- 120 questions, 125 points, 180 minutes - 75 general items (80 points) plus 45 Connecticut items (40 points).
- Each portion has its own 75% cutoff; you cannot average a low state score against a strong general score.
- First attempt costs $59; retakes are $51; separately budget $120 for the state application and $1,150 for broker license activation.
- Connecticut Laws Governing the Activities of Licensees is the single largest state domain at 26.67%.
Exam Basics at a Glance
The Connecticut Real Estate Broker Exam (CT-RE-B) is a closed-book, computer-delivered test administered by PSI on behalf of the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection and the Connecticut Real Estate Commission. You can sit for it at a physical PSI test center or through remote proctoring - same content, same rules, different room. Bring nothing extra: no notes, no reference sheets, no calculator beyond what PSI provides on screen.
The exam bulletin governing this structure is dated November 13, 2025, and it splits the test into two distinct portions that are scored separately. This one-page cheat sheet distills the numbers, the domain weights, and the mechanics you need memorized before test day. For the full breakdown of every content area, see the CT-RE-B Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 16 Content Areas, and for a broader prep roadmap, check the CT-RE-B Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt.
Fees, Registration & Activation Costs
Money mistakes are avoidable if you know the numbers ahead of time. Here's the full financial picture from application to activated license:
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| First exam attempt | $59 |
| Retake attempt | $51 |
| State application | $120 |
| Broker license activation | $1,150 |
Notice that a retake costs less than your first sitting - that's not a discount for coming back, it's simply the standard PSI retest rate. Budget for at least one retake if you're at all uncertain about the Connecticut Laws domain, since it carries the most weight of any single section. For a complete cost breakdown including how these fees interact with your CE cycle, see CT-RE-B Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown.
Key Takeaway
Register through PSI only after you've confirmed your application has been approved by the Department of Consumer Protection - a rejected or incomplete application wastes the exam fee if you scheduled prematurely.
Eligibility Snapshot
The CT-RE-B isn't an entry-level exam - it's the gate between salesperson and broker, so the prerequisites are experience-heavy rather than just education-heavy.
- Age: at least 18 years old.
- Active licensure history: a Connecticut salesperson license held active for at least three years.
- Documented experience: 1,500 hours and a minimum of four transactions completed within the immediately preceding three years.
- Education: 60 hours of Real Estate Principles and Practices, 15 hours of Brokerage Principles and Practices, 15 hours of Legal Compliance, plus either 30 elective hours or the 20-transaction alternative pathway.
If any of these thresholds are unclear for your specific situation, the detailed walkthrough at CT-RE-B Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify covers documentation specifics and edge cases like partial transaction credit.
General Portion Domains (1-11)
The general portion mirrors national broker-level knowledge and makes up 80 of the 125 total points. National broker items can be worth up to two points each, so a handful of missed questions in this section carries more weight than a single-point miss elsewhere.
Domain 5: Contracts (19%)
The heaviest single domain on the entire exam. Expect deep coverage of offer and acceptance, contingencies, breach and remedies, and the specific performance obligations tied to listing and purchase agreements.
- Know the difference between void, voidable, and unenforceable contracts cold.
Domain 6: Agency (13%)
Fiduciary duties, agency creation and termination, and the distinctions between the types of representation a broker can offer a client.
- Be able to identify a fiduciary breach scenario from a fact pattern, not just a definition.
Domain 10: Practice of Real Estate (12%)
Day-to-day brokerage operations, advertising rules, fair housing application, and general licensee conduct standards that apply across transaction types.
Rounding out the general portion: Property Ownership (10%), Financing (9%), Valuation (8%), Property Disclosures (7%), Transfer of Title (6%), Real Estate Calculations (6%), Land Use Controls (5%), and Property Management (5%). None of these are safe to skip - a 5% domain still represents multiple questions on a 75-item section.
Connecticut State Portion Domains (12-16)
This is where the exam becomes distinctly Connecticut, and it's the section candidates most often underestimate. State percentages are calculated from PSI's official item counts across the 45 state-specific questions, worth 40 points.
Domain 13: Connecticut Laws Governing the Activities of Licensees (26.67%)
The largest state domain by a wide margin - over a quarter of the entire state portion. This covers licensee conduct rules, disciplinary standards, and statutory obligations specific to how brokers and salespersons must operate in Connecticut.
