Connecticut Real Estate Salesperson Exam — All Questions

In Connecticut, the Real Estate Commission that oversees real estate licensing operates within which state department?

• a.The Department of Revenue Services
• b.The Department of Banking
• c.The Department of Consumer Protection✓
• d.The Department of Economic and Community Development

The Connecticut Real Estate Commission functions within the Department of Consumer Protection (DCP). The Commission and the DCP administer the real estate license law found in Chapter 392 of the Connecticut General Statutes.

In Connecticut, a licensed real estate salesperson may conduct licensed activity only:

• a.While affiliated with and supervised by a licensed real estate broker✓
• b.As a fully independent contractor with no broker affiliation
• c.After being appointed a notary public
• d.If they also hold an attorney's license

A Connecticut salesperson must be affiliated with and supervised by a licensed real estate broker. The supervising broker is responsible for the salesperson's licensed activity, advertising, and handling of client funds; a salesperson may not operate independently.

The Connecticut Real Estate Guaranty Fund is intended to:

• a.Guarantee brokers a minimum annual income
• b.Reimburse members of the public who obtain an unpaid court judgment against a licensee for certain violations, up to statutory limits✓
• c.Pay the Commission's operating expenses
• d.Provide grants to first-time homebuyers

The Connecticut Real Estate Guaranty Fund reimburses members of the public who obtain a valid but unpaid court judgment against a licensee arising from certain violations of the license law, subject to statutory limits. A licensee whose conduct causes a payout may have their license suspended until the fund is repaid.

Since April 1, 2024, the maximum fine the Connecticut Real Estate Commission or department may impose for a license law violation is:

• a.One thousand dollars per violation
• b.Two thousand dollars per violation
• c.Ten thousand dollars per violation
• d.Five thousand dollars per violation✓

Public Act 23-84 raised the ceiling from two thousand to five thousand dollars per violation, effective April 1, 2024; the fine may be imposed in addition to or in lieu of suspension or revocation, and fines collected are deposited in the Real Estate Guaranty Fund. Cite: Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 20-320(a), as amended by P.A. 23-84, Sec. 17.

The most the Connecticut Real Estate Guaranty Fund will pay in connection with any one real estate transaction or claim is:

• a.Twenty-five thousand dollars in the aggregate✓
• b.Ten thousand dollars for each aggrieved person
• c.Fifty thousand dollars for each aggrieved person
• d.One hundred thousand dollars in the aggregate

Recovery is capped at twenty-five thousand dollars in the aggregate per transaction or claim, regardless of how many people were harmed or how many parcels were involved. The 2026 amendment moved administration of the fund to the department but left the cap unchanged. Cite: Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 20-324a, as amended by P.A. 26-100, Sec. 13.

An application for payment from the Connecticut Real Estate Guaranty Fund must be brought no later than:

• a.One year from the date the cause of action accrued
• b.Six months from the date of the closing at issue
• c.Two years from final determination of the judgment✓
• d.Three years from the date the licensee was disciplined

The limitation runs two years from the final determination of, or expiration of the time to appeal from, a binding arbitration decision or a court judgment, order or decree. Cite: Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 20-324d, as amended by P.A. 26-100, Sec. 15.

After the department pays a claim out of the Real Estate Guaranty Fund, the licensee whose conduct caused the payment is ineligible for a new license until:

• a.Five years have passed since the payment was made from the fund
• b.The amount is repaid in full, plus interest at ten per cent a year✓
• c.A discharge in bankruptcy relieves the licensee of the obligation
• d.The commission holds a new hearing and restores the license by vote

The person must repay the fund in full plus interest at ten per cent per year, and a discharge in bankruptcy does not relieve the person of that disability. The ten per cent rate replaced a market rate effective June 24, 2025. Cite: Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 20-324e(e), as amended by P.A. 25-111, Sec. 5, and P.A. 26-100, Sec. 16.

