Humber Real Estate Course 5 Practice Questions (2026)

Humber Real Estate Course 5: Getting Started in the Profession

Course 5 is the final course in the Humber Real Estate Salesperson pre-registration program. After four content-heavy textbooks, Simulation 1, and Simulation 2, Course 5 feels like a reward: short, focused, mostly about what your first year as a registered salesperson actually looks like.

Here's what Course 5 includes, why it differs from Courses 1 to 4, and the most efficient way to clear it.

Key takeaways

• Course 5 is significantly shorter than Courses 1 to 4. Humber lists an average duration of 8 hours (range 6 to 11), a $100 fee, and 4 weeks of course access.
• There is no Course 5 exam. Humber's Pre-Registration Learning Path lists six invigilated exams and none follows Course 5. Completing the course completes the phase.
• Content focuses on brokerage relationships, professional conduct, your first 90 days, and business setup. There is no math and minimal new regulatory content.
• The absence of an exam is not a reason to skim. RECO enforces the registration, commission-handling, and advertising rules in this course from your first day of practice.
• Course 5 is your gate to RECO registration. Once you clear it, you have 12 months to find a brokerage and submit your registration.

What Course 5 actually covers

Course 5 is not a content-heavy textbook course. It is the practical-orientation module that bridges your pre-registration education and your first day as a registered salesperson. Topics include:

Brokerage relationships and structures

The contractual and operational relationships between salespersons and brokerages. What an Independent Contractor Agreement looks like, common commission split structures, what desk fees are, what brokerage support typically includes (training, marketing materials, systems), and what to expect from the broker of record. There is no single "right" brokerage structure. Course 5 teaches you how to evaluate options.

Choosing your brokerage

A practical framework: full-service vs flat-fee, big-name vs boutique, residential-only vs mixed, mentorship-heavy vs hands-off. The course gives you interview questions to ask brokerages and helps you understand what's actually negotiable in a contract. This material is useful: most new salespeople do not know what to ask.

Setting up your business

Course 5 walks through what an early-career salesperson actually needs to do:

• Register an HST account (if your projected gross commission income exceeds $30,000)
• Set up business banking
• Get errors-and-omissions insurance (separate from RECO E&O, agency-level coverage)
• Build your brand basics (business cards, headshot, online presence)
• Understand the tax treatment of commissions and expenses

Your first 90 days

A practical roadmap for what to do as a newly-registered salesperson. The course covers prospecting fundamentals, starting your contact database, how to log every interaction for compliance, what your first listing presentation should include, and how to handle your first client interactions correctly.

Professional conduct in practice

The Code of Ethics in everyday application. Course 5 reinforces TRESA, the RECO Code of Ethics, and the day-to-day documentation habits that keep you out of complaints and discipline. Documents must be complete, signed, dated, and retained. Disclosures must be in writing where required. Deposit money must never touch your personal account.

Continuing education and career development

What CE requirements RECO maintains, when you have to complete them, and what RECO's mandatory courses look like. The course also touches on broker qualification: the path to becoming a broker if you decide to pursue it later.

Course format: there is no Course 5 exam

This is the part most study guides get wrong. Course 5 has no invigilated exam. Humber's Pre-Registration Learning Path lists exactly six exams, and none of them follows Course 5:

Course 5 itself is delivered as eLearning. Humber lists an average duration of 8 hours (range 6 to 11 hours), a $100 fee, and 4 weeks of course access. Its prerequisite is Simulation Exam 2, and completing it completes the Pre-Registration Phase.

That means the questions below are not exam prep in the usual sense. Use them as a knowledge check: the material they cover (registration deadlines, brokerage employment, commission handling, advertising compliance) governs your first year of practice and is enforced by RECO whether or not anyone examines you on it.

