Illinois real estate broker practice
Illinois state-portion practice: answer, explain, then try fresh questions
Knowing the right rule is only part of a state question. You also need the right person, action and timing. Use this short sample to practise those distinctions, then review the explanation for every choice. A remembered letter is not the same as knowing why an answer works.
Last reviewed:
The short answer
This page offers eight original Illinois broker practice questions with an interactive mode and a readable answer review below. The sample contains one licensing question, three License Act questions, two additional-law questions and two disclosure questions. It is a small teaching sample, not a full or blueprint-proportioned mock exam. PSI lists 40 scored Illinois broker questions, a 75% raw passing standard and 90 minutes; 30 of 40 scored answers reaches that standard. Unscored experimental items may also be administered. National and Illinois results are separate.
Reviewed for October 2026 against the PSI booklet dated June 24, 2026 and the identified current Illinois provisions. The broker outline allocates 4 licensing, 16 License Act, 10 additional-law and 10 disclosure questions. Those counts agree with the published percentages shown in the comparison table. These site-authored teaching questions are not recalled, predicted or official PSI items. A score on eight questions is not a validated readiness estimate, a licensing decision or a guarantee of the official result.
Try the eight-question Illinois sample
Select Illinois below for the eight questions reviewed on this page. The National option is a separate set. Your browser may remember your previous selection.
This is the same Illinois question bank shown in the readable answer review below, offered in an interactive mode with choice explanations and area results. It has one licensing, three License Act, two additional-law and two disclosure questions. It is not a full or officially weighted forty-question examination.
For the BPO question, assume the lender is a financial institution originating a mortgage secured by the property being valued. Keep that intended use separate from other permitted BPO assignments.
Choose either set. Each saves its own place on this browser when storage is available.
Question 1 of 8
Illinois state portion
Use the sample as a rule check, not a passing prediction
- Select Illinois in the interactive sampler. It also offers a separate National set and can remember your previous selection. The eight Illinois questions are the same ones reproduced in the answer review below.
- Choose an answer before opening its explanation. Identify the actor, qualifying facts, required action, timing, form, recipient and relevant exception. Work from the question rather than a familiar keyword or remembered answer position.
- Review all four choices. Explain why the correct one fits and which condition the nearest competing choice misses. Record a guessed correct answer as uncertain knowledge rather than clearing it from your review list.
- Use the source for the particular issue. PSI controls the examination format; Illinois statutes and rules govern the legal scenarios. Distinguish a seller agreement from buyer assistance, a housing animal request from ADA public access, and an initial consent from a later confirmation.
- Keep the denominator visible. One correct licensing item is 1/1, not proof of mastery. Six correct in this sample is 75%, but that does not establish the result you would get on a different forty-question official examination.
- Continue with fresh evidence. Review a weak rule, answer a new scenario and then use a fuller mixed state set. Read the current broker outline and its managing-broker-only labels rather than treating every topic in the same booklet as a broker allocation.
| Illinois area | PSI broker allocation | Questions in this sample |
|---|---|---|
| Licensing Requirements | 4 of 40 = 10% | 1 |
| Illinois Real Estate License Act | 16 of 40 = 40% | 3 |
| Additional Illinois Laws and Regulations | 10 of 40 = 25% | 2 |
| Disclosures | 10 of 40 = 25% | 2 |
The distinctions that matter
| Distinction | How it works | What to notice |
|---|---|---|
| Official exam and teaching sample | The official Illinois portion has 40 scored items. This page's eight questions have their own small mix and may be revisited. | Neither the eight-question count nor a remembered repeat score reproduces the official form, difficulty or statistical reliability. |
| Percent and evidence | Six of eight and thirty of forty both equal 75%. They are not equivalent measurements of a candidate's future result. | The sample is small and not officially weighted. Keep the numerator, denominator, freshness and confidence beside the percentage. |
| Seller agreement and buyer or tenant assistance | Rule 1450.770(g) places the seller or owner writing before marketing or listing. Subsection (h) has its own before-or-as-soon-as-reasonably-practical wording for buyer or tenant assistance. | Do not use subsection (h) as a seller-marketing grace period. The dual-agency situation in subsection (i)(2) separately requires the buyer or tenant agreement and Section 15-45 compliance before acting on that party's behalf. |
| Notice, agreement and consent | A written brokerage agreement, an agency notice and informed dual-agency consent perform different functions. Written confirmation of prior dual consent is a further step. | The Section 15-45 confirmation is mandatory; the statute says it should be obtained when the offer or contract is executed. If embedded in the contract, both signature and initials are required. |
| State rule and general shortcut | The advertising rule has alternative prominence tests. The assistance-animal statute protects otherwise sufficient documentation submitted without the preferred form. | A smaller font alone does not settle an ad when the supplied larger-area alternative applies. A different document format alone does not defeat an animal request expressly meeting the statute. |
Work through the facts
Read the two different allocations
The official broker outline lists 4, 16, 10 and 10 questions. This site sample contains 1, 3, 2 and 2.