A Connecticut broker who accepts a buyer's deposit must place it in the escrow or trust account within:

• a.Twenty-four hours of the date all necessary parties sign the agreement
• b.Two banking days of the date the buyer's offer is presented to the seller
• c.Three banking days of the date all necessary parties sign the agreement✓
• d.Ten banking days after the closing date stated in the written agreement

Money the broker is not personally and legally entitled to, including down payments, earnest money and rental security deposits, must be deposited in the escrow or trust account within three banking days of the date the agreement is signed by all necessary parties. Cite: Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 20-324k(c).

Connecticut law requires a broker who receives and holds money on behalf of clients to:

• a.Hold client funds in the broker's operating account and reconcile monthly
• b.Deposit client funds with the Department of Consumer Protection each month
• c.Post a surety bond with the commission instead of keeping a trust account
• d.Maintain a separate escrow or trust account in a bank doing business here✓

The broker must at all times maintain a separate escrow or trust account, distinct from the broker's own account, in a bank doing business in Connecticut, and the commission may audit it. Commingling client funds with the broker's own is itself a ground for discipline. Cite: Conn. Gen. Stat. Secs. 20-324k(a) and 20-320(a)(10).

A Connecticut broker must keep listing agreements, offers and escrow bank records for at least how long after the latest of closing, disbursement of escrow funds, or expiration of the representation agreement?

• a.Three years
• b.Seven years✓
• c.Ten years
• d.Two years

The retention period is not less than seven years, measured from whichever happens later among closing, disbursement of all escrowed funds, and expiration of the listing or representation agreement, and records must normally be kept in electronic form. Cite: Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 20-325m(a) and (c).

When an associate broker's affiliation with a supervising licensee ends, the associate broker must notify the department within:

• a.Fourteen calendar days of the termination or of a new affiliation✓
• b.Twenty-one calendar days of the termination or of a new affiliation
• c.Sixty calendar days of the termination or of a new affiliation
• d.Ninety calendar days of the termination or of a new affiliation

The associate broker must notify the department not later than fourteen calendar days after the termination or after affiliating with another supervising licensee, whichever occurs first. Cite: Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 20-312c(c).

Connecticut prohibits a licensee from receiving a referral fee for sending a buyer of real property to:

• a.Another real estate brokerage firm licensed in Connecticut
• b.A licensed home inspector or a licensed pest control firm
• c.An attorney, mortgage broker or lender, or their affiliates✓
• d.A moving company, a title searcher or an insurance producer

No licensee, no person affiliated with a licensee, and no person engaging in the real estate business may take a fee, commission or other referral fee for referring a buyer to a Connecticut attorney, or to a mortgage broker or lender, or to anyone affiliated with them. Cite: Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 20-320a.

A Connecticut exclusive listing contract or buyer agency contract that contains a fixed termination date may not also:

• a.Provide that the broker is entitled to a commission after that date
• b.Provide for automatic continuation of the contract beyond that date✓
• c.Allow the client to cancel the contract before the termination date
• d.Name more than one licensee as the client's designated seller agent

Entering into an exclusive listing or buyer agency contract that has a fixed termination date and also provides for automatic continuation beyond that date is an enumerated ground for suspension, revocation or a fine. Cite: Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 20-320(a)(6).

Connecticut's residential condition report form states in its own text that the report does not relieve a broker of which duty?

• a.The duty to disclose material facts under Regs. Conn. State Agencies 20-328-5a✓
• b.The duty to obtain a home inspection before any offer is presented to a seller
• c.The duty to verify the seller's answers with the municipal building official
• d.The duty to file a copy of the report with the Real Estate Commission office

The statutory template includes the heading RESPONSIBILITIES OF REAL ESTATE BROKERS and states that the report in no way relieves a broker of the obligation under Section 20-328-5a of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies to disclose material facts, with fines, suspension or revocation as possible consequences. Cite: Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 20-327b(d)(3)(A) (2026 Supp.), quoting Regs. Conn. State Agencies Sec. 20-328-5a.