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Texas · advertising rules

What a real estate agent's website must show in Texas

Texas defines advertising to include the Internet, email, text and social media outright. Every ad must show the name of the license holder or team placing it and the broker's name at no less than half the size of the largest contact information on it. On top of that, a business website's homepage must carry two labeled links — to the completed Information About Brokerage Services notice and to the Consumer Protection Notice — in at least 10-point type. Team names must end in "team" or "group" and be registered with TREC.

Updated Rules read 2026-09-06

Does a website count as advertising in Texas?

  • An advertisement is any communication designed to attract the public to brokerage services, and the rule lists the Internet, email, text messages and social media by name. A message to your own current client, and a directional sign carrying only the broker's name or logo, are the only exclusions. 22 TAC §535.155

    “any form of communication by or on behalf of a license holder designed to attract the public to use real estate brokerage services and includes, but is not limited to, all publications, brochures, radio or television broadcasts, all electronic media including email, text messages, social media, the Internet, business stationery, business cards, displays, signs and billboards”

What every advertisement must show

  • The name of the license holder or team placing the advertisement, in a readily noticeable location. 22 TAC §535.155

  • The broker's name, at least half the size of the largest contact information for any sales agent, associated broker or team name in the ad. "Contact information" includes a name, phone number, email address, website address, social media handle or scan code. 22 TAC §535.155

    “the broker's name in at least half the size of the largest contact information for any sales agent, associated broker, or team name contained in the advertisement”

  • Your name exactly as shown on your license, or an alternate name (a nickname, maiden or middle name) that you have registered with TREC first. Common derivatives such as Bill for William count as the licensed name. 22 TAC §535.15422 TAC §535.155

Websites specifically

  • A link to your completed Information About Brokerage Services notice in a readily noticeable place on the homepage of each business website, labeled "Texas Real Estate Commission Information About Brokerage Services" in at least 10-point type, or "TREC Information About Brokerage Services" in at least 12-point type. 22 TAC §531.20

  • A link to the Consumer Protection Notice in a readily noticeable place on the homepage of each business website, labeled "Texas Real Estate Commission Consumer Protection Notice" in at least 10-point type, or "TREC Consumer Protection Notice" in at least 12-point type. 22 TAC §531.18

  • A "business website" is any publicly accessible site that contains information about your brokerage services and whose content you control — which describes an agent's own site exactly. 22 TAC §531.1822 TAC §531.20

    “a website on the internet that: is accessible to the public; contains information about a license holder's real estate brokerage services; and the content of the website is controlled by the license holder”

  • On social media or in a text, the required names may sit on a separate page or on your profile, as long as it is reachable by a direct link and readily noticeable there. The IABS and Consumer Protection links may likewise live on the profile or a directly linked page. 22 TAC §535.15522 TAC §531.1822 TAC §531.20

Team names

  • A team name is a collective name used by one or more license holders under the same broker, other than the broker's licensed or assumed name. It must end with the word "team" or "group", and the broker must register it with TREC before it is used in an advertisement. 22 TAC §535.154

    “A team name must end with the word "team" or "group".”

  • A team name may not include terms that could mislead the public into believing the team offers brokerage services independent of its sponsoring broker — "brokerage", "company" and "associates" are named as examples. 22 TAC §535.15422 TAC §535.155

  • Assumed business names (a broker's DBA) must also be registered with TREC, with written evidence of the legal right to use the name in Texas. The broker must tell TREC within ten days of stopping use of any team, alternate or assumed name. 22 TAC §535.154

What gets agents in trouble

  • Identifying a sales agent as a broker, or using a title, email or web address — owner, president, CEO — that implies a sales agent runs the brokerage. 22 TAC §535.155

  • A team name with "brokerage", "company", "associates" or similar words that imply independence from the broker. 22 TAC §535.155

  • The name or likeness of an unlicensed person without clearly disclosing that they hold no license. 22 TAC §535.155

  • Statements about a property's value unless based on a disclosed appraisal or given in compliance with §535.17. 22 TAC §535.155

  • Advertising another broker's exclusive listing without permission and without naming the listing broker. 22 TAC §535.155

  • Leaving a listed property advertised more than 10 days after the listing ends, or a sold property more than 10 days after closing without stating its current status. 22 TAC §535.155

  • Rebate offers that do not disclose that payment depends on the consent of the party you represent, or on third-party restrictions. 22 TAC §535.155

Worth knowing

  • Texas does not require your license number on advertising under §535.155; it requires your licensed or registered name and the broker's name at the prescribed size. The IABS notice you must link to does carry license numbers. 22 TAC §535.15522 TAC §531.20

  • The IABS link must be a link to a completed notice, and in email it may not be tucked into a footnote or signature block; it needs a specific reference in the body of the email. 22 TAC §531.20

How SiteCurb handles this

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.

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How many agents this applies to

19,823 real estate agents were working in Texas when we last counted, across 120brokerage 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 Texas 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 TREC changes a rule, the page will lag until it is read again.

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

Questions people ask

What exactly has to be on my website's homepage in Texas?

Your name (or registered team name), the broker's name at no less than half the size of the largest contact detail, plus two labeled links: "Texas Real Estate Commission Information About Brokerage Services" and "Texas Real Estate Commission Consumer Protection Notice", each in at least 10-point type (12-point if you use the shorter "TREC …" labels). SiteCurb's Texas footer carries all four on every page.

Does my broker's name have to be as big as mine?

At least half the size of the largest contact information in the ad — so if your name or phone number is the biggest text, the broker's name must be at least half that size.

Can my team be "Garza Realty Group"?

It must end in "team" or "group", which "Garza Realty Group" does — but "Realty" is the kind of term that implies an independent brokerage, and the broker must register the name with TREC before it appears in any ad. "The Garza Group" is the safer form.