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Council for Estate Agencies

Prepare for the real estate salesperson examination

Requirements and information about the real estate salesperson examination.

Last updated 14 November 2025

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RES examination requirements
Examination syllabus and sample questions
Examination format
2026 Examination Schedule
Examination fees
Examination passing marks
Related links

RES examination requirements

1. Complete the RES Course

You must attend and complete the real estate salespersons (RES) course conducted by a CEA Approved Course Provider (ACP) before registering for the RES examination. Upon completing the RES Course (a minimum of 75% attendance is required), the ACP will issue you a Certificate of RES Course Completion. Only certificates issued by CEA ACPs will be recognised for the purpose of RES examination registration.

Note:

We are aware of businesses and individuals offering revision and coaching classes for the RES examinations. Please refer to the list of CEA Approved Course Providers (ACPs). All other entities are not endorsed by CEA. Please be cautious when attending such classes, as the trainers may provide inaccurate information.

You may not be required to take the RES course and RES examination if you possess any of the recognised qualifications listed in the table below:

Qualifications equivalent to RES examinations

Name of Qualifications

Issuing Body

Bachelor of Science (Real Estate)1

National University of Singapore (NUS)

Bachelor of Science (Estate Management)2 

Bachelor of Real Estate (Property Management)2 

Bachelor of Real Estate (Valuation)2 

Diploma in Real Estate Business1

Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP)

Diploma In Building Management2

Diploma In Building & Real Estate Management2

Diploma In Property Development & Facilities Management2

Singapore Polytechnic (SP)

Diploma In Building & Property Management2

Note: 

  1. The Bachelor of Science (Real Estate) course and Diploma in Real Estate Business course are currently offered by NUS and NP respectively: 

    1. Students enrolled in either of these two courses on or after 1 April 2020 and subsequently attain these qualifications are exempted from RES examination Paper 1. They will be required to take RES examination Paper 2. 

    2. To be eligible to sit for RES examination Paper 2, they must attend and complete the partial RES course for Paper 2. Course completers will be issued with the Certificate of Completion for RES Course (Paper 2).

    3. Students enrolled in either of these two courses before 1 April 2020 and subsequently attain these qualifications will continue to be exempted from the RES examinations. 

  2. These courses are no longer offered by NUS, NP, and SP. Graduates who possess any of these academic qualifications will continue to be exempted from the RES examinations. 

Individuals who have passed all 3 examinations in General Practice by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) on or before 1 March 2023 shall be deemed to have obtained qualifications equivalent to a pass in the RES examinations. Please note that this does not apply to RICS memberships, fellowships, or other RICS-accredited course qualifications.

Holders of all other qualifications will be required to take and pass the RES or REA examination if they wish to become an RES or a KEO respectively.

The Certificate of RES Course Completion has a validity period of two years. You are eligible to take the RES examination within two years from the date of your Certificate of RES Course Completion. Beyond the two-year validity period, you must attend and complete the RES course again if you wish to take the RES examination. There will be no extension of the RES course certificate validity period.

2. Submit your educational qualifications

You must have either:

  • A minimum of four GCE O-Level passes (results may be combined from a maximum of two examination sittings) or equivalent, which is one of the regulatory requirements for salespersons; or

  • Attained Level 5 and above in all five components of the Workplace Literacy and Numeracy (WPLN) assessment developed by the British Council in collaboration with SkillsFuture Singapore: Reading, Listening, Speaking, Writing, and Numeracy.

When registering for the RES examination, you must submit a copy of your educational qualification certificate or CEA’s assessment letter (for overseas qualification or local private qualification) to CEA’s appointed examination administrator, NTUC LearningHub, for verification.

Examination syllabus and sample questions

The following table summarises the RES examination syllabus.


