Brokerage Relationships (Agency Law)
Fourteen of forty items. Ohio's agency law runs from ORC 4735.51 to 4735.74, and the single most-missed point in it is that two different documents carry two different clocks: the written agency AGREEMENT under ORC 4735.55, and the agency disclosure STATEMENT under ORC 4735.58.
The Written Agency Agreement — an Asymmetric Trigger
ORC 4735.55(B), as amended by HB 96 of the 136th General Assembly and effective September 30, 2025, requires a written agency agreement before "(1) Advertising or showing residential real property on behalf of a seller; (2) Making an offer to purchase residential real property on behalf of a purchaser; (3) Making an offer to lease a residential premises on behalf of a tenant for a term exceeding eighteen months." Showing triggers the requirement only on the seller's side. Ohio does not require a buyer agency agreement before showing a buyer a house — the buyer-side trigger is making the offer. Scope is residential real property, meaning one to four dwelling units (ORC 5302.30(A)(4)); commercial work is outside the section, and leases only above eighteen months. Note that an earlier version of this section, enacted by HB 466 and effective October 24, 2024, was superseded; citations to that text are stale.
Seven Mandatory Contents
ORC 4735.55(C) requires every written agency agreement to contain an expiration date; the fair housing statement citing ORC 4112.02(H) and 42 U.S.C.A. 3601; a statement defining blockbusting and stating that it is illegal; a copy of the HUD equal housing opportunity logotype per 24 C.F.R. 109.30; a statement that the licensee is appointed as agent, indicating whether the relationship is exclusive or nonexclusive; the terms of the broker's compensation; and a conspicuous statement that "broker fees and commissions are not set by law, are fully negotiable, and may be paid by the seller, the buyer, the landlord, the tenant, or a third party, or by sharing or splitting the fees and commissions between brokers." Division (D) adds a place for both parties to sign and date; division (E) requires timely delivery of a copy. The expiration date is required — ORC 4735.18(A)(28) disciplines a broker who omits it — but the chapter sets no default term and no maximum.
The Agency Disclosure Statement
A separate document with a separate deadline. ORC 4735.58(A)(1) requires the purchaser's agent or seller's subagent working with a purchaser to present the agency disclosure statement and request a signature "no later than the preparation of an offer to purchase or lease, or a written request for a proposal to lease," and to have the seller sign before the seller receives a written offer. At auction the licensee discloses verbally to the audience before the sale and gives the statement to the successful bidder before signing. The statement's contents are prescribed by ORC 4735.57. Non-compliance is prima-facie evidence of misconduct under ORC 4735.18(A)(6). The disclosure requirements do not apply to residential leases performable in eighteen months or less, referrals, foreign real estate, or cemetery lots.
Permitted Relationships and Dual Agency
ORC 4735.53(A) limits a licensee to four relationships: with the seller, with the purchaser, dual agency with both, or subagency for another licensee's client. When one licensee forms an agency relationship, so do the brokerage, its supervising management level licensees, any affiliated licensee who receives confidential information, anyone who helped establish the relationship, and anyone specifically appointed with the client's consent (ORC 4735.53(B)). Dual agents are defined in ORC 4735.70, and no dual agency may proceed unless both parties have full knowledge and consent in writing on the agency disclosure statement (ORC 4735.71(A)). For an in-company transaction the brokerage must have a procedure under ORC 4735.54 walling off confidential information, and each licensee serves only their own client (ORC 4735.71(B)). A licensee who is a party to the transaction may not participate in dual agency at all (ORC 4735.71(C)). Changing sides mid-transaction requires written consent from the party originally represented (ORC 4735.59).
Duties, Waiver, and What Survives the Deal
ORC 4735.62 makes the licensee a fiduciary and lists the duties: reasonable skill and care, performing the agency agreement, following lawful instructions, loyalty, compliance with fair housing law, disclosing non-confidential material facts, advising the client to seek expert advice where appropriate, timely accounting for money and property, and confidentiality. Those duties may not be waived (ORC 4735.621(A)). The transaction-specific seller and purchaser duties in ORC 4735.63 and 4735.65 may be waived on the signed waiver of duties statement prescribed by OAC 1301:5-5-30. A licensee must disclose to any purchaser material facts about the physical condition of the property that the licensee actually knows and a diligent inspection would not reveal (ORC 4735.67), is not liable for a client's false information absent actual knowledge or reckless disregard (ORC 4735.68), and may assist a non-client with referrals and public information without creating agency (ORC 4735.69). After the deal ends, only two duties survive: an accounting, and confidentiality — subject to six exceptions including client permission, court order, information already public, preventing a crime the client intends, defending against an accusation or a commission claim, and sales data for a licensed appraiser (ORC 4735.74).
