REA Exam

About REA Exam

Under the new regulatory framework, individuals who intend to assume the role of the Key Executive Officer (KEO) of an estate agent are required to possess a pass in the Real Estate Agency (REA) examination, or equivalent.


Examination Pre-Requisite

  1. Applicants will need to attend and complete the REA Course conducted by a CEA Approved Course Provider (ACP) before applying for the REA examination.
    1. Upon meeting a minimum attendance rate of 75%, they will be issued with a Certificate of REA Course Completion.
    1. The Certificate of REA Course Completion and Certificate of Completion for Real Estate Agency Course (Papers 2 and 3) both have the same validity period of 2 years for the purpose of determining eligibility to take the REA examination. Applicants must take the REA examination within 2 years from the completion date of their REA Course. Beyond the validity period, applicants will be required to attend and complete the REA course again before they are eligible to take the REA 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 REA examination. They will be required to attend and complete the partial REA course for Paper 2 and Paper 3 to be eligible to sit for REA examination Paper 2 and Paper 3. The course completers will be issued with the Certificate of Completion for Real Estate Agency Course (Papers 2 and 3). For details, 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 REA 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 REA examination.

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

  1. Applicants are required to submit a copy of their qualification certificate for verification when they register for the REA examination.

  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. Candidates who obtain a modular pass (in one or two papers) for the REA examination will be allowed to retake only their failed paper(s) in modular re-sitting in subsequent REA examinations. Candidates taking the modular re-sitting of the REA examination are required to take note and comply with the following:
    1. Modular re-sitting is only applicable for candidates who have passed at least 1 paper of the REA examination.
    2. Candidates with more than 1 failed paper are to re-take their failed papers in the same examination at their next attempt.
    3. There is no change to the requirement for REA course participants to pass the REA examination within 2 years from the date of issuance of the Certificate of Completion for the REA course. Candidates who are unable to pass all 3 papers of the REA examination within the 2-year timeframe will have to re-take the REA course before attempting the REA examination. Partial passes in the REA examination will become invalid once the REA course certificate expires. Candidates will have to re-take the full REA examination again, i.e. Papers 1, 2 & 3.


Examination Fees

The REA examination fees are as follows:


Note : Modular sitting is only applicable for candidates who have passed at least one paper of the REA examination. Examination fees are subjected to revision and may be changed without prior notice.

All examination application will be reviewed and approved within 5 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 December 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
Duration:    2 hours 30 minutes for each paper
Format:       Paper 1, Paper 2 and Paper 3 are of the same format
    • Choose any 5 questions out of 8 questions (100 marks)
Exam Syllabus
The current REA Examination syllabus was revised and took effect from July 2015.
Please note that candidates would not be tested on new policies implemented one month prior to the examination.
 
For latest syllabus, please visit the CEA Website.

Examination Venue
NTUC TRADE UNION HOUSE
73 Bras Basah Road
Singapore 189556
 
Examination Schedule
Note: *CEA may reschedule the REA examination dates and/ or registration period without prior notice. The changes will be updated in the table above. 
 

Examination Rules and Regulations

Please click here to view the examination rules & regulations.
 

Examination Results Release

The REA 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 after the release of results.
 
Candidates may only appeal for the failed examination paper.

A non-refundable administrative fee of $87.20 (inclusive of 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 REA Examination Results, please refer to CEA’s website:
https://www.cea.gov.sg/professionals/estate-agents-licensing-matters/apply-for-the-real-estate-agency-examination



Examination Deferment Request

Candidates who do not turn up for the examination will be marked as "Absent" and considered to have failed the examination. There will be no refund of the examination fees to candidates who are absent.
 
Medical Certificates issued by General Practitioners or hospitals, and Hospitalisation Leave issued by hospitals will not be accepted for deferment.
 
Deferment applications may be considered under the following circumstances only:
  1. Hospitalisation on the day of examination
  2. Demise of spouse, child, parent, sibling, grandparent, or grandchild which occurred up to 14 days before the day of examination
  3. National Service duties that cover the day of the examination
A non-refundable fee of $130.80 (inclusive of GST) will be levied on each deferment application. Candidates who encounter the above situations can apply for deferment and upload the supporting documents within five five (5) working days after the examination , via NTUC
LearningHub’ s online portal. Please note that all deferment applications are subject to approval. No refund will be given if candidate’s application is not approved.

Candidates approved for deferment will be assigned to the next immediate examination. No further deferment will be allowed.



Website last updated: 11 November 2024

For clarification OR assistance on Examination matters?

You may call our customer service officers during office hours at 6336-5482 or you can email us at rea@ntuclearninghub.com (for exam related matters including deferment applications and exam results appeals).


    Examination Registration

    Important information to take note:
    1. Please refer to the examination schedule for the registration closing period.
    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.