- The Passing Score, In Plain Numbers
- National Section: Clearing 60 of 80 Points
- Tennessee State Section: Clearing 38 of 50
- Why Two Separate Passing Scores Exist
- Domain Weighting and Where Your Points Come From
- What Happens If You Fail One Section
- Format, Timing, and Experimental Items
- Scheduling Study Time Around the Two-Score Structure
- Frequently Asked Questions
- You need 60 of 80 points on the 75-item national section and 38 of 50 on the state section - separately.
- Contracts (19%) and Agency (13%) carry the most weight in the national portion, so master them first.
- Advertising and Marketing, Trust/Escrow Funds, and Agency and Disclosure Issues each account for 14% of the state section.
- A passed section stays valid for two retakes of the failed section or one year, whichever comes first.
The Passing Score, In Plain Numbers
The Tennessee Real Estate Broker Exam (TNREB) does not use a single overall percentage. It uses two independent passing thresholds - one for the national broker content and one for Tennessee-specific law and practice. To earn your license eligibility, you must clear both:
- National section: 60 out of 80 available points
- State section: 38 out of 50 available points
That's it. There's no combined score, no curve, and no partial credit for "close enough." Falling one point short on either section means that section did not pass, regardless of how well you did on the other. This structure is why candidates who are strong on national real estate fundamentals sometimes stumble on the Tennessee-specific rules, and vice versa - the two sections are graded, and often studied, as separate hurdles.
National Section: Clearing 60 of 80 Points
The national broker portion has 75 scored items worth 80 points, completed within 150 minutes. Notice the mismatch between item count and point total - some items are weighted slightly differently than others, which is one reason a simple "percentage of questions right" mental model can mislead you. Think in points, not just question count.
To hit 60 of 80 points, you need roughly three-quarters of the available national points, distributed across eleven content domains. The two heaviest hitters by far are:
Contracts (19%)
The single largest national domain. Expect scenario-based items on offer and acceptance, contingencies, contract remedies, and required disclosures tied to purchase agreements.
- Know the difference between void, voidable, and unenforceable contracts
- Understand contingency timelines and default remedies
Agency (13%)
Covers fiduciary duties, types of agency relationships, and how representation shifts between buyer, seller, and dual-agency scenarios.
- Master the fiduciary duties owed to a principal
- Be able to identify agency creation and termination points in a transaction narrative
Beyond those two, Practice of Real Estate (12%) and Financing (9%) round out the biggest opportunities for points. For a full breakdown of every national and state domain with study priorities, the TNREB Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 20 Content Areas walks through each one individually.
Tennessee State Section: Clearing 38 of 50
The state-specific portion is shorter - 50 scored items in 90 minutes - but don't mistake shorter for easier. You need 38 of 50 points, which is a higher proportional bar than the national section. This section tests your knowledge of Tennessee Real Estate Commission rules, licensee conduct, and consumer-protection statutes rather than general real estate theory.
Three domains tie for the largest share of the state section, each worth 14%:
Advertising and Marketing
Rules governing how brokers and affiliate brokers may represent listings, use team names, and disclose brokerage affiliation in ads.
Handling of Trust/Escrow Funds
Deposit timelines, recordkeeping obligations, and prohibited commingling of client funds with brokerage operating accounts.
Agency and Disclosure Issues
Tennessee-specific disclosure forms and the point in a transaction where agency relationships must be disclosed to unrepresented parties.
Together these three domains make up 42% of the state section's weight - nearly half your state points come from mastering just these areas. Licensing Requirements, Broker/Affiliate Relationships, and Duties and Powers of the Real Estate Commission fill out most of the remainder. If you're unsure whether this level of state-law detail is realistic to master in your timeline, How Hard Is the TNREB Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026 breaks down where most candidates actually lose points.
Why Two Separate Passing Scores Exist
The Tennessee Real Estate Commission structures the exam this way because national broker knowledge and Tennessee-specific licensing law are tested - and can be retested - independently. This matters practically: if you pass the national section but fail the state section, you don't have to redo the entire 125-item exam. You retake only the section you failed.
This also explains the fee structure. The full exam costs $63, but if you need to retake just one side, national-only retakes are $37 and state-only retakes are $26. Knowing this in advance changes how you should prioritize study time - a marginal candidate on the state section shouldn't spend equal hours reviewing national contract law they've already cleared. For the complete fee breakdown across every scenario, see TNREB Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown.