Own Property, the Practice of Law, Status Claims, and the Canons
A licensee may not act as licensee and undisclosed principal in the same transaction (ORC 4735.18(A)(15)), must indicate in advertising that property the licensee owns is agent owned (ORC 4735.16(B)(2)), and may not take an undisclosed commission, rebate or direct profit on expenditures made for a principal (ORC 4735.18(A)(13)). Nothing in Chapter 4735 authorizes a licensee to perform any service constituting the practice of law (ORC 4735.02(A)), and doing so as determined by a court is a disciplinary ground (ORC 4735.18(A)(32)). Falsely claiming membership in a real estate professional association is a separate ground (ORC 4735.18(A)(12)), as is misleading or materially inaccurate advertising (ORC 4735.18(A)(21)). The canons of ethics for the real estate industry are adopted by the Ohio Real Estate Commission under the statutory duty in ORC 4735.03(A), promulgated and published under ORC 4735.07(C), and broker candidates are examined on them.
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State-specific details
State exam facts
- Exam vendor
- PSI
- Prelicensing education
- 240 hours of eligible courses at an institution of higher education (40 real estate practice, 40 Ohio real estate law and civil rights, 20 appraisal, 20 finance, and 30 each in financial management, human resource management, applied business economics and business law)
- Passing score
- 75%
- Scored questions
- 115
- Time limit
- 180 minutes
Who regulates real estate brokers in Ohio?
The Ohio Division of Real Estate & Professional Licensing, within the Ohio Department of Commerce, licenses brokers and salespersons. The Division contracts with PSI to deliver the licensing examinations, and the five-member Ohio Real Estate Commission adopts the canons of ethics and decides discipline.
What experience do I need before the Ohio broker exam?
Under ORC 4735.07(B)(5) an applicant must have been "a licensed real estate broker or salesperson for at least two of the five years preceding the person's application" and have completed either at least twenty real estate transactions in which property was sold for another while acting as a broker or salesperson, or equivalent experience, which OAC 1301:5-3-04(D) leaves to Commission review. Watch how those transactions are counted: under OAC 1301:5-3-04(A) a completed sale counts as one-half transaction to the procuring agent and one-half to the listing agent, so twenty "transactions" is not twenty closings. ORC 4735.07(B)(6)(b) then requires 240 hours of eligible courses at an institution of higher education — 40 hours of real estate practice, 40 of Ohio real estate law and civil rights, 20 of appraisal, 20 of finance, and 30 each in financial management, human resource or personnel management, applied business economics and business law. No degree is required; these are course hours. (2025's HB 238 cut the appraisal and finance hours for the salesperson license only — the broker figures are still 20 and 20.)
How is the Ohio broker exam structured?
PSI delivers two portions in one session: a national portion of 75 items scored to 80 points in 120 minutes, and an Ohio state portion of 40 items worth 40 points in 60 minutes — 115 questions and 120 points over 180 minutes in total. A broker must score at least 75% on each portion, and there is no limit on retakes under ORC 4735.07(F). The state portion is weighted 4 items on state governance, 6 on licensing requirements, 16 on license law and Commission rules, and 14 on brokerage relationships (agency law).
What must a new Ohio broker do in the first year?
ORC 4735.07(G) requires a new broker to submit proof of ten hours of Commission-approved post-licensure instruction no later than twelve months after the license is issued. Missing that suspends the license automatically, and a further twelve months without proof revokes it. Thereafter the license renews on a three-year cycle on the licensee's birthday, with 30 hours of continuing education that must include a three-hour course on the duties of a principal broker (ORC 4735.141).
Sources: https://com.ohio.gov/divisions-and-programs/real-estate-and-professional-licensing/salespersons-and-brokers/guides-and-resources/salesperson-and-broker-candidate-information-bulletin, https://test-takers.psiexams.com/api/content/bulletin/1001, https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-4735.07
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