This Illinois Real Estate cheat sheet compresses the Illinois salesperson licensing exam into a printable rundown of the state-law facts the exam tests most. It's a premium cheat sheet built by Capital Prep — the one premium prep we trust — and it's yours free. Reinforce it with the rest of your free Illinois Real Estate toolkit: the practice test, study guide, and flashcards.
Illinois Real Estate exam at a glance
- Questions: 140 scored — 100 national + 40 Illinois state (Illinois calls the entry licence a Broker licence)
- Time: 150 minutes for the national portion, 90 minutes for the state portion
- Passing score: 70% national, 75% state — each portion is scored separately
- Cost: $58 per Broker examination
What’s on the Illinois Real Estate cheat sheet
- State License Law & Practice (Illinois state portion) (32%) — regulator & statute, two-tier license structure, sponsorship.
- Real Estate Contracts and Agency (national portion) (14%) — designated agency (Illinois default), dual agency, ministerial acts.
- Real Property Characteristics, Legal Descriptions & Land Use (9%) — real vs personal property, bundle of rights, fixtures & the MARIA test.
- Property Value and Appraisal (9%) — the three approaches to value, sales comparison adjustments, value principles.
- Real Estate Practice & Fair Housing (9%) — federal Fair Housing Act (1968, as amended), illinois Human Rights Act (775 ILCS 5), prohibited conduct.
- Forms of Ownership, Title Transfer & Recording (8%) — forms of co-ownership in Illinois, four unities of joint tenancy, deeds.
- Disclosures & Environmental Issues (Illinois) (8%) — illinois Residential Real Property Disclosure Report, illinois Radon Awareness Act, federal lead-based paint (Title X).
- Financing & Settlement (6%) — illinois is a LIEN-THEORY, MORTGAGE state, with JUDICIAL, note vs mortgage, redemption.
- Real Estate Math (proration, transfer tax, area, commission) (6%) — commission math, proration at closing, area & acreage.
How to use it in your final week
- Front-load State License Law & Practice (Illinois state portion) — at about 32% of the exam it is the largest single area, and on a two-portion state exam the state-law material is where most repeat candidates lose points.
- Then work Real Estate Contracts and Agency (national portion) (14%) — the sheet leads there with designated agency (Illinois default).
- Then work Real Property Characteristics, Legal Descriptions & Land Use (9%) — the sheet leads there with real vs personal property.
- Drill the traps until they are reflex — the one that catches most Illinois candidates is writing "salesperson" or "Real Estate Commission".
- Read the sheet the morning of your appointment for a last pass on the memory hooks, and confirm your exam details with the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) before test day.
The cheat sheet is your review layer — your Illinois Real Estate practice test drives the exam-readiness ring at the top of this page. Download it, review, then take a full practice exam (or drill with the study guide and flashcards) to see where you stand.
Illinois Real Estate cheat sheet FAQ
Yes — the Illinois Real Estate cheat sheet downloads as a PDF at no cost and with no sign-up. It sits alongside Career Employer's free Illinois Real Estate practice test, study guide, and flashcards, so your whole licensing prep is free in one place.
It condenses the highest-yield Illinois licensing facts into a fast reference, covering all 9 content areas with their exam weights — from State License Law & Practice (Illinois state portion) through Real Estate Math (proration, transfer tax, area, commission) — plus the memory hooks and traps that catch repeat candidates.
140 scored — 100 national + 40 Illinois state (Illinois calls the entry licence a Broker licence). Confirm the current specification with the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) before you schedule.
It is built from the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR)'s current content outline and the state statutes and rules the exam tests against. State commissions revise outlines and fees periodically, so verify the live details before test day.
No — the sheet is a cram and review layer, not a substitute for the state's required pre-license education. Use it to lock in the state-law facts and definitions, then work full weighted practice exams to find and fix weak areas.
State License Law & Practice (Illinois state portion) — at roughly 32% it is the largest single area on the exam. Real Estate Contracts and Agency (national portion) is next at about 14%.
It covers the content areas the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) publishes for this exam, which is where the state-specific questions come from. The national/general real-estate principles are covered across the same sheet's principles, contracts, financing, and valuation sections.
Click the download button or the preview card at the top of this page to open the PDF instantly. Bookmark the page so you can pull it up again the morning of your exam.
References
- 1.PSI Services LLC / Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. “Illinois Real Estate Candidate Information Bulletin — Examination Summary Table.” psiexams.com, 2026. ↑
- 2.Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR). “Real Estate Licensing.” idfpr.illinois.gov, 2026. ↑
- 3.PSI Services LLC. “Real Estate Licensure Examinations.” psiexams.com, 2026. ↑
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