- What the CT-RE-B Actually Tests
- Registration, Fees, and Eligibility Mechanics
- Breaking Down the General Portion (Domains 1-11)
- The Connecticut State Portion (Domains 12-16)
- General vs. State Portion at a Glance
- A Domain-Driven Study Timeline
- How CT-RE-B Questions Are Actually Written
- After You Pass: Activation and Beyond
- Frequently Asked Questions
- The exam is 120 questions (125 points) in 180 minutes, split into a 75-question general portion and a 45-question state portion.
- You need 75% on both the general and state portions separately - not just an overall average.
- Connecticut Laws Governing the Activities of Licensees is the single largest domain at 26.67% of the state portion.
- The first attempt costs $59; retakes are $51, and the exam is delivered by PSI at a test center or via remote proctoring.
What the CT-RE-B Actually Tests
The Connecticut Real Estate Broker Exam (CT-RE-B) is the licensing test administered on behalf of the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection and the Connecticut Real Estate Commission. PSI delivers it as a closed-book, computer-based exam, either at a physical test center or through remote proctoring, so you can choose the format that fits your schedule. This is not a casual multiple-choice quiz - it's a 120-question, 125-point exam completed inside a 180-minute window, and PSI may slip in 5-10 unscored experimental questions that you won't be able to identify, so every question deserves full attention.
The exam is broken into two distinct portions that are scored independently: 75 general real estate questions worth 80 points, and 45 Connecticut-specific state questions worth 40 points. Some national broker-level items are worth up to two points each, which is a subtle but important detail - a handful of harder questions carry more weight than the rest. If you want the full breakdown of every content area before you start studying, the CT-RE-B Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 16 Content Areas walks through all 16 domains in detail.
Registration, Fees, and Eligibility Mechanics
Before you can sit for the CT-RE-B, you have to clear Connecticut's broker eligibility gate - this exam is not open to brand-new agents. Candidates must be at least 18 years old, must have held an active Connecticut salesperson license for at least three years, and must document 1,500 hours and a minimum of four transactions completed in the three years immediately preceding application.
On top of the experience requirement, applicants must complete specific pre-licensing education:
- 60 hours of Real Estate Principles and Practices
- 15 hours of Brokerage Principles and Practices
- 15 hours of Legal Compliance
- Either 30 elective hours or the 20-transaction alternative in place of electives
Once you're eligible, the fee structure is straightforward but adds up. The first exam attempt costs $59, and each retake is $51. Separately, the state application fee is $120, and activating your broker license runs $1,150. For a complete line-item breakdown of what you'll actually spend from application through activation, see the CT-RE-B Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown article. If you're still confirming whether you meet every prerequisite, the CT-RE-B Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify guide covers documentation specifics in more depth.
Key Takeaway
Confirm your 1,500 hours and four-transaction documentation with your broker or MLS records before you apply - gaps here delay eligibility more often than exam performance does.
Breaking Down the General Portion (Domains 1-11)
The general portion covers 11 domains and mirrors the broad national body of real estate knowledge, but it's weighted in a way that should shape your study hours directly. Contracts and Agency together make up nearly a third of this portion.
Domain 5: Contracts (19%)
The single heaviest domain on the entire general portion. Expect scenario questions on offer and acceptance, contingencies, breach and remedies, and the elements required for a valid contract.
- Know the difference between void, voidable, and unenforceable contracts
- Master contingency timelines and how they affect closing
Domain 6: Agency (13%)
Fiduciary duties, agency relationship creation and termination, and disclosure obligations show up repeatedly. As a broker candidate, expect questions written from a supervisory perspective, not just a salesperson's.
- Distinguish designated agency from dual agency scenarios
- Review fiduciary duty breach examples and their consequences
Domain 10: Practice of Real Estate (12%)
Covers day-to-day brokerage operations, advertising rules, and license law application in practice - highly relevant since you're testing at the broker level.
- Understand supervisory responsibilities over affiliated licensees
- Review fair housing application in advertising and marketing
The remaining general domains - 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%) - are lighter individually but still collectively account for over half the general portion's points. Real Estate Calculations deserves particular attention even at 6%, since math-based questions (prorations, commission splits, loan-to-value ratios) are often where well-prepared candidates lose easy points to careless arithmetic.
The Connecticut State Portion (Domains 12-16)
This is where the CT-RE-B becomes distinctly Connecticut - and where out-of-state study materials will fail you. The state portion's percentages are calculated from PSI's official item counts across five domains, and one domain towers over the rest.
Domain 13: Connecticut Laws Governing the Activities of Licensees (26.67%)
The largest domain on the entire exam. This covers licensee conduct rules, disciplinary grounds, recordkeeping, escrow account handling, and advertising compliance specific to Connecticut statute.
- Study escrow and trust account handling rules closely
- Know the grounds for license suspension or revocation under Connecticut law
Domain 14: Connecticut Real Estate Agency (22.22%)
Connecticut-specific agency disclosure forms, timing requirements, and broker-level supervisory duties over agency relationships.
