Where to take the 60-hour Principles and Practices course
Connecticut's approved pre-licensing register lists roughly two dozen providers, and almost all are Connecticut classroom schools, community colleges and REALTOR® associations. Only one national school appears on it.
The CE Shop
- The one national school on the Department's approved pre-licensing register for Connecticut, with the 60-hour Principles and Practices course approved through December 2029
- Its Connecticut course is delivered live online, not self-paced — which is what state law requires, and why the product differs from the same company's offering elsewhere
- Course name matches the state register exactly, so you can check the approval yourself rather than take anyone's word for it
- Also approved for a 30-hour Brokerage course on the broker track, if you plan to go further later
- ⚠ Its Connecticut landing page still advertises “self-paced Pre-Licensing” and “Post-Licensing”. Connecticut permits neither — that is national boilerplate contradicting the company's own Connecticut course.
Colibri Real Estate
- Holds no approved Connecticut pre-licensing course, so it is listed here for what it can actually sell you: continuing education and exam prep
- Its Connecticut continuing education range is fully stocked, in self-paced and livestream formats — and continuing education is where asynchronous study is allowed here
- It gets the continuing education deadline right, including the fact that it falls three months before renewal — a detail plenty of sites miss
- ⚠ Its Connecticut pre-licensing page returns no products at all. If you land there expecting a 60-hour course, there is nothing behind it.
How to get your Connecticut licence
Five steps, and Connecticut front-loads the application: you file and pay before you are allowed to test.
Take the 60-hour course — live
Real Estate Principles and Practices, in person or live online with attendance and engagement verified. The course final is separate from the 60 hours and needs a numerical grade of at least 70%.
Apply to the Department and pay $80
Your completion certificate goes in with the application. State approval is required before examination — PSI will not register you until the Department has cleared your file.
Pass both portions inside a year
80 general questions and 35 state questions at 70%, $59 the first time and $51 for a retake of one portion or both. Unlimited attempts, but only for one year from the date of eligibility.
Then activate — within two years
The clock for activation runs from the date of the most recently passed portion, not the first. Miss it and the application, both fees and both exam portions are void.
Pay the $590 licence fee and find a broker
You do not need a sponsoring broker to sit the exam, but you do to activate. The fee is flat and never prorated, and every licence expires 31 May of an even-numbered year regardless of when it was issued.
From the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection, C.G.S. §§ 20-314, 20-314d, 20-314e and 20-319, R.C.S.A. § 20-328-16a, the Department's approved pre-licensing course dataset, and the PSI Connecticut candidate bulletin, verified August 2026. Course prices are omitted because neither school publishes confirmable Connecticut package pricing. The Department's 2022 continuing education leaflet is not used here — it is superseded and still names a mandatory course that is no longer current.
Connecticut FAQs
Can I take a self-paced online real estate course in Connecticut?
Not for pre-licensing. C.G.S. § 20-314e(d), added by Public Act 23-84 and effective 1 April 2024, says "the department shall not approve any prelicensing course under this section unless such course is provided on an in-person basis or by way of electronic means that incorporates a live online format." The Department restates it plainly on its own site, and its live online courses require instructors to verify attendance and engagement through periodic assessments or real-time communication. Asynchronous study is permitted for continuing education, not for getting licensed.
So which national schools can actually teach Connecticut pre-licensing?
On the Department's approved-course register, one: The CE Shop, whose Connecticut course is delivered live online and is approved through December 2029. Colibri, Kaplan, McKissock and 360training hold no approved Connecticut pre-licensing course. That is a direct consequence of the delivery rule rather than an oversight, which is why a "best self-paced online school in Connecticut" listicle is recommending a product category the state does not permit.
How long do I have to pass the exam and get licensed?
Two nested clocks, and the second is the one that catches people. You have one year from the date of eligibility to pass both portions, with unlimited attempts. Then you have two years from the date of the most recently passed portion to pay the licence fee and activate. Pass the state portion in January and the general portion in November, and the two-year activation clock starts in November. Miss it and you start again with a new application and new fees.
Is the Connecticut licence fee prorated?
No. The activation fee is a flat $590 and the renewal is $578, and every salesperson licence expires 31 May of an even-numbered year whatever date it was issued. Connecticut did prorate once, as a one-off transition when it moved from annual to biennial licensing in 2022 — that clause is spent and does not describe current practice. The practical consequence is that activating in, say, April of an even year means paying $590 and then $578 about six weeks later.
Does Connecticut require fingerprints?
No. The examination application asks no fingerprint question and requests no background-check authorisation, and there is no criminal history check provision in the licensing chapter. Screening is by self-disclosure: you are asked about felony convictions, certain other crimes and prior licence discipline. Any Connecticut guide with a LiveScan step has imported it from a neighbouring state.
When is my continuing education actually due?
Three months before your renewal, not on it. The salesperson cycle runs 1 March of an even year to 28 February of the next even year, closing about ninety days ahead of the 31 May renewal. Twelve hours per cycle: one three-hour mandatory licence-law course and nine elective hours. Treating 31 May as the deadline puts you three months late.
Do new licensees owe continuing education?
Not for the cycle in which they qualified. The Department states that no continuing education is due for those who passed a Connecticut licensing exam within the current cycle window. Note the trigger is the date you passed the exam, not the date the licence issued — and given the two-year activation window those can be different calendar years.
Does Connecticut require post-licensing education or E&O insurance?
Neither. There is no post-licensing step in the licensing chapter — Connecticut goes pre-licensing, exam, licence, continuing education. And there is no errors and omissions section anywhere in the chapter, no dedicated Department page, and no carrier or policy field on the application or the renewal. Brokerages commonly require cover privately; that is not a licensing condition.