Ohio · advertising rules
What a real estate agent's website must show in Ohio
Ohio's advertising rule, Ohio Adm.Code 1301:5-1-02, is detailed. It defines advertising to include websites, email, social networking sites and blogs; requires the brokerage's name on every viewable page of a website, at least as prominent as the salesperson's name; and requires a licensee's website to show the date it was last updated and to fix outdated or expired information within fourteen days.
Updated Rules read 2026-10-07
Does a website count as advertising in Ohio?
Yes, by name. The rule defines advertising as any way a licensee makes properties or licensed services known to the public, and its list includes internet websites, email, social networking sites and blogs. Private communications a client or prospect asked for, password-protected websites included, are not advertising. Ohio Adm.Code 1301:5-1-02
“Internet websites, … Email, … Social networking sites, … Blogs”
What every advertisement must show
Every licensee who advertises is identified in the ad by name, and the name is the one on the license (or a broker's approved trade name). Ohio Adm.Code 1301:5-1-02
“shall be identified in such advertisement by name”
The brokerage's name, at least as prominent as the salesperson's name, in all advertising the licensee or brokerage owns or directly controls, websites included. Ohio Adm.Code 1301:5-1-02
“The name of the brokerage shall be displayed at least in equal prominence with the name of the salesperson in all advertising, including internet websites, that are within the ownership or direct control of the licensee or the brokerage”
A broker approved to do business under a trade name advertises in that trade name, as it appears on the license (and, with more than one, in at least one of them). Ohio Adm.Code 1301:5-1-02
Websites specifically
The brokerage's name on every viewable page of the website. A page counts whether or not it scrolls past the edge of the screen. Ohio Adm.Code 1301:5-1-02
“shall disclose the name of the brokerage on every viewable web page of the website”
The website must show the date its information was last updated, and outdated or expired information must be updated within fourteen days. If a third party runs the site for you, sending them a timely written notice of the change protects you if they fail to make it. Ohio Adm.Code 1301:5-1-02
“shall be updated within fourteen days of the information becoming outdated or expired. Each website maintained by a licensee shall disclose the date upon which the information contained therein was most recently updated.”
Short-form electronic messages (limited information or characters) must give a direct link to a display that meets the every-page rule. On a site you do not own or control whose terms stop you complying, put a direct link to a compliant display on every viewable page. Ohio Adm.Code 1301:5-1-02
These duties cover advertising and website content within your ownership or direct control; you are not responsible for the accuracy of your information after someone else copies it to their site. Ohio Adm.Code 1301:5-1-02
Team names
The rule has no team-specific provision. Any ad that names you, a team's included, still needs the brokerage's name at least as prominent as the salesperson's name, and on a website, the brokerage's name on every viewable page. Ohio Adm.Code 1301:5-1-02
What gets agents in trouble
Advertising, or altering the information of, a listing that is not with your brokerage, unless the owner or the owner's agent has given written permission and the ad names the listing brokerage in the same or larger type as the property description. Ohio Adm.Code 1301:5-1-02
“unless the licensee has first secured written permission of the owner or owner's authorized agent and fully discloses in the advertisement the name of the listing brokerage, in the same or larger size type as used to describe the property”
Showing the brokerage's name less prominently than the salesperson's name, on a website or anywhere else you control. Ohio Adm.Code 1301:5-1-02
Leaving outdated or expired information on your website longer than fourteen days. Ohio Adm.Code 1301:5-1-02
Worth knowing
You may advertise in a first name other than the one on your license, or your maiden name, if it is not misleading and is registered with the Division. Ohio Adm.Code 1301:5-1-02
"Inc." or "Co." need not appear in a brokerage's ads, and "Realty", "Real Estate" and authorised franchise names or insignia may be used. Ohio Adm.Code 1301:5-1-02
Rule 1301:5-1-02 does not require a license number in advertising; it requires names, the brokerage's name and prominence, and the website duties above. Ohio Adm.Code 1301:5-1-02
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
9,364 real estate agents were working in Ohio when we last counted, across 79 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 Ohio brokerage directory breaks it down office by office. Counted 2026-10-07.
Sources
This page paraphrases the rules; the rules themselves are what bind you. Each was read on the date shown. If the Division changes a rule, the page will lag until it is read again.
- Ohio Adm.Code 1301:5-1-02 — Advertising — read 2026-10-07
- Regulator: Ohio Department of Commerce, Division of Real Estate and Professional Licensing
Not legal advice. When a rule and this page disagree, the rule wins; when in doubt, ask your broker or the Division.
Questions people ask
What has to be on my website in Ohio?
The brokerage's name on every viewable page, at least as prominent as your own name, and the date the site was last updated. Outdated or expired information, a sold listing for example, has to come down or be corrected within fourteen days. On SiteCurb the broker-disclosure footer carries the brokerage on every page; add the last-updated date to the disclosure field and change it when you update the site.
Can I put other brokers' listings on my site?
Only with the owner's (or their agent's) written permission, and the ad must name the listing brokerage in type at least as large as the property description.
Does a text, a tweet or a short ad need the brokerage name?
If there isn't room, the rule asks for a direct link to a display that does carry it. The same applies on third-party sites whose terms stop you complying.