Educational Resources: Take Kentucky Real Estate Sample Tests, Application Steps and Tips

Graphic showing Kentucky map with a red house icon indicating the median house cost of $424,958, alongside an upward trending arrow and a smaller figure of $69,598.

The Kentucky licensing exam fee is $100 and consists of 130 questions: 80 covering national real estate laws and 50 specific to the state.

You must answer 75% of the questions correctly to pass and have 4 hours to complete the test. It is given on a computer and the results are available immediately after finishing.

Bring two forms of ID, one of which must be a government-issued photo ID. Acceptable forms of ID include a passport, driver’s license, debit or credit card with signature, social security card, or a green card.

Also bring a silent, non-programmable calculator without an alphabet keyboard.

National Portion of Exam

  • Property Ownership
    • Classes of Property
    • Property Characteristics
    • Encumbrances
    • Types of Ownership
    • Descriptions of Property
    • Government Rights in Land
    • Public Controls
    • Environmental Hazards and Regulations
    • Private Controls
    • Water Rights
    • Special Categories of Land
  • Land use controls and regulations
    • Classes of Property
    • Property Characteristics
    • Encumbrances
    • Types of Ownership
    • Descriptions of Property
    • Government Rights in Land
    • Public Controls
    • Environmental Hazards and Regulations
    • Private Controls
    • Water Rights
    • Special Categories of Land
  • Valuation and market analysis
    • Value
    • Methods of Estimating Value
    • Financial Analysis
  • Financing
    • General Concepts
    • Types of Loans
    • Sources of Financing
    • Government Programs
    • Mortgages/Deeds of Trust/Notes
    • Financing/Credit Laws
    • Loan Brokerage
    • Types of Loan Originators
  • General principles of agency
    • Creation of Agency and Agency Agreements
    • Law, Definition and Nature of Agency Relationships, Types of Agencies and Agents
    • Responsibilities of Agent to Seller/Buyer as Principal
    • Disclosure of Agency
    • Termination of Agency
    • Disclosure of Acting as Principal or Other Interest
    • Commission and Fees
    • Responsibilities of Agent to Non-Client Third Parties
  • Property Condition and Disclosures
    • Fair Housing Laws
    • Trust Account Management
    • Truth in Advertising
    • Record-Keeping Requirements
    • Permitted Activities of Unlicensed Sales Assistants
    • Agency Supervision
    • DRE Jurisdiction and Disciplinary Actions
    • Licensing and Continuing Education Requirements and Procedures
    • California Real Estate Recovery Fund
    • General Ethics
    • Technology
    • Property Management
    • Commercial/Industrial/Income Properties
    • Specialty Areas
    • Transfer Disclosure Statement
    • Natural Hazards Disclosure Statements
    • Disclosure of Material Facts Affecting Property Value
    • Need for Inspection and Obtaining/Verifying Information
    • Reports
    • Servicing Diverse Populations
  • Contracts
    • General
    • Listing Agreements
    • Buyer/Broker Agreements
    • Offers/Purchase Contracts
    • Agreements
    • Promissory Notes/Securities
    • Purchase/Lease Options
    • Advanced Fee
  • Transfer of title
    • Title Insurance
    • Deeds
    • Escrow
    • Tax Aspects
    • Special Processes
    • Transfer through Court Supervision
    • Types of Vesting
  • Real estate calculations
    • Measurement conversions
    • Fractions, Decimals, and Percentages
    • Real estate math formulas (Gross Rent Multiplier (GRM), Commission Formula, Loan to Value Ratio (LTV), Simple Interest Formula, etc.)
  • Specialty areas

Kentucky Specific Portion

  • Real Estate Commission
  • Licensing Requirements
  • Brokerage Activities and Requirements
  • License Law Requirements for Contracts
  • Disclosures and Agency Issues
  • Property Management

4-Step Roadmap to Kentucky Real Estate Commission License Application

Applying for a real estate license in Kentucky boils down to these 4 important steps:

Step 1: Complete 96-hour pre-licensing courses

Step 2: Submit a background check with the Kentucky State Police

Step 3: Register to take the exam with PSI

Step 4: Submit the application to KREC online or with the paper application provided at the exam site. The KREC will send an email with instructions for online applications from [email protected] within 36 to 48 hours of passing the exam.

