FREE Virginia Real Estate Exam Study Guide 2026: State & National

This free Virginia real estate exam study guide covers both portions of the Virginia salesperson licensing exam — the Virginia state-specific law tested by the Virginia Real Estate Board within DPOR and the national/general principles tested across the country.^[1] Because most candidates lose points on the state law, we teach it first.

The exam is administered by PSI in two separately scored parts — an 80-question national portion (56 correct to pass) and a 40-question Virginia portion (30 correct to pass).^[4]It’s interactive, not a wall of text: every area has a built-in checkpoint quiz, hover-able glossary terms, worked math examples, and concept questions.

Read the guide area by area, test yourself at each checkpoint, then round out your free prep with our Virginia practice questions and flashcards. Two areas reward the most study time on the state side: VREB license law and Virginia brokerage relationships and disclosure.

Virginia Real Estate Exam Snapshot

Confirm the current question counts, fees, and education rules with DPOR and PSI before you test — Virginia updates its requirements periodically.^[1][4] The weighting below reflects the published Virginia state-portion blueprint; license law and brokerage relationships dominate it:

Treat the percentages as a planning guide — Virginia publishes the outline by topic area.^[4]This guide teaches the Virginia state law first, then all eight national content areas, each ending in a checkpoint quiz.

1 · VREB, DPOR & License Law (Virginia)

The heart of the Virginia portion. Who regulates real estate in Virginia, how you become and stay licensed, the education that keeps your license active, and the path to a broker license.^[2]

DPOR, the VREB & Code of Virginia 54.1

The Virginia Real Estate Board licenses and regulates real estate licensees under Code of Virginia Title 54.1, Chapter 21. The Board is one of many boards housed within the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation. Under § 54.1-2104 the Board has nine members — seven licensed brokers or salespersons and two citizen members — and adopts the Board Regulations (18VAC135-20).

Virginia Licensing & Pre-License Education

To be licensed, a salesperson completes a 60-hour Principles of Real Estate course, passes the two-portion PSI exam, and clears a state and FBI background check.^[1] A salesperson always works under a principal or supervising broker and is paid commission through that broker — never directly by a client.

Post-License Education, CE & Renewal

A new salesperson must complete a separate 30-hour Post-License Education course within one year of licensure (specifically, within one year from the last day of the month the license was issued). Miss it and the license is automatically placed on inactive status. Licenses are issued for a two-year term; after the first renewal, a salesperson completes 16 hours of continuing education each cycle, including required topics such as fair housing.

Becoming a Broker & Supervision

To qualify for a Virginia broker license, an applicant must have actively practiced as a salesperson for 36 of the 48 months immediately preceding application, complete additional broker pre-license education, and pass the broker exam.^[2]A principal broker supervises the firm’s licensees, its escrow accounts, and its advertising.

2 · Virginia Agency, Disclosure, Escrow & Recovery Fund

The most distinctively Virginia material.How brokerage relationships work, the disclosure documents a seller delivers, how brokers handle escrow, the Transaction Recovery Fund, and Virginia’s expanded fair-housing classes.^[3]

Brokerage Relationships & Designated Reps

Virginia statute defines several ways a licensee can represent a client. A standard agent provides the full statutory duties; a limited service agent provides fewer, specified in writing; and an independent contractor representative is not an agent at all. A designated representative is assigned by the broker to represent one client to the exclusion of all other firm licensees — letting one firm represent both sides without becoming a firm-wide dual representative.

Brokerage Disclosure & Dual Representation

Under Code of Virginia § 54.1-2138, a licensee must disclose an existing brokerage relationship to an unrepresented party in writing at the earliest practical time — no later than when specific assistance is first provided — and the disclosure must be conspicuous (bold, all caps, underlined, or set apart). Under § 54.1-2139, a dual representative may act only with the written consent of all parties after written disclosure, and may never reveal one client’s confidential information to the other.^[3]

Property Condition, POA & Condo Disclosure

Virginia is a caveat emptor (buyer-beware) state. Under the Virginia Residential Property Disclosure Act (§ 55.1-703), the seller gives a statement advising the buyer to exercise due diligence — not a list of known defects.^[5]

When a home is in a Property Owners’ Association, the seller provides a POA disclosure packet; for a condo resale, a resale certificate. The association must deliver it within 14 days of request, and the buyer may cancel within three days of receiving it (extendable up to seven days by the ratified contract).

