What a real estate agent's website must show in South Carolina

Does a website count as advertising in South Carolina?

• Yes. The requirements apply to advertising "in any medium", and the statute speaks to the internet and electronic media directly. S.C. Code §40-57-135

  “When advertising his real estate services or marketing real estate owned, in whole or in part, by another person in any medium, a licensee clearly must: (a) Identify the full name of the real estate brokerage firm”

What every advertisement must show

• The full name of the real estate brokerage firm you are employed and supervised by, clearly identified. S.C. Code §40-57-135

• If the firm operates under a trade or franchise name, the identity of the franchisee or holder of the trade name, clearly revealed. S.C. Code §40-57-135

• When the property is your own (a personal transaction), your license status, clearly revealed in advertising or marketing in any media. S.C. Code §40-57-135

Websites specifically

• On the internet or other electronic media, the firm-name requirement can be met with a link from the advertisement to the homepage of the brokerage firm (or property management company). S.C. Code §40-57-135

  “If advertising on the Internet or in another electronic media, the above requirements may be met by including a link from the advertisement to the homepage of the brokerage firm or property management company.”

Team names

• Team advertising must contain the team name and the full name of the brokerage firm, displayed conspicuously; the firm name is to be displayed prominently and visibly, in a meaningful and conspicuous way, on all methods of advertising. S.C. Code §40-57-360

  “Team advertising must contain the team name and the full name of the real estate brokerage firm displayed in a conspicuous way.”

• No team may imply it is a separate entity from its brokerage, and team names may not include "realty", "real estate", "realtors" or similar terms suggesting a brokerage. S.C. Code §40-57-360

  “Team names may not include the terms "realty", "real estate", "realtors", or similar terms suggesting a brokerage.”

• Coming change: from May 15, 2027, all team advertising must carry the firm's full name, the team name may be no more than twice the size, prominence or frequency of the firm name, and team names must end in "[team name] team at [brokerage firm name]". S.C. Code §40-57-360

What gets agents in trouble

• Advertising or marketing someone else's property without a written listing agreement between the owner and your brokerage firm. S.C. Code §40-57-135

• Advertising another firm's listing without written authorization from the listing firm, or without acknowledging the listing firm clearly and conspicuously in the ad. S.C. Code §40-57-135

  “Licensees not associated with the listing brokerage firm may advertise real estate owned, in whole or in part, by another person only if they have written authorization from the listing brokerage firm and acknowledge the listing brokerage firm in the advertisement in a clear and conspicuous way.”

• A team name or team advertising that suggests the team is a brokerage separate from the firm. S.C. Code §40-57-360

Worth knowing

• The statute does not require a license number in advertising; it requires the firm's full name (or a link to the firm's homepage online) and, for your own property, your license status. S.C. Code §40-57-135

How many agents this applies to

3,486 real estate agents were working in South Carolina when we last counted, across 32 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 South Carolina 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 Commission changes a rule, the page will lag until it is read again.

• S.C. Code §40-57-135 — Duties of broker-in-charge and licensees (E)-(F) — read 2026-10-07
• S.C. Code §40-57-360 — Broker-in-charge responsible for team supervision — read 2026-10-07
• Regulator: South Carolina Real Estate Commission (Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation)

Not legal advice. When a rule and this page disagree, the rule wins; when in doubt, ask your broker or the Commission.

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