How To Become A Real Estate Agent In Connecticut
To earn and keep your Connecticut real estate license, you need to meet specific educational requirements set by the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection (DCP). You need pre-license courses to qualify for licensure and continuing education to earn each renewal.
What Are Connecticut's Real Estate Pre-Licensing Education Requirements?
DCP requires 60 hours of pre-licensing coursework from an approved educational provider. The required course is called Real Estate Principles and Practices. Topics include:
- Real Property and the Law
- Concepts of Home Ownership
- Agency
- Real Estate Brokerage
- Listing Agreements and Buyer Representation
- Interests in Real Estate and Forms of Real Estate Ownership
- Legal Documents
- Transfer of Title and Title Records
- Real Estate Financing
- Leases and Property Management
- Real Estate Appraisal
- Land Use Controls and Property Development
- Fair Housing and Ethics Practices
- Environment Issues and Closing the Real Estate Transaction
- Real Estate Investment
- Connecticut Licensing Law
- Real Estate Taxes & Liens
- Real Estate Contracts
Unfortunately, AgentCampus by 360training doesn't offer Connecticut pre-license training at the moment, only continuing education. You can find a school approved for pre-license education on DCP's website.
Who is Eligible to Become a Real Estate Agent in Connecticut?
To be eligible for a real estate license in Connecticut, you need to be at least 18 years old.
What Else Do I Need to Do to Earn My Connecticut Real Estate License?
Aside from completing your pre-license education with an approved source, you need to:
- Submit an application to Connecticut's chosen third-party vendor
- Pass the official license exam
- Get a background check
- Find a sponsoring broker and activate your license
What is the Connecticut Real Estate Licensing Exam Like?
The official licensing exam is administered by PSI, a third-party testing company.
In Connecticut, you need to submit an application to PSI, along with a fee and required documents like proof of pre-license education, to prove you're eligible to sit for the Connecticut Salesperson License Exam.
Once PSI issues your "eligibility postcard," you have one year to pass the exam. You can take the exam as many times as you need within that year, though you'll have to pay an exam fee for each attempt.
The Connecticut Salesperson License Exam has two portions: a General/National portion and a Connecticut-specific portion. You'll have 2 hours to complete the 80-question General portion, and 45 minutes to complete the 30-question state portion.
You need to pass both portions within one year to qualify for a license. If you pass one part but not the other, you only have to re-take the portion you failed.
What is the Deadline for my Connecticut Real Estate License Application?
Once you pass both portions of the state license exam, you have 2 years to find a sponsoring broker and activate your license. If you passed the national and state portions on separate dates, the deadline is calculated based on the most recently passed portion.
When you're ready, submit your license fee and original passing score report(s) for your exam to DCP's Licensing Services Division.
How Often Does a Connecticut Real Estate License Have to Be Renewed?
Connecticut salesperson licenses all have to be renewed annually by May 31st.
If your license is initially issued between March 1st and May 31st, your expiration date will be bumped out a year. In other words, if your license is issued between those dates, your first renewal period will be somewhere between 12 and 15 months.
If your license is initially issued on any other date, your first renewal period will be between 3 and 12 months.
For brokers, the annual deadline is March 31st, instead.
What Are Connecticut's Continuing Education Requirements for Real Estate?
Although renewals are due EVERY year in Connecticut, continuing education is due every 2 years.
Proof of CE must be reported by May 31st of every even-numbered year for salespersons. For brokers, it's March 31st of even-numbered years.
New licensees are exempt if they took their licensing exam during the current CE period.
Within each 2-year CE period, Connecticut requires all licensees to complete 12 Continuing Education hours from an approved provider.
Those 12 hours are split between mandatory courses and electives, but how many of each may change from cycle to cycle. For example, for 2018, it was 3 mandatory hours and 9 elective hours. For 2020, it's 6 mandatory hours and 6 elective hours.
The subject matter of the mandatory courses also changes from cycle to cycle. You'll need to check the DCP website to learn the current required courses and find an approved provider.
AgentCampus by 360training only offers electives in Connecticut at this time – if you purchase our Connecticut CE package, you'll get 5 different 3-hour courses and you can choose your favorites to meet the total elective requirement.
What Kind of Jobs Can I Get with a Connecticut Real Estate License?
- Residential real estate agent
- Commercial real estate agent
- Real estate broker
- Property manager
No matter what role you choose, you can find your place in one of many possible specialties and niches. You'll make more money in some niches than others, but those often necessitate further certification or licensing.
You can get a general impression of the salary you can expect to make in Connecticut based on wage data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics:
| Job Title | Average Hourly Wage | Average Yearly Wage |
|---|---|---|
| Sales Agents | $31.86 | $66,260 |
| Property Managers | $32.00 | $66,570 |
A real estate agent's pay is typically based on commission, so your individual income will depend on how well you sell. Some people work part time to earn supplemental income. Others make big bucks. For example, the top 90th percentile of sales agents in Connecticut make $173,310.
To learn more about different career opportunities, real estate specialties, and how commissions work, check out our Resources page.