Key Takeaway
Because sections are scored and retaken independently, diagnose your weaker section early with a full-length practice exam on TNREB Exam Prep's practice test platform and shift study hours toward whichever score is farther from its threshold.
Domain Weighting and Where Your Points Come From
Every domain percentage below corresponds to how much of that section's points that topic controls. Overstudying a 5% domain while neglecting a 19% domain is one of the most common - and most avoidable - mistakes candidates make.
| Section | Items | Points | Time | Passing Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| National Broker | 75 scored | 80 | 150 minutes | 60 / 80 |
| Tennessee State | 50 scored | 50 | 90 minutes | 38 / 50 |
Within the national section, Contracts (19%), Agency (13%), and Practice of Real Estate (12%) together represent nearly half of all available national points. In the state section, Advertising and Marketing, Handling of Trust/Escrow Funds, and Agency and Disclosure Issues each sit at 14%, making them the natural first stop for review. A domain-by-domain study order based on these weights is covered in depth in the TNREB Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt.
What Happens If You Fail One Section
If you pass one section and fail the other, the passed section doesn't expire immediately - it remains valid for two retakes of the failed section or one year, whichever comes first. In practice, this gives most candidates a reasonable window to regroup, restudy the weaker domain cluster, and retest without starting over from zero.
Two important boundaries to keep in mind:
- You get two attempts at the failed section under the passed section's validity - after that, both sections may need to be retaken.
- The one-year clock runs regardless of how many retakes you've used, so don't sit on a passed section indefinitely.
Once you pass both sections, remember the license application itself is due within one year after passing - another deadline worth tracking on a calendar, not just in memory. Full eligibility rules, including the 36-month affiliate-broker experience requirement (or 24 months with a qualifying degree) and the 120 classroom hours with the 30-hour Office/Broker Management course, are detailed in TNREB Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify.
Format, Timing, and Experimental Items
The TNREB is computer-based and closed book, delivered either at a physical PSI test center or via remote proctoring. Format matters more than most candidates expect:
- National section: 150 minutes for 75 scored items (plus any experimental items mixed in)
- State section: 90 minutes for 50 scored items
- 5 to 10 unscored experimental items may appear in either section without being labeled - treat every question as if it counts
- Remote-proctored candidates may not use scratch paper and may not take breaks during the exam
That last restriction is easy to overlook and costly if it catches you off guard. If you plan to test remotely, practice full-length timed sessions without stepping away or jotting notes on paper - the exact conditions you'll face on test day. The PSI candidate bulletin, updated July 1, 2025, is the authoritative source for current logistics; pair it with a TNREB Cheat Sheet 2026: One-Page Review of Must-Know Facts for a fast pre-exam mental refresh rather than paper notes you can't bring in.
Scheduling Study Time Around the Two-Score Structure
Because the two sections are scored, retaken, and even fee-priced separately, your prep schedule should treat them as two distinct study tracks rather than one blended review. A structure like this respects the domain weights covered above:
National heavyweights
- Contracts (19%) and Agency (13%) - drill scenario questions daily
- Take a diagnostic national-section practice set on the TNREB practice test platform
Remaining national domains
- Practice of Real Estate, Financing, Valuation, and Property Ownership
- Real Estate Calculations - timed drills since these items are easy to rush
State's biggest 42%
- Advertising and Marketing, Handling of Trust/Escrow Funds, Agency and Disclosure Issues
- Review actual TREC disclosure forms referenced in this domain
Final state domains and mixed review
- Licensing Requirements, Broker/Affiliate Relationships, Commission duties
- Full-length timed practice exams for both sections, remote-proctor conditions if that's how you'll test
This sequencing puts your highest-weight domains earliest, when your energy and retention are strongest, and saves lighter-weight domains for the final review pass. For a broader look at how current candidates are performing under this scoring structure, TNREB Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows covers the official 2025 all-attempt figures - 61.95% national and 80.43% state - and what they suggest about where candidates struggle most.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. You must separately score at least 60 of 80 points on the national section and 38 of 50 points on the state section. There is no combined or averaged score.
No. You only retake the failed state section. The passed national section stays valid for two retakes of the failed section or one year, whichever happens first.
No. Between 5 and 10 unscored experimental items may be mixed into either section, but since they aren't identified, you should answer every question as if it's scored.
A national-only retake costs $37 and a state-only retake costs $26. The full exam, both sections together, costs $63.
No. Remote-proctored candidates may not use scratch paper and may not take breaks during the exam, so practicing under those exact conditions beforehand is important.