After the RES Exam: Results, Appeals, Retakes and What to Do Next

After the Exam at a Glance

Find Your Situation

Pick the one that matches you. Each section lists what to do, in order, and the deadline that matters most.

• I'm still waiting for my resultsResults arrive by email 4 to 6 weeks after the exam. Use the wait to shortlist agencies.
• I passed both papersJoin a licensed agency and register with CEA within 2 years.
• I passed one paper and failed the otherRetake only the failed paper while your course certificate is still valid.
• I failed both papersDecide whether to appeal within 5 working days, then plan your resit.
• I missed a paperYou're marked Absent, which counts as a fail. Deferment is possible only on 3 grounds.
• I passed, but I'm not joining an agency yetYour pass stays valid for 2 years. After that you redo the course and exam.

From Exam Day to Registration

Every time below comes from CEA or NTUC LearningHub. Not every step applies to you: skip the deferment and appeal steps if you sat both papers and passed.

1. Exam weekend

   Paper 1 on Saturday, Paper 2 on Sunday

   Nothing to do yet. Keep your exam confirmation email and receipt.

2. Within 5 working days

   Deferment deadline

   Only matters if you missed a paper for one of the three accepted reasons. Apply on NTUC LearningHub's website.

3. 4 to 6 weeks after

   Statement of Results by email

   NTUC LearningHub emails it. It shows Pass or Fail for each paper and overall, not your marks. It can take longer when there are many candidates.

4. Within 5 working days of results

   Appeal deadline

   For a failed paper only. $87.20 per application, non-refundable.

5. About 14 working days later

   Appeal outcome

   Counted from the last day to submit appeals, so it can take longer if many candidates appeal.

6. Within 2 years of passing

   Apply for registration through an agency

   The agency starts your application in CEA's ACEAS system, and you complete it there.

7. 2 to 3 weeks after

   CEA approves your registration

   Counted from when CEA has a complete application. CEA tells you and your agency. You can do estate agency work only once you're registered.

While You Wait for Results

Key deadline:none yet, unless you missed a paper (see deferment).

Most candidates leave the exam hall unsure how they did. That feeling tells you very little. CEA sets a pass mark for each paper, not a pass rate, so how the rest of the room did doesn't decide your result. Use the month on things that help whatever the result:

1. Find your course certificate and note its date. It's valid for 2 years from the day you completed the course, with no extensions. If you need a retake, that date decides whether you can sit just one paper or must redo the course.
2. Shortlist two or three agencies. If you pass, you can't register without one. Talking to agencies now means you can apply the week your results arrive. See what to ask.
3. Check your MediSave status. CEA only processes your registration if you're up to date on MediSave, paid in full or on an active GIRO plan. If you've had self-employed income before, check CPF's Self-employment dashboard now so it doesn't hold up your application later.
4. Keep your exam receipt. NTUC members claiming UTAP need it, plus the result slip, within 6 months of the exam.
5. Check your spam folder once the four-week mark passes. The appeal clock starts when results are released, not when you find the email. Nothing by the end of week six? Email NTUC LearningHub (see who to contact).

If one paper went badly, don't restart a full study plan yet. But keep your notes, and if your retake falls in 2027, read what changed in the 2027 syllabus before you go back to them.

You Passed Both Papers

Key deadline:your registration application must reach CEA within 2 years of passing.

Congratulations. Passing the exam doesn't make you a salesperson yet. You register with CEA through one licensed estate agency, and only then can you do estate agency work.

Register with CEA, step by step

1. Save your Statement of Results. Its Date of Exam Result (where Overall Results is Pass) starts your 2-year window. CEA's example: pass on 15 December 2026 and you must apply by 31 December 2028.
2. Choose a licensed estate agency. You can only be with one at a time. Check its licence on CEA's Public Register.
3. Create your profile in ACEAS, CEA's online system for agencies and agents.
4. The agency starts your application. You log in to ACEAS, complete it, and submit it to the agency. The agency checks it and sends it to CEA with the fees.
5. CEA processes it in about 2 to 3 weeks once it has every document and fee, then tells you and the agency.

Check you meet the registration criteria

Passing the exam is one of CEA's criteria. The others catch people out because no one checks them until the application:

• At least 21 years old
• 4 GCE O-Level passes or an accepted equivalent
• Professional indemnity insurance valid for at least a year from your start date. Your agency arranges this.
• Up to date on MediSave contributions
• Fit and proper. You must declare every past conviction, in Singapore or elsewhere, including in a military court.
• Not a key executive officer of another agency, and not linked to a licensed moneylender

Choosing an agency

Agencies don't publish their fees, and the differences between them matter more in your first year than later. Ask each one, and get the answers in writing:

• What do I pay to join, and every year after? Joining and admin fees range from nothing to over $1,000. CEA's own fees ($60 to apply and $280 a year to register) are paid by the agency, but some pass them on to you.
• What's the commission split for new agents, and does it change as you close more deals?
• What training and mentoring do new agents get? Who do you call when a buyer asks something you don't know?
• How will I get my first clients? Leads, listing portal packages, and what you pay for each.

