RES EXAM
RES Exam Retake Rules: Modular Passes and Certificate Validity
Published 10 June 2026
If you pass one paper of the RES exam and fail the other, you only need to resit the failed paper. The catch is the timeline: you must pass the remaining paper before your Certificate of RES Course Completion expires. Miss that deadline, and your partial pass is voided, forcing you to retake the entire course and both papers.
Exam Structure and Passing Marks
The RES examination consists of Paper 1 and Paper 2. Each paper lasts two and a half hours and contains multiple-choice questions split between standalone items and case studies.
To qualify for your salesperson licence, you must pass both papers. The pass mark is 60 out of 100 per paper. Because exam sittings are held only a few times a year and slots fill quickly, the number of real opportunities you have to resit a failed paper is limited.
The Two-Year Course Certificate Limit
A modular pass (passing only one paper) is tied directly to the validity of your RES course completion certificate. Under current Council for Estate Agencies (CEA) rules, your Certificate of RES Course Completion is valid for two years from the date it is issued.
Your passed paper is only valid up to that exact expiry date. The clock starts on the day your course provider issues your certificate, not the day you sit your first exam. If you pass Paper 1 early but your certificate is already a year old, you only have the remaining year to pass Paper 2.
Always verify the exact validity period of your certificate with CEA.
If you reach the two-year expiry without passing the remaining paper, your modular pass is voided. You cannot simply register for the next sitting. You must enrol in the RES course again with a CEA Approved Course Provider, obtain a new certificate, and pass both papers from scratch.
Registration and Fees for Retaking
To resit a failed paper, you register through NTUC LearningHub, CEA's appointed examination administrator. Registration happens in two stages: an indication of interest via GovEntry authenticated with Singpass, followed by actual registration and payment on the NTUC LearningHub portal. You only register and pay for the paper you failed.
RES exam and course retake fees
Item | Fee (inclusive of GST) |
|---|---|
Full sitting (Paper 1 and 2) | $512.30 |
Modular resit (Single paper) | $283.40 |
Retaking RES course | $800 (before subsidies) |
SkillsFuture and NTUC UTAP funding may offset part of the course fee for eligible candidates if you are forced to retake the course. Fees are reviewed periodically, so confirm the current amounts on the NTUC portal before registering.
Always verify the current registration process and any attempt conditions directly with NTUC LearningHub or CEA, as administrative procedures can change.
The Two Clocks: Course Validity vs Registration Validity
There are two distinct two-year deadlines at different stages of your RES journey. Confusing them causes real problems.
The first clock runs from the issue date of your Certificate of RES Course Completion. You have two years from this date to pass both papers. This clock governs your resit window.
The second clock runs from the date you pass the examination. Once you clear both papers, you have two years to submit your salesperson registration through a licensed estate agent to CEA. If you pass in October 2025, you must register on or before 31 October 2027. If you miss this window, your exam results lapse, and you must retake the course and exam to join the industry.
Passing a paper does not extend your course certificate deadline, and passing the exam does not give you unlimited time to register.
Where candidates go wrong
Assuming a passed paper lasts indefinitely. It expires the exact day your course certificate expires.
Failing to track the certificate deadline. Candidates sometimes register for a resit only to realise their certificate will expire before the actual exam date, rendering them ineligible.
Assuming unlimited resits. There is no published hard cap on attempts, but the exam is only held a few times a year. You realistically only have a handful of chances within your two-year window.
Confusing the two validity clocks. The course certificate clock dictates your resit window, while the exam results clock dictates your industry registration window.
Practise this on ConfirmPass
If you want to clear both papers early in your validity window, ConfirmPass has a free set of RES exam scenarios. Try the practice questions today to test your readiness before booking a slot.
Sources
All rules, fees, and validity periods in this guide are from official sources and current as of June 2026.