CO-RE-B Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows

What the Q2 2026 Colorado Data Actually Shows

The Colorado Division of Real Estate publishes candidate performance statistics for the Colorado Real Estate Broker Exam (CO-RE-B), and the Q2 2026 first-time statewide numbers tell a clear story. On the 80-question national portion, 460 of 770 first-time candidates passed - a 59.9% pass rate. On the 74-question Colorado-specific portion, only 326 of 779 first-time candidates passed, or 42.4%.

Those two numbers matter more than any single "overall pass rate" figure, because CO-RE-B isn't graded as one combined score. It is two independent pass/fail gates administered through PSI, and the data shows those gates behave very differently. If you're still mapping out your prep timeline, the CO-RE-B Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt walks through how to sequence study around this exact split.

National Portion vs. Colorado Portion: Two Very Different Tests

Candidates often treat "the real estate exam" as a single event, but CO-RE-B is structured as two separate timed sections:

• National portion: 80 multiple-choice questions, 120 minutes, covering Domains 1-11 (property ownership, financing, agency, contracts, calculations, and more).
• State portion: 74 multiple-choice questions, 110 minutes, covering Domains 12-19 (Colorado Commission rules, licensing requirements, forms and contracts, trust accounts, closing, and brokerage relationships).

Each portion is scored independently against its own passing threshold - 60 of 80 national and 53 of 74 state. This is why the Q2 2026 statistics report two separate pass rates instead of one blended figure. For a full breakdown of every domain and its weight, see the CO-RE-B Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 19 Content Areas.

Why the State Portion Pulls Overall Results Down

The gap between 59.9% and 42.4% isn't random. It reflects a structural feature of the state exam: it is dense with Colorado-specific content that has no national analog, and one domain in particular carries an outsized share of the questions.

Colorado Forms and Contracts accounts for 23 of the 74 state questions - 31.08% of the entire state portion. That's nearly a third of the exam riding on a single domain covering the Commission-approved contract forms, addenda, and disclosure documents used in actual Colorado transactions. Candidates who studied national contract law concepts for the national portion often assume that knowledge transfers directly - it doesn't, because Colorado forms have specific clauses, deadlines, and required language that don't exist in generic contract theory.

Behind Forms and Contracts, the next-heaviest state domains are Requirements Governing the Activities of Licensees and Brokerage Relationships, each at 14.86%, followed by Closing and Settlement at 13.51%. Together, these four domains make up roughly 74% of the entire state portion's scored items - which is likely a major driver of why the state pass rate trails the national one in the Q2 2026 data. For a deeper dive into why this section trips up otherwise well-prepared candidates, read How Hard Is the CO-RE-B Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026.

Passing Score Mechanics and the One-Year Retake Rule

Understanding exactly how CO-RE-B is scored changes how you should study for it. A few mechanics matter more than most candidates realize:

• You must hit 60 of 80 on the national portion AND 53 of 74 on the state portion. Passing one does not carry weight toward the other - they are entirely separate hurdles.
• A passing result on either portion remains valid for one year. If you pass national but fail state, you only need to retake the state portion within that window - not the entire 154-question exam.
• PSI delivers CO-RE-B through both computer-based test centers and live remote proctoring, so scheduling flexibility isn't the bottleneck - content mastery is.

This one-portion-at-a-time structure is actually good news buried inside the Q2 2026 numbers: even candidates who fail the state portion on their first attempt aren't starting over. For the exact numeric thresholds and how they were calculated, see CO-RE-B Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass. For scheduling logistics on retakes, check CO-RE-B Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling.

Domain-by-Domain Breakdown of Where Points Are Won and Lost

Because both portions are scored from official item counts, every domain has a fixed, known weight. Here's how the national portion's 11 domains and the state portion's 8 domains break down:

The remaining state domains - Additional Topics (9.46%), Licensing Requirements (6.76%), Record Keeping and Trust Accounts (6.76%), and Duties and Powers of the Real Estate Commission (2.70%) - are individually smaller but still appear on every exam form, so they can't be skipped entirely. A candidate who ignores Record Keeping and Trust Accounts because it's "only" 6.76% is still leaving roughly five questions on the table. If you want the complete percentage table with study priorities attached, the CO-RE-B Cheat Sheet 2026: One-Page Review of Must-Know Facts lays it out in one page.

Who Sits for This Exam and What Happens After

CO-RE-B is administered under the authority of the Colorado Division of Real Estate and the Colorado Real Estate Commission, with PSI running the actual test delivery. Every candidate arrives at test day the same way: after completing 168 hours of qualifying education, submitting fingerprints for a background check, and preparing to carry errors-and-omissions insurance once active.

Passing both portions is a licensing prerequisite, not the finish line. Once licensed, active brokers complete 24 continuing education hours every three-year cycle, including three separate four-hour Annual Commission Update courses - meaning the state-specific content tested on Domains 12-19 doesn't stop mattering after exam day. If you're evaluating whether the license path is worth the time investment before you even schedule the exam, Is the CO-RE-B Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 and the CO-RE-B Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify guide cover the eligibility and long-term picture, while CO-RE-B Salary Guide 2026: Complete Earnings Analysis covers what licensed brokers can expect to earn.

A Domain-Weighted Study Timeline

Given what the Q2 2026 numbers show - a comfortable national pass rate against a much tougher state pass rate - your study calendar should not split time evenly 50/50 between the two portions. It should lean toward the state portion, and specifically toward Colorado Forms and Contracts.

This isn't a generic weekly template - it's built around the exact percentage weights above, front-loading the domains that carry the most points and the domains the Q2 2026 data suggests are hardest to clear. For a more granular week-by-week plan tied to your own available study hours, see the full CO-RE-B Study Guide, and once you've covered the content, run timed sets on the CO-RE-B practice test platform to see how your pacing and accuracy hold up against the 60/80 and 53/74 thresholds.

Frequently Asked Questions