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

Does a website count as advertising in Virginia?

• Yes. The Board defines advertising as all communication, through any medium, to consumers for any purpose related to licensed real estate activity, so a website, social media and email are all advertising. 18VAC135-20-10

  “"Advertising" means all communication disseminated through any medium to consumers for any purpose related to licensed real estate activity.”

What every advertisement must show

• A clear, legible and conspicuous advertising disclosure with the firm's name and the office contact information, on all advertising by a firm or an affiliated licensee. 18VAC135-20-190

  “All advertising by a firm or affiliated licensee must contain a clear, legible, and conspicuous advertising disclosure, which must include (i) the firm's name and (ii) the office contact information.”

• The firm's licensed name, clearly and legibly displayed. All advertising is in the firm's name and under the direct supervision of the principal or supervising broker. 18VAC135-20-190

  “The firm's licensed name must be clearly and legibly displayed on all advertising.”

• Whatever else your principal or supervising broker requires: the rule leaves the exact office contact information, and any additional disclosure, to the firm's written policies, and all agent advertising is done under those policies. 18VAC135-20-190

Websites specifically

• The rule has no website-specific provision. A site is advertising like any other, so it carries the firm's name and office contact information in a clear, legible and conspicuous disclosure, in the form your broker's policies set. 18VAC135-20-19018VAC135-20-10

• Property information you control must match the property's condition and current contract status, and must be updated in a timely manner when the listing status or description changes materially. If a third party controls the ad, make a timely written request for the change. 18VAC135-20-190

Team names

• The Board's definitions count a licensed real estate team as an affiliated licensee, so a team's advertising falls under the same rule: in the firm's name, under the broker's supervision and policies, with the firm's name and office contact information. The regulations have no separate team-name rule. 18VAC135-20-1018VAC135-20-190

What gets agents in trouble

• Advertising that is not under the principal or supervising broker's direct supervision or not in the firm's name. 18VAC135-20-190

• Leaving property information that no longer matches the property's condition or contract status, or not updating it in a timely manner after a material change. 18VAC135-20-190

Worth knowing

• The 2026 rule does not require a license number in advertising; it requires the firm's name, the office contact information and whatever the firm's written policies add. 18VAC135-20-190

• Where it applies, the rule also points to the disclosure required by §54.1-2138.1 of the Code of Virginia, which governs acting as a limited service agent. 18VAC135-20-190

How many agents this applies to

4,164 real estate agents were working in Virginia when we last counted, across 46 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 Virginia 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 Board changes a rule, the page will lag until it is read again.

• 18VAC135-20-190 — Advertising by licensees — read 2026-10-07
• 18VAC135-20-10 — Definitions — read 2026-10-07
• Regulator: Virginia Real Estate Board (Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation)

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

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