MD-REB Cheat Sheet 2026: One-Page Review of Must-Know Facts

Exam Format at a Glance

The Maryland Real Estate Broker Exam (MD-REB) is administered on computer through PSI Services LLC on behalf of the Maryland Real Estate Commission, part of the Maryland Department of Labor. Before you memorize anything else, lock in the mechanics of the test itself, because the two-portion structure changes how you should pace your studying and your test-day strategy.

• National portion: 75 scored questions, worth 80 points, 90 minutes.
• Maryland state portion: 40 scored questions, worth 40 points, 30 minutes.
• Total scored items: 115 questions worth 120 points.
• Unscored items: 1 to 10 experimental questions are mixed in and use exam time, but do not count toward your score.
• Exam cost: $44 per sitting.

Some national broker questions are scenario-based and can be worth up to two points, which means a single well-answered situational item can carry more weight than a simple recall question. If you want a deeper walkthrough of how these numbers translate into a study plan, the MD-REB Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt breaks this down week by week.

National Portion Domain Breakdown

The national portion covers eleven domains, and the percentages below are calculated within the national portion only - they do not apply to the exam as a whole. This is the section where most candidates lose points to careless review, largely because it feels "generic" compared to the Maryland-specific material. It isn't; the weighting tells you exactly where to spend your limited hours.

For a full domain-by-domain study breakdown with subtopics, see the MD-REB Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 17 Content Areas.

Maryland State Portion Domain Breakdown

The 40-question Maryland state portion is where broker candidates most often underestimate the volume of statute-level detail required. There are six domains here, and while no official percentage breakdown is published for each, Business Conduct is confirmed as the largest Maryland domain.

• Duties and Powers of the Real Estate Commission - how the Commission is structured and what authority it exercises over licensees.
• Licensing Requirements - the education, experience, and application rules that govern who can hold a broker license.
• Brokerage Relationships - Maryland's specific rules on representing buyers, sellers, and dual-agency scenarios.
• Supervision - a broker's obligations for overseeing affiliated licensees, branch offices, and teams.
• Business Conduct - the largest Maryland domain, covering recordkeeping, trust accounts, advertising, and day-to-day operational compliance.
• Ethics - professional standards and disciplinary grounds under Maryland law.

Supervision deserves special attention beyond the exam itself: it is the domain most directly tied to what you'll do on the job as a broker, branch office manager, or team leader. Once licensed, you'll need to complete a 15-hour renewal curriculum that includes 1.5 hours specifically on supervision, and stepping into a new supervisory role triggers that course within 90 days if you haven't already taken it.

Passing Score Math

The MD-REB uses a dual-threshold passing standard, and it's worth writing the numbers out plainly:

• National portion: 70% of 80 points = 56 points minimum, out of 75 scored questions.
• Maryland portion: 70% of 40 points = 28 points minimum, out of 40 scored questions.

Because some national scenario questions are worth up to two points, your raw "questions correct" count and your point total won't always match one-to-one - a candidate who nails several two-point scenario items can clear 56 points while missing more individual questions than a flat percentage would suggest. For the full arithmetic and score-reporting details, read MD-REB Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass.

Eligibility & Application Checklist

Before you can even sit for the MD-REB, Maryland requires you to clear a specific set of eligibility gates. Use this as a pre-exam checklist:

1. Be at least 18 years old.
2. Be of good character and reputation.
3. Complete 135 hours of approved broker prelicensing education.
4. Document active, regular, and lawful real estate practice for the three immediately preceding years.
5. Pass both the national and Maryland portions within one year of completing your prelicensing course.
6. Apply for the actual broker license within one year after passing the exam.

Missing either of the one-year windows means retaking coursework or the exam, so track these dates as carefully as you track your study schedule. A full explanation of each requirement, including documentation tips for the three-year practice rule, is covered in MD-REB Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify.

Fees, Credit Reports & Renewal

Money and paperwork trip up otherwise well-prepared candidates. Here's the full financial and documentation picture:

• Exam fee: $44 per attempt, paid to PSI Services LLC.
• Original broker license fee: $211.
• Renewal fee: $191, effective April 27, 2026.
• Initial application: requires a current credit report that includes a public-records search.
• Renewal application: requires a full credit report, including the public-record section, that is no more than six months old.

Order your credit report early - public-records searches can take longer to process than a standard credit pull, and a stale report will delay your application regardless of how well you scored on the exam. For a line-by-line cost comparison across the entire licensing journey, see MD-REB Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown.

Final-Week Review Schedule

If you've already done the bulk of your studying and you're in the last stretch before test day, allocate your remaining time according to domain weight rather than personal preference. The schedule below assumes roughly seven days of focused review remaining.

This kind of targeted, domain-weighted final push works far better than generic cramming techniques, because it mirrors exactly how points are distributed on test day. For a broader look at pacing over a full study cycle rather than just the final week, revisit the MD-REB Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt.

Test-Day Logistics

The MD-REB is a computer-based test delivered through PSI Services LLC, and the two-portion format affects how you should manage pacing in the room:

• Budget roughly 72 seconds per question on the national portion (90 minutes ÷ 75 questions), leaving room for the longer scenario items.
• Budget roughly 45 seconds per question on the Maryland portion (30 minutes ÷ 40 questions), which tends to favor direct statute recall over lengthy reasoning.
• Flag and move on if a question stalls you - remember that 1 to 10 unscored experimental items are mixed in, so a single hard question is not necessarily a scored one.
• Because each portion is passed independently at 70%, don't let a rough stretch on one portion bleed into your confidence for the other.

If you're still deciding how much runway to build in before your test date, the MD-REB Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling guide covers scheduling logistics in more depth, and How Hard Is the MD-REB Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026 puts the format in context against other licensing hurdles.

Common Last-Minute Mistakes

• Under-weighting Contracts. At 19% of the national portion, this domain alone can swing your national score more than any other single area.
• Ignoring Business Conduct in favor of "commission structure" domains. Business Conduct is the largest Maryland domain and deserves the most Maryland study hours.
• Letting the credit report slip. A public-records search takes time to process, and an outdated report can stall your license application even after you pass.
• Missing the one-year windows. Both the "pass within one year of course completion" and "apply within one year of passing" deadlines are firm - build calendar reminders now.
• Skipping realistic timed practice. Running full-length timed sets on a practice test platform before test day is the best way to confirm your pacing actually fits 90 and 30 minutes respectively.

For candidates evaluating whether the time and cost investment is worthwhile relative to career payoff, Is the MD-REB Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 and MD-REB Salary Guide 2026: Complete Earnings Analysis look at the broader picture beyond the exam itself.

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