- The HI-RES has 130 scored questions (80 national, 50 state) in 240 minutes, plus possible unscored pretest items.
- You need 70% on each portion separately - passing one does not carry the other.
- Contracts is the biggest national domain at 19%; Professional Practices and Conduct is the biggest state domain.
- The exam fee is $61 for one or both portions, administered by PSI under the Hawaii Real Estate Commission.
Exam Snapshot: The Numbers You Must Memorize
Before you touch a single practice question, lock these numbers into memory. They govern how you pace the test, how you register, and how you interpret your results. This is the same core data covered in our full HI-RES Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt, condensed here for quick review.
- Format: Closed-book, computer-based, available at PSI test centers or via remote proctoring.
- Calculators: Handheld calculators are not permitted.
- Scratch paper: Provided at test centers only - remote candidates get none, and remote candidates also get no scheduled breaks.
- Bulletin version: The current PSI candidate bulletin is effective January 16, 2026.
For a deeper breakdown of what "hard" actually means on this exam - pacing pressure, question style, and where candidates lose points - see How Hard Is the HI-RES Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026.
Eligibility & Registration Quick Reference
Before PSI will let you schedule a seat, you must meet the Commission's baseline eligibility criteria. Review these against your own status well before your target test date.
Eligibility Checklist
Confirm each item before registering - missing one causes delays, not exam-day surprises.
- At least 18 years old
- High school diploma or equivalent
- U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or alien authorized to work in the United States
- Completion of the Commission-approved 60-hour salesperson prelicense course, or an approved education equivalency
For the full documentation checklist and edge cases (out-of-state licensees, education substitutions), read HI-RES Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify. If you're still deciding whether this exam and career path is worth the upfront cost, our HI-RES Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown article breaks down the $61 exam fee alongside prelicense course and application costs.
All 20 Domains in One Table
The HI-RES tests 11 national domains and 9 state domains. Weights below apply within the national portion; state domain weights are not individually published, but Professional Practices and Conduct is confirmed as the largest state domain.
| # | Domain | Portion | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Property Ownership | National | 10% |
| 2 | Land Use Controls | National | 5% |
| 3 | Valuation | National | 8% |
| 4 | Financing | National | 10% |
| 5 | Contracts | National | 19% |
| 6 | Agency | National | 13% |
| 7 | Property Disclosures | National | 7% |
| 8 | Property Management | National | 3% |
| 9 | Transfer of Title | National | 6% |
| 10 | Practice of Real Estate | National | 12% |
| 11 | Real Estate Calculations | National | 7% |
| 12 | Ascertaining and Disclosing Material Facts | State | - |
| 13 | Types of Ownership | State | - |
| 14 | Property Management | State | - |
| 15 | Land Utilization | State | - |
| 16 | Title and Conveyances | State | - |
| 17 | Contracts | State | - |
| 18 | Financing | State | - |
| 19 | Escrow Process and Closing Statements | State | - |
| 20 | Professional Practices and Conduct | State | Largest state domain |
Want the full explanation of each domain with example concepts and terminology? See HI-RES Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 20 Content Areas.
National Portion Priorities
The 80 national questions cover the 11 domains listed above. Since Contracts (19%) and Agency (13%) together make up nearly a third of the national portion, these two topics deserve disproportionate review time.
National - Contracts (19%)
The single largest domain on the entire exam. Expect heavy coverage of offer/acceptance mechanics, contingencies, contract remedies, and the elements required for a valid, enforceable real estate contract.
- Know the difference between void, voidable, and unenforceable contracts
- Understand contingency removal and default scenarios
National - Agency (13%)
The second-largest national domain. Focus on fiduciary duties, types of agency relationships, and disclosure obligations owed to clients versus customers.
- Memorize the fiduciary duty acronym set (care, obedience, loyalty, disclosure, confidentiality, accounting)
- Distinguish single agency, dual agency, and subagency
National - Practice of Real Estate (12%)
Covers license law concepts applied broadly across national testing - advertising rules, broker-agent relationships, and general conduct standards that overlap with the state Professional Practices domain.
Property Ownership and Financing (10% each) round out the next tier of priority - both are calculation-adjacent, so pair your review here with the standalone Real Estate Calculations domain (7%).
