- VARE-B is the Virginia Real Estate Broker Exam, regulated by the Virginia Real Estate Board and administered by PSI.
- The exam splits into 75 national questions (80 points) and 50 scored Virginia questions, needing 60/80 and 38/50 to pass.
- Applicants need 180 hours of Board-approved broker education plus 36 of the last 48 months as an active salesperson.
- Domains 1-11 cover national content; Domains 12-17 are Virginia-specific, with Licensing weighted heaviest at 26%.
What Is VARE-B?
VARE-B stands for the Virginia Real Estate Broker Exam - the licensing test required for real estate professionals in Virginia who want to move from salesperson status into a supervisory broker role. It is not a voluntary industry certification you add to a resume for optics; it is the state-mandated gateway that determines whether you can legally open your own brokerage, manage agents, or operate as a principal or supervising broker in Virginia.
Passing VARE-B is one part of a larger licensing process that also includes education hours, verified work experience, and a background check. If you're trying to understand what the credential actually measures and how the test is structured before you commit study time, the VARE-B Certification overview and the VARE-B Requirements 2026 guide are good companion reads alongside this one.
Who Administers the Exam
The Virginia Real Estate Board, which sits inside the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR), sets licensure policy, education standards, and eligibility rules. PSI, the third-party testing vendor, actually delivers the exam at test centers and manages the technical logistics of scheduling and scoring.
This two-party structure matters practically: DPOR decides who is eligible to sit for the exam (education hours, experience verification, fingerprinting), while PSI controls exam content delivery, the Candidate Information Bulletin, and day-of testing procedures. The bulletin currently in effect was revised February 18, 2026, and it is the authoritative source for test-day rules, ID requirements, and content outlines - treat it as required reading, not optional background.
Exam Format and Scoring
VARE-B is delivered in two distinct, separately timed portions rather than as one continuous test:
- National portion: 75 questions worth 80 points, with 105 minutes allotted. Some items are scenario-based and worth multiple points, so raw question count doesn't map one-to-one with score.
- Virginia state portion: 50 scored questions, with 55 minutes allotted.
To pass, a candidate needs at least 60 of the 80 available national points and at least 38 of the 50 state answers correct. Both thresholds must be met - a strong national score does not offset a weak state score, and vice versa. Testing is computer-based and closed-book, and PSI may embed additional unscored experimental questions that look identical to scored items, so there's no reliable way to identify and skip them.
Key Takeaway
Because passing requires clearing two independent thresholds, allocate separate study time and separate practice testing to the national and Virginia-specific portions rather than treating VARE-B as one undifferentiated content pool.
For a deeper look at exactly how the scoring thresholds work and what a borderline score looks like in practice, see VARE-B Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass. If you're still weighing how difficult this format is relative to other licensing exams, How Hard Is the VARE-B Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026 breaks down the format-driven challenges in more detail.
The 17 Domains, Explained
VARE-B content is organized into 17 domains split into two groups: Domains 1-11 are national real estate principles tested nearly everywhere in the U.S., and Domains 12-17 are Virginia-specific law and practice.
National Domains (1-11)
Domain 5: Contracts (19%)
The single largest national domain. Candidates must understand contract formation, essential elements, contingencies, and how brokers supervise contract review and execution.
- Elements required for a valid, enforceable contract
- Contingency clauses and their effect on closing
- Broker-level responsibility for reviewing agent-drafted contracts
Domain 6: Agency (13%)
Agency relationships, fiduciary duties, and how a broker's obligations differ from a salesperson's when supervising multiple agency relationships within one office.
- Types of agency and disclosed dual agency scenarios
- Fiduciary duty breaches and broker liability
Domain 10: Practice of Real Estate (12%)
Day-to-day operational rules governing how brokers and their affiliated licensees conduct business, market listings, and interact with the public.
The remaining national domains - Property Ownership, Land Use Controls, Valuation, Financing, Property Disclosures, Property Management, Transfer of Title, and Real Estate Calculations - round out the 80-point national portion at smaller weightings. A full domain-by-domain weighting breakdown with study priority is covered in VARE-B Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 17 Content Areas.
Virginia-Specific Domains (12-17)
Domain 12: Licensing
The largest state-specific domain at 26% weight. This covers broker licensure requirements, license renewal, supervisory obligations, and Board disciplinary authority.
- License renewal timelines and continuing education obligations
- Supervisory duties a broker holds over affiliated salespersons
- Grounds for Board disciplinary action
Domain 13: Escrow Accounts
Trust and escrow account management is a broker-specific responsibility with no equivalent on the salesperson exam - expect detailed questions on recordkeeping and fund handling.
The other Virginia domains - Disclosure Requirements, Agency Definitions and Relationships, Virginia Fair Housing Law and Regulations, and Specific Acts Pertaining to Real Estate Practice - test how national concepts apply under Virginia statute specifically, not generic real estate theory.
