RES Exam




About RES Exam

The RES examination is the entry level examination for new entrants who wish to practise as salespersons in the real estate agency industry. Under the regulatory framework administered by the Council for Estate Agencies (CEA). One of the criteria for salespersons' registration is the requirement to pass the mandatory Real Estate Salesperson (RES) Examination. This is to ensure that property agents entering to the real estate industry are well equipped with the basic competency and knowledge about the real estate agency industry and property-related matters.


Apply for the Real Estate Salesperson Examination

Important Announcements:
  • The 23-24 March 2024 Real Estate Salesperson (RES) examination will be conducted in two stages. Please note the important dates.
  • CEA does not require you to login with your Singpass to fill in the FormSG form.
  • Please only access links posted on both CEA and LHUB websites, and also check to verify that the link ends with .gov.sg
  • Please note that the demand for RES examination seats is high. It will not be possible to allocate an examination seat to every applicant who has indicated interest for the examination.




Stage 1: Indication of interest on FormSG (14 FEBRUARY 2024)

Applicants with a valid RES course completion certificate and have completed their RES course by 13 February 2024 are eligible to indicate their interest to sit for the 23-24 March 2024 RES examination on FormSG on 14 February 2024 from 9am to 12 noon.

Please read the instructions on the Form carefully and make only one submission. Applicants who submit more than one Form or make an erroneous submission will be disqualified. No appeals will be entertained.

The FormSG link to indicate your interest and choice of the examination type (i.e. Full-sitting, Modular Paper 1, Modular Paper 2 or Modular Paper 2 - Exempted Paper 1) can be found below and on NTUC LearningHub’s (LHUB’s) website.

We expect high web traffic on LHUB’s and CEA’s websites during Stage 1. To avoid any delay in submitting your indication of interest, download the infographic onto your device in advance to access the FormSG link directly to register your interest.

Please note that the FormSG link will only be activated from 9am to 12 noon on 14 February 2024.

Seats will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis to applicants who

  • have successfully submitted their indication of interest based on their choice of examination type (i.e. full sitting, modular paper 1, modular paper 2 or Modular Paper 2 - Exempted Paper 1), and
  • have met the eligibility criteria, including course completion by 13 February 2024.

LHUB will contact the shortlisted applicants on 21 February 2024 to provide further instructions on Stage 2 of examination registration at the LHUB website.

Shortlisted applicants shall complete the registration and payment on LHUB’s website from 22 February 2024 to 25 February 2024.

Applicants who are not shortlisted may be placed on the waitlist and will be informed accordingly.

All waitlisted applicants will be informed by email if they are successful or unsuccessful by 28 February 2024.


STAGE 2: EXAMINATION REGISTRATION

Shortlisted applicants will receive an email from LHUB and should follow the instructions in the email to complete the March 2024 RES examination registration at LHUB’s website. Shortlisted applicants who do not complete the examination registration process by the deadline stated by LHUB will have their seats allocated to those on the waitlist.

Information on Stage 2, including the key dates, can be found in this infographic (PDF, 174KB).


For more information, please refer to this set of frequently-asked questions (PDF,192KB).

Apply for the Real Estate Salesperson (RES) Course

CEA requires all new entrants to complete the RES examination preparatory course conducted by CEA Approved Course Providers before registering for the RES examination with their Certificates of RES Course Completion. Please note that only courses provided by CEA Approved Course Providers will be recognised for licensing/registration purposes.

Please note that the demand for RES examination seats is high. It will not be possible to allocate an examination seat to every examination applicant with a valid RES course completion certificate. Aspiring RESs are advised to consider this carefully before signing up for the RES course with any of CEA Approved Course Providers.

The Certificate of RES Course Completion has a validity period of 2 years for the purpose of determining eligibility to take the RES examination. Completed course participants are eligible to take the RES examination within 2 years from the completion date of their RES Course. Please note that there will be no extension of the course certificate validity beyond 2 years and appeals for extension will not be entertained.


Examination Pre-Requisite

  1. Applicants will need to attend and complete the RES Course conducted by a CEA Approved Course Provider (ACP) before applying for the RES examination.

    1. Upon meeting a minimum attendance rate of 75%, they will be issued with a Certificate of RES Course Completion.

    1. The Certificate of RES Course Completion has a validity period of 2 years for the purpose of determining eligibility to take the RES examination. Applicants must take the RES examination within 2 years from the completion date of their RES Course. Beyond the validity period, applicants will be required to attend and complete the RES course again before they are eligible to take the RES examination.
Note: Students enrolled in the Bachelor of Science (Real Estate) course and Diploma in Real Estate Business course offered by the National University of Singapore and Ngee Ann Polytechnic respectively on or after 1 April 2020 and subsequently attain these qualifications, will be granted exemption from Paper 1 of the RES examination. They will be required to attend and complete the partial RES course for Paper 2 to be eligible to sit for RES examination Paper 2. Course completers will be issued with the Certificate of Completion for Real Estate Salesperson Course (Papers 2). For more information about these two qualifications, refer to the List of Recognised Equivalent Qualifications.

