(a) Any person seeking a certificate of registration as a community association manager or as a community association manager trainee shall apply to the department in writing, on a form provided by the department. Such application shall include the applicant’s name, residence address, business address, business telephone number, a question as to whether the applicant has been convicted of a felony in any state or jurisdiction and such other information as the department may require. Except for a community association manager trainee, any person seeking an initial certificate of registration shall submit to a request by the commissioner for a state and national criminal history records check, conducted in accordance with the provisions of § 29-17a. No registration as a community association manager shall be issued unless the commissioner has received the results of such records check.

(b) Each application for a certificate of registration as a community association manager shall be accompanied by an application fee of sixty dollars and a registration fee of one hundred dollars. The department shall refund the registration fee if it refuses to issue a certificate of registration. The department shall not charge either an application or a registration fee for a certificate of registration as a community association manager trainee.