Real Estate Exam Cost by State: Fees, Retakes, and Extras
By the AgentExamHub team | Updated July 15, 2026
Real estate exam fees range from $15 in New York to $175 in Georgia, with most states landing between $40 and $65 per attempt. The fee is separate from your pre-licensing course cost and your license application fee, and several states charge different amounts for the broker exam than the salesperson exam, or a different fee for a single-portion retake than a full retest.
Most cost breakdowns online lump the exam fee together with course tuition and application costs, which makes state comparisons useless. The table below is the exam fee only, verified against each state’s current fee schedule.
What does the exam actually cost, state by state?
| State | First-attempt fee | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | $15 | Lowest of the states we checked; single combined exam | NY Dept. of State |
| Texas | $43 sales, $39 broker | Broker exam actually costs less than the salesperson exam here | Pearson VUE Texas Candidate Handbook |
| Pennsylvania | $52 national portion, $49 state portion | $101 total if scheduling both portions together | Pearson VUE Pennsylvania Candidate Handbook |
| Illinois | $58 | Entry-level Broker license exam | Illinois PSI candidate booklet |
| North Carolina | $63 for both sections, $53 for a single-section retake | Comprehensive exam fee | NCREC, Real Estate Licensing in North Carolina |
| Florida | Roughly $37 by current prep-provider fee trackers | Not published as a standalone line item in the current DBPR candidate booklet; confirm on your MyFloridaLicense application | DBPR Candidate Information Booklet |
| California | $100 sales, $150 broker | Highest single-attempt fee among combined-exam states | California DRE fee schedule |
| Georgia | $175 flat | One rate covers salesperson, broker, and community association manager exams | GREC PSI candidate bulletin |
Do retakes cost the same as the first attempt?
Usually yes, at the same dollar amount, but not always structured the same way. Texas, California, Georgia, and Illinois all charge the identical fee for a retake as a first attempt. North Carolina is the exception among the states we checked: a single-section retake costs $53, less than the $63 comprehensive fee, since you’re only re-sitting the portion you failed rather than the full exam.
California adds a separate wrinkle: rescheduling an already-paid appointment, not failing and retaking, just moving your date, costs $40 for the salesperson exam and $45 for the broker exam, on top of whatever you already paid for the original booking, per the California DRE fee schedule.
Is the broker exam fee different from the salesperson exam fee?
Yes, in every state we checked with two license tiers, though not always in the direction you’d expect. California and Illinois charge more for the broker-level exam, $150 versus $100 in California, consistent with more content and a longer sitting. Texas runs the opposite way: $39 for the broker exam versus $43 for the salesperson exam, a small but real gap in the other direction, per the same Pearson VUE Texas Candidate Handbook. Don’t assume broker always costs more; check your specific state’s fee schedule rather than extrapolating from a state you’ve read about elsewhere.
What other costs come with test day?
The exam fee itself is only one line item. Most candidates are also paying for pre-licensing course tuition, often $100 to $500 or more depending on provider and state hour requirements, a separate license application fee once you pass, commonly $60 to $170 depending on state, and in some states, a fingerprinting or background-check fee. None of those are included in the exam-fee figures above; budget for them separately when planning total cost to get licensed.
How to avoid paying twice
The single biggest way candidates waste exam-fee money is showing up under-prepared for a section they could have passed the first time, since a retake in most states costs the same as the original attempt. Running full-length, correctly-weighted practice sections before you schedule is cheaper than a second $43 to $175 fee.
The AgentExamHub practice quiz tool mirrors your state’s actual format so you can gauge readiness before you pay for a real attempt, and the AgentExamHub free study guide walks the same content outline, so a retake fee stays hypothetical.
FAQ
What’s the cheapest state to take the real estate exam in? New York, at $15 per attempt for its single combined exam, is the lowest fee among the states we verified.
What’s the most expensive? Georgia, at $175 flat, covering salesperson, broker, and community association manager exams under one rate.
Does the exam fee include my license application fee? No. The exam fee and the license application fee are separate charges in every state we checked; expect an additional $60 to $170 or more for the application itself once you pass.
Do I pay the exam fee again if I only failed one section? It depends on the state. North Carolina charges a lower fee, $53, for a single-section retake than for a full comprehensive attempt, $63. Texas, California, Georgia, and Illinois charge the same fee regardless of whether you’re retaking one section or both.
Is the broker exam always more expensive than the salesperson exam? No. California and Illinois charge more for the broker exam, but Texas charges less for its broker exam, $39, than its salesperson exam, $43. Check your specific state.
Bottom line: exam fees range from $15 to $175 depending on state, and the fee is just one piece of total licensing cost alongside course tuition and the application fee. Confirm your own state’s current fee schedule before budgeting, since broker-versus-salesperson pricing doesn’t follow one universal pattern.