2026 Illinois exam changes

What changed on the Illinois real estate exam in 2026?

Effective June 24, 2026, PSI replaced the Illinois broker state portion's old three-area outline with four areas. The exam still has 40 scored Illinois questions, but Licensing Requirements dropped from 10 questions to 4, the License Act now has 16, Additional Illinois Laws and Regulations has 10, and Disclosures remains at 10. Candidates using an older three-area study plan should remap it before testing.

The change in one minute

The 2026 update reorganized the Illinois state syllabus. It did not add a third exam portion or increase the 40 scored state questions. The old 50% Laws and Rules category was replaced by a 40% Illinois Real Estate License Act category and a separate 25% Additional Illinois Laws and Regulations category. Licensing Requirements became smaller, while Disclosures kept the same 25% weight.

Comparison: Number of Illinois areas
Through June 23: 3
From June 24: 4

Comparison: Licensing Requirements
Through June 23: 10 questions, 25%
From June 24: 4 questions, 10%

Comparison: Main practice-law category
Through June 23: Laws and Rules Regulating Real Estate Practice, 20 questions, 50%
From June 24: Illinois Real Estate License Act, 16 questions, 40%

Comparison: Separate additional-laws category
Through June 23: Not a separate heading
From June 24: 10 questions, 25%

Comparison: Disclosures
Through June 23: 10 questions, 25%
From June 24: 10 questions, 25%

Comparison: Total scored Illinois questions
Through June 23: 40
From June 24: 40

Illinois broker state outline before and after June 24, 2026
Comparison	Through June 23	From June 24
Number of Illinois areas	3	4
Licensing Requirements	10 questions, 25%	4 questions, 10%
Main practice-law category	Laws and Rules Regulating Real Estate Practice, 20 questions, 50%	Illinois Real Estate License Act, 16 questions, 40%
Separate additional-laws category	Not a separate heading	10 questions, 25%
Disclosures	10 questions, 25%	10 questions, 25%
Total scored Illinois questions	40	40

Primary source: PSI Illinois Candidate Information Booklet. The booklet labels the old outline as effective through June 23, 2026 and the new outline as effective June 24, 2026.

Do not read "newly listed" as "new law"

An outline can rename, split, or expand a topic without changing the underlying law on that date. This guide describes subjects as newly separate or newly explicit unless an official source independently shows a legal change.

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How did the old and new Illinois outlines differ?

Through June 23, the broker state outline used three buckets: Licensing Requirements, Laws and Rules Regulating Real Estate Practice, and Disclosures. The middle bucket held 20 of the 40 scored questions. It mixed the License Act with other Illinois laws and real estate topics under one broad heading.

From June 24, PSI uses four buckets. Licensing Requirements now has 4 questions. The Illinois Real Estate License Act has 16. Additional Illinois Laws and Regulations has 10. Disclosures has 10. The new structure gives candidates a clearer boundary between the License Act and related state law.

The practical difference

An old study tracker may show half of the state exam as one catch-all laws-and-rules score. That score is no longer precise enough. A candidate can understand the License Act but still be weak on transfer taxes, landlord and tenant rules, assistance animals, or other laws in the separate 25% category.

A simple example

Suppose your old dashboard says you are at 80% in Laws and Rules. That result does not show whether the misses came from agency and brokerage agreements, now centered in the License Act area, or from transfer taxes and the Illinois Human Rights Act, now centered in Additional Illinois Laws and Regulations. Split the result before deciding what to study next.

What did not change with the state-outline update?

The update was important, but it was not a complete redesign of the broker examination. Under the current PSI booklet:

The exam still has national and Illinois portions.
The Illinois portion still has 40 scored questions.
The Illinois passing standard is still 75%.
PSI allocates 90 minutes to the Illinois portion.
The current national portion still has 100 scored questions across 11 content areas, a 70% raw passing standard, and 150 minutes.
The broker examination fee listed by PSI remains $58.

PSI's shorter Illinois marketing page currently gives a different total-duration figure from the dated booklet. The complete Illinois broker exam guide explains that conflict and the rest of the current exam mechanics.

