Broker Responsibilities
Six items - the largest Iowa area, and the reason the broker exam is harder than the salesperson exam. Most of it is rule 481-Chapter 2007 (offices, supervision, prohibited practices), with recordkeeping in rule 481-Chapter 2013, advertising in rule 481-Chapter 2010, and the statutory supervision duty in section 543B.62(3).
Offices, the Designated Broker, and Supervision
Section 543B.31 requires every resident broker to maintain a place of business in Iowa, with a duplicate branch office license for each additional location; a nonresident broker need not, provided an active place of business is kept in the state of domicile. More than one broker may share an address if each keeps records and trust accounts separate and operates under a name identifying that broker. Every actively licensed broker associate and salesperson is licensed under one broker, and never under more than one at a time. Section 543B.5(12) defines the designated broker as the licensee designated to act for the agency; section 543B.62(3)"b" makes a broker responsible for supervising every salesperson or broker associate, and provides that an independent contractor relationship or special compensation arrangement relieves nobody of the chapter's duties. Rule 481-2007.10 lists the factors the commission weighs in judging supervision - availability of the broker, knowledge of staff activities, training, review of market analyses and contracts, staff meetings, written policy manuals, the supervisor-to-licensee ratio, and pairing an experienced licensee with new ones - and rule 481-2007.11(4) requires a broker sponsoring a first-year salesperson to show the time and experience to supervise an inexperienced licensee.
Notification, Compensation and Prohibited Practices
Rule 481-2007.2 gives a broker five working days to tell the commission of a new entity or a change in business form, a change of license type, or a change of business address, and five working days for a licensee's change of residence or mailing address; a terminated salesperson's license must reach the commission within 72 hours (section 543B.33, rule 481-2006.1). Section 543B.34(1)"e" bars a salesperson or broker associate from accepting compensation from anyone but the employing broker, with one exception in section 543B.34(1)"i"(2): a broker may pay a corporation wholly owned by the licensee, or owned with a spouse, if that corporation performs no activity requiring a license, the broker is not relieved of supervision, and the licensee is not relieved of personal civil liability. Paying an unlicensed person for brokerage activity is otherwise prohibited. Rule 481-2007.4 bars tying arrangements between lot sales and building contracts or mortgage referrals, rule 481-2007.5 bars loan finder fees, rule 481-2007.6 bars lotteries, and section 543B.60A bars requesting a referral fee after a bona fide offer is accepted or a listing signed. Rule 481-2007.15 requires all written offers to be promptly presented, with back-up offers presented until closing unless the seller has agreed otherwise in writing.
Advertising, Records and Winding Down
Section 543B.25 and rule 481-2010.1 require an individual licensee or real estate team to conspicuously display the brokerage name immediately before or after their own in any advertising, and bar an advertisement showing only a post office box, telephone number or street address, or suggesting the offer comes from a private party. Advertising includes signs, letterhead, email, websites, social media, business cards and brokerage checks; websites and electronic communications must also show the registered firm name without abbreviation, the city and state of the office, and the states where the license is held. All advertising is under the broker's supervision, and a material error or violating advertisement is corrected promptly and within ten calendar days. Salespersons and broker associates may not advertise under their own names except for a genuine for-sale-by-owner sale of their own property on which no brokerage fee is paid. Rule 481-2013.5 requires five-year retention of true copies of all books, accounts, records, contracts, closing statements, disclosures, signed documents, listings, offers and correspondence for each transaction and each property managed, with electronic storage permitted where copies stay legible and retrievable. Rule 481-Chapter 2008 sets the steps for closing a firm: notify the commission, tell licensees and return their licenses within 72 hours, notify clients and co-brokers in writing that they may engage another broker, remove advertising, keep trust accounts open until the money is properly transferred, and arrange for pending contracts to be closed by a lender, escrow company or attorney - with records kept for a minimum of five years by a named custodian.
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State-specific details
State exam facts
- State regulator
- Iowa Real Estate Commission (DIAL)
- Exam vendor
- PSI
- Scored questions
- 115
- Time limit
- 180 minutes
Who regulates real estate brokers in Iowa?
The Iowa Real Estate Commission, now within the Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing (DIAL), licenses brokers and salespersons. The Commission contracts with PSI to deliver the exams.
What experience do I need before the Iowa broker exam?
Iowa Code § 543B.15(7) requires 24 months as a licensed salesperson actively engaged in real estate (or substantially equal experience) plus 60 contact hours of Commission-approved broker education completed within the 24 months before the broker exam — on top of the salesperson pre-license course.
How is the Iowa broker exam structured?
PSI bulletin 120 sets the broker exam at 115 scored questions in 180 minutes: a 75-question national portion scored to 80 points (pass 60 points, 120 minutes) and a 40-question Iowa portion worth 40 points (pass 30, 60 minutes). Both portions must be passed. The national portion is scored by points because some national broker items are worth two points.
Sources: https://dial.iowa.gov/licenses/other-professional-licensure/real-estate-licensees, https://test-takers.psiexams.com/api/content/bulletin/120
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