- What Is A NDRES, Exactly?
- Who Governs and Administers the Exam
- Exam Format: National and State Portions
- The 11 National Domains You'll Be Tested On
- The State Portion Content
- Fees and Costs Involved
- Who Can Sit for the NDRES
- A Domain-Aware Study Approach
- After You Pass: Licensing and Renewal
- Frequently Asked Questions
- NDRES stands for the North Dakota Real Estate Salesperson Exam, administered by PSI Services LLC.
- The test has 100 scored National questions (150 minutes) and 40 scored State questions (90 minutes).
- Passing requires 70 National points and 30 State points; PSI may add 5-10 unscored experimental items.
- Contracts (19%) and Agency (13%) carry the heaviest weight among the 11 National domains.
What Is A NDRES, Exactly?
NDRES is shorthand for the North Dakota Real Estate Salesperson Exam - the licensing test every prospective salesperson in the state must pass before they can legally represent buyers and sellers. It is not a designation you earn after years in the field; it's the gatekeeping exam that stands between a completed prelicensing course and an active real estate license. If you've searched for "what is a NDRES" while trying to figure out your path into the profession, this is the exam you're thinking of.
Because the acronym gets reused across different industries, it's worth being precise here: on this site, and in this article, NDRES refers exclusively to the North Dakota salesperson licensing exam delivered through PSI Services LLC. Nothing in this piece borrows facts from any other credential that happens to share the letters.
Who Governs and Administers the Exam
The North Dakota Real Estate Commission sets licensing policy, approves prelicensing education providers, and ultimately issues salesperson licenses. Actual delivery of the exam, however, is handled by PSI Services LLC, a third-party testing vendor that runs computer-based testing centers. This split is common in licensing exams: the state board decides what's tested and who qualifies, while PSI builds and proctors the exam itself.
Understanding this division matters practically. Questions about your prelicensing course, application status, or license issuance go to the Commission. Questions about scheduling, exam-day rules, or score reporting go to PSI. If you want a deeper breakdown of who's who and what each entity controls, the NDRES Requirements 2026 guide walks through the full eligibility chain in order.
Exam Format: National and State Portions
The NDRES is split into two distinct portions, and the current bulletin (effective October 1, 2025) spells out the structure clearly:
| Portion | Scored Questions | Time Allowed | Passing Requirement |
|---|---|---|---|
| National | 100 | 150 minutes | 70 points |
| State | 40 | 90 minutes | 30 points |
On top of the scored items, PSI may insert 5 to 10 unscored experimental questions into either portion. These are indistinguishable from scored questions during the test, so there's no strategic value in trying to guess which ones don't count - treat every question as if it matters.
The exam is computer-based and closed book. You cannot bring reference materials, notes, or a personal calculator into the testing room; any calculations required (and there will be some, particularly around Domain 11) must be done using whatever on-screen tool PSI provides, or by hand on scratch material supplied at the center. This is a meaningful difference from open-book study sessions, so practicing under closed-book, timed conditions before test day is essential. For a broader look at how tough the format actually feels in practice, see How Hard Is the NDRES Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026.
Key Takeaway
Because the exam is closed-book and calculator-free (aside from any on-screen tool), memorize your core real estate math formulas rather than planning to look them up mid-test.
The 11 National Domains You'll Be Tested On
The National portion is built around 11 weighted content areas. Knowing these weights lets you prioritize study time toward the sections that actually move your score the most. A full breakdown of each area lives in the NDRES Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 11 Content Areas, but here's the weighting at a glance:
Domain 5: Contracts (19%)
The single heaviest domain. Covers offer and acceptance, contract elements, contingencies, and the lifecycle of a purchase agreement.
- Know the difference between void, voidable, and unenforceable contracts
Domain 6: Agency (13%)
Fiduciary duties, types of agency relationships, and disclosure obligations owed to clients and customers.
- Be able to distinguish designated agency from dual agency scenarios
Domain 10: Practice of Real Estate (12%)
Day-to-day licensee conduct, advertising rules, and general business practice standards.
- Focus on what a licensee can and cannot legally represent to a client
The remaining domains - Property Ownership (10%), Financing (10%), Valuation (8%), Property Disclosures (7%), Real Estate Calculations (7%), Transfer of Title (6%), Land Use Controls (5%), and Property Management (3%) - round out the National portion. None of these should be skipped; even the 3% domain can decide a close score when you're chasing 70 points out of 100.
