostic can. PassDeed balances the session across the official blueprint, then reports each measured domain with an evidence count and flags low-confidence estimates instead of hiding them.
Turn each weak category into a practice target
Each report category maps to study material on this site. Weakest first, cap at three — spreading a retake plan across every category is how the first attempt went.
- Contracts & Agency (National IV) or Texas Contracts (State V) →The heaviest national category and the promulgated-forms rules
- Agency & Brokerage (State IV) →Fiduciary duties and Texas intermediary practice
- Commission Duties, Licensing, Standards of Conduct (State I–III) →TREC authority, advertising, trust accounts
- Financing & Settlement (National VII) →Loan math, TRID timing, closing costs
- Ownership & Title (National I–II) →Tenancies, deeds, recording
- Real Estate Math (National VIII) →Setup errors, not arithmetic, cause most misses
- Practice & Disclosures (National V–VI) →Fair housing scenarios and disclosure rules
Frequently asked questions
What score do you need to pass the Texas real estate exam?
56 of 80 scored questions on the National portion and 28 of 40 on the Texas State Law portion — 70% on each, passed independently. The passing standard is set by TREC and administered by Pearson VUE.
Does the Texas score report show which questions I missed?
No. It reports performance by content category only — eight categories on the National portion, six on the Texas portion. You never see individual questions or answers.
How accurate is the category breakdown on the score report?
It depends on the category's size. Categories with nine to sixteen questions give a usable signal; categories measured by three questions swing 33 points per miss and should be treated as hints to verify with practice, not conclusions.
Do I get a score report if I pass?
Yes. Every candidate receives a score report marked pass or fail. Candidates who fail also receive a numeric score and diagnostic information for the failed portion to guide the retake.
Find out exactly where you stand
The free diagnostic measures you against every blueprint domain — the same content areas as your exam's score report — in about 15 minutes, and reports a Readiness Score with a stated confidence range. No card required.
Sources
- Pearson VUE — Texas Real Estate Candidate Handbook (#094400)
- Pearson VUE — Texas Real Estate content outlines (#094401)
- TREC — Exam Topic Reports for Sales Agents and Brokers
Fees, rules, and statistics above were verified against these sources on the update date shown at the top of the page. Rules change — always confirm current requirements with TREC and Pearson VUE before acting.
Keep reading: Failed the Texas Exam: What Next · The Hardest Part, by the Numbers · Passed National, Failed State · Texas exam prep
PassDeed is not affiliated with or endorsed by TREC, FREC, the DBPR, the California DRE, Pearson VUE, or any state regulatory body. Passing standards are set by each state. Verify current requirements at trec.texas.gov (Texas), myfloridalicense.com (Florida), or dre.ca.gov (California).