What are the four current Illinois broker areas?

Area: Licensing Requirements
Questions: 4
Weight: 10%
Primary focus: License activities, exemptions, license types, eligibility, examination, renewal, and education

Area: Illinois Real Estate License Act
Questions: 16
Weight: 40%
Primary focus: Agency, advertising, sponsorship, agreements, compensation, money, documents, teams, discipline, CMA and BPO work, and contracts

Area: Additional Illinois Laws and Regulations
Questions: 10
Weight: 25%
Primary focus: Ownership, legal scope, transfer taxes and title, property taxes, fair housing, landlord and tenant law, and other named Illinois acts

Area: Disclosures
Questions: 10
Weight: 25%
Primary focus: Agency and no-agency notices, licensee interests, compensation sources, property condition, environmental issues, and flooding

Current Illinois broker state content outline effective June 24, 2026
Area	Questions	Weight	Primary focus
Licensing Requirements	4	10%	License activities, exemptions, license types, eligibility, examination, renewal, and education
Illinois Real Estate License Act	16	40%	Agency, advertising, sponsorship, agreements, compensation, money, documents, teams, discipline, CMA and BPO work, and contracts
Additional Illinois Laws and Regulations	10	25%	Ownership, legal scope, transfer taxes and title, property taxes, fair housing, landlord and tenant law, and other named Illinois acts
Disclosures	10	25%	Agency and no-agency notices, licensee interests, compensation sources, property condition, environmental issues, and flooding

1. Licensing Requirements, 10%

This is the smallest state area at 4 questions. It covers activities requiring a license, exemptions, license types, eligibility and sponsorship, examination rules, renewal, post-license and continuing education, and changes to license information.

2. Illinois Real Estate License Act, 40%

This is the largest state area at 16 questions. It covers agency, advertising, the sponsored-licensee relationship, brokerage agreements, compensation, interference, assistants, teams, money, documents, discipline, CMA and BPO requirements, purchase and lease agreements, and the purpose of license law.

3. Additional Illinois Laws and Regulations, 25%

This 10-question area separates related Illinois law from the License Act. Broker topics include ownership interests, work beyond the scope of a real estate license, transfer taxes, transfer of title, the Plat Act, real estate taxes and exemptions, the Illinois Human Rights Act, assistance animals, landlord and tenant law, commercial broker liens, and radon-resistant construction.

4. Disclosures, 25%

This 10-question area covers agency and no-agency notices, transactional-broker and facilitator restrictions, contemporaneous offers, licensee interests, compensation sources, residential property disclosure, material defects, radon, lead-based paint, mine subsidence, underground storage tanks, and landlord flooding disclosures.

Which topics are newly separate or more explicit?

The safest way to describe the update is that PSI made the map more specific. Several subjects now have a clearer home in the outline. Candidates should be able to recognize at least these groupings:

License Act area

Teams, team names, and supervision
CMA and BPO requirements
Purchase contracts and lease agreements
Disciplinary provisions and unprofessional conduct

Additional-laws area

Illinois Assistance Animal Integrity Act
Illinois Landlord Tenant Act
Commercial Broker Lien Act
Radon Resistant Construction Act

Disclosure area

Notice of no agency relationship
Compensation-source disclosure
Mine subsidence and underground storage tanks
Flooding disclosures for landlords

Important boundary

Agency duties sit in the License Act area, while agency notices and related disclosures also appear in Disclosures. Learn the rule and the required communication, not just the topic label.

How should you update your study plan?

Replace the old three-part tracker. Create four Illinois state scores using the current PSI headings.
Start with the 40% License Act area. It is the largest bucket, but do not let it absorb subjects that belong in Additional Illinois Laws or Disclosures.
Give each 25% area its own review. Ten questions in Additional Laws and ten in Disclosures can decide the state result.
Use the outline as an index. Check every listed broker topic against your course notes, current law, and fresh practice.
Run separate mini diagnostics. A combined state score can hide a weak category, just as a combined national and state score can hide a failed portion.
Finish with mixed Illinois sets. Topic practice teaches the rule. Mixed practice shows whether you can classify the issue without being told the category.

