Illinois state portion study guide

Expect 4 Licensing Requirements questions, 16 License Act questions, 10 Additional Illinois Laws questions, and 10 Disclosure questions. The outline is a study map, not four isolated bodies of law. A single transaction can involve agency duties in the License Act, a required notice in Disclosures, and a related statute in Additional Illinois Laws.

Official source: PSI Illinois Candidate Information Booklet dated June 24, 2026. The four-area broker outline became effective June 24, 2026.

If you studied the earlier three-area outline, use the 2026 Illinois exam changes guide to remap your notes. To combine these state topics with the 11 national areas, continue to the complete 15-topic study guide.

The PSI state table shows Managing Broker and Broker question counts beside the same topic list. It also labels some subtopics as managing broker only. For the entry-level broker exam, follow the broker count and exclude the items that PSI explicitly reserves for managing broker candidates.

Examples of managing-broker-only material in the shared table include ownership by business entities, deed restrictions and subdivision covenants, several advanced title and closing subtopics, appraisal-scope issues in that state area, and the Statute of Frauds item listed there. The separate Managing Broker/Instructor section is also outside the broker state portion.

Licensing Requirements is the smallest Illinois area at 4 questions, or 10%. It asks whether a person, activity, or license status fits the Illinois licensing system. Start by identifying the person and the activity before deciding which rule applies.

Broker checklist

• Activities that require an Illinois real estate license
• License exemptions
• Broker, managing broker, residential leasing agent, and instructor license types
• Eligibility for licensing, including sponsorship
• Examination requirements
• License renewal
• Post-license and continuing education
• Changes to a licensee's name, address, or business information

What candidates commonly confuse

Illinois calls the entry-level real estate license a broker license. That broker generally works under a sponsoring broker. A managing broker license is a different level, and a designated managing broker has specific supervisory responsibilities.

Eligibility, license status, and the right to perform a task are separate questions. For example, Section 5-40 of the License Act says a license becomes inactive immediately when sponsorship ends, and the licensee may not practice until a new valid sponsorship is registered.

Verify licensing details in the PSI candidate booklet, IDFPR real estate page, and Illinois Real Estate License Act.

This is the largest state area at 16 questions, or 40%. Do not study it as one long statute. Organize it around relationships, business practices, money and documents, and conduct.

The Illinois Real Estate License Act exam guide gives this area a complete rule map, current examples, topic boundaries, and original practice.

A better way to answer License Act scenarios

1. Identify the consumer, client, customer, and licensee.
2. Identify the sponsoring-broker relationship.
3. Find the agreement, notice, money, document, or advertisement.
4. Ask who may act, receive compensation, approve, or supervise.
5. Choose the conduct that fits both the Act and Part 1450.

Primary sources: Illinois Real Estate License Act and 68 Ill. Adm. Code Part 1450.

This 10-question area is worth 25% of the state portion. It is not a leftover category. The 2026 outline gives these laws their own score bucket, so a combined laws-and-rules result from older materials can hide a real weakness.

Broker-only checklist from the current PSI table

• Ownership interests: trusts, homestead, government powers, co-ownership, condominiums, and cooperatives
• Work beyond the scope of real estate licensing: law, securities, and the Illinois Business Brokers Act
• Illinois transfer taxes
• Voluntary versus involuntary transfer of title
• Legal descriptions and the Plat Act
• Real estate taxes and exemptions
• Illinois Human Rights Act and fair housing advertising
• Illinois Assistance Animal Integrity Act
• Illinois Landlord and Tenant Act
• Commercial Real Estate Broker Lien Act
• Radon Resistant Construction Act

Three boundaries worth learning

Key official sources include the Illinois Business Brokers Act, Plat Act, Property Tax Code, Illinois Human Rights Act, and the additional laws in the source list below.

Disclosures account for 10 questions, or 25% of the state portion. Most disclosure questions become easier when you identify four things: who knows the fact, who must receive it, what event triggers the duty, and when the communication must occur.

Two timing examples

Under the Residential Real Property Disclosure Act, a covered seller delivers the written report before the signing of a contract. Under the current Landlord and Tenant Act flooding provision, required written flood information is disclosed before signing the lease and included in the written lease or renewal. Different facts trigger different forms, recipients, and timing.

Review the Residential Real Property Disclosure Act, Illinois Radon Awareness Act, Mine Subsidence Disclosure Act, and Landlord and Tenant Act Section 25.

Use this table as a source map, not a memorization list. Begin with the official PSI subtopic, then read the current statute or rule closely enough to identify its purpose, people, trigger, and required action.

The page's Primary sources section links each named law. The License Act and Part 1450 deserve the deepest review because the License Act area alone represents 40% of the Illinois portion.

Classification matters because the same transaction can generate different questions. Decide what the question is asking before reaching for the first familiar word.

This sequence is preparation advice, not an official PSI requirement. It starts with the largest area, separates the two 25% areas, and finishes with mixed classification.

1. Map the four headings. Memorize the weights and question counts so older three-area materials do not control your plan.
2. Build the License Act foundation. Study agency, agreements, advertising, sponsorship, compensation, assistants, money, documents, discipline, and transaction work in clusters.
3. Study Additional Illinois Laws separately. Make a one-line purpose and trigger card for each named law.
4. Study Disclosures by recipient and timing. Do not group every notice under the vague word disclosure.
5. Finish Licensing Requirements. Tie license type, eligibility, sponsorship, renewal, and education to the person in the scenario.
6. Take an area diagnostic. Record four scores, not one combined state percentage.
7. Mix all four areas. Remove topic labels and practice classification before applying the rule.

These original checks test outline classification, not memorized live questions. Name the area before opening the answer.

PSI controls the tested outline. IDFPR and the Illinois General Assembly control Illinois licensing law and rules. Read the current text when a rule's wording or timing matters.

• PSI Illinois Candidate Information Booklet
• IDFPR Real Estate Brokerage
• Illinois Real Estate License Act of 2000
• 68 Ill. Adm. Code Part 1450
• Illinois Business Brokers Act of 1995
• Plat Act
• Property Tax Code
• Illinois Human Rights Act
• Illinois Assistance Animal Integrity Act
• Landlord and Tenant Act
• Commercial Real Estate Broker Lien Act
• Radon Resistant Construction Act
• Residential Real Property Disclosure Act
• Illinois Radon Awareness Act
• Mine Subsidence Disclosure Act
• Landlord and Tenant Act, Section 25 flood disclosures

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.