Plain-language lessons
Understand the rule, why it matters, and the distinction the exam may test.
Independent New York exam preparation
New York real estate salesperson exam study guide.
Learn every subject in the current state curriculum, connect rules to realistic decisions, and use practice results to decide what to study next. This guide supports exam preparation. It does not replace the required qualifying course.
Official curriculum map
19
subjects
The separate approved pre-licensing course allocates 77 instructional hours across these subjects.
Course hours are not official exam weighting or estimated website study time.
Quick answer
What should you study for the New York real estate salesperson exam?
Study all 19 subjects in New York’s current 77-hour salesperson curriculum. Learn each rule in plain language, apply it to scenarios and calculations, practice retrieving it without notes, and return to missed or uncertain subjects. The 77 hours describe the separate required course. They are not official state-exam weighting or the time needed to use this guide.
Choose your starting point
Start from what you have already completed.
The best first subject depends on whether the material is new, familiar, or already showing up as a weak area in practice.
1I am new to the materialBegin in curriculum orderStart with License Law and Regulations, then continue through the subjects in the order New York publishes them.Start subject 1 2I am taking the 77-hour courseMatch the guide to today’s classSearch the rule, form, calculation, or concept your approved school is covering, then use the scenarios to test understanding.Find a subject below 3I completed the courseLet mistakes choose the next lessonTake the free 19-subject sampler. Open the linked study guide for every missed or uncertain answer.Take the free sampler 4My exam is approachingCombine review with timed decisionsRevisit weak subjects, then use the 90-minute mixed simulation to practice pacing without treating it as a pass predictor.Open the simulation
Inside every subject hub
More than a list of terms to memorize.
Each guide is built to move from understanding to application, with enough context to explain why an answer is right.
Scenarios and misconceptions
See how a plausible wrong answer differs from the rule that controls the facts.
Forms and document context
Learn what a form does, when it appears, and what a salesperson may or may not do with it.
Worked calculations
Follow the setup, units, arithmetic, and reasonableness check for math-based subjects.
Practice with explanations
Answer original questions, then study why the correct choice works and the distractors do not.
Linked source support
Trace regulated and numerical statements to the New York curriculum, law, or agency material used for review.
A repeatable study loop
Read less passively. Recall more deliberately.
A subject is not finished because the lesson felt familiar. Use recall and application to check whether the rule is available when the answer choices are close.
- 1
Learn
Read the lesson until you can explain the rule without copying its wording.
- 2
Apply
Work through the scenario and decide which fact changes the legal or mathematical result.
- 3
Retrieve
Answer practice questions without looking back at the lesson first.
- 4
Revisit
Return after a delay, especially when confidence was higher than correctness.
The complete curriculum map
Find the rule, calculation, form, or subject you need.
All 19 subjects appear below in the order used by New York’s salesperson curriculum. Search does not change that official sequence.
Important distinction
The hour badges show approved-course allocations. They are not state-exam weighting or predicted question counts.
Search a subject, rule, form, calculation, or exam term. Results stay in the official curriculum order.
All 19 curriculum subjects
Subject 1NY course: 3 hrs
License Law and Regulations
The legal framework for becoming, remaining, and working as a New York real estate licensee.
Key terms
Article 12-Acomminglingescrow
Subject 2NY course: 11 hrs
Law of Agency
The largest agency unit covers representation, fiduciary duties, disclosure, consent, compensation, and independent-contractor relationships.
Key terms
fiduciaryclientcustomer
Subject 3NY course: 10 hrs
Legal Issues
Four connected units explain interests in land, encumbrances, deeds, and the closing process.
Key terms
fee simplelife estatetenancy in common
Subject 4NY course: 3 hrs
The Contract of Sales and Leases
Leases, contracts, and contract preparation are separate one-hour parts of the same official subject.
Key terms
considerationcontingencycounteroffer
Subject 5NY course: 5 hrs
Real Estate Finance
Mortgage instruments, loan types, underwriting, consumer protection, and predatory-lending risks.
Key terms
promissory notemortgageamortization
Subject 6NY course: 3 hrs
Land Use Regulations
Public and private controls that shape how land may be divided, built on, occupied, and changed.
Key terms
police powerzoningvariance
Subject 7NY course: 5 hrs
Construction and Environmental Issues
How sites and structures work, how major systems fail, and how environmental hazards affect transactions.
Key terms
foundationload-bearing wallseptic system
Subject 8NY course: 3 hrs
Valuation Process and Pricing Properties
Value concepts, market analysis, highest and best use, and the three traditional approaches to value.