The content style is conceptual application rather than detail recall. Course 5 material looks more like:

• "A new salesperson signs an Independent Contractor Agreement that includes which of the following typical clauses?"
• "When must a salesperson disclose multiple representation to a buyer client?"
• "What is the registrant's first obligation upon receiving a deposit cheque from a buyer?"

There is essentially no math. No formulas. No commercial-property numerical work. After Course 4 and Simulation 2, Course 5 feels like a different program.

How to prepare

Most candidates clear Course 5 in 2 to 5 days of focused study. The short prep window is not laziness. There is less to learn.

Day 1-2: Read the materials end to end

Course 5's textbook is a fraction of what Courses 1 to 4 had. Read through it once, taking light notes on:

• The structure of an Independent Contractor Agreement
• Common commission split types
• The first-90-days roadmap
• Code of Ethics applications
• What CE you have to complete after registration

Day 3: Build a single summary sheet

One page total. Brokerage relationship structures, key contract clauses, the most-tested Code of Ethics points, and the few CE rules you have to remember. Keep it: it becomes your reference during your first months at a brokerage.

Day 4: Practice questions

Work through scenario-based practice questions. There is no exam to sit, but a few practice runs confirm you have actually absorbed the material rather than clicked through it. ExamAce's Course 5 question bank covers every topic area.

Day 5: Complete the course and move to registration

Finish the eLearning modules. Completing Course 5 completes the Pre-Registration Phase and starts your 12-month window to register with RECO.

5 Sample Questions with Answers and Explanations

Course 5 has no invigilated exam, so treat these as a knowledge check on the rules that govern your first year of practice. These are original questions created by ExamAce, not taken from any provider's exam bank.

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Question 1

A candidate completes Course 5 and finishes the Pre-Registration Phase. How long do they have to register with RECO before their education expires?

A) 6 months from completing the Pre-Registration Phase.

B) 12 months from completing the Pre-Registration Phase.

C) 24 months from completing the Pre-Registration Phase.

D) There is no deadline; education credit does not expire.

Answer: B

Explanation: A candidate must apply for registration with RECO within 12 months of completing the Pre-Registration Phase. Miss the window and the education must be repeated, which is an expensive and entirely avoidable outcome. This is distinct from the 24-month period that applies afterwards, during the post-registration articling phase, for completing the three additional courses (which makes C the most attractive wrong answer). Knowing which clock is which is reliably tested because it is the mistake that costs real candidates the most money.

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Question 2

A newly registered salesperson wants to begin trading in real estate. What is required?

A) Registration with RECO alone; a salesperson may trade independently once registered.

B) Registration with RECO and employment by a registered brokerage.

C) Registration with RECO and membership in a local real estate board.

D) Registration with RECO and personal errors and omissions insurance purchased directly.

Answer: B

Explanation: A salesperson may only trade in real estate while employed by a registered brokerage. Registration is personal, but the authority to trade flows through the brokerage, and all trades are made in the brokerage's name with commissions paid to the brokerage. Independent trading is not permitted at the salesperson level (eliminating A). Real estate board and CREA membership is required to access MLS systems and to use the REALTOR® trademark, but it is not a legal prerequisite to trading (eliminating C). Errors and omissions insurance is mandatory but is administered through RECO's programme rather than purchased individually (eliminating D).

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Question 3

A salesperson receives a commission cheque directly from a seller client at closing. What should they do?

A) Deposit it into their personal account, since the commission was earned by them.

B) Deliver it to the brokerage, because all remuneration for a trade must be paid to and through the brokerage.

C) Deposit it and remit the brokerage's split within 30 days.

D) Endorse it to the buyer's brokerage as a referral courtesy.

Answer: B

Explanation: All remuneration for a trade in real estate must be paid to the brokerage, which then pays the salesperson according to their employment agreement. A salesperson may not accept commission directly from a client, and receiving one creates an immediate obligation to deliver it to the brokerage. Options A and C both involve the salesperson handling trade money personally, which is a Code of Ethics violation regardless of whether the brokerage is eventually paid. This rule exists because the brokerage carries the regulatory responsibility for the trade, and it is a frequent subject of RECO discipline.