- The official totals add to 40; the sample adds to 8.
- The sample proportions are 12.5%, 37.5%, 25% and 25%.
- The page must describe its actual sample, not claim two questions per area or a full representative forty-question form.
Answer: Use the sample for particular rules. Use the full outline and fresh mixed work to plan broader preparation.
A threshold calculation is not a readiness validation
A candidate scores 6 of 8 here. Another teaching calculation asks what 75% of 40 equals.
- 6/8 = 75%.
- 40 times 0.75 = 30.
- Matching percentages do not establish equivalent question selection, difficulty, coverage or future performance.
Answer: Thirty of forty reaches the official raw threshold. Six of eight is only the score on this particular small sample.
A small area score needs more evidence
A candidate answers the one licensing item correctly and marks that area secure.
- The observed result is 1/1.
- Only one scenario has been sampled, and the explanation may be remembered.
- Try different licensing facts and explain the applicable rule without relying on this item's wording.
Answer: Keep the result, but do not treat one correct response as proof of complete area knowledge.
Count transfer-tax units before dollars
The tax question supplies $317,750 as already taxable value, with the state tax and an expressly imposed county tax, but no municipal tax.
- 317,750/500 = 635.5 taxable units.
- A fraction counts as a whole unit, so use 636.
- State: 636 times $0.50 = $318; county: 636 times $0.25 = $159; total $477.
Answer: The answer is $477 under the stated assumptions. Do not round the final dollar amount instead of the taxable unit count or invent another tax, deduction or exemption.
A coming-soon post is still marketing
An owner has approved the price orally but has not signed the listing agreement. The broker wants to post a coming-soon advertisement.
- The scenario concerns seller marketing, so apply subsection (g).
- The relevant listing signatures are required by subsection (d).
- A delay in showings does not turn an advertisement into nonmarketing.
Answer: Get the signed written agreement first. The buyer-assistance wording is a different provision, not a sign-later exception for this seller advertisement.
Confirm prior dual-agency consent
Both clients have already given informed written consent, and an offer is now being executed.
- Advance consent and later written confirmation are different steps.
- Section 15-45(c) requires written confirmation and says it should be obtained when the offer or contract is executed.
- If the confirmation is a contract provision, each client must sign the document and initial that provision.
Answer: Obtain the clients' confirmation rather than substituting the sponsoring broker's approval or relying only on the earlier consent. No advance-consent requirement is waived.
One item cannot validate an area
A learner answers the single licensing question correctly by guessing and cannot explain why the nearest distractor fails or why the course type matters.
- The observed licensing result is 1/1, or 100%.
- Confidence and reasoning show unresolved knowledge despite the percentage.
- Use a fresh licensing scenario with different facts before treating the rule as secure.
Answer: Keep both the 1/1 result and the uncertainty in the ledger. Do not turn one correct answer into a claim of complete readiness.
Mistakes to avoid
- This page is a forty-question official-style form with two questions in each area. It has eight existing original Illinois questions in a 1/3/2/2 mix. The full forty-question practice route is linked separately.
- A 75% sample result proves that I will pass. The official threshold and this small sample's predictive validity are different questions.
- A form title or familiar keyword gives the answer. Identify the governing actor, trigger, action, timing, form, recipient and exception.
