How to Get a Real Estate License in Colorado (2026): Cost & Steps

What a Colorado real estate license costs

Exam, per PSI

$49

License application

$83

Required fees, total

$132.00

Colorado also lets people with a degree that has a real estate major use it in place of the 168 hours. See the Division’s requirements page.

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Sources: Colorado Division of Real Estate: broker license application requirements (168 hours, exam, reciprocity); Colorado Division of Real Estate: applications and fees ($83 application, $252 renewal, $44.95 exam); Colorado Division of Real Estate: fingerprint check (vendors, timing); PSI Colorado real estate candidate bulletin ($49 exam, question counts, passing scores). Fees and rules checked October 10, 2026. Exam and background-check prices can change, so confirm the total when you book.

Who can get a Colorado associate broker license

Most people call it a real estate agent license. In Colorado everyone starts with a broker license, and at the entry level it is called an associate broker license, which lets you work under an employing broker. There is no separate salesperson license for new agents.

The Colorado Division of Real Estate says first-time applicants need 168 hours of approved education, a passing grade on the national and Colorado parts of the exam, and a fingerprint check. Exam results are good for one year from the day you pass each part.

Already licensed in another state? Colorado accepts reciprocity from all U.S. states and territories. If you have held a license for at least two years, you pass only the Colorado part of the exam, send a certified license history and get fingerprinted.

The steps, in order

1. Take 168 hours of approved courses. Your school gives you a certificate for your application.

   Compare Colorado real estate courses and Colibri packages for the 168-hour education, current tuition and exam-support options.

   Complete your 168-hour Colorado prelicensing course online with Colibri Real Estate. Compare course packages and current prices, including options with extra exam preparation.

   See Colorado real estate courses

   We may earn a commission if you enroll through this link.

2. Pass the national and Colorado exams with PSI. The national part has 80 questions in 120 minutes and you need 60 correct. The Colorado part has 74 questions in 110 minutes and you need 53 correct. You can retake only the part you fail.
3. Get fingerprinted. Register with a Colorado Bureau of Investigation approved vendor. Do it close to your application date. The Division destroys fingerprints if no application arrives within 60 days.
4. Apply online and pay $83. The Division says new applications depend on fingerprint results and can take longer than the usual ten business days.
5. Join an employing broker. You need E&O coverage active before you work.

What real estate agents earn

National median pay, agents on payroll

$52,830

Middle half earns

$40,040–$82,020

Top 10% earn over

$123,590

Agents on payroll nationwide

193,370

The U.S. Labor Department does not publish a Colorado pay figure we can trust: the head count is withheld or the numbers don’t add up. So we show national figures instead. Ask a few Colorado brokers what new agents in your area really make.

Include E&O and the brokerage's opening charges when deciding what it will cost to become active. Compare offices on the net result of a transaction and the support included, rather than judging them by the headline split alone.

Source: U.S. Labor Department pay survey, May 2025, real estate sales agents nationwide. Covers agents on a payroll only. Checked October 10, 2026.

Choose an employing broker before the application comes together

The 168-hour course gives you time to find an employing broker whose training fits your goals. Ask how the office turns the material into practice: supervised contract drafting, inspection negotiations and review of your first files.

Coordinate onboarding with the fingerprint timing in the licensing steps above. Have your certificates, exam results and E&O plan ready before scheduling the final application work. Ask the employing broker for a written breakdown of technology, transaction and mentoring charges, plus the person responsible for answering a new broker’s urgent questions.

Set up your Colorado agent business

Register the business and organize payments

Set up the operating side of your business while the license application is being assembled. Confirm with the employing broker which entity and payee name are permitted for your work. Use the Colorado LLC guide to evaluate the LLC filing and ongoing administration; ZenBusiness can carry out that filing once the structure is agreed.

Arrange errors and omissions (E&O) insurance

Colorado requires E&O coverage to be active before you work. Get E&O quotes from Simply Business during onboarding and have the proposed terms checked against the Division’s requirements and your employing broker’s arrangement. Record the effective date and deductible, and keep proof of coverage ready with the license paperwork.

Keep business records from day one

Keep the license application, fingerprint receipt and insurance evidence in a single onboarding folder. For later years, budget for the annual Commission update courses as well as renewal, so your education schedule follows the business calendar.

See Colorado business registration and tax requirements for the wider registration and tax checklist.

Turn contract knowledge into a client service

Ask your employing broker to review a practice offer on a property in your chosen area. Work through the dates, contingencies and documents the buyer must understand, then explain the sequence aloud without reading the form. Use that exercise to prepare for a supervised consultation and follow-up conversation.

Resources for preparing client conversations

• what homeowners insurance costs by state
• the cost of renting versus owning
• state comparison of agent and brokerage businesses
• mortgage lock-in study
• Plan your first client conversations and follow-up

Renew on time and finish your continuing education

Your first renewal doesn’t need continuing education. The base renewal fee listed by the Division is $252.

After that, each three-year cycle needs 24 hours of continuing education: three annual commission update courses of 4 hours each, plus 12 hours of electives. Do the hours before your license expires. The 31-day grace period for the fee doesn’t apply to continuing education.

Colorado agent questions