- Treat this as the single highest-priority domain on the whole exam for review time invested.
Domain 14: Connecticut Real Estate Agency (22.22%)
Connecticut's specific agency disclosure requirements and representation rules - don't confuse this with the general Agency domain (Domain 6); the state version tests statutory language and Connecticut-specific disclosure timing.
Domain 15: Connecticut-Specific Real Estate Laws (17.78%)
State statutes touching property transactions that don't fit neatly into licensee-conduct rules - think state-specific disclosure and transaction law.
Domain 16: Brokers Exam Only (17.78%)
Content exclusive to the broker-level exam, distinguishing broker responsibilities from salesperson-level duties. Because this material doesn't overlap with your prior salesperson exam prep, it deserves fresh study time rather than a quick refresher.
Domain 12: Connecticut Real Estate Licensing Requirements (15.56%)
Licensing structure, renewal mechanics, and the regulatory framework administered by the Department of Consumer Protection.
For a domain-by-domain study plan mapped against these exact weights, see CT-RE-B Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 16 Content Areas. If you're still deciding how much prep time to allocate overall, How Hard Is the CT-RE-B Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026 breaks down where most candidates lose points.
Scoring Rules You Cannot Misread
This is the rule candidates most often get wrong: the general portion and the state portion are scored independently, and each requires 75% to pass. A strong general score does not offset a weak state score, and vice versa. You must clear 75% on both, in the same sitting.
Remember, too, that 5-10 unscored experimental questions are embedded somewhere in the 120-question set. You won't know which ones they are, so treat every question - even ones that feel unfamiliar or oddly worded - as if it counts. For the exact math behind the passing thresholds, see CT-RE-B Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass, and for how candidates historically perform against these cutoffs, CT-RE-B Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows lays out the available data.
The Week-Before Review Sequence
In the final week, stop learning new material and start triaging by domain weight. This isn't generic exam advice - it's sequenced specifically around the CT-RE-B's point distribution.
Attack the heaviest domains first
- Contracts (19%) and Connecticut Laws Governing the Activities of Licensees (26.67%) - these two alone account for a large share of total points.
Agency, both versions
- Review general Agency (Domain 6, 13%) and Connecticut Real Estate Agency (Domain 14, 22.22%) side by side to lock in the distinctions between them.
Broker-exclusive and calculations material
- Domain 16 (Brokers Exam Only) has no salesperson-exam overlap, so it needs dedicated review; pair it with Real Estate Calculations practice problems.
Light review only
- Skim domain summaries, confirm your PSI appointment details, and rest - don't cram new statutory language the night before.
Running full-length timed simulations against the actual 120-question, 180-minute structure on our practice test platform before this final week helps you enter it already knowing your weak spots rather than discovering them here.
After You Pass: License Upkeep
Passing the exam is the checkpoint, not the finish line. Connecticut broker licenses expire on November 30 of even-numbered years, and renewal requires 12 continuing-education hours per two-year cycle. Mark this date now - missing it means a lapsed license, not just a late fee.
Once licensed, the earning path and hiring landscape shift meaningfully compared to salesperson work. If you're weighing whether the broker credential is worth the added cost and time, Is the CT-RE-B Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 walks through the tradeoffs, and CT-RE-B Salary Guide 2026: Complete Earnings Analysis covers earning potential. For where brokers actually get hired after licensure, see CT-RE-B Jobs.
Key Takeaway
Set a calendar reminder for your November 30 (even year) renewal the same week you receive your license - CE hours accumulate more easily when you're not scrambling at the deadline.
FAQ
120 total questions - 75 general (80 points) and 45 Connecticut state-specific (40 points) - administered together in one 180-minute session, with 5-10 unscored experimental items mixed in.
Yes. Each portion requires its own 75% score. A high score on one portion cannot compensate for a low score on the other.
Connecticut Laws Governing the Activities of Licensees, at 26.67% of the state portion - the single largest domain on the entire exam.
Budget $120 for the state application, $59 for your first exam attempt (or $51 for a retake), and $1,150 for broker license activation once you pass.
At least three years holding an active Connecticut salesperson license, plus 1,500 documented hours and a minimum of four transactions within the immediately preceding three years.
Keep this page bookmarked as your quick-reference sheet, but pair it with active practice. Run timed sets through CT-RE-B Exam Prep's practice tests to turn these numbers into instinct before you sit down at PSI.