The rule the state prints in capital letters
No one will be admitted to an examination after the specified starting time. That is the Department of State’s own wording, on its own exam sites page. If your exam is at one o’clock, one o’clock is not when they start checking people in. One o’clock is when the doors close and the exam begins. Get there early.
Two things, and you need both
Most people remember the identification. The second one is the one that catches people out.
1. Government-issued photo identification, current
It must be government issued, it must carry your photograph and your signature, and it must not be expired. A photograph of your ID on your phone is not identification. Bring the card.
The state’s accepted list: driver’s license; state-issued non-driver ID; IDNYC card; military ID; United States passport; Employment Authorization Card; INS-issued ID; Certificate of US Citizenship; foreign passport; and Brazilian, Mexican, Honduran and Ecuadorian consular ID. The New York Mobile ID is accepted only at the Albany, Buffalo, Hauppauge and New York City sites.
Worth saying plainly, because it comes up in my classes every session: a foreign passport, an Employment Authorization Card and several consular IDs are on the state’s own list. You do not need a New York license to sit this exam.
2. Your “Summary of Your Submission” page, printed
When you schedule the exam in eAccessNY, the system asks you to print a page. That page is called the Summary of Your Submission and it carries your candidate number. Bring it. This is the requirement students most often have never heard of, and it is the second way to be turned away at the door.
The calculator rule, precisely
A calculator is allowed if it is battery or solar powered, silent, non-printing, and has no alphabetic keyboard. PDAs are not allowed.
The test is not whether it graphs. The test is whether it has letters on it. If your calculator has a QWERTY keypad, leave it at home and bring a simple one.
What you cannot bring in
- Phones, beepers and any other electronic device must be turned off
- No dictionaries, books or reference materials of any kind
- No large bags or briefcases — there is nowhere at the site to store them
- No eating, drinking or smoking at the exam site
- No visitors, guests or children
- No firearms
Anyone using notes or aids, giving or receiving help, removing exam materials, or causing a disturbance is dismissed from the site by the exam supervisor.
What the exam actually is
Multiple choice, drawn from the 77-hour qualifying curriculum. You get an hour and a half, and the clock starts when the instructions finish.
Results are pass or fail. There is no numerical score, results are not given over the phone, and they appear in your eAccessNY account. A passed result is good for two years.
The written exam fee is $15.
When is the exam?
Whenever you schedule it. This is a state exam, not a school exam — there is no fixed date that a class sits together. You book it yourself in eAccessNY, at whichever state exam site you choose, and you can book the next one immediately if it does not go your way. This is the question I get asked most often and the answer surprises people every time.
One more thing nobody tells you
Exams get cancelled for weather. The state posts cancellations on its own social accounts and asks you specifically not to call the exam site. If the morning looks bad, check before you travel.
The checklist
- Current government photo ID from the state’s accepted list — the physical card
- Your printed Summary of Your Submission page from eAccessNY
- Arrive well before the specified starting time. After it, nobody is admitted
- A silent, non-printing calculator with no alphabetic keyboard
- Pencils. Bring your own rather than counting on being handed one
- Phone off. Bags, books and food left at home
Where this comes from
- New York State Department of State — Become a Real Estate Salesperson: the What To Bring list, the exam site policies, the calculator rule, the time allowed and the fee.
- New York State Department of State — Real Estate Salesperson Exam Sites: the arrival rule, printed there in capital letters, and the weather-cancellation notice.
- Checked against those two pages on 28 August 2026. The state can change these; if you are reading this much later, open the links and confirm.
