- What Is VARE-S?
- Who Regulates and Administers It
- Exam Format and Timing
- The 17 VARE-S Domains
- Eligibility Requirements
- Registration, Fees, and Test Day
- Passing Score Requirements
- After You Pass: Licensing and Ongoing Education
- Who Hires VARE-S Licensees
- Building a Domain-Weighted Study Plan
- Frequently Asked Questions
- VARE-S is the Virginia Real Estate Salesperson Exam, regulated by the Virginia Real Estate Board and administered by PSI.
- The exam has 80 scored national questions (105 minutes) and 40 scored Virginia questions (45 minutes).
- Passing requires 56 of 80 national answers correct and 30 of 40 state answers correct.
- Contracts (19%) is the largest national domain; Agency Definitions and Relationships (30%) is the largest state domain.
What Is VARE-S?
VARE-S stands for the Virginia Real Estate Salesperson Exam - the licensing test every prospective real estate salesperson in Virginia must pass before they can legally represent buyers and sellers in the Commonwealth. It is not a voluntary professional certification you add to a resume for prestige; it is the mandatory gatekeeping exam that stands between completing your prelicensing coursework and receiving an active salesperson license from the state.
The exam is split into two distinct portions: a national section that covers real estate principles and practices used across the United States, and a Virginia-specific section that tests state statutes, regulations, and licensing law unique to the Commonwealth. Passing both portions is required to move forward with licensure. If you're just starting to research the credential, our overview of the VARE-S Certification walks through how the exam fits into the broader path to becoming a licensed salesperson.
Who Regulates and Administers It
The Virginia Real Estate Board, which operates within the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR), sets the rules for who can become a licensed salesperson and what the licensing process requires. The Board does not write or score the exam itself - that job belongs to PSI, the third-party testing vendor that develops, delivers, and grades the VARE-S on the Board's behalf.
PSI publishes a Candidate Information Bulletin that spells out exam content, scoring rules, and testing procedures. The version referenced throughout this article was revised February 18, 2026, so candidates should always check that they're studying against the current bulletin rather than an outdated copy, since content weighting and policy details can shift between revisions.
Exam Format and Timing
The VARE-S is delivered as a computer-based, closed-book exam at a PSI test center. You are not permitted to bring your own reference materials, but an approved nonprogrammable calculator is allowed for the math-heavy questions found in domains like Real Estate Calculations.
The test is broken into two scored sections:
- National portion: 80 scored multiple-choice questions, 105 minutes
- State (Virginia) portion: 40 scored multiple-choice questions, 45 minutes
PSI may also insert additional unscored experimental questions into either portion. These items look identical to scored questions, so there is no reliable way to identify them during the test - the practical implication is that you should treat every question as if it counts, rather than trying to guess which ones are "throwaways."
Key Takeaway
Because experimental questions are unscored but indistinguishable from real ones, pace yourself using the full time allotted (105 minutes national, 45 minutes state) rather than trying to finish early by skimming.
The 17 VARE-S Domains
The VARE-S content outline is organized into 17 domains. Domains 1 through 11 make up the national portion, and domains 12 through 17 make up the Virginia-specific portion. Each domain carries a different weight, meaning some topics will show up far more often than others. For a full breakdown of every domain with detailed subtopics, see the VARE-S Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 17 Content Areas.
Domain 5: Contracts (19%)
This is the single largest national domain, and it's not close. Candidates must understand offer and acceptance, contingencies, contract remedies, and the essential elements that make a real estate contract enforceable.
- Elements of a valid contract
- Breach, remedies, and contract termination
- Types of listing and buyer representation agreements
Domain 15: Agency Definitions and Relationships (30%)
This is the largest state-specific domain by a wide margin, making it the single most important Virginia topic to master. It covers how agency relationships are created, disclosed, and terminated under Virginia law.
- Fiduciary duties owed to clients versus customers
- Dual agency and designated agency rules in Virginia
- Written disclosure requirements at first substantive contact
Beyond these two heavyweight domains, candidates still need working knowledge of Property Ownership, Land Use Controls, Valuation, Financing, Property Disclosures, Property Management, Transfer of Title, Practice of Real Estate, and Real Estate Calculations on the national side, plus Licensing, Escrow Accounts, Disclosure Requirements, Virginia Fair Housing Law and Regulations, and Specific Acts Pertaining to Real Estate Practice on the state side. Skipping any of these because they carry smaller percentages is risky - smaller weight still means real points on test day.
Eligibility Requirements
Before you can even sit for the VARE-S, DPOR requires candidates to meet several baseline qualifications:
- Be at least 18 years old
- Hold a high school diploma or equivalent
- Complete 60 class or clock hours of Board-approved Principles of Real Estate education
- Satisfy fingerprint-based criminal background check requirements
None of these requirements are optional shortcuts - the 60-hour prelicensing course in particular is where most of the national-domain content is first introduced, so it directly feeds into your exam preparation. For a complete rundown of every prerequisite and how to document them for DPOR, read VARE-S Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify.
