What makes the Delaware exam unique
Delaware packs three distinctive ideas into its state portion. It levies one of the highest realty transfer taxes in the country on every sale, customarily split between buyer and seller and collected at closing — which means transfer-tax math shows up again and again. It is a judicial-foreclosure state that still runs through the historic scire facias court process. And its Fair Housing Act protects far more classes than federal law. A national course teaches none of these well.
The salesperson exam is administered by Pearson VUE for the Delaware Real Estate Commission (DREC), which sits under the Division of Professional Regulation. After 99 hours of DREC-approved pre-license education — one of the heaviest coursework loads in the region — you sit for 120 questions in two independently scored portions (80 national and 40 Delaware) within 240 minutes. Delaware uses scaled scoring and requires a scaled score of 70 on each portion, so passing is not a flat percentage of questions correct.
Roughly 67% of Delaware candidates pass on their first attempt. Click2CE students pass at an 92% student-reported first-attempt pass rate* because the Delaware bank is rebuilt around the transfer tax, scire facias foreclosure, the expanded Fair Housing Act, and the Guaranty Fund rather than retrofitted from a generic national bank.
The National Portion (80 Questions)
The 80-question national portion is shared across Pearson VUE jurisdictions and tests general real estate knowledge. The Candidate Information Bulletin weights it across these areas:
- Property ownership — estates, freehold vs. leasehold, encumbrances, easements, and deed restrictions
- Land-use controls — zoning, subdivision, environmental hazards, and fair housing
- Valuation and market analysis — sales comparison, cost, and income approaches
- Financing — mortgages, FHA/VA/conventional loans, RESPA, TILA, and TRID
- Agency principles — fiduciary duties, relationships, and disclosures
- Contracts — listing and purchase agreements, options, and the statute of frauds
- Real estate calculations — commissions, prorations, transfer fees, area, and ROI
- Practice of real estate — trust accounts, advertising, and compliant marketing
Two hundred to three hundred well-reviewed practice questions usually carry the national portion. Click2CE’s national bank follows the Pearson VUE blueprint and pairs every item with a plain-English rationale.
The Delaware State Portion (40 Questions)
The 40-question Delaware portion is the deciding section, and it leans on rules that are pure Delaware:
- Realty transfer tax — combined state-plus-county rate applied to the sale price, the customary buyer/seller split, and the math to compute it
- Judicial foreclosure — the scire facias court process and the borrower protections that come with it
- Delaware Fair Housing Act — the added classes: marital status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, source of income, and creed
- Agency and designated agency — the consumer information statement and disclosure, with dual or designated agency requiring written consent
- DREC license law — Commission and Division of Professional Regulation oversight, hearings, and discipline
- Trust accounts and the Guaranty Fund — escrow handling and consumer recovery after a judgment
- Landlord-tenant code — security-deposit limits, notice periods, and the 20-day return rule under the Residential Landlord-Tenant Code
Click2CE’s AI Tutor cites the relevant Delaware statute or DREC rule with each rationale and can walk a transfer-tax calculation or a source-of-income fair-housing scenario step by step.
Step-by-Step Delaware Licensing Path
- 1Complete 99 hours of DREC-approved pre-license education. Choose a Delaware school approved by the Delaware Real Estate Commission; many offer self-paced online options.
- 2Submit your application to DREC. This usually requires fingerprints, a background check, and the application fee.
- 3Get your Pearson VUE authorization to test. Once DREC approves your application, you may schedule the exam.
- 4Schedule and pay for the exam ($88). Book online at pearsonvue.com. Centers operate in Wilmington, Dover, and Newark, with nearby out-of-state options, often within one to two weeks.
- 5Pass both portions (scaled 70 each). Bring two valid IDs, including a government-issued photo ID with your signature. Score reports print at the center immediately.
- 6Affiliate with a sponsoring Delaware broker. You cannot activate your salesperson license without a broker to supervise your work.
- 7Pay the DREC license fee and activate. Once your sponsoring broker files the affiliation, the Commission issues your active Delaware salesperson license.
How to Study for the Delaware Exam
Drill the transfer-tax math
Practice multiplying the combined state-plus-county rate by a sale price and splitting the result between buyer and seller. Delaware reuses this calculation constantly, so make it a reflex rather than something you puzzle out under the clock.
Know judicial foreclosure cold
Because Delaware forecloses through the courts via scire facias, expect questions about court-supervised steps and borrower protections — not trustee sales. Resist the national-prep instinct to answer with a quick power-of-sale process.
Memorize the expanded protected classes
Add marital status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, source of income, and creed to your federal list. Source-of-income (housing vouchers) is a favorite Delaware trap. Click2CE’s two-portion mocks flag the scaled-70 line for each section so you can target weaknesses.
Use the AI Tutor for agency and landlord-tenant rules
Delaware agency disclosure and the Residential Landlord-Tenant Code deadlines (such as the 20-day deposit return) are commonly missed. Ask the Claude-powered tutor to walk a designated-agency scenario or a security-deposit timeline step by step.