What the RES Exam looks like
Before you can register as a real estate salesperson in Singapore, you must complete the RES course with a CEA-approved course provider and then pass the Real Estate Salesperson (RES) Examination. The exam has two papers, and both use the same format:
| Part of each paper | Questions | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| Section A | 60 multiple-choice questions | 1 mark each (60 marks) |
| Section B | 20 multiple-choice questions based on one or two case studies | 2 marks each (40 marks) |
| Time allowed | 2.5 hours per paper | |
| Pass mark | 60 on each paper (subject to review by CEA) | |
Each question has four options, A to D, and only one is correct. You can sit both papers together, or, if you have already passed one paper, sit only the other one (a modular sitting). Your RES course certificate is valid for two years, so you need to pass within two years of completing the course or take the course again.
What each paper covers
Paper 1 tests Competency Units 1 and 2:
- Industry overview and basic land law: the property market and its submarkets, market players and government intervention, land and estates in land, the State Lands Act and the Land Betterment Charge Act, rights in another's land (easements, covenants, licences) and registration of titles.
- Dealings with interests in land: contract and agency law, landlord and tenant, property torts, mortgages, gifts, trusts, succession, future interests, co-ownership, restrictions on capacity to hold land, and planning and development control.
Paper 2 tests Competency Units 3 and 4:
- Regulation and marketing: the Estate Agents Act 2010 and its regulations, the Code of Ethics and Professional Client Care, anti-money laundering duties, types of listing, methods of sale, advertising rules, marketing residential, commercial, industrial and conservation properties, and the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act.
- Property transactions: buying uncompleted and completed private homes, collective sales, HDB resale procedures, leasing, renting out HDB flats, stamp duties and property tax, and property finance calculations.
The 2027 syllabus change
CEA has revised the RES examination syllabus for exams from 1 January 2027. Exams held in 2026 still follow the current syllabus. The format and duration stay the same. The four competency units stay, but the topics inside them change: the new syllabus adds three topics (professional practice, ethics and conduct; prevention of money laundering, proliferation financing and terrorism financing; and green buildings and leases), drops the topics on conveyance inter vivos and foreign worker housing, and renames several others, for example "Negligence" becomes "Property torts". Our question bank already includes the ethics, anti-money laundering and property torts material, and leaves out foreign worker housing. It does not yet cover the new green buildings and leases topic, so if you sit in 2027, study that topic from your course materials. Always check the official syllabus for the year you are sitting.
How our practice test works
TestReady SG is an independent practice platform and is not affiliated with CEA. Every question is written from scratch from the law itself (the Estate Agents Act 2010 and its regulations, the Land Titles Act, the Residential Property Act and others) and from official guidance published by IRAS, MAS, HDB and CEA. They are not official or past-year exam questions. Each answer comes with a short explanation that names the source, so you learn the rule, not just the letter.
The bank is split into the four competency units, so you can drill your weakest area. Calculation questions cover Buyer's Stamp Duty, Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty, Seller's Stamp Duty, lease stamp duty, TDSR and MSR limits, loan-to-value limits and monthly instalments, using the rates in force when the questions were checked. Short case studies train you for Section B, where each question is worth two marks.
How to prepare
- Learn the numbers cold. Stamp duty bands, ABSD rates by buyer profile, SSD holding periods, the HDB option fee and option period, TDSR and MSR limits come up again and again.
- Know the "must not" rules. No dual representation, no holding transaction monies, no referrals to moneylenders, and one estate agent at a time are easy marks if you know the regulation.
- Practise under time pressure. 80 questions in 150 minutes leaves under 2 minutes each, and case studies take longer to read.
- Review every wrong answer. Read the explanation, then retry that topic until you get it right.
Rates and rules change. Before your exam, check the latest figures on the IRAS, MAS, HDB and CEA websites.
Three worked examples
One question from different sections of the full pack, with the answer and explanation.
The fact that no two properties share exactly the same location is usually described as which characteristic of real estate?
- Homogeneity
- Liquidity
- Heterogeneity
- Divisibility
A non-Muslim dies without a will, leaving no spouse, no children or other descendants and no parents, but two sisters. Under the Intestate Succession Act 1967, who takes the estate?
- The two sisters in equal shares
- The sisters and the State equally
- The eldest sister only
- The State
Under section 28 of the Estate Agents Act 2010, what is the maximum fine for a first conviction for carrying on estate agency work as an estate agent without a licence?
- $75,000
- $25,000
- $50,000
- $10,000