Illinois state-law exam cheat sheet: apply the rule to the facts

Page 1 is the cover. Page 2 separates standard broker eligibility, education validity, attempts, post-pass steps and renewal education. Standard broker pre-license education is 75 approved hours: 60 topics hours and 15 applied interactive hours. PSI states that the education is valid for two years after satisfactory completion; check your actual completion and eligibility dates.

The standard broker path permits up to four attempts during the two-year eligibility period. A fourth failure requires a non-exempt broker candidate to repeat the 75 hours and entire examination. Endorsement and education-exempt candidates have different conditions. A passing result alone does not authorize practice; the license and valid registered sponsorship requirements must be satisfied.

PSI says candidates must apply and meet licensing requirements within one year after passing the appropriate examination or examinations. The candidate-specific calculation when portions were passed on different dates remains unconfirmed. Ask PSI and IDFPR to confirm your dates and required next step before relying on a deadline.

For covered first broker licenses issued on or after August 9, 2019, the post-license requirement is three 15-hour courses and final examinations before the next broker renewal deadline. If the first license was issued within the preceding 180 days, that education is due before the second deadline. Check the applicable cohort and license record.

Ordinary later-cycle CE is 12 hours, normally 6 core and 6 elective, including required sexual-harassment prevention training. Check exemptions and renewal conditions. Ordinary CE does not replace required post-license courses.

The IDFPR 2026 renewal fact sheet includes a narrow transition: a qualifying 4-hour core taken May 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025 could meet the core requirement with 8 elective hours. That was a condition for the 2026 renewal, not a permanent 4-plus-8 rule for every later cycle.

Only one sponsoring broker at a time is permitted. The Act requires a written employment or independent-contractor agreement. Licensed compensation generally comes through the sponsoring broker, subject to statutory exceptions such as activity under a prior sponsorship agreement. A direct buyer payment does not automatically authorize bypassing the sponsor.

Designated agency identifies the licensees acting for the client; a shared firm name alone does not establish that every affiliated licensee represents that client. Ministerial acts do not by themselves create active representation. Dual agency requires informed written consent from all clients, and consent does not restore unrestricted single-party advice.

Under the rule adopted effective July 13, 2026, the seller or owner agreement must be written before marketing or listing. A buyer or tenant agreement must be written before, or as soon as reasonably practical after, licensed assistance intended to help purchase or lease begins. Do not turn that wording into permission to postpone indefinitely.

Non-agency notice has its own timing: early enough to prevent confidential disclosures and no later than preparation of an offer. Check the statutory minimum services in an exclusive agreement rather than assuming its label removes offer-handling, assistance or negotiation duties.

A seller's report exemption and a broker's own duties are separate questions. Identify actual knowledge, material facts, property scope and the applicable disclosure rule. Do not assume one environmental form covers every property or that a broker must diagnose every defect.

For a covered licensee-interest transaction, check the written license-status disclosure duty for direct and indirect interests. An entity does not automatically hide the interest. Advertising must meet sponsor-identity and required-field rules; where sponsor and personal or team names appear together, the sponsor name must be at least equal in size. Correct identification does not cure misleading or discriminatory content.

Funds questions require the written authority, account, deposit, record and disbursement conditions. Commingling and conversion are different. An unlicensed assistant's actual task determines whether a license is needed; supervision does not turn negotiation or licensed advice into an unlicensed task. A disciplinary violation does not always require proven consumer loss.

The final page gives four original examples: marketing before a written seller agreement, opposite-party designations within one firm, a licensee interest held through an entity, and an ad with correct sponsor identity but unlawful content. Cover the decisions and explain the rule before checking.

The state blueprint assigns 16 scored items to the License Act, 10 to additional Illinois laws and regulations, 10 to disclosures and 4 to licensing requirements. Use these weights with your actual errors. The sheet is a review aid, not a complete compliance manual, legal advice or a passing prediction.