  1. Applicants must meet the minimum educational requirement of at least 4 GCE O-level passes or equivalent when they register for the RES examination. CEA accepts combined GCE O-level results taken at not more than 2 sittings.

Other equivalent qualifications accepted include:

    1. Singapore GCE-A Level Certificate (Minimum 4 Passes)
    2. Higher National ITE Certificate (NITEC)
    3. Workplace Literacy and Numeracy (WPLN) assessment in these 5 components (Reading, Listening, Speaking, Writing and Numeracy) with a minimum of Level 5 in each component
    4. Diploma from Local Polytechnics:
      1. Singapore Polytechnic (SP)
      2. Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP)
      3. Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP)
      4. Temasek Polytechnic (TP)
      5. Republic Polytechnic (RP)
    5. Degree from Local Universities:
      1. National University of Singapore (NUS)
      2. Nanyang Technological University (NTU)
      3. Singapore Management University (SMU)
      4. Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD)
      5. Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS)
      6. Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT)

  1. Applicants who wish to submit their qualifications (e.g. overseas qualifications or private diplomas) for assessment to determine if the qualifications meet the educational qualification requirement may email their academic certificates, academic transcripts, any other supporting documents together with the completed Educational Qualification Assessment form to CEA at licensing@cea.gov.sg. CEA will inform the candidate of the outcome of the qualification assessment.
    1. Applicants must attach all supporting documents when submitting their application. CEA does not accept education certificates certified by a notary public as a form of verification proof.

    1. For bachelor and above qualifications from China, applicants are required to provide a verification proof either from the China Higher Education Student Information and Career Center (CHSI) or China Academic Degrees & Graduate Education Information (CDGDC) if they do not have the original copies of their certificates.

    2. Applicants must submit the CEA Qualification Assessment Notification and a copy of their qualification certificate when they register for the RES examination.

    3. CEA Qualification Assessment Notification is valid for 3 years from the date of approval. (For Overseas/Private qualifications only)

  1. Applicants without original copies of the graduation certificates, are required to provide a letter of confirmation of award or duplicate copy from the issuing institutions/universities.

  2. Select Full Sitting if you have failed both papers OR if you are a fresh candidate, (DO NOT select Modular Sitting). Modular Sitting is only applicable for candidates who have passed 1 paper of the RES examination.

(You will be allowed to retake only failed paper in modular re-sitting in subsequent RES examination).

*No top-up of exam registration fee to the Full Sitting amount and refund is allowed under no circumstances if you proceeded to register and pay for the examination which you are not eligible.

    1. Candidates taking Full Sitting, you cannot register for Paper 1 & 2 separately under different exam slots.

    1. Candidates are to take note and comply with the following:

      1. Modular re-sitting is only applicable for candidates who have passed 1 paper of the RES examination.
      2. Candidates with a valid partial pass are allowed to register for the remaining paper only.
      3. There is no change to the examination requirements for RES course participants to pass the RES examination, comprising two papers, within 2 years from the date of issuance of the RES course completion certificate. For candidates with a modular pass in one paper of the RES examination, they are required to pass the remaining paper within the 2-year timeframe. Should they fail to do so, the modular pass in one paper will not be valid and candidates will have to re-take the RES course before attempting the RES examination (i.e. both Paper 1 and Paper 2) again.


Examination Fees

The RES examination fees are as follows:


Examination fees are subjected to revision and may be changed without prior notice. Payment can made online via Credit/Debit Card and PayNow. All examination fees paid are not refundable.

All examination application will be reviewed and approved within 7 working days from the application submission date.


Union Training Assistance Programme (UTAP)

NTUC Members can enjoy up to 50% funding (capped at $250 per year) under Union Training Assistance Programme (UTAP). NTUC members aged 40 and above can enjoy higher funding support up to $500 per individual each year, capped at 50% of unfunded course/exam fees, for courses/exam attended between 1 July 2020 to 31 December 2022.

UTAP Funding has been approved for RES & REA Examination for a period from 18 February 2022 to 31 March 2025.

