Singapore RES exam guide

Course · registration · the two papers · 2027 syllabus · after you pass

1. Eligibility and the 65-hour RES course

Anyone who wants to carry out estate agency work in Singapore must be registered with the CEA as a salesperson, and the RES Examination is the entry requirement. Before you can register for the examination you must complete the RES course — at least 65 hours — at a CEA Approved Course Provider. The CEA also sets minimum requirements for candidates, including an education threshold of four GCE O-Level passes or an equivalent qualification. The course completion certificate is valid for two years; both papers must be passed while it is still valid.

2. Registering for the examination

The examination is administered by NTUC LearningHub and sat at SIM HQ. Registration opens ahead of each of the three yearly sittings — March, July and October/November. The fee is S$512.30 including GST for both papers. A candidate who has passed one paper and needs to re-sit the other pays the modular fee of S$283.40. Fees, dates and identity requirements are set by the CEA and the administrator and can change; check the current details on the CEA website before booking.

3. How the two papers work

Each paper runs for 2.5 hours and is marked out of 100:

• Section A — 60 multiple-choice questions at 1 mark each (60 marks).
• Section B — 20 multiple-choice questions at 2 marks each (40 marks), built around one or two case studies. These test application of the rules to a fact pattern, not recall alone.

The pass mark is 60 on each paper. The papers are marked independently, so a candidate can pass one paper and re-sit only the other under the modular arrangement.

4. What each paper tests

Paper 1 — CU1 Real Estate Agency Industry Overview & Basic Land Law Concepts

The real estate market and its submarkets, market players and government intervention, the legal meaning of land and fixtures, estates in land (freehold, leasehold and tenure), the State Lands Act 1920 and the Land Betterment Charge Act 2021, rights in another's land — licences, easements and covenants — and the registration of titles under the Torrens system, including indefeasibility and caveats.

Paper 1 — CU2 Dealings with Interests in Land

Contract and agency law, landlord and tenant, property torts (negligence, nuisance and trespass), mortgages, gifts, trusts, succession (wills, intestacy, probate and letters of administration), future interests, co-ownership (joint tenancy and tenancy in common), restrictions on the capacity to hold land under the Residential Property Act 1976, and planning and development control under the Planning Act 1998.

Paper 2 — CU3 Regulation, ethics and marketing

The Estate Agents Act 2010 and the CEA regulatory framework, the Code of Ethics and Professional Client Care, the role and skills of a salesperson, prevention of money laundering, proliferation financing and terrorism financing (PMLPFTF) obligations, marketing principles, types of agency appointment, methods of sale, the Code of Advertising Practice, green buildings and leases, conservation properties, and the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act 2003.

Paper 2 — CU4 Property Transactions

Sale of uncompleted private residential property under the Housing Developers Rules, completed private property, collective (en-bloc) sales, HDB resale — eligibility, the minimum occupation period, ethnic integration and SPR quotas and CPF housing grants — private residential leasing, HDB renting, property taxes (buyer's, additional buyer's and seller's stamp duty and property tax), and property financing and calculations (loan-to-value limits, TDSR and MSR, and the use of CPF).

5. What changed in the 2027 syllabus

The 2027 syllabus applies to sittings from 1 January 2027. Four areas are new to the examination:

• PMLPFTF — anti-money-laundering, counter-proliferation-financing and counter-terrorism-financing obligations for estate agents and salespersons (CU3).
• Green buildings and leases — sustainability features and green lease provisions (CU3).
• Conservation properties — rules on dealing in conserved buildings (CU3).
• Land Betterment Charge Act — the charge on enhancement in land value, tested alongside the State Lands Act (CU1).

6. After you pass

• Registration. Apply for registration as a salesperson through a licensed estate agent, which lodges the application with the CEA. You may only carry out estate agency work once the CEA has registered you.
• Continuing professional development. Registered salespersons must meet the CEA's CPD requirements each year to renew their registration; the examination is the entry requirement, not the end of the obligation.
• Certificate validity. The RES course certificate is valid for two years; confirm the current rules on validity and re-sitting with your course provider and the CEA.

7. Costs

• RES course: set by each Approved Course Provider
• Examination fee: S$512.30 for both papers; S$283.40 for a modular resit
• Registration and renewal fees: set by the CEA and payable through your estate agent

Fees and schedules are subject to announcements from the Council for Estate Agencies and the examination administrator.