Domain 15: Connecticut-Specific Real Estate Laws (17.78%)
State statutes covering property transfer, landlord-tenant provisions, and other Connecticut-specific legal requirements that don't appear on generic national exams.
Domain 16: Brokers Exam Only (17.78%)
Content exclusive to the broker-level test - supervisory obligations, office management responsibilities, and broker-specific licensing duties that salesperson candidates never encounter.
Domain 12, Connecticut Real Estate Licensing Requirements, rounds out the state portion at 15.56% and covers license renewal cycles, CE requirements, and application procedures. For a domain-by-domain study plan built specifically around these five state categories, the CT-RE-B Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 16 Content Areas is worth bookmarking alongside this guide.
General vs. State Portion at a Glance
| Attribute | General Portion | State Portion |
|---|---|---|
| Number of Questions | 75 | 45 |
| Points Available | 80 | 40 |
| Domains Covered | Domains 1-11 | Domains 12-16 |
| Largest Single Domain | Contracts (19%) | Connecticut Laws Governing the Activities of Licensees (26.67%) |
| Passing Threshold | 75% | 75% |
A Domain-Driven Study Timeline
Generic study advice - flashcards, timed drills, spaced review - only works if it's mapped to the domains that actually carry weight. Here's a four-week framework built around the CT-RE-B's specific point distribution rather than a one-size-fits-all schedule.
High-Weight General Domains
- Contracts (19%) - offer, acceptance, contingencies, breach
- Agency (13%) - fiduciary duties and disclosure at the broker level
Remaining General Domains
- Practice of Real Estate, Financing, and Valuation
- Real Estate Calculations drills - prorations, commissions, LTV math
Connecticut State Law Core
- Connecticut Laws Governing the Activities of Licensees (26.67%)
- Connecticut Real Estate Agency (22.22%)
State Wrap-Up and Full Simulations
- Connecticut-Specific Real Estate Laws and Brokers Exam Only content
- Full 120-question timed practice runs under the 180-minute limit
Run at least two or three full-length timed simulations during that final week using a platform built for the Connecticut format, like the practice tests on our home page, so the 180-minute pacing and the two-portion scoring structure feel familiar before test day.
How CT-RE-B Questions Are Actually Written
Because this is a broker-level exam, questions are written to assume you already passed the salesperson exam and worked as a licensee for at least three years. Expect scenario-based prompts rather than pure definition recall - a question won't simply ask what a fiduciary duty is, it will describe a broker supervising an affiliated agent and ask what the broker is obligated to disclose or correct.
Calculation questions in Domain 11 typically require you to work through multi-step math (e.g., prorating taxes, calculating a commission split across two brokerages) rather than plugging numbers into a single formula. And because national broker items can be worth up to two points, missing a cluster of these higher-value questions has a disproportionate effect on your general-portion score compared to missing single-point items.
If you're unsure how difficult this exam feels compared to expectations set by the salesperson exam, the How Hard Is the CT-RE-B Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026 article breaks down where most retest candidates lose points. And if you want a condensed reference to keep open during final review, the CT-RE-B Cheat Sheet 2026: One-Page Review of Must-Know Facts consolidates the highest-yield facts from every domain onto a single page.
After You Pass: Activation and Beyond
Passing the exam is only one step - you'll still need to complete the $120 state application and pay the $1,150 broker license activation fee before you can operate as a Connecticut real estate broker. Once active, your license expires on November 30 of even-numbered years, and you'll need 12 continuing-education hours per two-year renewal cycle to keep it current.
Holding a broker license opens supervisory and independent brokerage paths that aren't available to salespersons - everything from opening your own firm to overseeing a team of affiliated agents. If you're weighing whether the additional cost and study time are worth it relative to staying a salesperson, the Is the CT-RE-B Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 article compares the long-term trade-offs in detail. For a look at where broker-licensed professionals actually work after activation, see CT-RE-B Jobs.
Before you schedule, double-check current testing windows and any deadline changes against the CT-RE-B Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling guide, since PSI scheduling availability can shift between remote-proctoring slots and in-person test centers. When you're ready to start practicing under real exam conditions, our practice test platform mirrors the two-portion, 120-question format so you're not surprised by pacing on test day.
Frequently Asked Questions
The exam has 120 total questions worth 125 points, split into a 75-question general portion and a 45-question state portion, all within a 180-minute session. A handful of unscored experimental questions (5-10) may also appear.
You need 75% on the general portion and 75% on the state portion separately. A high score on one side does not offset a low score on the other.
The first attempt costs $59, and retakes cost $51. That's separate from the $120 state application fee and the $1,150 broker license activation fee.
On the general portion, focus on Contracts (19%) and Agency (13%). On the state portion, Connecticut Laws Governing the Activities of Licensees (26.67%) is the largest domain by far and deserves the most review time.
Yes. You must have held an active Connecticut salesperson license for at least three years and document 1,500 hours with at least four transactions in the preceding three years, along with the required pre-licensing education hours.