Please note that members are required to fulfil the following conditions to be eligible for UTAP reimbursement:
  1. Paid-up union membership before exam commencement, throughout the whole exam duration, and at the point of claim.
  2. Exam by training provider must be supported under UTAP and the exam must commence within the supported period.
  3. The exam must not be funded through company sponsorship or other types of funding
  4. Member has attempted the registered exam.
  5. UTAP application must be submitted within 6 months after exam completion together with the receipt and examination results slip or CEA certificate.

Please refer to the UTAP Application Guide for members to apply UTAP via the U-Portal.

ENQUIRY ON UTAP MATTERS
Website: http://skillsupgrade.ntuc.org.sg
Email: UTAP@e2i.com.sg
For NTUC Union membership matters, please chat with us here.

Monday – Friday, 9:00 am to 5:30 pm and Saturday, 9:00 am to 12:30 pm

Examination Format

With effect from 2023, the format of both Paper 1 and Paper 2 are as follows:

Duration:    2 hours 30 minutes for each paper
Format:       Both Paper 1 and Paper 2 are of the same format
    • Section A: 60 MCQs (60 marks)
    • Section B: 20 MCQs with reference to 1 or 2 Case Studies (40 marks)

Examination Syllabus

The current RES examination syllabus was revised with effect from 1 Jan 2017. Candidates will not be tested on Government policy changes announced or implemented within one month before the examination. For latest syllabus, please visit the CEA Website.

Examination Venue

Paper-Based Examination
Singapore Institute of Management Headquarters (SIM HQ)
461 Clementi Road, Singapore 599491

RES Examination Schedule


 

Examination Rules and Regulations

Please click here to view the examination rules & regulations. 
 

Examination Results Release

The RES examination results are released approximately 4 to 6 weeks after the examination is held. The time may be longer due to factors such as the number of candidates taking the examination. Candidates will be informed of the exam result via e-mail.

Examination Results Appeal

Candidates who wish to submit an appeal request to review their examination results can do so via NTUC LearningHub’ s online portal within five (5) working days from the date of the notification of examination result
 
Candidates may only appeal for the failed examination paper.



A non-refundable administrative fee of $65.40 (incl. GST) per appeal application will be imposed. The fee is to cover the cost of reviewing the marking of the answer scripts and re-checking of the awarded marks.

Candidates will be informed via email of the appeal outcome about 14 working days from the last date of appeal submission, or longer if the number of appeals is high.
  
Candidates will not be shown their answer sheets or scores nor will answer scripts be returned to candidates.
  
*Candidates are advised not to register for the next exam until the appeal outcome is out.
 
For more information on Appeal for Review of RES Examination Results, please refer to CEA’s website:
https://www.cea.gov.sg/professionals/salesperson-registration-matters/apply-for-the-real-estate-salesperson-examination
 

Examination Deferment Request

Candidates who do not turn up for the examination will be marked "absent" and considered to have failed the examination.
 
Medical Certificates issued by General Practitioners or hospitals, and Hospitalisation Leave issued by hospitals are not accepted reasons for deferment.
 


No refund of the examination fees will be made for candidates who are unable to attempt the examination on the examination date.

Please note that requests for deferment may be considered only under the following circumstances:
  1. Hospitalisation on the day of examination
  2. Bereavement of spouse, child, parent, sibling, grandparent or grandchild
  3. National Service duties that cover the day of the examination

A non-refundable administrative fee of $109 (inclusive of GST) will be levied on each approved deferment application. Candidates who encounter these situations may submit their deferment requests with supporting documents within five (5) working days after the examination , via NTUC LearningHub’ s online portal. All deferment requests are subjected to approval. Candidate approved for deferment may only attempt the next examination. No further deferment will be allowed.

Deferment requests submitted by email to LHUB will not be accepted.


Website last updated: 6 February 2024

For clarification OR assistance on Examination rules?
You may call our customer service officers during office hours at 6336 5482 or you can email us at res@ntuclearninghub.com (for exam related matters).

    Examination Registration

    Important information to take note:
    1. Registration is by invitation only and registration date will be stated on the email.
    2. Please ensure that the following documents are ready and save in this format (JPEG, PNG or PDF & maximum file size of 2MB):
      1. Course Completion Certificate

      2. Highest Qualification Certificate

      3. CEA Assessment Letter (for overseas & private qualifications)

      4. Result Slip (for candidates taking modular exam)

    3. You are given 30 minutes to complete the registration and make payment.
    4. Compatible with the following internet browsers: Google Chrome, Apple Safari, Microsoft Edge and Mozilla Firefox.
    5. No refund of examination fee will be allowed once the candidate has made payment.
    6. All candidates are deemed to have accepted and agree to abide by CEA exam policy and procedures once registration is approved.
    7. CEA reserves the right to bar the candidate from future examinations if the candidate breaches the rules.