Escrow, the Recovery Fund & Fair Housing

A broker must place an earnest moneydeposit into the firm’s escrow account by the end of the fifth business banking day after ratification, and must never commingle client funds with operating funds. The Transaction Recovery Fund compensates consumers who hold an unsatisfied judgment against a licensee — up to \$20,000 per claimant per transaction, \$50,000 aggregate per transaction, and \$100,000 per regulant per biennium.^[9] The Virginia Fair Housing Law adds elderliness (age 55) and source of funds (added 2020) beyond the federal classes.

3 · Property, Legal Descriptions & Land Use

National content area.What real property is, the estates and rights an owner can hold, the government’s powers over land, and how land is legally described.^[2]

Estates & the Bundle of Rights

Real property is land, everything permanently attached to it (including fixtures), and the bundle of rights. The largest estate is fee simple — absolute and inheritable. Use the MARIA tests (Method of attachment, Adaptability, Relationship, Intention, Agreement) to tell a fixture from personal property.

Government Powers & Encumbrances

Even fee simple is limited by four government powers, remembered as PETE: police power (zoning, codes), eminent domain (with just compensation), taxation, and escheat. An encumbrance — a lien, easement, or deed restriction — limits title.

Legal Descriptions

Three methods describe land precisely: metes and bounds(common in Virginia’s older deeds), the rectangular (government) survey system (townships, ranges, and sections), and lot-and-block. One section is 640 acres and one acre is 43,560 square feet.

4 · Ownership, Title Transfer & Recording

National content area. How people co-own property in Virginia, how a deed transfers title, and how recording protects ownership.^[2]

Forms of Ownership in Virginia

The key difference is the right of survivorship. Joint tenancy has it and needs the four unities; tenancy in common does not, so each share passes by will. Virginia recognizes tenancy by the entiretyfor married couples, which adds survivorship plus protection from one spouse’s individual creditors.

Deeds, Title & Recording

A deed conveys title from grantor to grantee. The general warranty deed gives the most protection; a special warranty deedwarrants only the grantor’s own ownership; a quitclaim deed gives none.

Title passes on delivery and acceptance, not on recording — but recording in the circuit court clerk’s office gives constructive notice. Title insurance protects against prior defects.

5 · Property Value & Appraisal

National content area.What creates value, the three approaches an appraiser uses, and how a licensee’s CMA differs from a formal appraisal.^[2]

Value Principles

Market value is the most probable price under fair conditions — an opinion, distinct from the actual market price. The basis of value is highest and best use: the legal, possible, feasible, and most profitable use of a site. A CMA helps price a listing; a formal appraisal is an impartial USPAP-compliant opinion by a licensed appraiser.

The Three Approaches to Value

An appraiser estimates value three ways, then reconciles them — weighing the indications, not averaging — into one final opinion.

6 · Contracts & Agency (National)

The single largest national area. What makes a contract valid, the kinds of listing agreements, and the fiduciary duties at the heart of agency.^[2]

Contract Law & Listings

A valid contract needs mutual agreement, consideration, legal purpose, and competent parties — and, for real estate, writing under the statute of frauds. A missing essential element makes it void; a defect like a minor’s signature makes it voidable.

Agency & Fiduciary Duties

Agency is a fiduciary relationship between agent and principal. The duties are OLD CAR: Obedience, Loyalty, Disclosure, Confidentiality, Accounting, and Reasonable care. Confidentiality survives the end of the relationship.

7 · Real Estate Practice & Fair Housing

National content area, plus Virginia’s expanded classes. Fair housing, handling client money, and the leasing work a licensee does day to day.^[6]

Fair Housing

The Fair Housing Act (1968) bans discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, familial status, and disability — seven federal protected classes.^[6] The Virginia Fair Housing Law mirrors these and adds elderliness and source of funds; it is enforced by the Virginia Fair Housing Office within DPOR. The classic violations are steering, blockbusting, and redlining.

Trust Funds, Leases & Conduct

A broker must keep client funds — like earnest money — in a separate escrow account; commingling is a violation. Commission rates are always negotiable, and fixing them with competitors is an antitrust violation. A lease conveys the right to use property for a term in exchange for rent (landlord = lessor, tenant = lessee); Virginia residential leases are governed by the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act.

