Michigan · advertising rules
What a real estate agent's website must show in Michigan
Michigan's rule is a statute rather than a board regulation, and it is short. A broker's ad must carry the broker's name (or licensed business name), a phone number or street address, and a statement that the advertiser is a real estate broker. A salesperson or associate broker may advertise only under the employing broker's business name, and since 2018 any ad naming an agent or a team must show the employing broker's business name in equal or larger type, plus the broker's phone number or street address.
Updated Rules read 2026-09-06
Does a website count as advertising in Michigan?
The statute applies to "any advertisement" to buy, sell, exchange, rent, lease or mortgage real property or a business opportunity, and to advertising "displayed or published" — it does not carve out websites or social media. MCL 339.2512e
“any advertisement to buy, sell, exchange, rent, lease, or mortgage real property or a business opportunity”
What every advertisement must show
For a broker's advertisement: the broker's name or the name under which the broker does business, the broker's telephone number or street address, and a statement that the advertiser is a real estate broker. MCL 339.2512e
“shall include the broker's name or the name under which the broker is conducting business; shall include the broker's telephone number or street address; and shall state that the person doing the advertising is a real estate broker”
For any ad that names an associate broker, a salesperson or a cooperating group under the same broker: the employing broker's telephone number or street address, and the employing broker's business name in equal or greater type size than the agent's or group's name. MCL 339.2512e
“The business name of the employing broker, in equal or greater type size than the name of the associate broker, salesperson, or cooperating group.”
Websites specifically
The statute has no website-specific clause; a site is advertising "displayed or published" like any other. The practical reading is that every page naming you must also carry your employing broker's business name at equal or larger size, with the broker's phone or street address. MCL 339.2512e
Team names
Michigan does not use the word "team"; the statute speaks of a "cooperating group of associate brokers or salespersons employed by the same real estate broker". Advertising that names the group must carry the employing broker's business name in equal or greater type, and the broker's phone number or street address. MCL 339.2512e
A broker may not do business or advertise under any name other than the one on its license, or an assumed name authorised by law and notified to the department (with the application, or within 30 days of adopting it). MCL 339.2512e
What gets agents in trouble
A salesperson or associate broker advertising other than under the supervision, and in the business name, of the employing broker. MCL 339.2512e
A salesperson advertising property for sale in their own name unless it is their principal residence, or for rent or lease in their own name unless they own it. MCL 339.2512e
A broker or associate broker advertising property they personally own in their own name without stating affirmatively that they are a licensed broker or associate broker. MCL 339.2512e
A broker advertising under a name that is neither the licensed name nor a lawfully authorised assumed name. MCL 339.2512e
Worth knowing
Michigan does not require a license number in advertising under §2512e; it requires the broker's name, a phone number or street address, and the broker status statement. MCL 339.2512e
Dates: added by 2016 Public Act 502, effective 29 March 2017; the equal-or-greater-type requirement applies to advertising displayed or published on or after 1 January 2018. MCL 339.2512e
Every SiteCurb site has a broker-disclosure footer on every page: your name, your brokerage, your license number, and the disclosure text your state expects, next to your contact details and never in smaller type than the rest of the footer. Fill it in once and it is on every page, including listings.
How many agents this applies to
3,683 real estate agents were working in Michigan when we last counted, across 38brokerage offices. That is agents with a live profile on a brokerage's own site, not everyone holding a licence, so it is the population these rules actually bind day to day. The Michigan brokerage directory breaks it down office by office. Counted 2026-09-13.
Sources
This page paraphrases the rules; the rules themselves are what bind you. Each was read on the date shown. If the LARA changes a rule, the page will lag until it is read again.
- MCL 339.2512e — Advertisement (Occupational Code, Act 299 of 1980) — read 2026-09-06
- Regulator: Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, Board of Real Estate Brokers and Salespersons
Not legal advice. When a rule and this page disagree, the rule wins; when in doubt, ask your broker or the LARA.
Questions people ask
What has to be on my website in Michigan?
Your employing broker's business name in type at least as large as your own name, plus the broker's telephone number or street address. A site-wide footer that carries both meets it on every page; SiteCurb's disclosure footer does this by default.
Can I advertise my own house for sale under my own name?
As a salesperson, only if it is your principal residence. A broker or associate broker may advertise property they personally own in their own name, but the ad must say affirmatively that they are a licensed broker or associate broker.
Does Michigan have team-name rules like Texas or Colorado?
No prohibited-word list. The statute treats a team as a cooperating group under one broker and requires the broker's business name at equal or larger size, with the broker's phone or address, whenever the group's name appears.