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Question 4

A new salesperson is choosing between brokerages. One offers a 70/30 commission split with a $200 monthly desk fee; the other offers 85/15 with a $900 monthly desk fee. On a year with $120,000 in gross commission earned, which is better and by how much?

A) The 70/30 brokerage, by $6,600.

B) The 85/15 brokerage, by $9,600.

C) The 85/15 brokerage, by $9,600 before considering that desk fees are fixed regardless of production.

D) The 85/15 brokerage, by $9,600 only if gross commission exceeds roughly $56,000.

Answer: D

Explanation: Compute both. At 70/30: $120,000 × 0.70 = $84,000, less $2,400 in annual desk fees = $81,600. At 85/15: $120,000 × 0.85 = $102,000, less $10,800 in annual desk fees = $91,200. The difference is $9,600 in favour of the higher-split brokerage. But the answer must capture the condition: the higher split only wins once production is high enough to absorb the larger fixed fee. The extra 15% of gross must exceed the extra $8,400 in annual fees, which happens at roughly $56,000 of gross commission. Below that, the low-fee brokerage wins. Options B and C give the right number without the condition that makes it a decision rather than a calculation.

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Question 5

A salesperson wants to advertise using a personal team name on social media. What does RECO require?

A) Nothing specific; social media is exempt from advertising rules.

B) The brokerage's registered name must appear in the advertisement, with the salesperson's registered name, and the team name must not imply the team is a separate brokerage.

C) Only the salesperson's registered name is required.

D) Approval from the local real estate board before publishing.

Answer: B

Explanation: RECO's advertising requirements apply to every medium, including social media, personal websites, and video. The brokerage's registered name must be included and must not be obscured by the team branding, the salesperson must be identified by their registered name, and a team name may not suggest that the team operates as an independent brokerage. Social media is not exempt (eliminating A), and advertising compliance is a RECO matter rather than a board approval process (eliminating D). Advertising violations are among the most common RECO discipline findings, largely because new registrants assume the rules are about signs and print.

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What happens after Course 5

You now have 12 months to find a sponsoring brokerage and submit your RECO registration through the MyWeb portal. Most candidates start interviewing brokerages during Course 4 or Simulation 2: they have a brokerage lined up by the time they finish Course 5 and submit registration within days of getting their result.

After registration, you enter the post-registration articling phase: three additional courses that you complete within 24 months while actively trading.

Common questions

Is Course 5 really that easy? Compared to Courses 1 to 4, yes: it is roughly 8 hours of eLearning with no invigilated exam at the end. Compared to "easy" in absolute terms, no. The registration, commission-handling, and advertising rules it covers are the ones RECO disciplines registrants over.

Can I take Course 5 before finding a brokerage? Yes. Course 5 must be completed before you register with RECO, but you do not need a brokerage in place to take Course 5. Most candidates use Course 5 as a chance to think through what brokerage structure they actually want.

What if I don't finish Course 5 in time? There is no exam to fail, but there are deadlines. Course 5 carries 4 weeks of course access, and the entire Pre-Registration Phase must be completed within 24 months of your Course 1 start date. Miss the program window and you must start over or request a Continuation of Study through Humber.

How is Course 5 different from articling? Course 5 is part of pre-registration. Articling is the post-registration phase: three additional courses you take after RECO registers you. Course 5 prepares you for becoming registered. Articling deepens your specialisation while you are already trading.

Do I need to memorise the Independent Contractor Agreement? No. You should understand its typical clauses and what is negotiable, because you will sign one when you join a brokerage. Verbatim recall is not the point.

Related on ExamAce

• Complete Humber Real Estate Program Walkthrough
• Simulation 2 Exam Tips
• What Happens After Passing the Real Estate Exam in Ontario
• RECO MyWeb Application Guide

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