8 · Disclosures & Environmental Issues

National content area, within Virginia’s caveat-emptor frame. What a seller and agent must reveal, and the environmental hazards the exam expects you to recognize.^[8]

Material Facts & Property Disclosure

Virginia is caveat emptor, so the seller is not required to list known defects — but a licensee may never actively conceal or misrepresent a known material fact or known latent defect. The seller uses the § 55.1-703 statement advising the buyer to investigate.^[5]

Environmental Hazards

The most heavily tested federal rule is the lead-based paint disclosure: for housing built before 1978, the seller must disclose known lead paint, give the EPA pamphlet, and (for sales) allow a 10-day inspection window.^[8]

9 · Financing & Settlement

National content area, with key Virginia differences. The instruments that secure a loan, how Virginia forecloses, the main loan types, and what happens at closing.^[7]

Deeds of Trust, Notes & Foreclosure

Virginia is a deed-of-trust state: title is conveyed to a neutral trustee until the loan is repaid, so most foreclosures are a non-judicial trustee’s sale. The promissory note is the borrower’s promise to repay. A neutral settlement agentconducts the closing under Virginia’s CRESPA.

Loan Types, Lending Laws & Closing

Three loan types anchor the exam — conventional, FHA, and VA — and the loan-to-value ratio measures lender risk. Two federal laws govern disclosure: RESPA requires settlement-cost disclosures and bans kickbacks, and TILA requires disclosing the cost of credit, including the APR.^[7] At closing, the settlement agent disburses funds, the Virginia grantor’s tax and recordation tax are paid, and the deed is recorded.

10 · Real Estate Math

Tested on both portions.A handful of formulas cover almost every calculation: area, commission, seller net, loan-to-value, taxes and mills, proration, and Virginia’s grantor’s and recordation taxes.^[4]

Area, Commission & Net

Area of a rectangle is length × width; convert square feet to acres by dividing by 43,560. Commission = sale price × rate. To find the price for a target seller net, divide the net by (1 − rate).

LTV, Taxes & Proration

LTV is loan ÷ value. Proration splits taxes, rent, and interest by the days each party owns the property — the seller is usually charged through the closing date. Virginia exam math problems will specify whether to use a 360-day or 365-day year and who owns the closing day.

How to Use This Study Guide

A study guide is a map, not the whole territory — pair it with our free Virginia practice questions and flashcards. Because Virginia’s state portion trips up many candidates, lead with VREB license law and Virginia brokerage relationships and disclosure, then layer in the national content areas and lock in the math.

Virginia Real Estate Glossary

Quick definitions for the terms you’ll see most across the Virginia real estate exam:

Acre

A unit of land area equal to 43,560 square feet.

Agency

A fiduciary relationship in which an agent represents a principal in dealings with third parties.

Appraisal

An impartial, supported opinion of value prepared by a licensed appraiser as of a specific date, following USPAP.

Board Regulations (18VAC135-20)

The Virginia Real Estate Board regulations that implement the statute, covering education, advertising, escrow handling, recordkeeping, and standards of conduct.

Brokerage relationship disclosure (§ 54.1-2138)

The written, conspicuous disclosure a licensee must give an unrepresented buyer or seller at the earliest practical time, no later than when specific assistance is first provided.

Bundle of rights

The rights that come with ownership: possession, use (enjoyment), exclusion, disposition (transfer), and control.

Capitalization rate

The rate of return on an income property: net operating income ÷ value. A higher cap rate implies more risk and lower value.

Code of Virginia Title 54.1, Chapter 21

The Virginia statute that governs real estate licensing and practice — the source of the Board's authority over salespersons, brokers, brokerage relationships, escrow, and the Recovery Fund.

Commingling

Improperly mixing a client's escrow funds with the broker's own or operating funds — a Board violation under the escrow rules.

Comparative market analysis (CMA)

A licensee's estimate of value from recent comparable sales, used to help price a listing — not a formal appraisal.

Condominium resale certificate

The disclosure certificate a seller provides for a condominium resale, prepared by the unit owners' association; it triggers a purchaser cancellation right.

Contingency

A condition that must be met for a contract to become binding, such as financing, inspection, or appraisal contingencies.

Contract

A legally enforceable agreement between competent parties to do or refrain from doing a lawful act.

Deed of trust

Virginia's standard security instrument: title is conveyed to a neutral trustee who holds it until the loan is repaid, enabling a non-judicial trustee's sale on default.

Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR)

The umbrella Virginia agency that houses the Real Estate Board and many other licensing boards; it handles licensing administration and enforcement under the Code of Virginia.

