Are breaks allowed on the Illinois real estate exam?

Short answer:A remote-proctored candidate cannot take a break. A test-center candidate may use the restroom with the proctor's permission, but receives no additional time. Leaving the room for another reason is not part of the standard rule.

1. Stay seated until you can get the proctor's attention.
2. Ask for permission before leaving the examination room.
3. Follow the administrator's checkout and reentry directions.
4. Go only to the restroom and return promptly.
5. Complete any required security step before reentry.
6. Resume with the remaining exam time.

Do not retrieve a phone, notes, food, or another stored item. A restroom visit is not permission to access personal belongings or discuss the exam.

No extra time is added. Plan as if the timer continues while you request permission, leave, comply with any security procedure, and return.

The national portion has 150 minutes for 100 scored questions. The Illinois portion has 90 minutes for 40 scored questions. PSI may also include unidentified experimental questions, so the practical pace includes more than the scored count.

Use the Illinois real estate exam time-limit guide for portion-specific pacing.

The remote room, desk, camera view, and candidate are part of the secure environment. Leaving the view or room breaks the controlled chain and can expose the candidate to people, devices, notes, or other prohibited material.

During a standard remote session:

• Remain in the approved room.
• Remain in the required camera view.
• Do not retrieve a phone, food, drink, paper, or calculator.
• Do not let another person enter or communicate with you.
• Use the official proctor or chat channel for a problem.
• Do not decide that a technical delay creates a personal break.

Prepare the complete environment with the Illinois PSI remote room checklist.

PSI gives candidates an examination tutorial before the test. The tutorial can take up to 15 minutes and does not count as part of the examination time.

That tutorial is not a break bank. Once a scored portion begins, the applicable timer and delivery rules control. Use the tutorial to understand navigation, selection, and review controls, not to study content.

• Use the restroom immediately before check-in or remote launch.
• Eat a familiar meal early enough to feel comfortable.
• Avoid unusually large amounts of caffeine or fluid.
• Wear comfortable layers that comply with security checks.
• Practice sitting for a full timed portion without getting up.
• Position the chair and screen to reduce neck and back strain.
• Take prescribed medication on the normal medical schedule.

This is ordinary test logistics, not medical advice. A health condition that requires access, equipment, food, drink, movement, medication, or breaks belongs in the accommodation process.

Food and drink are not standard permitted testing-room items. Medication and medical devices can involve separate comfort-aid or accommodation rules. Do not conceal an item or assume a proctor can approve it informally.

1. Review PSI's current comfort-aid and accommodation instructions.
2. Request approval before scheduling when required.
3. Wait for written authorization.
4. Book through the process named in the approval.
5. Bring only the approved item in the approved form.

An approved accommodation can modify the standard break, timing, or access rules. The candidate must arrange it through the official process before the appointment. A doctor's note brought to an ordinary check-in is not the same as PSI approval.

Safety comes first. Use the proctor or administrator channel when possible and follow instructions. Understand, however, that leaving the room, losing the camera view, accessing a phone, or ending the session can affect completion, scoring, and fees under PSI's rules.

Preserve the appointment details and contact official PSI support after an interruption. Do not promise yourself that an emergency will automatically create a free reschedule. PSI determines the outcome under the program rules and documented circumstances.

Also compare calculators, scratch paper, technology, travel, room control, and focus in the Illinois PSI remote versus test-center guide.

1. Confirm the delivery method and any accommodation.
2. Follow your normal meal and medication routine.
3. Use the restroom before entering check-in.
4. Remove food, drink, phones, and other prohibited items.
5. Start each portion at a sustainable pace.
6. Keep a small time buffer if testing at a center.
7. Ask permission before any allowed restroom visit.
8. Return directly and resume without replaying the interruption.

• PSI Illinois Candidate Information Booklet dated June 24, 2026
• PSI Illinois Real Estate Examination Program

Your appointment confirmation, approved accommodation, administrator or proctor instructions, and current testing rules govern the session.