Key terms
market valueCMAappraisal
Subject 9NY course: 6 hrs
Human Rights and Fair Housing
Federal, state, and local anti-discrimination duties, protected characteristics, prohibited conduct, exemptions, advertising, and bias awareness.
Key terms
steeringblockbustingredlining
Subject 10NY course: 1 hr
Real Estate Mathematics
The calculations named in official Subject 10, plus the math tested across finance, closing, valuation, taxation, and investment questions.
Key terms
percentagecommissionproration
Subject 11NY course: 2 hrs
Municipal Agencies
The government offices and records a licensee may encounter while researching property and transactions.
Key terms
county clerktax assessorbuilding department
Subject 12NY course: 1 hr
Property Insurance
Property, liability, loss, policy, coverage, underwriting, cancellation, and the licensee's limited role.
Key terms
premiumdeductiblereplacement cost
Subject 13NY course: 1 hr
Licensee Safety
Personal safety, office procedures, travel, showings, open houses, incident response, and risk reduction.
Key terms
safety planprospect identificationcheck-in
Subject 14NY course: 3 hrs
Taxes and Assessments
How local real-property tax systems determine assessments, rates, exemptions, bills, grievances, and liens.
Key terms
assessed valuemarket valueequalization rate
Subject 15NY course: 4 hrs
Condominiums and Cooperatives
Two very different ownership structures, with different documents, financing, approvals, taxes, and closing processes.
Key terms
common elementscommon chargesproprietary lease
Subject 16NY course: 10 hrs
Commercial and Investment Properties
Property types, leases, income and expense analysis, risk, financing, taxation, and investment performance.
Key terms
NOIcapitalization rateGRM
Subject 17NY course: 3 hrs
Income Tax Issues in Real Estate Transactions
Federal income-tax concepts that affect ownership and sale, taught for issue recognition rather than personal tax advice.
Key terms
basisadjusted basiscapital gain
Subject 18NY course: 1 hr
Mortgage Brokerage
The role and regulation of mortgage brokers and how that role differs from mortgage banking and real estate brokerage.
Key terms
mortgage brokermortgage bankerloan originator
Subject 19NY course: 2 hrs
Property Management
Management agreements, owner goals, tenant relations, operations, records, budgets, maintenance, and risk control.
Key terms
management agreementoperating budgetsecurity deposit
Use the curriculum as a coverage map, not a prediction.
New York says the multiple-choice state exam is based on the 77-hour curriculum. Its public guidance does not provide an official question count, passing percentage, subject weighting, or scored blueprint. Study every subject, then use your own practice evidence to spend more time where understanding is weakest.
Read the current exam guideStudy guide questions
Answers before you build your study plan.
Use these distinctions to avoid confusing course requirements with independent exam preparation.
What subjects are on the New York real estate salesperson exam?
The state written exam is based on the 19 subjects in New York’s 77-hour salesperson curriculum. They cover license law, agency, legal issues, contracts and leases, finance, land use, construction and environmental issues, valuation, fair housing, mathematics, municipal agencies, insurance, safety, taxes, condominiums and cooperatives, commercial and investment property, income tax, mortgage brokerage, and property management.
Do the 77 curriculum hours show the exam weighting?
No. The hours are allocations for the required pre-licensing course. New York does not publish an official public subject weighting for the salesperson state exam, so this guide does not convert course hours into predicted question counts.
Does this study guide replace the required 77-hour course?
No. Pass New York is independent exam preparation. A license applicant must separately complete qualifying education through a Department of State approved provider and pass the school-administered proctored examination.
Where should a beginner start studying?
A beginner can follow the official curriculum order, beginning with License Law and Regulations. Someone who already completed the course can start with a diagnostic sampler and use missed or uncertain questions to choose the next subject.
Should I memorize definitions or practice scenarios?
Use both. Definitions help you recognize the tested concept, but scenario practice shows whether you can identify the controlling relationship, duty, document, calculation, or exception when several answers look reasonable.
Does New York publish the official exam question count or passing percentage?
The current public Department of State guidance describes the exam as multiple choice, based on the 77-hour curriculum, and limited to 90 minutes. It does not publish an official public question count, passing percentage, or subject distribution.
Turn reading into a next step
Use one question from each subject to find where review should begin.
The free sampler is a study map, not an official exam distribution or pass prediction. Each missed answer links back to the subject guide that explains the rule.