Look up the license yourself
Search the agent’s name or license number in the Department of Real Estate’s public license lookup. The Department’s guide for first-time buyers says what to read on the record:
- The status. It should read Licensed. Expired, revoked and surrendered licenses do not qualify, and neither does Licensed NBA. For a salesperson, NBA means no broker affiliation, and the person may not do licensed work.
- The responsible broker. A salesperson has to be affiliated with one, and the record names that broker.
- The designated officer, if the license belongs to a corporation.
- The comment section. An H, an R or a D&R there points to a formal administrative action, a recovery claim or a desist and refrain order. Call the Department at 877-373-4542 for the public information behind it.
A restricted license is a probationary license issued after an administrative action. The Department also publishes its disciplinary actions.
The Department warns that unlicensed people have used real licensees’ names. Match the name, the license number and the brokerage on the record to the person you are dealing with. Its guide says to ask for the license and a photo ID, because a business card is not enough.
Find out who does the work
The license record tells you who is licensed. It does not tell you who will work on your sale or purchase.
A team name or a star rating does not show which licensee will tour the home with you, write the offer, negotiate and answer escrow’s questions. Ask for each name and look each one up. Then ask:
- Who writes and negotiates my offer or my listing?
- Who covers when that person is unavailable?
- Who is the responsible broker, and when does the broker get involved?
- What will I receive in writing, and how often?
Ask questions that take local knowledge to answer
The Department’s guide suggests asking about experience in the area where you want to buy, in your price range and with the type of transaction you have in mind. It also says to ask for past client references and for proof of any specialty.
Make the questions specific to the home:
- What sold near this address in the last six months, and what did you adjust for?
- What would you check before I offer on this kind of home?
- For a condo: which loans will this building qualify for, and what do the association’s records show?
- For a newer community: what are the Mello-Roos and association charges on this parcel?
A prepared agent answers with records. Our condo and HOA buyer’s guide and the Eastlake cost checklist show what those records look like.
If you are buying: the agreement comes before the offer
Two rules set the timing, and they are different. California law requires a written buyer representation agreement as soon as practicable, and no later than the moment you sign an offer. The Department of Real Estate’s advisory on the 2025 rules explains it.
The national settlement sets an earlier point for the agents it covers, which the Department says is most licensees: a signed agreement before the agent tours a home with you. The National Association of Realtors’ guide to open houses and written agreements says a live virtual tour counts as a tour.
You do not need an agreement to visit an open house on your own or to ask an agent about services. An agent who is hosting an open house for the seller is not required to have one with the visitors.
The agreement has to cover the agent’s compensation, the services, when the compensation is due and how the agreement ends. Before you sign it, the agent has to give you the state’s agency disclosure form.
For an individual buyer, the agreement cannot last longer than three months. It cannot renew automatically. A renewal has to be in writing, dated and signed, and it is limited to three months as well. An agreement that breaks those rules is void.
Read three more things before you sign:
- Whether it is exclusive, and what happens if you buy a home the agent did not show you.
- The compensation. Under the national settlement the Department describes, the amount you agree on is the most the agent may receive from any source for representing you. The Department says the settlement does not reach licensees who belong to no association and do not use a multiple listing service.
- Who is expected to pay it. You can ask the seller to cover some or all of it as a concession, and the seller can accept or refuse. If the seller refuses, or covers only part, you remain responsible for the rest under your agreement if you go ahead with that home.
Our guide to making an offer shows where this agreement sits in the sequence.
If you are selling: read the term and what triggers the fee
The listing agent has to give you the agency disclosure form before you enter into the listing agreement.
An exclusive listing agreement on a house or condo cannot run longer than 24 months, unless the owner is a corporation, an LLC or a partnership. It cannot renew automatically. A renewal has to be in writing, dated and signed by everyone, and it is limited to 12 months.
Inside those limits the terms are yours to negotiate. Read:
- The expiration date, and how either side can cancel before it.
- What has to happen for the commission to be owed.
- Any period after expiration during which a sale to someone the agent introduced still earns the fee.
- The marketing and reporting the agent commits to in writing.
- What the agreement says about paying a buyer’s agent. An offer of compensation cannot be listed on a multiple listing service. You can still choose to offer one, and your agent can offer or pay one only with your written approval of the amount. The National Association of Realtors’ guide to offers of compensation explains the choices.
- Whether you would rather leave it to the offer. A buyer can ask you to pay some or all of their agent’s fee as a concession, and you can accept or refuse.
Before the interview, our real estate terms to know before listing and the home selling checklist will help you compare what each agent proposes.
Commissions are negotiable
The Department of Real Estate says commissions are fully negotiable under California law, and that an agent who claims there is a standard rate is misrepresenting the law. Ask each agent for the fee in writing, what it covers and what would change it.
When one brokerage is on both sides
A brokerage can represent the buyer and the seller in the same sale. The Department says that representation has to be disclosed and agreeable to both. The role is then confirmed in the purchase contract or in a separate signed writing.
California law also limits what a dual agent can pass along. Without your express permission, the agent may not tell the other side your financial position, your motivation or your bargaining position, including that a seller would take less than the list price or that a buyer would pay more than the offer.
Ask before you sign: will this brokerage ever represent the other side of my transaction, and what changes for me if it does?
Red flags the Department of Real Estate lists
- No written agreement that spells out representation and compensation.
- Fees that are vague, or that appear without having been discussed.
- Pressure to sign before you have read and understood the documents.
- A claim that the commission rate is standard.
- Promises about fees or services that are not in the written agreement.
- One agent on both sides without disclosure.
- A person who is not licensed.
If your situation is a specialty
- An inherited or probate home: how to choose a probate real estate agent.
- A home with an assumable loan: how to choose an agent for an assumable mortgage.
- A rental with a tenant in place: how to choose an agent to sell a tenant-occupied home.
Questions people ask about choosing an agent
How do I check a real estate agent’s license in California?
Search the agent’s name or license number in the Department of Real Estate’s public license lookup. The status should read Licensed, and a salesperson’s record should name a responsible broker.
Do I have to sign an agreement before an agent shows me homes?
With most agents, yes. The national settlement requires the agents it covers to have a signed agreement before touring a home with you, and a live virtual tour counts. California law separately requires one no later than your offer. You can visit an open house on your own without one.
How long can a buyer agreement last?
For an individual buyer, no longer than three months. It cannot renew automatically, and a renewal has to be in writing, dated and signed, for no more than three months.
Are real estate commissions negotiable in California?
Yes. The Department of Real Estate says commissions are fully negotiable and that an agent who claims there is a standard rate is misrepresenting the law.
How long can a listing agreement last?
An exclusive listing agreement on a house or condo cannot run longer than 24 months, unless the owner is a corporation, an LLC or a partnership. It cannot renew automatically, and a renewal is limited to 12 months.