State Portion Priorities
The 50 state questions test Hawaii-specific law and practice across 9 domains. Because Professional Practices and Conduct is confirmed as the largest state domain, treat it as your top state-side priority - it likely echoes and extends concepts from the national Practice of Real Estate domain but through the lens of Hawaii Revised Statutes and Hawaii Administrative Rules.
Because Hawaii's real property landscape includes a meaningful share of leasehold and condominium ownership, expect Types of Ownership and Title and Conveyances questions to reflect those structures more than a mainland-only course might suggest.
Final-Week Review Plan by Domain
Generic study techniques only help if they're mapped to the actual weight distribution above. Here's a compressed review sequence built around the domains that carry the most scoring weight or the most Hawaii-specific risk.
Heaviest National Weight
- Contracts (19%) - drill contract element scenarios daily
- Agency (13%) - build a fiduciary-duty flashcard deck
Practice, Ownership, Financing
- Practice of Real Estate (12%)
- Property Ownership (10%) and Financing (10%) paired with Real Estate Calculations (7%)
Remaining National Domains
- Valuation (8%), Property Disclosures (7%), Transfer of Title (6%)
- Land Use Controls (5%) and Property Management (3%) - lower weight, quick review
State Portion Focus
- Professional Practices and Conduct first - largest state domain
- Title and Conveyances, Escrow Process and Closing Statements, Contracts (state), Financing (state)
- Full timed practice runs replicating the 240-minute, closed-book format
Key Takeaway
Spend roughly proportional time to domain weight on the national portion, but never shortchange Professional Practices and Conduct on the state side - it's confirmed as the largest state domain even without a published percentage.
Test-Day Rules Recap
Format mistakes cost more candidates points than content gaps. Review these operational rules the night before your exam.
- No calculators: All Real Estate Calculations questions must be solved by hand or mental math.
- Scratch paper differs by location: Test-center candidates receive scratch paper; remote candidates receive none.
- No breaks for remote testers: If you test remotely, plan your 240 minutes as one continuous sitting - there are no scheduled breaks.
- Closed-book: No reference materials, notes, or outside resources are permitted at any test location.
- Unscored items: 5-10 unscored experimental questions may appear within your 240 minutes and are indistinguishable from scored questions - treat every question as if it counts.
If you want a precise breakdown of what "70% on each portion" actually means in raw question counts, read HI-RES Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass. And if you're still mapping out when to sit for the exam relative to your prelicense course completion, check HI-RES Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling.
After Passing: Timelines That Matter
Passing the exam is not the finish line - two deadlines apply immediately afterward, and one recurring deadline governs your license long-term.
Once licensed, note that Hawaii salesperson licenses expire December 31 of even-numbered years. Active renewal requires 20 continuing-education hours, split between 6 core hours and 14 elective hours. Mark these dates now so they don't sneak up on you mid-career.
Curious what comes next after licensing - job prospects, typical employers, or how the credential translates into income? Our HI-RES Salary Guide 2026: Complete Earnings Analysis and Is the HI-RES Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 articles cover that ground, and HI-RES Jobs looks at where newly licensed salespeople typically start. For broader context on the credential itself, see HI-RES Certification and What Is HI-RES Certification?.
Ready to test your recall against real exam-style questions? Head to the practice test platform and run a timed simulation before your official test date - it's the fastest way to find out if this cheat sheet actually stuck.
Frequently Asked Questions
The $61 fee covers one or both portions of the exam, according to the current PSI candidate bulletin.
You need a score of 70% on each portion separately - the national portion and the state portion are scored independently.
No. Handheld calculators are prohibited on the HI-RES, regardless of testing location.
A passed portion remains valid for two years, giving you time to retake only the portion you didn't pass, as long as you stay within that window.
Start with National - Contracts, since it's weighted at 19% and is the single largest domain on the exam, followed by Agency at 13%.
For a full walkthrough connecting every fact above into a study plan, revisit HI-RES Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt, or explore HI-RES Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows for context on exam difficulty trends. When you're ready to convert this cheat sheet into exam-day confidence, run a full-length simulation on the main practice test site.
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