Best Real Estate Courses & Schools in Colorado (2026)

Colorado requires 168 hours of pre-licensing education — the second-most of any state after Texas. Note that Colorado is a single-license state: everyone is licensed as an Associate Broker, not a salesperson.

With 168 hours of coursework, most students take 4 to 16 weeks to finish, depending on pace. Add 2 to 6 weeks for your background check, 1 to 2 weeks to schedule and take your exam, and time to select a brokerage, and most people are licensed within 3 to 6 months total — though it’s possible to do it in as little as 8 weeks if you move quickly.

Colorado’s PSI state exam section is notoriously difficult, with first-time pass rates historically hovering under 50–55%. Students want to know what to look for in a school’s exam prep to overcome this hurdle.

Most agents describe it as challenging. The exam has 154 questions split into an 80-question National section (need 60 correct, 75%) and a 74-question Colorado State section (need 53 correct, about 71.6%) — both sections must be passed.

154 multiple-choice questions total: 80 on the National section and 74 on the Colorado State section. You’ll have just under 4 hours total — 120 minutes for the national portion and 110 minutes for the state portion.

75% (60 of 80) on the National section and about 71.6% (53 of 74) on the Colorado State section — both sections must be passed independently.

You only need to retake the section you failed, not the whole exam — just reschedule with PSI and pay the $42.50 retake fee. Your passing score on a section is valid for one year toward your license application.

Colorado doesn’t publish a specific limit on retakes — you can keep retaking a failed section by paying the $42.50 fee each time until you pass.

You have one year after passing to activate your license with a real estate brokerage and submit your application to DORA.

Most Colorado-approved pre-licensing courses include practice exams as part of the coursework. For additional free practice questions, check YouTube for study walkthroughs, or ask your course provider whether sample questions are available before purchasing an exam prep toolkit.

In person only — Colorado’s exam is administered by PSI at testing centers, and you can’t bring anything with you into the testing room.

Take as many practice exams as you can, and pay close attention to the Colorado-specific section — it actually requires a slightly lower raw score (71.6%) than the national section, but it’s also the section most students underprepare for since it covers state-specific law rather than general concepts.

Because Colorado requires six distinct sub-courses, you will take multiple end-of-course exams before earning your completion certificate. Approved online providers handle this via unproctored or web-based automated exams directly within their student portal, allowing you to complete them open-book or online at home. However, the official Colorado state licensing exam administered by PSI is strictly proctored—either at an in-person testing center or via webcam. Make sure your school’s package includes simulated, closed-book practice tests so you can transition smoothly into official test conditions.