CT-RE-S Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass

The Passing Score Basics

If you're preparing for the Connecticut Real Estate Salesperson Exam (CT-RE-S), the single number that matters most is 70%. That's the score you need on both the general (national) portion and the state-specific portion administered by PSI on behalf of the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection and the Connecticut Real Estate Commission. There isn't one combined passing score you can average your way into - you must clear 70% on each portion independently.

This distinction trips up a surprising number of candidates. It's entirely possible to score 90% on the general portion and still fail the exam outright because you scored 65% on the state portion. For a full breakdown of what each portion actually tests, see the CT-RE-S Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 15 Content Areas.

The 70% Rule: Doing the Math on Each Portion

Because the CT-RE-S is broken into a general portion and a state portion with different question counts, "70%" translates into two different raw numbers you actually need to hit.

• General portion: 80 scored questions. 70% of 80 is 56 - you need at least 56 correct answers.
• State portion: 35 scored questions. 70% of 35 is 24.5, which rounds up to 25 correct answers.

Combined, the full sitting is listed by PSI as 110 questions worth 115 points, taken within a 165-minute time limit. Keep in mind that this combined count includes both portions plus any unscored experimental items - more on that below.

If arithmetic like this makes you nervous, it shouldn't - it's actually good news. Knowing the exact number of questions you can afford to miss (24 on the general portion, 10 on the state portion) turns an abstract "study everything" goal into a concrete target you can track during practice sessions on our practice test platform.

Why Two Separate Passing Scores Matter

Treating the CT-RE-S as one exam with one score is the most common strategic mistake candidates make. In reality, you're preparing for two exams delivered back-to-back in the same 165-minute sitting:

• The general portion covers Domains 1-11: Property Ownership, Land Use Controls, Valuation, Financing, Contracts, Agency, Property Disclosures, Property Management, Transfer of Title, Practice of Real Estate, and Real Estate Calculations.
• The state portion covers Domains 12-15: Connecticut Real Estate Licensing Requirements, Connecticut Laws Governing the Activities of Licensees, Connecticut Real Estate Agency, and Connecticut-Specific Real Estate Laws.

Because each has its own 70% cutoff, a candidate who is a contracts and financing expert but skims the Connecticut-specific statutes can still fail. This is exactly why the CT-RE-S Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt recommends splitting your review time by portion rather than studying everything as one undifferentiated pile of material.

How Domain Weighting Shapes Your Score

Not all 15 domains contribute equally to your final score, and understanding weight helps you decide where extra review hours pay off most. On the general portion, Contracts (19%) and Agency (13%) dominate, followed by Practice of Real Estate (12%). On the state portion, the weighting is even more lopsided.

Domains 12 (Connecticut Real Estate Licensing Requirements, 20%) and 15 (Connecticut-Specific Real Estate Laws, 22.86%) round out the state portion. Together, these four domains explain why so many candidates who feel confident overall still need to double down on Connecticut-specific law. For the complete weight-by-weight breakdown across all 15 domains, revisit the CT-RE-S Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 15 Content Areas.

Scoring Mechanics: Experimental Questions and the 115-Point Sitting

PSI's current exam table lists the combined sitting at 110 questions worth 115 points, with 5 to 10 possible unscored experimental questions mixed in. These experimental items are used to test future exam content and do not count toward your pass/fail decision - but you won't know which questions they are while you're taking the test.

Practically, this means two things for your strategy:

• Don't panic over one strange question. If a question feels oddly worded or unfamiliar, it may be an unscored experimental item. Answer it as best you can and move on rather than burning time or confidence on it.
• Pace yourself against 165 minutes for the full sitting, not per-question. Since you don't know exactly how many of the questions in front of you are scored, aim to work steadily through all items rather than trying to game the count.

For a broader look at how the exam's structure compares to candidate expectations, see How Hard Is the CT-RE-S Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026 and the data-driven perspective in CT-RE-S Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows.

What Happens If You Miss the Cutoff

If you fall short of 70% on either portion, you don't automatically fail the entire licensing process - but you do need to retake the portion(s) you missed. A few mechanics matter here:

• Retake cost: The first attempt is $59; retakes are priced at $51.
• One-year window: You must pass both portions within one year of your eligibility date, so repeated retakes eat into that window quickly.
• Portion-specific retesting: If you passed one portion and failed the other, you generally only need to retake the portion you missed - another reason to track your two scores separately rather than one blended number.

Beyond the exam itself, remember that passing is only one step. Connecticut also requires 60 classroom hours of approved Real Estate Principles and Practices before you're eligible to sit, a state application fee of $80, and a license activation fee of $590 once you've passed - with activation required under a Connecticut broker within two years of passing. For the complete fee picture, see CT-RE-S Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown and the eligibility rules in CT-RE-S Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify.

Allocating Study Time Around the Passing Threshold

Since your goal is two separate 70% scores rather than one overall average, it makes sense to structure review time around each portion's weight and difficulty rather than a generic weekly template. Here's one way to sequence it in the weeks before your scheduled sitting - check CT-RE-S Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling for how to plan backward from your test date.

Running full simulations on our practice test platform before your official sitting is one of the most reliable ways to see whether you're actually clearing both thresholds, not just performing well on average. If you want a condensed reference to keep nearby during final review, the CT-RE-S Cheat Sheet 2026: One-Page Review of Must-Know Facts is built around these same domain weights.

Frequently Asked Questions