Paper

Competency unit and topics

1

Competency unit 1: Real estate agency industry overview & basic land law concepts

Real estate agency industry overview

1.1  Real estate market and submarkets

1.2  Real estate market players and government intervention

Basic land law concepts

1.3  Introduction

1.4  Land

1.5  Estates in land

1.6  State Lands Act

1.7  Rights in another’s land

1.8  Registration of titles

Competency unit 2: Dealings with interests in land

2.1 Law of contract

2.2 Law of agency

2.3 Landlord and tenant law

2.4 Negligence

2.5 Conveyance inter vivos

2.6 Mortgage

2.7 Gift

2.8 Trust

2.9 Succession

2.10 Future interests

2.11 Co-ownership

2.12 Restrictions on capacity to hold land

2.13 Planning and development of land

2

Competency unit 3: Regulation of real estate agency industry & real estate marketing

3.1 Regulation of real estate agency industry

3.2 Role of functions of salespersons and their requisite knowledge and skills

3.3 Principles of real estate marketing

3.4 Types of listing

3.5 Methods of sale

3.6 Regulations on advertisements

3.7 Marketing of residential property

3.8 Marketing of commercial property

3.9 Marketing of industrial property

3.10 Marketing of special properties

3.11 Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act

Competency unit 4: Property transactions

4.1 Sale of uncompleted private properties

4.2 Sale of completed private properties

4.3 Collective sale of private properties

4.4 Sale of HDB flats

4.5 Leasing of private properties

4.6 Renting out HDB flats/bedrooms

4.7 Foreign worker housing

4.8 Taxes on property

4.9 Property finance and financial calculations

You may refer to the RES Examination Syllabus (PDF, 480KB) for more details. The RES examinations in 2025 and 2026 will be based on the current RES examination syllabus.

Note:

You will not be tested on government policy changes announced or implemented within one month before the RES examination.

Revised RES examination syllabus 2027 (from 1 January 2027)

To ensure that the areas of focus continue to remain up-to-date and relevant to the real estate agency industry, CEA has revised the RES examination syllabus, which will be implemented for examinations from 1 January 2027.

Please refer to the revised RES examination Syllabus 2027 (PDF, 603KB) for more details.

For more information, please refer to the Frequently Asked Questions (PDF, 172KB).

We have provided sample RES examination questions (PDF, 267KB) for your reference. You can find more information on how these questions are related to the RES examination syllabus, such as Competency Unit, Learning Outcome, and Cognitive Level, in each of the sample questions. This provides greater clarity on the level of difficulty expected for each topic to prepare you for the RES examination.

Examination format

The RES examination comprises two papers.

The format of both Paper 1 and Paper 2 is as follows:

Section A: 60 Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) (60 marks)
Section B: 20 MCQs with reference to one or two case studies (40 marks)

Duration: 2.5 hours per paper

2026 Examination Schedule


RES exam

Date/ Time

Exam paper

 Registration period

RES course completion 

Stage 1

Indication of interest (FormSG)

Stage 2

Registration and payment (NTUC LearningHub’s portal)


 

Mar 2026

14 Mar, Sat
(9:30am – 12pm)

RES Paper 1

By 20 Jan 2026, Tue

21 Jan 2026, Wed (9am to 12 noon)

5 Feb 2026, Thu to 8 Feb 2026, Sun 

15 Mar, Sun
(9:30am – 12pm)

RES Paper 2


 

Jul 2026

18 Jul, Sat
(9:30am – 12pm)

RES Paper 1

By 18 May 2026, Mon 

19 May 2026, Tue (9am to 12 noon)

4 Jun 2026, Thu to 7 Jun 2026, Sun

19 Jul, Sun
(9:30am – 12pm)

RES Paper 2


 

Oct/Nov 2026

31 Oct, Sat (9:30am – 12pm)

RES Paper 1

By 16 Sep 2026, Wed

17 Sep 2026, Thu (9am to 12 noon)

1 Oct 2026, Thu to 4 Oct 2026, Sun

1 Nov, Sun
(9:30am – 12pm)

RES Paper 2

Note: We may reschedule the RES examination dates and/ or registration period without prior notice. The changes will be updated in the table above.

Examination fees

The RES examination fees are as follow:


Examination type

Fee rates from July 2024 examinations

(GST inclusive)

 Full Sitting (2 papers)

$512.30

 Modular sitting (1 paper)

$283.40

Note:

  • A modular sitting is only applicable for candidates who have passed one paper of the RES examination.

  • Examination fees are subject to revision and may be changed without prior notice.

Examination passing marks

The passing mark for each RES examination paper is 60 and is subject to review by CEA.

Related links

Apply for the real estate salesperson examination

You will need to indicate your interest for the real estate salesperson examination. Shortlisted candidates can proceed to register for the examination.

Real estate salesperson examination results and appeals

You will be notified of your real estate salesperson examination results within four to six weeks after completing the exam.