- Every fee or paperwork fix makes a BPO purpose permissible. The prohibited primary mortgage-origination use is not cured by a disclaimer, report contents or payment routing.
- Any assistance-animal letter must be accepted, or only the landlord's form can work. This question expressly supplies documentation meeting the statute. The protected format point does not remove other lawful evaluation conditions.
- Font size is the only prominence test, and disclosure equals consent. Read the actual alternatives and the separate legal functions; the nearest plausible distractor often omits one of them.
Check your understanding
These are original teaching questions, not recalled or predicted PSI questions. Answer first, then explain why the other choices fail.
1. An Illinois owner wants a broker to advertise a home as "coming soon" this afternoon. The owner has approved the price by phone but will sign the listing agreement tomorrow. When may the broker begin marketing?
- After recording the owner's verbal permission in the transaction file
- After emailing the unsigned agreement, if showings wait until signing
- After the owner and sponsoring broker sign the written agreement
- After posting a coming-soon notice, if the full listing stays offline
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. After the owner and sponsoring broker sign the written agreement
Get the signed written agreement first. A coming-soon advertisement still markets the property, even if nobody can book a showing. Section 1450.770(g) puts the seller or owner agreement before marketing or listing; subsection (d) requires the signatures. The July 13, 2026 amendment does not give seller listings a sign-later grace period.
2. A lender offers an Illinois sponsored broker a fee for a BPO. The lender says it will use the opinion as the primary basis for market value when originating a mortgage loan. What should the broker do?
- Accept after adding comparable sales and signing the written report
- Decline that use of the BPO because the Act excludes it
- Accept if the fee goes through the sponsoring broker, not the licensee
- Accept if the report clearly states that it is not an appraisal
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. Decline that use of the BPO because the Act excludes it
Decline the assignment as described. Section 10-45 permits BPOs for several purposes, including certain work for lienholders, but excludes using one as the primary market-value basis for a financial institution's mortgage loan origination. A disclaimer, a complete report, or proper payment routing cannot cure a prohibited purpose.
3. An Illinois sale has a taxable value of $317,750, with no exemption or mortgage deduction. The county imposes its $0.25 tax per $500 or fraction. Include the state tax, exclude municipal tax, and find the total.
- $476.63
- $476.25
- $318.00
- $477.00
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. $477.00
Count 636 taxable units: $317,750 / $500 = 635.5, and a partial unit counts as a whole unit. The state share is 636 × $0.50 = $318. The county share is 636 × $0.25 = $159. Together they total $477. Round the units up before multiplying, not the final dollar amount.
4. An Illinois housing applicant requests an assistance animal. The disability and need are not apparent. A treating clinician provides written documentation meeting section 10(b), but the applicant does not use the landlord's preferred form. May the landlord deny the request for that reason alone?
- No, because a housing provider may never request documentation for an animal
- Yes, if the landlord applies the same form requirement to every applicant
- Yes, unless the clinician also supplies the applicant's specific diagnosis
- No, documentation meeting the statute does not have to use that form
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. No, documentation meeting the statute does not have to use that form
The landlord cannot deny the request just because the applicant used a different form. Section 10(a) allows a standardized-form request but protects documentation that meets subsection (b). It must be written, come from someone with a therapeutic relationship, and describe the disability-related need. The question assumes those requirements are met; it does not rule out other lawful grounds for evaluating an accommodation.
5. The same Illinois licensee will represent both buyer and seller. Both gave informed written consent before dual agency began. They are now signing an offer. What additional consent step does section 15-45 require?
- A new verbal approval from the buyer, because the seller already signed the listing
- No further confirmation, because the earlier consents cover every later document
- Written confirmation from both clients of their prior dual agency consent
- A written approval by the sponsoring broker in place of another client confirmation
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. Written confirmation from both clients of their prior dual agency consent
Obtain the clients' written confirmation of their earlier consent at the offer or contract stage. This is a second step, not a substitute for obtaining informed written consent before acting as a dual agent. If the confirmation is part of the purchase contract, each client must both sign the document and initial the dual agency confirmation provision.
6. An Illinois advertisement uses 24-point type for an individual broker and 18-point type for the sponsoring broker's business name. The business name occupies a larger display area, measured by height and width. Which statement about prominence is correct?
