Real Estate Brokerage Relationships (Agency), Chapter 18.86 RCW
Area III(b) is worth 7 of the 44 state items. Washington replaced common-law agency for licensees with a statute, and the 2023 and 2026 amendments changed several answers that older study material still gets wrong.
Statutory duties, not fiduciary duties
RCW 18.86.110 says it plainly: 'the duties under this chapter are statutory duties and not fiduciary duties. This chapter supersedes the fiduciary duties of an agent to a principal under the common law.' The common law still governs the parties in other respects, and the chapter is construed broadly. RCW 18.86.030(1) then lists the duties owed to the principal and to all parties, none of which may be waived: reasonable skill and care; honesty and good faith; timely presentation of all written offers, notices, and communications; disclosure of all existing material facts known to the broker and not apparent or readily ascertainable; timely accounting for money and property; delivery of the statutory pamphlet with an acknowledgment of receipt; and written disclosure of whom the broker represents.
How the relationship is created, and the services agreement
Under RCW 18.86.020(1) a broker performing services for a buyer is a buyer's agent unless the firm appointed her to represent the seller, appointed her to both under separate services agreements as a limited dual agent, or she is the seller. Since 2023 c 318, effective January 1, 2024, subsection (2)(a) requires the firm to enter a services agreement with the principal 'before, or as soon as reasonably practical after' its appointed broker begins rendering services — a start-of-services trigger, not a pre-showing gate, and the old facts-based default for a licensee working with no written agreement is gone. The agreement must state the term, with a default of 60 days for a buyer and the option of a longer term (a default, not a cap); the appointed broker; whether the relationship is exclusive or nonexclusive, with checkbox options for a buyer; and the principal's consent to limited dual agency. No services agreement is required where the broker acts as a buyer's agent solely for commercial real estate.
Limited dual agency
Washington's term is limited dual agent. RCW 18.86.060(1) permits it 'only with the written consent of both parties to the transaction, set forth in the services agreement,' and RCW 18.86.020(2)(b)(iv) requires that consent to be separately initialed by the principal and to acknowledge that a limited dual agent may not advocate terms favorable to one principal to the detriment of the other. The limited dual agent owes both parties the RCW 18.86.030 duties plus no adverse action, timely disclosure of conflicts, advice to seek expert help, and confidentiality that survives termination. Subsection (5) covers the in-house case: where different brokers in the same firm represent different parties, each appointed broker solely represents her own party, while the designated broker and any managing broker supervising both is a limited dual agent — which is why the services agreement separately records consent to that.
Disclosure, the pamphlet, and public marketing
Two written disclosures run on different clocks. The pamphlet prescribed by RCW 18.86.120 goes to a party the broker serves as soon as reasonably practical but before that party signs a services agreement, and to an unrepresented party before that party signs an offer or as soon as reasonably practical, in both cases with an acknowledgment of receipt. The agency disclosure under RCW 18.86.030(1)(g) goes out before the broker's principal signs an offer, or as soon as reasonably practical but before mutual agreement, and must sit 'in a separate paragraph titled Agency Disclosure' in the agreement or in a separate writing of that name; the same subsection requires written disclosure of any compensation a party or firm offers the firm representing the other party. Newest of all, RCW 18.86.130, added by 2026 c 57, forbids marketing residential real estate to a limited or exclusive group of buyers or brokers unless it is concurrently marketed to the general public and all other brokers, except as reasonably necessary for the owner's or occupant's health or safety; a violation is a violation of RCW 18.85.361 through RCW 18.86.031.
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State-specific details
State exam facts
- State regulator
- Washington State Department of Licensing (DOL)
- Exam vendor
- PSI
- Prelicensing education
- 90 clock hours beyond the broker license — advanced real estate law, brokerage management and business management, each at least 30 hours — plus 3 years of full-time Washington broker experience
- Passing score
- Scaled score of 75 on each portion (the entry Broker exam passes at 70)
- Scored questions
- 134
- Time limit
- 240 minutes
Who regulates real estate brokers in Washington?
The Washington State Department of Licensing (DOL) regulates real estate licensees under chapter 18.85 RCW; the real estate commission created by RCW 18.85.021 is the director plus six governor-appointed members who act in an advisory capacity. Note Washington's tiered naming: the entry-level license is called 'broker,' while the supervisory tier is 'managing broker.' DOL contracts with PSI to deliver both exams.
What experience do I need before the Washington managing broker exam?
RCW 18.85.111 requires three years of licensed experience as a full-time real estate broker in Washington or a comparable jurisdiction, obtained within the five years before you apply, plus 90 clock hours of instruction that must include advanced real estate law, real estate brokerage management and business management. WAC 308-124A-750 requires each of those courses to run at least 30 hours, carry a comprehensive examination and be completed within three years of applying; WAC 308-124A-713 sets out alternative routes for applicants qualifying by practical experience in an allied business.
How is the Washington managing broker exam structured?
PSI bulletin 4658 gives the managing broker exam a national portion of 90 scored items worth 100 points in 150 minutes and a Washington state portion of 44 scored items worth 48 points in 90 minutes — 134 scored items in 240 minutes together, plus 5 to 10 unscored experimental questions. The state items are not all worth one point: the four 'Scenarios in Real Estate Practice' items are worth two points each, which is why 44 items carry 48 points, and that block appears only on the managing broker exam. The portions are scored separately, you must attain a scaled score of 75 on each, and a passing portion is valid for six months while you complete the other. The entry Broker exam is 100 national plus 30 state items and passes at 70.
Sources: https://test-takers.psiexams.com/api/content/bulletin/4658, https://dol.wa.gov/professional-licenses/real-estate-managing-brokers, https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=18.85, https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=18.86
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