Designated representative

A licensee a broker assigns to represent one client to the exclusion of all other licensees in the firm, allowing one firm to represent both sides without firm-wide dual agency.

Dual representative

A licensee who represents both parties in one transaction; under Code of Virginia § 54.1-2139, allowed only with the written consent of all parties after written disclosure.

Earnest money

A buyer's good-faith deposit showing serious intent; held in escrow and usually applied to the price at closing.

Easement

A nonpossessory right to use another's land for a specific purpose, such as a driveway or utility line.

Elderliness

A Virginia-specific fair-housing protected class covering individuals who have reached age 55.

Eminent domain

Government's power to take private property for public use through condemnation, paying the owner just compensation.

Encumbrance

Any claim, lien, charge, or right that limits an owner's title — liens, easements, encroachments, and deed restrictions.

Escheat

The reversion of property to the state when an owner dies with no will and no legal heirs.

Fair Housing Act

The 1968 federal law prohibiting housing discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, familial status, and disability.

Fee simple

The most complete form of ownership — absolute, of unlimited duration, and freely transferable by deed or will. Also called fee simple absolute.

Fiduciary duties

The duties an agent owes the principal — Obedience, Loyalty, Disclosure, Confidentiality, Accounting, and Reasonable care (OLD CAR).

Fixture

An item of personal property attached to real property so as to become part of it and transfer with the land. The MARIA tests decide whether an item is a fixture.

General warranty deed

The deed giving the most protection; the grantor warrants clear title against all defects, even those arising before the grantor's ownership.

Grantor's tax

Virginia's state tax on a deed, customarily paid by the seller (grantor) at 50 cents per $500 of value conveyed.

Highest and best use

The legally permissible, physically possible, financially feasible, and most profitable use of a site — the basis of value.

Independent contractor representative

A licensee acting under an agreement that states the licensee is an independent contractor and not an agent of the client.

Joint tenancy

Co-ownership with the right of survivorship; requires the four unities of time, title, interest, and possession.

Latent defect

A hidden physical defect not discoverable by ordinary inspection; a known latent defect a licensee cannot actively misrepresent.

Lead-based paint disclosure

The federal requirement that sellers and landlords of pre-1978 housing disclose known lead paint and give a 10-day inspection window for sales.

Limited service agent

A licensee who provides fewer than the full statutory duties; the limited services are specified in writing in the brokerage agreement.

Listing agreement

A contract employing a broker to find a buyer for the owner's property in exchange for compensation.

Loan-to-value ratio (LTV)

The loan amount divided by the property's value or price; a higher LTV means a smaller down payment and more lender risk.

Market value

The most probable price a property should bring in a competitive, open market under fair-sale conditions; an opinion of value.

Material fact

A fact that would affect a reasonable buyer's decision to buy or the price they would pay; a licensee may not actively conceal a known material defect.

Metes and bounds

A legal description using distances (metes) and compass directions (bounds) traced back to a point of beginning.

Net operating income (NOI)

Effective gross income minus operating expenses, before any mortgage payment; the income figure used in the income approach.

POA disclosure packet

The Property Owners' Association disclosure packet a seller must obtain and give the buyer when a home is in a POA; it triggers a purchaser cancellation right.

Police power

Government's authority to regulate land for public health, safety, and welfare — the basis for zoning and building codes, with no payment to the owner.

Post-License Education (PLE)

A 30-hour course a newly licensed Virginia salesperson must complete within one year of licensure, in place of standard CE for the first license term; missing it places the license on inactive status.

Principal or supervising broker

The licensed broker who supervises a Virginia salesperson; the salesperson cannot practice independently and is paid commission through the broker.

Principles of Real Estate course

The 60-hour Board-approved pre-license education course a Virginia salesperson candidate must complete before sitting for the PSI exam.

Proration

Dividing prepaid or accrued expenses such as taxes, rent, and interest fairly between buyer and seller as of the closing date.

Quitclaim deed

A deed conveying only whatever interest the grantor has, with no warranties; often used to clear a cloud on title.

Real property

Land plus everything permanently attached to it (improvements and fixtures) and the bundle of legal rights of ownership.

Recordation tax

Virginia's state tax for recording a deed, customarily a buyer/grantee cost, at 25 cents per $100 of value conveyed.