- The names meet the rule only if they use matching fonts and identical lettering
- The business name may be omitted because the individual broker is already identified
- The smaller business-name font makes the advertisement noncompliant in every case
- The larger business-name display area can meet the rule despite the smaller font
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. The larger business-name display area can meet the rule despite the smaller font
Font size is one permitted test, not the only test. Section 1450.715 also permits the sponsoring broker's business name to occupy an equal or larger area measured by height and width. On the stated facts, that alternative can satisfy prominence. This answers the prominence issue; it does not certify every other part of the advertisement.
7. An Illinois seller in a transaction covered by the Residential Real Property Disclosure Act wants to accept an offer today. The buyer plans an inspection next week. The seller's disclosure report is unfinished. Which sequence meets section 20?
- Sign the contract first and attach the report when the buyer orders the inspection
- Accept the offer today and deliver the report before the inspection period ends
- Deliver the report with the deed, after the inspection confirms the property's condition
- Complete and deliver the report before the purchase contract is signed
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. Complete and deliver the report before the purchase contract is signed
Complete the report and deliver it before contract signing. The buyer's later inspection is a separate step and does not extend section 20's deadline. The stem specifies a covered transaction because the Act contains exemptions.
8. A first-time applicant on Illinois' standard broker path has completed the approved Broker Pre-License Topics course and 15 hours of ordinary continuing education. The applicant has not taken the interactive pre-license course. Which statement is correct?
- The applicant still needs the required interactive pre-license course
- The applicant must take the managing broker curriculum before the state exam
- The continuing education completes the requirement because the total is 75 hours
- The applicant may replace the interactive course with post-license study after passing
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. The applicant still needs the required interactive pre-license course
Course type matters, not just the hour total. The standard broker path requires 60 hours of Broker Pre-License Topics plus 15 hours of Broker Pre-License Applied Real Estate Principles, Interactive. Ordinary continuing education does not replace that second course.
Common questions
How many questions are on this page?
The Illinois sample has eight original site questions: one licensing, three License Act, two additional-law and two disclosure questions. Its interactive mode and the readable answer review use the same Illinois bank. The sampler also has a separate National option. Select Illinois when working through the questions discussed here.
How many scored questions are on the official Illinois broker portion?
PSI lists 40 scored Illinois broker items. It separately lists 100 scored national items. The booklet says a small number of unidentified experimental questions may also be administered; those are unscored but use examination time. Do not treat every question displayed as scored or combine the two portions into one passing average.
What is the Illinois passing score and time limit?
The booklet lists a 75% raw standard and 90 minutes for the Illinois broker portion. On 40 scored questions, 30 correct reaches 75%. The national broker standard is separate. A practice score, a repeated answer set or a high national result does not guarantee the official Illinois outcome.
What are the four broker state content areas?
PSI lists Licensing Requirements at 4 questions, the Illinois Real Estate License Act at 16, Additional Illinois Laws and Regulations at 10, and Disclosures at 10. Those are 10%, 40%, 25% and 25% of 40. The managing-broker column and managing-broker-only topics have a different scope; use the broker column for broker preparation.
Is this sample weighted like the official examination?
No. Its 1/3/2/2 count gives 12.5%, 37.5%, 25% and 25% across the four areas. It is also much shorter, and its particular questions do not reproduce the breadth or difficulty of an official form. Use it to identify rule misunderstandings, then continue with fresh questions and broader mixed practice.
What practice score proves that I am ready?
No score on this eight-question sample proves readiness. Keep track of the size and coverage of the set, fresh versus repeated questions, confidence, timing and whether you can explain competing choices. The official 30-of-40 threshold is useful format information; it is not a validated prediction rule for this site's small sample. Avoid clearing a guessed correct answer from the error ledger.
How should I review a wrong or guessed answer?
Write the exact fact you missed, the applicable source and the rule's actor, trigger, action, timing and exception. Explain why the tempting alternative fails. Then try a new fact pattern. Merely repeating the same question until the right letter feels familiar does not show that you can apply the rule elsewhere.
Which question should I review before advertising for a seller?