Eligibility Requirements
Before you can even register for VARE-B, you must meet baseline eligibility set by the Virginia Real Estate Board:
- Be at least 18 years old
- Hold a high school diploma or equivalent
- Complete 180 class or clock hours of Board-approved broker education, including a Real Estate Brokerage course
- Verify active salesperson experience for 36 of the 48 months immediately preceding application
- Satisfy fingerprint-based background check requirements
These prerequisites exist because VARE-B assumes practical field experience, not just classroom knowledge. A full walkthrough of how to document your 36-month experience window and which education providers qualify is in VARE-B Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify.
Registration, Fees, and Scheduling
Each attempt at VARE-B costs $60, paid through PSI as part of scheduling your test appointment. Because both the national and state portions are administered in a single sitting with separate timing, you don't register for them separately - one appointment covers both portions back to back.
The exam is closed-book and computer-based, but candidates are permitted to bring an approved nonprogrammable calculator for the real estate calculations content. If you fail one or both portions, you'll need to reschedule and pay the $60 fee again for a retest; check current PSI scheduling windows before locking in a study timeline, since availability varies by test center. For a full cost picture beyond the exam fee itself - including education course costs and renewal fees - see VARE-B Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown, and for scheduling logistics specifically, see VARE-B Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling.
| Component | Questions/Points | Time | Passing Threshold |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Portion | 75 questions / 80 points | 105 minutes | 60 of 80 points |
| Virginia State Portion | 50 scored questions | 55 minutes | 38 of 50 correct |
Who Takes VARE-B and Why
Candidates pursuing VARE-B are almost always licensed salespersons who have already worked in the field and now want the authority to supervise agents or run their own brokerage. This is a career-advancement step rather than an entry point - you cannot walk into VARE-B without prior salesperson experience because the 36-of-48-month verification is mandatory.
Common paths into broker licensure include:
- Salespersons opening an independent brokerage
- Team leads at existing firms who need broker authority to formally supervise agents
- Property managers expanding into brokerage-level oversight roles
- Experienced agents pursuing broker status for compensation structure or ownership reasons
If you're trying to gauge what broker licensure actually opens up in terms of roles and compensation potential, VARE-B Jobs and VARE-B Salary Guide 2026: Complete Earnings Analysis cover that ground, and Is the VARE-B Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 weighs the time and cost investment against the career upside.
Building a Domain-Specific Study Plan
Because VARE-B has two separately scored portions, an effective study plan treats them as two parallel tracks rather than one linear syllabus. Weight your time roughly in proportion to domain size - Contracts and Agency on the national side, Licensing and Escrow Accounts on the state side - while still touching every domain at least once before test day.
National Foundations
- Property Ownership, Land Use Controls, Valuation, Financing
- Build calculation fluency for Domain 11 early since it compounds with Financing and Valuation
Heaviest National Domains
- Contracts (19%) and Agency (13%) - the two largest national weightings
- Practice scenario-based multipoint items specifically, since these mirror actual exam format
Virginia Licensing and Escrow
- Domain 12 (Licensing, 26% of state weight) gets the most repetition
- Escrow Accounts recordkeeping rules and violation scenarios
Remaining State Domains and Full Simulations
- Disclosure Requirements, Fair Housing, Specific Acts, Agency Definitions
- Full-length timed practice runs matching the 105/55-minute split
For a structured, week-by-week plan built specifically around this domain weighting and the two-portion timing, see the VARE-B Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt. When you're ready for quick pre-exam review rather than full study sessions, the VARE-B Cheat Sheet 2026: One-Page Review of Must-Know Facts condenses the highest-yield facts. And if you want to see how your prep stacks up statistically, VARE-B Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows covers what's publicly known about outcomes.
Key Takeaway
Running full-length practice sessions on the main practice test platform under the actual 105-minute and 55-minute time limits is the closest simulation you can get to real test-day pacing pressure.
After You Pass
Passing both portions of VARE-B is a milestone, not the finish line - you still need to complete DPOR's licensing paperwork to activate your broker license. Once active, Virginia broker licenses are valid for 2 years, and active brokers must complete 24 hours of continuing education per renewal term to keep the license in good standing.
Plan your renewal continuing education around the same domain categories tested on the exam, particularly Licensing and Fair Housing updates, since Virginia periodically revises regulatory guidance in those areas. Building this into your calendar now avoids a scramble near your two-year renewal deadline.
You can also run refresher practice sessions through our practice test platform well after licensure, which is useful if you're mentoring newer agents or just want to keep your regulatory knowledge sharp between renewal cycles.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. VARE-B is the broker-level exam, which assumes prior salesperson licensure and experience, and it adds broker-specific content like escrow account management and supervisory licensing rules that the salesperson exam does not cover.
The national portion has 75 questions worth 80 points, and the Virginia state portion has 50 scored questions, for two separately timed and separately scored sections in one appointment.
You need at least 60 of 80 points on the national portion and at least 38 of 50 correct answers on the Virginia state portion. Both thresholds must be met independently.
Each exam attempt costs $60, paid to PSI when scheduling. If you need to retake either portion, the $60 fee applies again for the retest appointment.
Yes, an approved nonprogrammable calculator is allowed. The test itself is closed-book and computer-based, administered through PSI test centers.