The reválida de vendedor de bienes raíces draws its questions from five fixed topic areas, each with its own share of the exam. Knowing what each area actually tests, not just its percentage, is what turns a study plan into an efficient one. This guide walks through all five, grounded in the Puerto Rico statutes the exam is built from.
What topics are on the Puerto Rico real estate salesperson exam?
Five areas make up the exam specification (Anejo A): legal and juridical aspects, ethics and professional conduct, financing, zoning and permits, and property registry. Each is assigned a fixed number of the 60 scored questions:
- Legal and juridical aspects: 32 questions, 53% of the exam.
- Ethics and professional conduct: 11 questions, 18%.
- Financing: 8 questions, 13%.
- Zoning and permits: 7 questions, 12%.
- Property registry: 2 questions, 4%.
The exam pulls from two public-domain sources: Ley Núm. 10 de 1994 (the law creating the Junta de Corredores, Vendedores y Empresas de Bienes Raíces and governing licensing) and the Código Civil de Puerto Rico de 2020, the modernised civil code covering property, contracts, and obligations.
What does the legal and juridical aspects section cover?
Over half the exam, so it deserves the most study time. This section blends two sources. From Law 10 of 1994: definitions (what separates a salesperson from a broker), the structure and powers of the Junta, licensing rules, and the Junta’s authority over exams and discipline. From the Civil Code: the chapters on property, including possession and its settlement (frutos, gastos y mejoras), usucapión (acquiring title through possession over time), legal and voluntary restrictions on property (neighbor relations, boundary agreements), actions that protect ownership such as deslinde y amojonamiento (boundary determination), co-ownership (comunidad de bienes), medianería (party walls), and usufruct.
Because this section spans both a licensing statute and a civil code, candidates who treat it as “the legal stuff to skim” tend to underperform. It is worth as much as the other four sections combined.
What does the ethics and professional conduct section cover?
This section tests the prohibited-practices list in Law 10, Article 31, along with the professional duties that follow from it. Key rules include the restriction on representing more than one party in a transaction (only allowed with the express consent of all parties), the prohibition on retaining a client’s documents or funds without cause, and the broader set of practices Article 31 defines as prohibited for licensees. Article 32 sets out related professional obligations.
Because these are conduct rules rather than procedural steps, most questions describe a scenario and ask whether the described action is permitted or prohibited under the statute.
What does the financing section cover?
Financing questions mix Civil Code contract law with US federal lending disclosure rules. From the Civil Code: mortgages and the consequences when a secured obligation goes unpaid, and pledge and antichresis as alternative security arrangements. From federal and industry practice: the escrow account (cuenta en plica) a broker must maintain under Law 10 Article 21 and when funds must be accounted for, RESPA, TRID (including the Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure), ECOA, the stages of the loan process, amortization and interest, appraisal and loan-to-value ratio, and closing costs and reserves.
This section rewards candidates who understand not just legal definitions but the practical sequence of a financed transaction, from loan estimate to closing.
What does the zoning and permits section cover?
This section covers Puerto Rico’s permitting system and the ongoing obligations of a licensed salesperson. On permits: the general permit system, permiso de uso (use permit) and permiso de construcción (construction permit), and segregación y lotificación (subdividing land) and calificación y zonificación (land use classification). On licensing obligations from Law 10: continuing education requirements (Article 15), pre-licensing education (Articles 10 and 15), licence fees (Articles 10 and 17), the special fund (Article 38), and the rules that apply when a Puerto Rico-licensed professional deals with property located outside Puerto Rico (Articles 24 and 27).
A buyer verifying that a property’s actual use matches its current use permit is a recurring theme here, since a mismatch is a real risk a salesperson is expected to catch.
What does the property registry section cover?
The smallest section by question count, but it appears on every exam. It covers the foundational registry principles, including priority (whoever registers a right first has preference over later claimants), the concept of the finca (registered property record) and folio real (its registry page), oponibilidad (how registration makes a right enforceable against third parties, under Civil Code Article 742), servidumbres (easements, Civil Code Articles 935-936), how usucapión interacts with a registered titleholder, and tanteo y retracto (statutory rights of first refusal and redemption).
Because this section is short, a few focused study sessions on registry principles cover it completely, unlike the legal aspects section which requires sustained review.
Studying the five topics together
The app organizes practice questions by these same five categories, and mock exams draw from each one in the same 32:11:8:7:2 proportion as the real reválida. Since legal aspects alone is worth more than the other four combined, a study plan that spends roughly half its time there and splits the rest across ethics, financing, zoning, and registry mirrors how the actual exam is weighted.