What To Include With Your Application

  • Proof of completion of pre-licensing education
  • Copy of high school diploma, GED, or college transcript
  • Proof of errors and omission of insurance coverage
  • Payment for licensing fees

Kentucky Real Estate Commission Membership Fees and Financial Commitments

Licensing Exam: $100

License Application: $130 for an active license (includes $10 errors and omission insurance processing fee). Only $120 if immediately going into ‘inactive’ status.

License Renewal: $130 for active agents. $120 for inactive agents

Core Course (every 4 years) Price varies. Typically $45 to $70.1

Yearly Continuing Education Courses: Price varies depending on the provider and particular courses chosen. Typically $45 to $80 per course

Other Fees: A real estate agent may pay additional fees for membership in real estate associations, MLS database access, etc., and typically runs hundreds of dollars a year.

Applying for National Association of Realtors® (NAR) Membership on a Voluntary Basis

While many people think the word ‘realtor®’ is just another term for a real estate agent, it is not. It applies specifically to real estate agents who have joined the National Association of Realtors®, the largest trade group in the country.

An important thing to know about membership is a new agent (non-principal) can only join the association if the principal of the firm for whom they work is also a member. The principals would be the sole proprietor or managing partners of a real estate firm, the corporate officers or majority officers of a corporation, or a branch manager working on behalf of the principal.

Before becoming a member of the national association, you would join a local association.

Qualifications for Membership for Non-Principals

The following criteria may or may not be applicable to the association you plan to join. These are more like guidelines than requirements.

Any criteria an association uses must be written in their bylaws. This criteria is the most rigorous an association may use, meaning no association would have any ‘stricter’ version of any individual criteria.

  • Have a valid real estate license and work for a firm located in the state where the association is or in a neighboring state
  • Work as an independent contractor or employee of a realtor®. This may be the main office where the realtor® works or a branch office.
  • No civil judgments within the last 7 years involving real estate license laws, civil rights laws, or other laws barring unprofessional conduct by lawful authorities
  • Candidates with such a record can provide the association information regarding mitigating factors relating to those crimes. Examples of mitigating factors include how long ago the crime occurred, the severity of the crime, the age of the applicant, any rehabilitative measures taken, overall criminal history, and evidence of fitness to properly perform the job of an agent.
  • Submit a written application to the board
  • Provide information related to any of the following situations:
    1. Final findings for Code of Ethics Violations in the past three years
    2. Pending ethics complaints or hearings
    3. Unsatisfied discipline pending
    4. Pending arbitration hearings or requests
    5. Unpaid arbitration awards or unpaid financial obligations to real estate-related associations
  • Agree to always abide by the National Association of Realtors® Code of Ethics
  • Must agree to abide by the constitution, bylaws, rules, regulations, and policies of the local, state, and national boards.
  • Complete the NAR’s orientation course
  • Have their application ‘acknowledged’ by a principal realtor®

How Long Can I Expect the Real Estate Application To Take?

Generally speaking, it takes 3 to 6 months to get a Kentucky real estate agent license from taking the pre-licensing courses to getting the license approved. How long it takes to complete the coursework is one of the biggest considerations.

Taking the classes online is the fastest way to complete them since you can work at whatever pace you like.

It is possible to complete the 96 hours of classes in as little as a few weeks with serious full-time dedication, but it might be best to give yourself at least a couple of months. Rushing through the material too quickly increases the risk of poor performance on the exam.

The background check is the other big factor as it can take 12 to 16 weeks to get the results.2 Like it was mentioned earlier, only the request for the check must be submitted before registering for the exam, not the results themselves.

References

1Commonwealth of Kentucky. (2023).  KY Core Course Schedule. Kentucky Department of Professional Licensing. Retrieved October 27, 2023, from <https://oop.ky.gov/Course_sch.aspx?CrseTypeID=4>

2Commonwealth of Kentucky. (2023). National Criminal History Checks (Background Checks). Kentucky Real Estate Commission. Retrieved October 27, 2023, from <https://krec.ky.gov/newstatic_info.aspx?static_id=209>