North Carolina · advertising rules
What a real estate agent's website must show in North Carolina
North Carolina's advertising rule is one of the shortest in the country and turns on two things: you need your broker-in-charge's consent and the name of your firm (or sole proprietorship) in every advertisement, and no ad may look like it comes from the owner alone. A "blind ad" is prohibited outright, and the rule says an ad that shows only contact details — a phone number, street address, web address or email — does not count as identifying a broker.
Updated Rules read 2026-09-06
Does a website count as advertising in North Carolina?
The rule covers advertising "any brokerage service" or the sale, purchase, exchange, rent or lease of real estate for others. It names web addresses and email addresses in its blind-ad clause, so a website is plainly within it. 21 NCAC 58A .0105
What every advertisement must show
The name of the firm or sole proprietorship you are affiliated with, in every advertisement of brokerage services or of property for others. 21 NCAC 58A .0105
“without the consent of his or her broker-in-charge and without including in the advertisement the name of the firm or sole proprietorship with which the broker is affiliated”
A clear indication that the advertisement is that of a broker or firm — not just contact details. 21 NCAC 58A .0105
“Every such advertisement shall indicate that it is the advertisement of a broker or firm and shall not be confined to publication of only contact information, such as a post office box number, telephone number, street address, internet web address, or e-mail address.”
Websites specifically
There is no website-specific subsection. Your site is an advertisement, so the firm's name and the fact that it is a broker's advertisement must be on it; a bare web address or email address does not satisfy the rule on its own. 21 NCAC 58A .0105NCREC, License Law and Rules Comments
Every ad needs your broker-in-charge's consent. The Commission's commentary reads this as authority to advertise at all — including a personal website that markets brokerage services. 21 NCAC 58A .0105NCREC, License Law and Rules Comments
Team names
Rule .0105 has no team-name provisions and no relative-size requirement between your name and the firm's. The requirement is simply that the firm's name appears, and that the ad is identifiable as a broker's. 21 NCAC 58A .0105
What gets agents in trouble
Blind ads: advertising property for others in a way that suggests the offer is being made by the owner alone. 21 NCAC 58A .0105
Advertising any brokerage service, or property for others, without the broker-in-charge's consent. 21 NCAC 58A .0105
Displaying a "for sale" or "for rent" sign, or otherwise advertising any real estate, without the written consent of the owner or the owner's authorised agent. 21 NCAC 58A .0105
Worth knowing
North Carolina does not require a license number in advertising under Rule .0105; it requires the firm's name and that the ad reads as a broker's advertisement. 21 NCAC 58A .0105
Limited nonresident commercial brokers must follow Rule .1809 for any advertising about their North Carolina status. 21 NCAC 58A .0105
Dates: effective 1 February 1976; most recently amended effective 1 July 2018 and 1 July 2021. 21 NCAC 58A .0105
Every SiteCurb site has a broker-disclosure footer on every page, listings included: your name, your brokerage and your license number, plus a disclosure field for the text and links your state requires (Texas agents get a one-click helper for the two TREC links). Fill it in once and it is on every page.
How many agents this applies to
7,489 real estate agents were working in North Carolina when we last counted, across 59 brokerage 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 North Carolina 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 NCREC changes a rule, the page will lag until it is read again.
- 21 NCAC 58A .0105 — Advertising — read 2026-09-06
- NCREC, License Law and Rules Comments — Advertising [Rule A.0105] — read 2026-09-06
- Regulator: North Carolina Real Estate Commission
Not legal advice. When a rule and this page disagree, the rule wins; when in doubt, ask your broker or the NCREC.
Questions people ask
What does my North Carolina website need to show?
Your firm's name, and enough to make clear the site is a broker's advertisement — your name with "Broker" or "REALTOR®" and the firm name in a footer does that. Contact details alone are not enough. SiteCurb's footer carries your name and firm on every page; put your license status ("Broker" or "REALTOR®") in its disclosure field and it shows there too.
Does the firm's name have to be a certain size?
No. Unlike Illinois, Georgia or Michigan, North Carolina's rule sets no size relationship between your name and the firm's; it only requires the firm's name to be included.
Do I need permission from my broker-in-charge for my own website?
Yes. The rule requires the broker-in-charge's consent for advertising any brokerage service. Get it in writing once and keep it on file.