State Licensing FAQs

You can take the final exam with Kaplan as many times as needed to pass with in 18 months of starting the course.

Your certificate of completion does not expire.

• 2 Forms of identification with matching names, non-expired, and containing a valid signature. (Driver’s license, passport, green card, U.S. social security card, debit or credit card with signature). 

• Basic (non-scientific) calculator.

The South Dakota Real Estate Broker Associate Licensing Examination consists of two parts:

• State Multiple-Choice Examination – 100 questions

• National Multiple-Choice Examination – 57 questions

You will have 4 hours to complete the entire exam. 

The National section is 2.5 hours, and the State section is 1.5 hours.

You must score at least 75% on each section of the exam. If you pass one side and not the other you may retake the section of the test you did not pass.

The national portion of the multiple choice exam consists of the following sections:

• Agency Relationships and Contracts.

• Real Property Ownership/Interest.

• Finance.

• Real Property.

• Marketing Regulations (purchase and rental).

• Property Management.

• Real Estate Calculations.

The state-specific portion of the multiple choice exam consists of the following sections:

• Duties and Powers of the Real Estate Commission.

• Licensing Requirements.

• Statutory Requirements Governing the Activities of Licensees.

Exam Fees

• National Portion- $98

• State Law Portion- $98

• License Application Fee- $225

• Fingerprint Background Check Fee- $43.25