TREC Advertising Rules
How a Team Name and the Broker's Name Must Appear in Texas Real Estate Ads
Updated
Bottom line: Under TREC rules, a team name ends in “team” or “group,” avoids words like “brokerage” or “company,” is registered by your broker, and runs beside the broker’s name at half the size or more.
What must a team name look like under TREC rules?
TREC’s FAQ on the information ads must carry says a team name has to end in “team” or “group.” That FAQ also bars “brokerage,” “company,” “associates” and similar terms from a team name.
The same FAQ treats nearly any name a sales agent advertises under as a team name. The two exceptions it gives are the name on the license and a registered alternate name. Every other name must meet the team name rules.
That FAQ lets a sales agent pair her own name with “Team” or “Group” on two conditions. The ad must carry the broker’s name too, and the broker must have registered that team or group name with TREC.
Who registers the team name?
TREC’s FAQ on name registration puts that job on the sponsoring broker. An associated broker who advertises under a name other than their licensed name needs it registered as a team name by the broker they associate with.
That FAQ splits the filing by situation. An associated broker registers their own assumed business name for when they are not associating with another broker.
Under the same FAQ, the broker they associate with registers the team name used while they work there. A team name follows the broker relationship it was registered under.
How big does the broker’s name have to be next to a team name?
TREC’s FAQ on advertising name types cites Rule 535.155, which requires every ad to show the license holder or team placing it, in a readily noticeable spot. That rule puts the broker’s name in the ad as well.
Size is where team ads go wrong. Per that FAQ, find the largest contact item in the ad for any sales agent, associated broker or team name. The broker’s name must be at least half that size.
The same FAQ counts a broker’s assumed business name as the broker’s name, once it is registered with TREC. It also accepts a logo, measuring only the broker’s name inside it against the half-size test, never the whole logo.
Does the half-size rule reach a building sign?
Yes. TREC’s FAQ on its advertising rules says a building sign showing a sales agent’s name or a team name must show the broker’s name too, at no less than half the size.
Who answers for a team ad that breaks the rules?
TREC’s advertising rules FAQ says your sponsoring broker should review your ads. That FAQ makes the broker responsible for keeping them inside TREC’s advertising rules.
The same FAQ says TREC can discipline both you and your sponsoring broker when an ad breaks those rules. Before a new team name goes on a sign or a flyer, ask your broker to confirm the registration and the sizing.
Filed under the team.
Questions & answers
What do Houston agents ask about this?
Does the phone number or email on my team ad have to be my broker’s?
No. TREC’s FAQ on advertising name types says no rule requires a phone number or email address in an ad to belong to the broker. You can run your own cell and your own inbox. The ad still has to carry the name of the license holder or team placing it. It also has to carry the broker’s name, sized against the largest contact details in the ad.
That FAQ ties the size test to contact information. So if your own number is the biggest item on a sign or a flyer, it sets the floor for the broker’s name. Under that same FAQ, the broker’s name then has to be at least half as large as your number. A bigger phone number on an ad means a bigger broker’s name beside it. Before a print run, measure both, or ask your sponsoring broker to check the proof.
Is an email I send to my current client an advertisement under TREC rules?
TREC’s FAQ on its advertising rules leaves it out of the definition. Under that FAQ, a message a license holder sends to a person who is currently their own client is not an advertisement. The exclusion names a current client only. A message to a prospect, a past client or a wider list falls outside that exclusion, so the advertising rules can reach it.
On our team, three client newsletters go out each month to keep an agent’s sphere engaged. A sphere reaches past the people you are working for today. So the current-client exclusion in TREC’s advertising rules FAQ does not cover a send like that by default. Your sponsoring broker can confirm how each regular send is handled before it goes out under your name or a team name.
Is putting REALTOR or agent on my ad enough to show I’m a sales agent?
No. TREC’s FAQ on its advertising rules says the word “REALTOR” or the word “agent” falls short of showing a sales agent’s license status. Either one alone leaves your status unclear under that FAQ. Your sponsoring broker should review your ads in any case, so settle the license-status wording with your broker before a team ad runs with your name on it.
This sits beside the team name rules, not inside them. A team name ending in “Team” or “Group” identifies the team. The broker’s name identifies the broker. Neither one states your own license status, so that wording is a separate line on the ad. When you move to a new team, your old templates may carry only “REALTOR” under your name. That FAQ treats that as insufficient, so the templates need fixing before you reuse them.
Does TREC stop another team from registering the same team name we use?
No. TREC’s FAQ on name registration says the Commission does not check assumed names or team names for exclusivity when they are filed, and it has no duty to. A name registered with TREC is a filing by a broker, with no ruling that nobody else uses it. If a distinct name matters to you, raise it with your sponsoring broker before anything is printed.
Registration and ownership of a name are separate questions under that FAQ. TREC records the filing and leaves any overlap with other filings unchecked. Two teams could end up advertising under names that look alike, and nothing in TREC’s registration process would flag it. Any dispute over a name sits outside that filing.
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