The State Portion Content
The 40-question State portion doesn't carry published percentage weights the way the National side does. Instead, PSI organizes it into four broad categories:
- Duties and Powers of the Real Estate Commission - how the Commission is structured and what authority it holds
- Licensing Requirements - the rules governing who can hold a North Dakota license and how it's maintained
- Statutory Requirements Governing the Activities of Licensees - the day-to-day legal obligations tied to state statute
- Additional Topics - a catch-all for state-specific material that doesn't fit neatly elsewhere
Because there's no percentage breakdown for the State portion, candidates sometimes underestimate it. Don't. You need 30 out of 40 points to pass this portion, which leaves relatively little room for error compared to the National side's 100-question buffer. Studying North Dakota statute directly - not just general real estate principles - is non-negotiable here.
Fees and Costs Involved
Budgeting for the NDRES involves more than just the exam fee itself. Here's the full cost picture based on current published figures:
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| PSI exam fee (one or both portions, per sitting) | $134 |
| Salesperson application fee | $150 |
| Real Estate Education, Research and Recovery Fund (one-time) | $20 |
| Annual license renewal | $125 |
Note that the $134 PSI fee applies whether you're sitting for one portion or both in the same session, so it's often more cost-effective to schedule National and State together once you're prepared for both. If you fail a portion, you can retake it without limit within a 12-month period - but each retake incurs its own PSI fee. For a line-by-line breakdown including scenarios like retakes and course tuition, check the NDRES Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown.
Who Can Sit for the NDRES
Before you can even register for the exam, North Dakota expects resident applicants to meet several baseline conditions:
- Be at least 18 years old
- Complete a 90-hour NDREC-certified prelicensing course within two years of applying
- Satisfy credit and criminal-history background requirements
- Pass both the National and State portions of the exam
- Secure broker affiliation and errors-and-omissions coverage before practicing actively
Notice that passing the exam is only one checkpoint in a longer sequence. The 90-hour course has to be completed within a two-year window relative to your application, so timing your coursework, exam attempt, and application filing matters. A full walkthrough of this sequencing lives in NDRES Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify.
Key Takeaway
Don't let your 90-hour prelicensing course expire before you apply - the two-year clock starts running the moment you finish it, not when you sit for the exam.
A Domain-Aware Study Approach
Generic study advice - flashcards, timed drills, spaced review - only helps if it's pointed at the right targets. For the NDRES specifically, that means allocating more repetition to Contracts (19%) and Agency (13%) than to lighter domains like Property Management (3%), while still reserving dedicated time for the State portion's statutory categories since that section has less numerical cushion for wrong answers.
Contracts and Agency Foundations
- Work through contract formation, contingencies, and termination scenarios
- Map out fiduciary duties and agency disclosure rules
Financing, Valuation, and Calculations
- Practice closed-book math for Domain 11 without a personal calculator
- Review appraisal methods and financing instrument basics
Remaining National Domains
- Cover Property Ownership, Disclosures, Transfer of Title, Land Use Controls, and Property Management
- Run full-length timed National practice sets
State Portion Deep Dive
- Study Commission powers, licensing statute, and licensee obligations directly from North Dakota code
- Simulate the 90-minute State portion under closed-book conditions
For a more detailed week-by-week plan built around this exact weighting, see the NDRES Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt. And once you're ready to test your recall under exam-like time pressure, the practice exams on our main practice test platform mirror the National and State split so you're not surprised by the pacing on test day.
After You Pass: Licensing and Renewal
Passing both portions doesn't automatically make you a licensed salesperson - it makes you eligible to complete the remaining licensing steps. You'll still need broker affiliation and errors-and-omissions coverage before you can practice actively. Once licensed, North Dakota salesperson licenses renew annually for $125, and active resident licensees generally need to complete 12 hours of continuing education to keep their license current.
It's worth thinking ahead to this stage even before you sit for the exam, since brokerage firms often look for candidates who understand the full licensing lifecycle, not just the test itself. If you're weighing whether the time and cost investment pays off, the Is the NDRES Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 piece and the NDRES Salary Guide 2026: Complete Earnings Analysis both dig into that question from different angles. You can also browse NDRES Jobs for a sense of where newly licensed salespeople typically land.
Frequently Asked Questions
This article covers the salesperson-level exam specifically. The structure - National and State portions administered by PSI under North Dakota Real Estate Commission oversight - applies to the salesperson license path described in the CERT FACTS above.
Failed portions may be retaken without limit during a 12-month period. Each retake requires paying the PSI fee again, so it pays to be genuinely exam-ready before scheduling.
The PSI fee of $134 applies whether you take one or both portions, but you're not necessarily required to complete them simultaneously. Many candidates choose to sit for both together since the fee doesn't change based on how many portions you attempt.
You need 70 points on the 100-question National portion and 30 points on the 40-question State portion. Both thresholds must be met independently. See the NDRES Passing Score 2026 guide for more detail on how this breaks down.
No. The NDRES is closed-book, and personal calculators are prohibited, along with any other reference materials. Any needed calculations for Domain 11 must be handled without outside tools.