RESPA

The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act — a federal law requiring loan-cost disclosures and prohibiting kickbacks at closing.

Section (survey)

One square mile of land — 640 acres — and one thirty-sixth of a 6-mile-square township in the rectangular survey system.

Settlement agent

The neutral agent (often an attorney or title company) who conducts a Virginia closing under the Consumer Real Estate Settlement Protection Act (CRESPA).

Source of funds

A Virginia fair-housing protected class added in 2020, prohibiting refusing housing based on how a person lawfully pays — for example with a housing voucher.

Special warranty deed

A deed in which the grantor warrants title only against defects arising during the grantor's own ownership — common in Virginia commercial and estate transfers.

Standard agent

A Virginia licensee who provides the full set of statutory agency duties to a client — the default representation under a brokerage agreement.

Statute of frauds

The law requiring contracts for the sale of real estate (and most leases over a year) to be in writing to be enforceable.

Steering

Illegally guiding buyers toward or away from neighborhoods based on a protected class — a fair-housing violation.

Tenancy by the entirety

A Virginia form of co-ownership for married couples with right of survivorship and protection from one spouse's individual creditors.

Tenancy in common

Co-ownership in which each owner holds an undivided, willable share; there is no right of survivorship.

TILA

The Truth in Lending Act — a federal law requiring lenders to disclose the cost of credit, including the annual percentage rate (APR).

Title insurance

A policy protecting the insured against loss from title defects that existed before the policy date, such as liens or recording errors.

Trustee's sale

Virginia's non-judicial foreclosure under a deed of trust, conducted by the trustee without a court action — typically faster than a judicial foreclosure.

Virginia Fair Housing Law

Virginia's fair-housing statute, administered by the Virginia Fair Housing Office within DPOR; it mirrors the federal classes and adds elderliness and source of funds.

Virginia Real Estate Board (VREB)

The nine-member board within DPOR that licenses and regulates real estate salespersons and brokers — seven licensed members and two citizen members under Code of Virginia § 54.1-2104.

Virginia Real Estate Transaction Recovery Fund

A Virginia fund that compensates consumers holding an unsatisfied court judgment against a licensee for improper or dishonest conduct; the licensee's license is revoked until the fund is repaid with interest.

Virginia Residential Property Disclosure Act

Virginia's caveat-emptor disclosure law (Code of Virginia § 55.1-703): the seller gives a statement advising the buyer to exercise due diligence rather than listing known defects.

Free Virginia Real Estate Exam Study Materials & Resources

Everything you need to prepare for the Virginia real estate exam is free here — no paywall, no sign-up. This guide is the foundation; pair it with the rest of our free Virginia study materials for active recall, timed practice, and last-minute review:

• Virginia Real Estate Practice Test — exam-style questions across the Virginia and national content areas, with explanations.
• Virginia Real Estate Flashcards — active-recall decks for VREB law, brokerage relationships, disclosure documents, and math formulas.

Virginia Real Estate Exam Study Guide FAQ

References

1. 1.Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation. “Real Estate Board.” DPOR (dpor.virginia.gov). ↑
2. 2.Commonwealth of Virginia. “Code of Virginia Title 54.1, Chapter 21 — Real Estate Brokers and Salespersons.” law.lis.virginia.gov. ↑
3. 3.Commonwealth of Virginia. “Code of Virginia § 54.1-2139 — Disclosed dual agency and dual representation.” law.lis.virginia.gov. ↑
4. 4.PSI Services. “Virginia Real Estate Candidate Information Bulletin.” PSI / DPOR. ↑
5. 5.Commonwealth of Virginia. “Code of Virginia § 55.1-703 — Residential Property Disclosure Statement.” law.lis.virginia.gov. ↑
6. 6.U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. “Fair Housing Act Overview.” HUD. ↑
7. 7.Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. “Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (Regulation X).” CFPB. ↑
8. 8.U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. “Real Estate Disclosure (Lead-Based Paint).” EPA. ↑
9. 9.Commonwealth of Virginia. “Code of Virginia § 54.1-2116 — Recovery from the Transaction Recovery Fund.” law.lis.virginia.gov. ↑

Sources for the concept answers

Every answer in the Virginia real estate concept questions above is drawn from an authoritative primary source:

1. U.S. Geological Survey. “How is the Public Land Survey System organized?.” USGS.
2. Internal Revenue Service. “Sales and Other Dispositions of Assets (Publication 544).” IRS.

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