How To Become A Real Estate Agent in Connecticut

1. Complete Pre-License Education

To qualify as a real estate agent in Connecticut, you need to complete 60 hours of pre-license education with a Connecticut Real Estate Board-approved course. You can see a list of course options here. There are a number of real estate institutes available across Connecticut, but you cannot take a Connecticut real estate agent course online. There is, however, a workaround for this: Connecticut has complete reciprocity with Massachusetts in regards to real estate licensing – so, you can take an online Massachusetts real estate sales course, and it will apply to your Connecticut license.

The pre-licensing education covers these (and other) topics:

• Licensing laws
• Real estate practice
• Forms of ownership, transfer, and recording of title
• Financing and settlement
• Closing

2.  Submit your Real Estate Salesperson Application

The Connecticut Real Estate Salesperson Exam is administered by PSI, an outside agency. Before registering for the exam with PSI, you need to be pre-approved by them to do so. To do this, you will complete and mail your Real Estate Salesperson Application, with your course completion certificate and the application fee of $80.00, to:

PSI Examination Services
3210 East Tropicana Ave Las Vegas, NV 89121

You can find the application here, at the end of the bulletin. 

The fee can be paid by check or money order, made payable to PSI Examination Services.

If your request is approved, PSI will send you an Examination Eligibility Postcard. This will include instructions for scheduling your exam.

Your exam eligibility is valid for one year, and within this year you can take the exam on an unlimited basis.

3. Apply for the Connecticut Real Estate Sales Agent Exam

At this point you can register for the exam with PSI. For the fastest and most convenient test scheduling process, PSI recommends that candidates PSI recommends scheduling the exam online, by accessing their registration website.

Once you’ve created an account on their portal, you can pay for and schedule the exam. The exam fee is $59. Enter your zip code and a list of the testing sites closest to you will appear. Select your desired test site, and available dates will appear. If you have any problems registering for the exam, you can contact PSI at (800) 733-9267 for help, or see the candidate bulletin here.

4. Pass the Connecticut Real Estate Salesperson Exam

You will have 165 minutes to complete the 110-question test. It’s split into 2 portions, covering state and national requirements. 120 minutes are allowed for the 80-question national portion, and 45 minutes for 30 state questions. For more information, see the PSI candidate information bulletin.

Some of the topics covered in the exam are:

• Real estate practice
• Contracts
• Property ownership
• Leasing and property management
• Transfer of title
• Valuation and market analysis
• Financing
• Real estate calculations

On the day of the exam, you must provide 2 forms of valid identification. See here for details about accepted types of ID). 

Once you’re in the exam site, you will need to place all electronic devices, bulky clothing, and other personal items in a secure location. You will then sit at a computer to take the test.

To pass the exam, you need a score of at least 70%. If you take the exam by computer, your score will be given to you immediately upon completing the exam. If you take the paper exam, your score will be printed out at the testing center.

5. Submit Your Exam Score to Receive Your License

After passing the exam, you need to submit your original exam passing score report – with the initial license fee – to the CT Department of Consumer Protection, Licensing Services Division. You will need to pay the license fee within two (2) years of passing the last portion of the exam.

Once the Department verifies that you have met all the requirements for licensure, they will issue the appropriate license.

6. Secure a Sponsoring Broker

To become a licensed and practicing real estate agent in Connecticut, you need to be associated with a registered brokerage firm or broker. Before submitting your application, you’ll need to have secured this sponsorship. It’s important to choose the right broker, as they’ll play a key role in growing your real estate career.

Consider the following when choosing a broker to work with:

• Their reputation as a broker or brokerage firm
• The types of agents they look for
• If they provide education and training for agents
• If they provide marketing materials and potential leads
• Which systems they use
• The benefits they offer
• What is their commission structure?
• What is the growth potential?

Once you’ve completed all of these steps successfully, you will receive your Connecticut Real Estate Agent License. At this point, you might want to consider if you’re interested in becoming a Realtor. Here is what this means:

Real Estate Agent vs Realtor: What’s the difference?

For a real estate agent to become a Realtor, they need to become a member of the National Association of Realtors®. The NAR is an organization for real estate agents and other industry professionals. Members are required to subscribe to standards and a code of ethics set by the association. Membership offers access to market data and transaction management services, and other benefits.

To become a part of this community, these are the steps you need to take:

• Get your state real estate license
• Join your local REALTORS® Association – find one close to you with their “find an association” tool
• Pay the application fee – this varies by association
• Maintain membership dues – to keep your title of REALTOR®, you need to pay an annual fee of $150