These questions are our suggestions, not CEA requirements. For the full cost of starting out, see how much it costs to become a property agent.

Your first registration period

From 1 January 2027, CEA registers salespersons for 3 years instead of 1. A new agent's registration runs from the day they join to 31 December of the third year. What that means for you:

• Currency Requirement. To renew, agents need 3 property transactions over the 3 years, or must pass a Refresher Examination. New agents need none in their first year, then 2 over the remaining two years.
• CPD. New salespersons are exempt in their first CPD cycle (1 January to 31 December). After that, it's at least 16 training hours a year.
• MediSave. Once your net trade income goes over $6,000 a year, you must contribute, and you must be up to date to renew.

You Passed One Paper and Failed the Other

Key deadline:5 working days to appeal. After that, your pass in the other paper only lasts as long as your course certificate.

You're halfway there, and this is the cheapest result to fix. You keep the paper you passed and retake only the one you failed.

1. Decide on an appeal first. You have 5 working days from the results. NTUC LearningHub advises not to register for the next exam until the appeal outcome is out. See should you appeal?
2. Check your course certificate date. Your pass expires with the certificate, 2 years after you completed the course. You must sit the retake before then. If the next sitting you can get a seat in falls after that date, you'll redo the course and both papers.
3. Register for a one-paper (modular) sitting. It's the same two stages as before: indicate interest on GovEntry, then register and pay on NTUC LearningHub's site if shortlisted. The fee is $283.40.
4. Choose the right exam type at Stage 1. Pick “Modular Paper 1” or “Modular Paper 2”, whichever you failed. CEA disqualifies wrong submissions and won't amend them. At Stage 2, upload your result slip with your other documents.
5. Study for the 2027 syllabus. Any retake from 1 January 2027 follows it, so check which topics in your paper were added, removed or changed.

Seats are limited to 3,000 a sitting and given out first come, first served at Stage 1, so set an alarm for the morning it opens. Our registration guide walks through both stages.

You Failed Both Papers

Key deadline:5 working days to appeal, then the 2-year life of your course certificate.

It's a hard email to get, but you're far from alone. The only official figure on pass rates is an average of about 30% a year from 2011 to 2019, from a 2020 parliamentary answer.

1. Decide on appeals within 5 working days. You can appeal each failed paper ($87.20 per application). Read should you appeal? first.
2. Check your course certificate. If it's still valid at the next sitting, you can resit both papers without redoing the course. A full sitting is $512.30, and both papers must be in the same sitting.
3. If it will have expired, redo the course first. You'll need a new certificate, completed by the cut-off (in 2026, always the day before Stage 1 opened). Compare fees and dates in our course providers guide.
4. Change how you study, not just how much. If you mostly read notes last time, shift the balance to timed practice and full mocks, and plan around the 2027 syllabus. Our 5 tips to pass the RES exam and the hardest topics are good places to start.

Should You Appeal?

An appeal asks NTUC LearningHub to review the marking of your answer script and re-check the marks awarded. It isn't a second marking of your answers, and you won't see your script or your score, whatever the outcome.

Because you never see your marks, you can't know how close you were. In our view, an appeal is worth $87.20 if you consistently scored well above 60 in timed mocks of that paper and the result surprised you. If you were scraping 60 in practice, the money and the waiting time are usually better spent on the retake.

You Missed a Paper

Key deadline:5 working days after the exam to apply for deferment.

If you didn't sit a paper, including arriving 15 or more minutes late, you're marked Absent. That counts as a fail, and the fee isn't refunded.

You can apply to defer, but only for one of these reasons:

• You were hospitalised on the exam day
• A spouse, child, parent, sibling, grandparent or grandchild died within 14 days before the exam
• You had NS duties on the exam day

A GP's MC or hospitalisation leave on its own isn't accepted. Apply on NTUC LearningHub's website within 5 working days after the exam, with supporting documents and the $130.80 fee. The fee isn't refunded, even if your application is rejected. If it's approved, you sit the next earliest exam, and you can't defer again.

If your reason doesn't qualify, or the 5 days have passed, treat the missed paper as a fail. If you passed the paper you did sit, follow passed one, failed one. Otherwise, follow failed both.

You Passed but Aren't Joining Yet

Key deadline:2 years from your Date of Exam Result to apply through an agency.

You don't have to register straight away. Some people finish a notice period, wait for a bonus, or want to see how the market looks. Your pass waits for you, but not forever.

• Two years, then it's gone. If no application reaches CEA within 2 years of passing, you redo the course and pass the exam again. Put the deadline in your calendar today.
• Not 21 yet? CEA registers salespersons from age 21. If you'll turn 21 inside your 2-year window, you can register then.
• Leave time for the paperwork. Allow at least a month before the deadline: CEA takes 2 to 3 weeks once your application is complete, and PRs and foreigners need extra documents or a preliminary assessment first.
• Decided it isn't for you? You don't need to tell anyone. The pass simply lapses after 2 years.

Who to Contact

CEA sets the rules, but most post-exam questions go to NTUC LearningHub, which runs the exam for CEA. Your course provider doesn't handle results or exam registration.

Frequently Asked Questions