How hard is the Illinois real estate exam?

Short answer: Prepare for both broad national concepts and precise Illinois rules. PSI scores the portions separately. Check whether you can apply the rules to unfamiliar questions, rather than relying on definitions or one combined practice score.

IDFPR publishes monthly examination pass-rate tables in board minutes. In the November 2025 broker results, the first-time rate was 58% for national and 55% for Illinois state. The latest table located in the linked board minutes checked October 29, 2026 covers January through November 2025. Treat these figures as historical results, not a 2026 pass rate.

Source: IDFPR's December 11, 2025 board minutes, PDF page 11, table titled “2025 Real Estate Examination Pass Rates.” The figures above use the Broker National and Broker State rows. Managing broker, leasing agent, instructor, reciprocity and endorsement results are different groups.

Is there a current 2026 first-attempt figure?

We did not find a 2026 broker pass-rate table in the January through September 2026 minutes linked from the board's minutes directory. The latest listed minutes at this check were for September 10, 2026. An October meeting agenda is not a results table. Newer figures may be published later; follow the directory and check the reporting period before reusing a number.

What do the published figures leave unanswered?

• Passing both portions on the first sitting: the table reports each portion separately and gives different taker counts. It does not link the same people across both portions. Averaging or multiplying 58% and 55% does not supply the missing combined result.
• A full-year rate: December 2025 cells are blank in this attachment. A blank cell is not zero, and these data are not a complete calendar-year result. Do not average rounded monthly percentages to invent an annual figure.
• Your next result: a group rate is not your probability of passing. Repeat-taker rows describe a different testing group; they do not establish what caused the outcomes or how you will perform.

The passing score is a separate measure. PSI requires 70% raw on national and 75% on Illinois. Those are score thresholds, not percentages of candidates who pass. A reported 55% Illinois pass rate does not mean you can pass with 55% of the scored points.

Read the definition behind the headline. A school's results can be useful for its stated group, but a provider-specific rate is not automatically a statewide result. Before comparing two claims, check:

1. Who was counted? All enrolled students, course completers, exam takers or only people who reported back?
2. Which outcome? First-time success, an eventual pass after retakes, one portion or both?
3. Which dates and sample size? A reporting period and number of takers should accompany the percentage.
4. Which evidence? Look for the underlying report or a clear collection method. A guarantee, testimonial or refund policy is not a pass-rate dataset.

Different definitions can produce different percentages without showing that one course is better. Do not use another state's figures, a provider's selected group or a prep app's practice scores as the Illinois statewide pass rate.

Passing one portion does not average with the other. If you score strongly on national and miss Illinois, the overall total does not rescue the state result. PSI requires only the failed portion on a retake, subject to the attempt and eligibility rules.

National requires breadth and transfer. A question can begin with a contract, turn on an agency duty, include financing facts, and end by asking for the best action. Memorizing topic headings is not enough.

The remaining national categories still matter: transfer of title is 6%, land use controls 5%, and property management 3%. A low-weight topic can be the difference when your score is close to the cutoff.

Use the national portion study guide to see all 11 areas and their published objectives.

Illinois has fewer scored questions and more booklet time per scored item, but each question represents a larger share of the portion. State wording also turns on exact license-law duties, timing, notices, relationships, compensation, and exceptions.

The License Act category is the largest, but the two 25% categories together represent half of the state portion. Study the Illinois License Act guide and complete Illinois state portion guide as separate layers.

A multiple-choice question may turn on one fact: who owes the duty, when notice is required or which exception applies. A familiar phrase is not enough if the choice does not answer the task. The booklet's special weighted scenarios concern Instructor and Managing Broker National testing, not the standard broker exam.

Use a four-step reading method:

1. Identify exactly what the question asks.
2. Name the controlling rule before judging the choices.
3. Remove answers that violate a duty, timing rule, or fact.
4. Choose the option that most completely resolves the scenario.

Watch words such as first, best, required, except, may, and must. They change the task. Do not add facts that the question did not provide.

The national outline assigns real estate calculations 7%, but quantitative skills also appear inside financing, valuation, ownership, and practice objectives. The arithmetic is usually the final step, not the main challenge.

The Illinois real estate exam math guide teaches the formulas and setup logic across the PSI-listed calculation objectives.

The booklet lists 150 minutes for national and 90 minutes for Illinois. PSI may add 5 to 10 unidentified experimental questions, and those items still use exam time. You cannot identify and skip them.

A separate PSI Illinois landing page displays 3.5 hours for the appointment, which conflicts with the booklet’s four-hour combined total. Confirm the timer attached to your booking. The format, time, and scoring guide explains the source conflict.

Practice at a pace that leaves room to reread close scenarios. Finishing fast is not the goal. Finishing accurately without a rushed final block is.

• Your timed national scores stay above 70% across several new sets.
• Your timed Illinois scores stay above 75% across several new sets.
• High-weight and diagnostic weak topics no longer collapse.
• You explain why plausible wrong choices fail.
• You select and set up mixed calculations without formula labels.
• You finish with enough time to read the final questions carefully.

Aim for a repeatable cushion rather than a single score that barely clears a cutoff. Practice questions vary, so no website or app score can guarantee the PSI result.

• An unattributed pass-rate claim from a prep company.
• A friend’s result without their starting knowledge or study method.
• One untimed, open-note practice score.
• A combined score that hides one weak portion.
• A long answer streak from questions you have already seen.
• The number of hours studied without evidence of retained knowledge.

Use the dated IDFPR tables for group context and the official outline for what to study. Your own fresh, timed work helps identify the next topic to repair. Neither supplies a guaranteed exam result.

1. Measure national and Illinois performance separately.
2. Rank weak objectives using diagnostic evidence and weight.
3. Relearn the rule, then answer fresh scenarios without notes.
4. Mix topics so labels and formulas are not given away.
5. Retest after a delay and track recurring errors.
6. Finish with timed portion-specific simulations.

The four-week Illinois exam study plan turns that sequence into 28 daily assignments.

Start with the free original practice diagnostic, then review the rules behind your misses. If regular practice on your phone fits your routine, you can download Pass Illinois for questions and explanations. App and web practice scores are study feedback, not a verified candidate pass rate or a prediction of your PSI result.

• PSI Illinois Candidate Information Booklet dated June 24, 2026
• IDFPR December 11, 2025 board minutes, PDF page 11: 2025 monthly examination pass-rate tables.
• IDFPR Real Estate Administration and Disciplinary Board directory: minutes listed through September 10, 2026 when checked October 29.

Question counts, weights, passing standards, booklet timing, item format and experimental-question rules come from PSI. Pass-rate figures come from the dated IDFPR attachment. Study methods and comparisons on this page are editorial guidance, not a validated prediction model. We have not derived a combined or annual rate from the separate published rows.