The national half of the exam is the same wherever you sit it. The state half is not — and it is where the candidates we see actually lose. It is scored independently, it covers statutes that exist nowhere else, and its size swings from 30 scored items to 150 depending on the state. We charted how each of the 7 states we publish allocates it.
7
State portions compared
30–150
Range of scored state-law items
4–19
Content areas per state portion
CA
Largest state portion
Key findings
- California has the largest state portion at 150 scored items — 5.0× Washington's 30. Two candidates doing “the state section” are doing very different amounts of work.
- The content areas barely overlap by name. Each commission writes its own outline against its own statute, so a state-law study guide is not portable — not even between neighbouring states.
- Weighting inside the portion is lopsided too. In most states here, the two heaviest areas carry roughly half the state portion between them, which makes them the highest-leverage revision on the whole exam.
California · 150 scored items · 7 areas
Florida · 100 scored items · 19 areas
North Carolina · 60 scored items · 8 areas
Texas · 40 scored items · 6 areas
Pennsylvania · 40 scored items · 5 areas
Nevada · 40 scored items · 8 areas
Washington · 30 scored items · 4 areas
Why this half decides the outcome
Two things make the state portion disproportionately dangerous. First, there is far less material for it — national real estate content is written once and sold everywhere, while state-law content has to be rewritten for each commission, so it's thinner and ages faster. Second, it's the half that can't be reasoned out: you either know that your state gives you fifteen days or you don't.
The practical consequence is that a candidate who feels ready because the national practice is going well can still be a long way from ready. The portions are scored separately; you have to check them separately.