Registration, Fees, and Test Day
Once your prelicensing hours are complete and your eligibility is confirmed, you register for the VARE-S through PSI. The fee is $60 per attempt, which covers both the national and state portions taken together in a single testing appointment.
Because the fee is charged per attempt, failing either portion means paying again to retest - there is no partial-credit carryover for one section if you fail the other. That makes thorough preparation before your first sitting far more cost-effective than treating the exam as a low-stakes trial run. If you want a full picture of what licensure will cost from prelicensing courses through your first renewal, see VARE-S Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown.
Passing Score Requirements
To pass the VARE-S, you must clear both scoring thresholds in the same sitting:
| Portion | Scored Questions | Time Allotted | Passing Threshold |
|---|---|---|---|
| National | 80 | 105 minutes | 56 correct |
| Virginia State | 40 | 45 minutes | 30 correct |
Note that these are two independent pass/fail thresholds - scoring extremely well on the national portion does not offset a weak state-portion score, and vice versa. For a deeper explanation of how these thresholds are calculated and what score reports look like, see VARE-S Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass. If you're trying to gauge realistically how challenging this dual-threshold format is compared to other credentialing exams, How Hard Is the VARE-S Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026 breaks down the format's difficulty in more detail, and VARE-S Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows looks at what's publicly known about outcomes.
After You Pass: Licensing and Ongoing Education
Passing the VARE-S is the exam milestone, but it isn't the finish line for licensure obligations. Once licensed, Virginia salespersons hold a license valid for 2 years. Newly active salespersons must complete 30 hours of post-license education within their first year of licensure, while experienced salespersons who are renewing complete 16 hours of continuing education per renewal term.
These education requirements exist because real estate law, disclosure rules, and fair housing regulations evolve, and the Board wants licensees refreshing their knowledge on a regular cycle rather than relying solely on what they learned before their first exam attempt.
Who Hires VARE-S Licensees
A passing VARE-S score, combined with a granted license from DPOR, is what allows someone to work as a real estate salesperson affiliated with a licensed Virginia brokerage. In practice, that means new licensees are typically hired or sponsored by:
- Residential real estate brokerages handling buyer and seller transactions
- Property management firms that need licensed staff for leasing and sales activity
- Real estate teams within larger regional or national brokerage franchises
Because Virginia law requires every salesperson to work under a supervising broker, the exam and license together function as the entry credential for that affiliation - you cannot practice independently as a brand-new salesperson. For more context on what licensed salespersons actually do day to day and where the job openings tend to concentrate, see VARE-S Jobs, and for a broader look at long-term earning potential in the field, see VARE-S Salary Guide 2026: Complete Earnings Analysis.
Building a Domain-Weighted Study Plan
Generic study techniques like spaced repetition or timed practice sessions only pay off when they're pointed at the right content. Given that Contracts carries 19% of the national portion and Agency Definitions and Relationships carries 30% of the state portion, your weekly study schedule should allocate proportionally more repetition to those two domains than to lighter-weighted ones like Property Management (3%) or Land Use Controls (5%).
National Heavyweights
- Drill Contracts (19%) and Agency (13%) with practice questions daily
- Review Financing and Practice of Real Estate concepts in parallel
State Heavyweights
- Focus intensively on Agency Definitions and Relationships (30%)
- Layer in Licensing, Escrow Accounts, and Fair Housing regulations
Full Simulation
- Run timed practice sessions matching the 105-minute and 45-minute limits
- Revisit lower-weighted domains so no gaps remain
For a structured, week-by-week plan built specifically around these weightings and the 60-hour prelicensing curriculum, our VARE-S Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt expands on this approach in much greater detail. If you'd rather start testing your knowledge right away, you can jump straight into timed practice questions on our practice test platform to see where your domain-level gaps actually are before committing hours to a study plan.
Key Takeaway
Don't split study time evenly across all 17 domains. Weight your effort toward Contracts and Agency Definitions and Relationships first, since together they represent a disproportionate share of your total score.
Frequently Asked Questions
VARE-S stands for the Virginia Real Estate Salesperson Exam, the licensing test administered by PSI on behalf of the Virginia Real Estate Board. For a plain-language definition, see VARE-S Meaning or What Does VARE-S Stand For?
The exam fee is $60 per attempt, covering both the national and state portions in one sitting. Retesting after a failed section requires paying the fee again.
There are 80 scored national questions with 105 minutes and 40 scored Virginia questions with 45 minutes, plus possible unscored experimental questions mixed in.
You need at least 56 of 80 correct on the national portion and 30 of 40 correct on the state portion. Both thresholds must be met in the same testing session.
You need to be at least 18, hold a high school diploma or equivalent, complete 60 hours of Board-approved Principles of Real Estate education, and pass a fingerprint-based background check - prior sales experience is not required.