This North Carolina Real Estate cheat sheet compresses the North Carolina 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 North Carolina Real Estate toolkit: the practice test, study guide, and flashcards.
North Carolina Real Estate exam at a glance
- Questions: 120 scored — 80 national + 40 North Carolina state, plus unscored pretest items
- Time: 2.5 hours for the national section and 1.5 hours for the state section, timed separately
- Passing score: 57 of 80 correct on the national section and 29 of 40 on the state section
- Cost: $56 examination fee plus the $100 licence application fee
What’s on the North Carolina Real Estate cheat sheet
- North Carolina State License Law & Commission Rules (State section) (43%) — the NC license ladder, nCREC's authority under G.S. Chapter 93A, the three prelicensing → postlicensing → CE tiers.
- Real Property, Legal Descriptions & Land Use (national) (6%) — real vs. personal property, fixture tests, estates in land.
- Forms of Ownership, Title & Transfer (national) (6%) — co-ownership forms, deeds, title transfer & RECORDING.
- Property Value & Appraisal (national) (8%) — market value definition and the difference between VALUE, the THREE approaches to value, adjustments in the sales-comparison approach.
- Contracts & Agency (national) (11%) — essential elements of a valid contract, contract classifications, statute of frauds.
- Real Estate Practice, Fair Housing & Trust Handling (national + NC) (10%) — federal Fair Housing Act (1968, as amended), prohibited practices, advertising & solicitation rules.
- Property Disclosures & Environmental Issues (national + NC) (6%) — material-fact disclosure, NC RPOADS and the Mineral/Oil & Gas disclosure, federal LEAD-BASED PAINT disclosure.
- Financing & Settlement (national) (5%) — NC as a DEED-OF-TRUST state, note vs. deed of trust, loan types.
- Real Estate Math (national) (5%) — commission & splits, area & acreage, proration.
How to use it in your final week
- Front-load North Carolina State License Law & Commission Rules (State section) — at about 43% 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 Contracts & Agency (national) (11%) — the sheet leads there with essential elements of a valid contract.
- Then work Real Estate Practice, Fair Housing & Trust Handling (national + NC) (10%) — the sheet leads there with federal Fair Housing Act (1968, as amended).
- Drill the traps until they are reflex — the one that catches most North Carolina candidates is there is NO salesperson license in North Carolina.
- Read the sheet the morning of your appointment for a last pass on the memory hooks, and confirm your exam details with the North Carolina Real Estate Commission (NCREC) before test day.
The cheat sheet is your review layer — your North Carolina 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.
North Carolina Real Estate cheat sheet FAQ
Yes — the North Carolina Real Estate cheat sheet downloads as a PDF at no cost and with no sign-up. It sits alongside Career Employer's free North Carolina Real Estate practice test, study guide, and flashcards, so your whole licensing prep is free in one place.
It condenses the highest-yield North Carolina licensing facts into a fast reference, covering all 9 content areas with their exam weights — from North Carolina State License Law & Commission Rules (State section) through Real Estate Math (national) — plus the memory hooks and traps that catch repeat candidates.
120 scored — 80 national + 40 North Carolina state, plus unscored pretest items. Confirm the current specification with the North Carolina Real Estate Commission (NCREC) before you schedule.
It is built from the North Carolina Real Estate Commission (NCREC)'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.
North Carolina State License Law & Commission Rules (State section) — at roughly 43% it is the largest single area on the exam. Contracts & Agency (national) is next at about 11%.
It covers the content areas the North Carolina Real Estate Commission (NCREC) 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.North Carolina Real Estate Commission (NCREC). “Real Estate Licensing in North Carolina — Examination Content, Passing Score and Time Allowed.” ncrec.gov, 2026. ↑
- 2.PSI Services LLC / North Carolina Real Estate Commission. “North Carolina Real Estate Candidate Information Bulletin.” psiexams.com, 2026. ↑
- 3.North Carolina Real Estate Commission (NCREC). “North Carolina Real Estate Commission.” ncrec.gov, 2026. ↑

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