Review the coming-soon listing question. Rule 1450.770(g) puts the seller or owner writing before marketing or listing, and the listing signature requirements also matter. The buyer or tenant assistance wording in subsection (h) is different. A dual-agency situation has the additional agreement and consent requirements in subsection (i)(2) and Section 15-45.
Why is the BPO assignment in the sample prohibited?
In this sample, the lender is a financial institution originating a mortgage secured by the property being valued. The BPO would be the primary basis for market value for that origination. Section 10-45 excludes that use of a BPO. A non-appraisal statement, full written report or payment through the sponsoring broker does not cure that purpose. Other permitted BPO purposes still have their own qualifications and written-content requirements.
Why is the assistance-animal answer about the form rather than the diagnosis?
The stem expressly supplies written documentation meeting Section 10(b) of the Illinois Assistance Animal Integrity Act. Subsection (a) does not allow rejection solely because that sufficient documentation did not use the preferred form. The question does not require a specific diagnosis or say that providers can never request relevant documentation. It also does not decide every other accommodation condition or use the ADA public-access animal test.
Is dual-agency confirmation optional because consent already exists?
No. Section 15-45 requires written confirmation of the prior consent and says it should be obtained when the clients execute an offer or contract. That preferred stage does not make confirmation optional. If it appears within the purchase contract, each client must both sign the document and initial the confirmation provision. The later step does not excuse missing advance informed written consent.
Why can the advertising question use a smaller business-name font?
The facts expressly supply a larger business-name display area measured by height and width. The identified rule has alternative prominence tests; font size is not the sole route. This answers only the stated prominence issue. It does not approve an entire advertisement, permit omission of the sponsoring broker or assume a qualifying logo when the facts rule one out.
Does the buyer's later inspection postpone the seller report?
No. For the covered transaction in the question, Section 20 places completion and delivery of the seller's report before contract signing. The later professional inspection does not replace it or move its statutory delivery point to the inspection deadline or deed delivery. Actual coverage and exemptions must be assessed in a real transaction.
Where should I go after the eight questions?
Review uncertain rules first, then use the linked free 40-question Illinois practice test and the broker state-outline guide. Treat site practice as teaching, not an official form or a guarantee. The app is optional: Property Ownership practice is free there, and full access adds other exam areas. The free Illinois web sample does not mean every Illinois app category is free.
Why keep a guessed correct answer in my review list?
A correct result can come from uncertain reasoning or a remembered choice. Write why the required interactive pre-license course cannot be replaced by ordinary continuing education, or why the seller-writing rule applies before marketing. Then test the same rule with new facts. One licensing answer gives a 1/1 denominator, even when its percentage is 100%.
Keep practising
Your next practice step
Bring the Illinois rules together
Apply the state topics in a longer practice session and use the report to choose your next review.
These web resources are free. The app has a separate free starter tier and optional paid full access.
Official sources and scope
The questions are the existing original Illinois site sampler, individually re-reviewed against the identified provisions. Its actual area mix is 1/3/2/2, not two per area. The connected Quiz describes the same eight Illinois questions shown interactively and in the readable answer review. The separate National option retains its existing bank. Current PSI format, legal scenario rules, a small practice score and a candidate's licensing eligibility are different matters; no passing prediction or completed legal review for a live transaction is provided.
- PSI Illinois Candidate Information Booklet dated June 24, 2026
- 68 Ill. Adm. Code 1450.770, effective July 13, 2026
- 225 ILCS 454/10-45: permitted uses and complete written-report contents
- 225 ILCS 454/1-10: CMA, BPO and ordinary-course compensation exclusion
- 35 ILCS 200/31-10: state rate, scope and subject-to exclusion
- 55 ILCS 5/5-1031: county tax and exemption links
- 310 ILCS 120/5, assistance animal, housing provider, and therapeutic relationship definitions
- 310 ILCS 120/10, documentation, denial, charges, and insurance rules
- 225 ILCS 454/15-45, dual-agency consent and confirmation
- 68 Ill. Adm. Code 1450.715: advertising, size alternatives and exceptions
- 765 ILCS 77/20: complete report before contract signing
This is exam preparation, not advice for a specific transaction. State law and the applicable facts control. Our editorial and corrections process explains how to report an issue.