Continue with the Illinois state portion study guide for the complete broker-only checklist and law map. Use the 15-topic exam study guide to place these four state areas alongside all 11 national areas.

Check your current starting point

Use the free readiness check, then try original questions before rebuilding your schedule.

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Can you classify these topics under the new outline?

These are original classification checks, not copied exam questions. Choose the current Illinois area before opening the answer.

A question asks about an Illinois real estate team name. Which area should you open first?

Illinois Real Estate License Act. The current outline places teams, team names, and supervision in that 40% area.

A question asks about the Illinois Assistance Animal Integrity Act. Which area should you open first?

Additional Illinois Laws and Regulations. PSI lists the Act in that 25% area.

A question asks when a broker must disclose the source of compensation. Which area should you open first?

Disclosures. Compensation sources are listed in the current 25% disclosure area.

A question asks whether an activity requires a license. Which area should you open first?

Licensing Requirements. Activities requiring a license and license exemptions sit in the 10% licensing area.

Can you still use study materials based on the old outline?

Use them as a source of explanations, not as your master checklist. A sound explanation of agency, disclosure, or transfer tax does not become useless because PSI moved the topic. The problem is that an old table of contents can lead you to budget time incorrectly or miss a subject that is now explicit.

Before relying on older material, ask four questions:

Does it show four Illinois broker areas?
Do the weights read 10%, 40%, 25%, and 25%?
Does it include the current subtopics listed for broker candidates, not only managing broker topics?
Are legal explanations checked against the current License Act and administrative rules?

If the answer to the first two questions is no, remap the material. If the legal explanation conflicts with an official source, follow the official source.

Continue with practice mapped to the current outline

Pass Illinois

Keep the four Illinois areas separate

Pass Illinois includes 1,339 original questions, 7 study modes, and a 17-topic Math Coach. National and Illinois readiness are tracked separately, with practice mapped to the current outline.

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2026 Illinois exam changes FAQ

When did the Illinois broker exam outline change?

PSI states that the updated state-specific broker outline became effective June 24, 2026. Its current booklet also includes the older outline labeled effective through June 23, 2026, which makes the transition clear.

Did the number of Illinois state questions change?

No. The Illinois broker state portion still has 40 scored questions. What changed is how those 40 questions are organized and weighted across the content outline.

Did the national portion change on June 24, 2026?

PSI's update notice specifically names the state-specific broker and managing broker outlines. The current broker national portion has 100 scored questions across 11 areas. This page does not treat the June 24 notice as a separate national-outline change.

Is my pre-license course invalid because the outline changed?

The outline update does not automatically invalidate approved education. Eligibility depends on the current IDFPR and PSI rules for your qualification path, including the two-year validity period for standard broker pre-license education. Ask your provider how its review materials map to the new outline.

Are all of the newly listed topics new Illinois laws?

No. A topic can be newly separated or newly named in the outline without being a new law. The safest description is that the 2026 outline reorganizes the tested framework and makes several topics more explicit.

What is the largest Illinois area now?

The Illinois Real Estate License Act is the largest broker state area at 40%, or 16 of the 40 scored Illinois questions. Additional Illinois Laws and Regulations and Disclosures each account for 25%, or 10 questions.

Should I throw away study materials that use the old outline?

Not necessarily. The underlying explanation of a law or rule may still be useful, but the table of contents, weights, and topic labels need to be remapped. Use the current PSI outline as your index and verify legal details against current Illinois sources.

Is the managing broker update the same as the broker update?

No. PSI updated both state-specific outlines, but their weights and topic counts are different. This page covers the entry-level Illinois broker examination only.

Primary sources

PSI controls the examination outline and mechanics. IDFPR and the Illinois General Assembly control licensing law and rules. Use the sources below when a prep resource disagrees with the current outline.

Pass Illinois is independent exam prep. It is not affiliated with PSI or IDFPR, does not replace required education, and does not reproduce live exam questions.