How to Become a Real Estate Agent in Connecticut

Who can apply

• Be at least 18 years old.
• Complete a Connecticut-approved 60-hour Real Estate Principles and Practices course.
• You do not need a supervising broker to take the exam, but you do need one to activate the license.

Step by step

1. Complete a DCP-approved 60-hour Real Estate Principles and Practices course.
2. Apply to DCP online through eLicense or by mail with the course certificate and the $80 application fee.
3. After DCP approves you, register with PSI, pay the $59 exam fee, and pass both the general and state portions within one year of eligibility.
4. Find a Connecticut-licensed broker to supervise you.
5. Within 2 years of passing your last portion, send DCP the passing score reports and pay the $590 license fee to activate your license.

Official application →

Training and exam

Training: One DCP-approved 60-hour Real Estate Principles and Practices course; since January 1, 2014, two 30-hour courses are not accepted. Submit the course completion certificate with your application.

Exam: PSI, at a test center or by remote proctoring (available since May 14, 2025). General portion: 80 questions, 120 minutes. State portion: 35 questions, 45 minutes. Both: 165 minutes, plus 5-10 unscored experimental questions. You need at least 70% to pass. Fee: $59 for the first attempt (one or both portions); retakes are $51. You can test an unlimited number of times within one year of eligibility, then must reapply.

What it costs in Connecticut

Fixed amounts are set by the state. Items marked “your quote” are priced by private sellers, so enter what you’re quoted.

What other sites get wrong about Connecticut

After you're licensed

Renewal: All salesperson licenses expire May 31 of every even-numbered year; the full renewal fee is due at the first renewal after issuance. Renewal fee: $578, plus a $57 late fee after expiration. Salespersons need 12 hours of CE each two-year cycle (the 3-hour mandatory Connecticut Real Estate License Law course plus 9 elective hours), or can pass PSI's 40-question CE exam. The current cycle runs March 1, 2026 to February 28, 2028. Anyone who passes a Connecticut licensing exam in that window owes no CE for it. Late CE costs $315 or $625. Inactive salespersons (no sponsoring broker) cannot renew.

Good to know in Connecticut

Supervising broker: A salesperson license is activated only under supervision of a Connecticut-licensed broker. Salespersons without a sponsoring broker have an inactive license and are not eligible to renew.

Reciprocity: Applicants with an active license in a reciprocal state who passed a national uniform exam there can apply by reciprocity for $670 ($80 application, $570 license, $20 guaranty fund) with certified license histories. Applicants from Florida, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, and anyone who did not pass an exam in a reciprocal state, must pass the Connecticut state portion.

New law (PA 26-23): Public Act 26-23 requires every DCP-approved continuing education course to be at least 2 hours long starting October 1, 2026, and renames the "real estate salesperson" license to "real estate agent" effective January 1, 2027.

Sources

• CT DCP — Real Estate Salesperson - Initial/Exam
• CT DCP — Real Estate Broker and Salesperson Renewal
• CT DCP — Real Estate Salesperson Continuing Education
• CT DCP — Instructions for Real Estate Reciprocal State Applicants (Rev 3/24)
• PSI — Connecticut Real Estate Candidate Information Bulletin (updated 11/13/2025)
• CT Office of Legislative Research — PA 26-23 Public Act Summary