Florida Real Estate Exam Pass Rates: What DBPR's Own Numbers Say (August 2026)
Last checked against the statute text: 2026-10-07
Roughly half of the people who sit the Florida real estate sales associate exam for the first time pass it, and about a third of those who come back for another try do. Those are not a school's marketing numbers; they come from the exam performance summary the Division of Real Estate presents to the Florida Real Estate Commission each month. For August 2026 it reports 2,103 first-time sales associate candidates graded, 1,002 of them passing, a 48% pass rate, and 2,340 repeaters graded with 747 passing, a 32% pass rate, for 4,443 exams and 39% overall. [1]
Here is where the numbers come from, what the full table says, and the two conclusions worth drawing before you book your exam.
Where the numbers come from
DBPR's testing vendor, Pearson VUE, reports results to the state, and the Division of Real Estate includes an "Exam Performance Summary" for real estate exams in the reports it files for each Commission meeting. The table we are reading is titled for August 2026 and was filed with the September 2026 meeting documents. [1] It breaks every exam into first-time takers and repeaters, [1] and it counts appointments, no-shows and cancellations as well as graded exams: for August, 5,753 appointments, 581 no-shows, 122 canceled, and 5,048 graded exams across all real estate and appraiser exams. [1]
Because the Commission meets monthly, a new table appears each month. The figures move a few points either way, which is why we cite one month precisely rather than an all-time average nobody can check.
The full August 2026 table, in words
Sales associate. First-time takers: 2,103 graded, 1,002 passed, 48%; repeaters: 2,340 graded, 747 passed, 32%; all takers: 4,443 graded, 1,749 passed, 39%. [1] Notice that repeaters outnumbered first-timers that month.
Broker. First-time takers: 169 graded, 81 passed, 48%; repeaters: 212 graded, 60 passed, 28%; all takers: 381 graded, 141 passed, 37%. [1] The broker exam tracks the sales associate exam almost exactly for first-timers and runs a little harder for repeaters.
Florida Laws and Rules. This is the shorter exam that out-of-state licensees take under mutual recognition. First-time takers: 103 graded, 61 passed, 59%; repeaters: 62 graded, 32 passed, 52%; all takers: 165 graded, 93 passed, 56%. [1] Experienced licensees do better on it than new candidates do on the full exam, but four in ten still fail the first time.
Everything combined. Across all the real estate and appraiser exams in the table, 2,406 first-time takers were graded and 1,165 passed, 48%; 2,642 repeaters were graded and 851 passed, 32%; 5,048 exams in total with 2,016 passes, 40%. [1]
What the numbers actually mean
The first attempt is the cheap one. First-timers pass at 48% and repeaters at 32%, [1] and every retake costs a new test fee. [2] The repeater rate is lower partly because the people who were under-prepared the first time are over-represented in it, and partly because many retake quickly without changing how they study. The lesson is not that the exam is unbeatable; it is that the preparation before attempt one is where the money and the months are saved.
The course exam and the state exam are different tests. The pre-license course ends in its own end-of-course exam, which the rule says is passed at 70% or higher. [3] The state exam is graded on 100 points and passed at 75. [2] A student who scrapes 70 on the course exam and walks into Pearson VUE the next week is the person the 32% column is built from. Aim well above the course pass mark before you book.
You have time, but not unlimited time. Your course completion certificate is good for two years from the date of completion, [4] so there is no need to rush the first attempt; there is also no advantage in letting the material go cold. Two to four weeks of focused review after the course is the window most instructors recommend.
How to use a failing result
If you fail, the booklet gives you two tools. You receive your official result report before you leave the test center, [2] and you are entitled to review the questions you answered incorrectly under DBPR's terms. [2] Use the review. The candidates who move from the repeater column back into the pass column are the ones who study the sections they actually missed rather than re-reading the whole book. Keep in mind the exam may include a small number of experimental pilot questions that do not count, [2] so a result report is not a perfect map, but it is a good one.
What SFCC does about it
We teach the 63-hour course to the state's content, not just to our own exam, and we give students exam-prep practice sets to work through after the course before they book with Pearson VUE. We do not publish a school pass rate, because the state does not publish results by school and we will not quote a number nobody can verify. What we can promise is that you will know the material at a level above the course pass mark before we encourage you to sit the exam.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Florida real estate exam hard? Half of first-time takers pass. [1] It is a serious exam that rewards preparation, not an impossible one.
Where can I see the latest numbers? In the Division of Real Estate's reports to the Commission, posted with each month's FREC meeting documents on DBPR's site. The August 2026 summary is the one cited here. [1]
Does a school's pass rate matter? Florida does not publish results by school, so any school pass rate you see is self-reported. Ask instead how the course prepares you for the state exam specifically.
How many times can I take the exam? DBPR's booklet speaks of registering for future examinations and paying the fee each time; [2] the practical limit is your course certificate's two-year validity. [4]
Is the broker exam harder? For first-timers the August pass rates were the same, 48% for both exams; [1] broker repeaters passed less often than sales associate repeaters.
Pass it the first time
SFCC's DBPR-approved 63-hour pre-license course ends with its own timed exam and comes with exam-prep practice built around the state's content. Online and self-paced for $329, in English or Spanish, or live on Zoom for $599.
Sources
- DBPR Division of Real Estate, Reports to the Florida Real Estate Commission, September 2026 meeting: Exam Performance Summary, Real Estate, August 2026
- “FL Sales Associate 2,103 1,002 48% 1,101 52% 2,340 747 32% 1,593 68% 4,443 1,749 39% 2,694 61%”
- “Exam Performance Summary Real Estate Total August 2026”
- “Exam Title First Time Takers Repeaters”
- “Total Appointments 5,753 Total No Shows 581 Total Canceled 122 Total Graded Exams 5,048”
- “FL Real Estate Broker 169 81 48% 88 52% 212 60 28% 152 72% 381 141 37% 240 63%”
- “FL Real Estate Laws & Rules 103 61 59% 42 41% 62 32 52% 30 48% 165 93 56% 72 44%”
- “TOTAL 2,406 1,165 48% 1,241 52% 2,642 851 32% 1,791 68% 5,048 2,016 40% 3,032 60%”
- DBPR Candidate Information Booklet, Real Estate Sales Associate examination
- “You will also have to pay a new test fee required when you register for any future examination”
- “The Sales Associate examination shall be graded based on 100 points for a perfect examination. A candidate who receives a grade of 75 points or higher will have successfully passed the examination”
- “All candidates will receive an official, photo-bearing exam result report immediately following completion of their examination”
- “Candidates who fail an examination are entitled to review the questions they answered incorrectly”
- “The examination may contain a small number of experimental or pilot test questions”
- Rule 61J2-3.008, Florida Administrative Code: Pre-license Education for Broker and Sales Associate Applicants
- “A grade of 70% or higher on the Commission-prescribed end-of-course examination constitutes satisfactory course completion”
- DBPR Online Services: Sales Associate Initial Application (RE 1) requirements checklist
- “The course is good for two (2) years from the date of completion”
Photos: Jakub Żerdzicki / Unsplash.
