Tennessee Real Estate Broker Exam — All Questions

Under Tenn. Comp. R. and Regs. 1260-02-.12, all advertising by a Tennessee firm and its licensees must:

• a.be under the direct supervision of the principal broker and list the firm name and firm telephone number✓
• b.be submitted to the Commission for written approval before it is placed in any paid advertising medium
• c.be limited to the advertising media that the firm identified on its most recent license renewal application
• d.be reviewed by the firm's attorney whenever the advertisement names an individual licensee

Tenn. Comp. R. and Regs. 1260-02-.12(3)(b) requires that all advertising be under the direct supervision of the principal broker and list the firm name and the firm telephone number as listed on file with the Commission, with the firm name appearing in letters the same size or larger than the name of any licensee, team, or group. Subparagraph (c) adds that advertising referring to an individual licensee must use that licensee's name as licensed. Rule 1260-02-.12(1) defines advertising broadly enough to reach signs, flyers, letterheads, e-mail signatures, websites, social media, and streamed audio or video, while excluding promotional items such as hats, pens, and business cards. The Commission does not pre-approve advertisements, does not restrict a firm to media named on a renewal, and imposes no attorney review requirement.

Before posting a sign advertising a property for sale, a Tennessee licensee must have:

• a.verbal permission from any adult occupant of the advertised property, obtained on site
• b.a copy of the most recent recorded deed for the advertised property in the transaction file
• c.approval from the local government authority that issued the property's zoning permit
• d.written authorization from the owner of the advertised property or the owner's agent✓

Tenn. Comp. R. and Regs. 1260-02-.12(3)(d) provides that no licensee shall post a sign in any location advertising property for sale, purchase, exchange, rent, or lease without written authorization from the owner of the advertised property or the owner's agent. Subparagraph (e) is the companion rule for someone else's listing: no licensee shall advertise property listed by another licensee without written authorization from the listing agent or listing broker. Tenn. Code Ann. section 62-13-310(b) adds that a licensee may not post a sign advertising himself as a real estate agent unless the firm's name appears in letters the same size or larger than the licensee's name. Verbal permission from an occupant, a recorded deed, and a zoning permit do none of this work.

Under the Commission's advertising rule, licensees who hold themselves out as a team within a Tennessee firm advertise falsely when the team name:

• a.includes the surname of the team member who has held a Tennessee real estate license for the longest time
• b.appears in letters smaller than the firm name wherever the two names appear together
• c.appears on a sign that also carries the firm name and the firm telephone number
• d.uses terms such as "Realty," "Company," or "LLC" that suggest services independent of the firm✓

Tenn. Comp. R. and Regs. 1260-02-.12(3)(f)2 lists as false, misleading, or deceptive advertising any use by a team, group, or similar entity within a firm of terms such as Real Estate, Real Estate Brokerage, Realty, Company, Corporation, LLC, Corp., Inc., Associates, or similar terms that would lead the public to believe the team offers brokerage services independent of the firm and principal broker. Rule 1260-02-.41 reinforces this: team members must all be affiliated with the same licensed firm, may not keep a separate physical location, may not be compensated by anyone other than their principal broker, and may not represent themselves as a separate entity. Using a member's surname is permitted, and the last two choices describe compliant advertising, since the firm name must be the same size or larger and the firm name and telephone number must appear.

A Tennessee firm's website displays listings drawn from an outside database. Besides showing the firm name and firm telephone number on each page, the Commission's internet advertising rule requires each such page to:

• a.show the Tennessee license number and photograph of every licensee currently affiliated with the firm
• b.link to the Commission's public licensee verification search page for each listing displayed
• c.state that some or all of the listings may not belong to the firm whose website is being visited✓
• d.display the date and the time at which the outside listing database was most recently updated in full

Tenn. Comp. R. and Regs. 1260-02-.12(5) sets three internet requirements. Subparagraph (a) requires the firm name and firm telephone number on file with the Commission to appear conspicuously on each page of the website. Subparagraph (b) requires each page displaying listings from an outside database of available properties to include a statement that some or all of the listings may not belong to the firm whose website is being visited. Subparagraph (c) requires listing information to be kept current and accurate, expressly limited to first generation advertising placed by the licensee rather than syndicated copies outside the licensee's control. License numbers, photographs, verification links, and database timestamps are not required by the rule.

A Tennessee licensee advertises a specific property using a national franchise trade name. The Commission's advertising rule requires the advertisement to show, adjacent to the property advertised:

• a.the franchise's national headquarters address and its toll-free consumer service telephone number
• b.the licensee's name, firm name, and firm telephone number, all as registered with the Commission✓
• c.the licensee's Tennessee license number and the calendar date on which the listing was taken by the firm
• d.the property owner's name and the calendar date on which the firm's listing agreement will expire

Tenn. Comp. R. and Regs. 1260-02-.12(4)(a) requires any licensee using a franchise trade name or advertising as a member of a cooperative group to indicate clearly and unmistakably his name, firm name, and firm telephone number, all as registered with the Tennessee Real Estate Commission, adjacent to any specific properties advertised for sale or lease in any media. Subparagraph (b) extends the same requirement to business cards, contracts, and other transaction documents bearing a franchise trade name. Rule 1260-02-.12(3)(f)1 separately makes it false or misleading to advertise using only the franchise name without the firm name. Nothing in the rule calls for the franchise's headquarters details, a license number, a listing date, or the owner's name.

Tennessee law bars a licensee from giving or paying cash rebates, cash gifts, or cash prizes in connection with a real estate transaction. Under the Commission's current gifts and prizes rule, a licensee may still:

• a.mail a cash rebate to a buyer after the deed has been recorded
• b.advertise a cash prize drawing open to every consumer who tours one of the firm's listings
• c.give a gift card at an open house held for other real estate licensees✓
• d.pay a cash finder's fee to an unlicensed neighbor who refers a seller

Tenn. Code Ann. section 62-13-302(b) prohibits a licensee from giving or paying cash rebates, cash gifts, or cash prizes in conjunction with any real estate transaction, and authorizes the Commission to regulate gifts, prizes, and rebates that are not otherwise prohibited. Tenn. Comp. R. and Regs. 1260-02-.33(2), as amended effective September 23, 2025, restates that prohibition for cash, gift cards, and similar cash-based incentives and then carves out two narrow exceptions: a gift card offered at an open house for other real estate licensees, and a gift card given as a closing gift. Subparagraph (c) adds that a closing-gift gift card may not be used in any advertisement to induce business. Rule 1260-02-.33(1) also requires any noncash inducement to be sponsored and approved by the firm and offered in a signed writing that discloses the item, its fair market value, the time and place of delivery, and any conditions. Paying an unlicensed person for a referral separately violates section 62-13-302(a).

Under the Commission's social media advertising rule, the firm name and firm telephone number on file with the Commission must be:

• a.repeated in the text of every individual post
• b.no more than one click away from the viewable page✓
• c.shown in the first line of the account biography
• d.included in the caption of every photograph posted

Tenn. Comp. R. and Regs. 1260-02-.12(6)(a) defines social media as internet-based applications or platforms that allow the public to create and share content and information, naming Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn as examples. Subparagraph (b) sets the disclosure standard: the firm name and firm telephone number listed on file with the Commission must be no more than one click away from the viewable page. That is a deliberate relaxation of the website rule in 1260-02-.12(5)(a), which requires the firm name and telephone number on each page, and it accommodates platforms with limited space in a post. Subparagraph (c) still requires listing information in first generation social media advertising to be kept current and accurate.