Commercial Agent Compliance Self-Audit Checklist

Your license and your registered employer are the base of everything else. Check them first.

• Look up your DBPR record, note the expiration date and calendar renewal 90 days earlyLicenses expire on March 31 or September 30 and renew every two years. Save a copy of the record, keep every education certificate, and track post-licensing or continuing education hours on DBPR. Inactive means no licensed work at all, so a lapse during a live deal is a stop-and-escalate event.
• Confirm every listing, buyer-rep, tenant-rep and fee agreement is with the brokerageNever sign an agreement in your own name or sign for the firm. Your broker of record should see agreements, LOIs and marketing before they go to a client. If a rule or filing is unclear, confirm with your broker of record.
• File address, email and employer changes with DBPR within 10 daysNotices sent to your address of record count as delivered, so a missed letter is your problem. A felony plea or conviction must be reported to FREC in writing within 30 days. Your broker files office and employer changes. Confirm the current forms and deadlines with your broker of record.
• Ask your broker of record in writing about E&O coverage, the deductible and defenseErrors and omissions insurance covers claims that you made a professional mistake. Ask whether the firm's policy covers you, who pays the deductible, whether it covers disciplinary defense and whether you need your own policy. Get the answers in writing.
• Keep unlicensed helpers on administrative work and route referral money via your brokerAn assistant may schedule tours, update contact records and gather documents. An assistant may not negotiate, quote terms or advise on price. Your broker of record sets the firm's assistant rules, so ask before you delegate.

You should be able to say who you work for in one sentence and prove it with a signed page.

• State who your client is on every deal and get the relationship in writingAs the lessons read F.S. 475.278, a licensee is presumed to be a transaction broker unless single agent or no-relationship status is set in writing. Your broker of record decides which role the firm offers, so confirm with your broker of record before you promise anything.
• Attach a written relationship statement to each listing and buyer-rep engagementThe F.S. 475.278 notices are aimed at residential sales and do not govern most commercial deals, and no notice does not mean no relationship. Use short wording your broker approves. On a small land deal, ask your broker of record whether the notices apply.
• Never act as a dual agent, and tell your broker before you show your firm's own listingFlorida bans disclosed and undisclosed dual agency. The narrow exception, designated sales associates under F.S. 475.2755, needs assets of $1,000,000 or more on each side, signed disclosures and a different associate for each side. The broker chooses the structure. Never promise to handle both sides.
• Source every fact you state: SF, clear height, zoning, lease term and NOIPuffery is opinion. Facts must come from a document, or be labeled per seller and to be verified. Label projections, separate in-place NOI from pro forma, and say what you did not verify. Never call a title clean or a site environmentally fine.
• Correct any misstatement in writing the same day and call your broker of recordStop repeating the earlier statement, tell your client in writing, correct flyers and offering memoranda, and recommend the right expert (a Phase I, survey, zoning letter or attorney). Do not diagnose environmental, structural or legal issues yourself.

The cure for a conflict is the same each time: disclose in writing, get informed written consent and involve your broker.

• Disclose in writing any ownership, family or personal interest in a property or partyDisclose to all parties before anyone signs, and let your broker of record approve the approach. If an interest cannot be cured, or the client will not consent after full disclosure, the right answer may be to decline. Confirm with your broker of record.
• Disclose referral fees, vendor payments and lender or title ties before the client actsGet written consent before a referral that pays you or your firm. Offer alternatives and never require a particular lender, title company or vendor. A kickback or rebate is a violation unless the affected parties are fully advised beforehand.
• Pay referral money only to licensed brokers, in writing, through your broker of recordNever pay a friend, contractor, attorney, CPA or lender who is unlicensed for a referral, and never take money directly. A thank-you note is safe. Anything of real value goes to your broker before you offer it.
• Keep seller motivation, bottom line and the buyer's maximum price confidentialDo not reveal either without the client's written permission. Facts that are material and not readily observable are different: they are not confidential, so disclose them or get your broker's direction before you stay silent.
• Share leases and rent rolls only after a signed NDA and owner approvalTenant information is owed protection. Do not post pricing, tenant names or under contract news without the client's written approval.
• Decline any instruction to hide a known material fact and escalate itA client saying everyone does it does not change your duty. Say no early, once, and offer the compliant path. Confirm with your broker of record how to handle the client conversation.

You never hold or move client money. Your broker, or a title company or attorney named in the contract, does.

• Never accept cash or a check made out to you; point deposits to the named holderThe deposit belongs to no one you represent yet. Direct it to the brokerage escrow account or the title company or attorney named in the contract, or wire it there. If a check made out to you arrives, tell your broker of record the same day and follow the written instruction.
• Hand every deposit to your broker by the end of the next business day, or soonerThe lessons cite F.A.C. 61J2-14.009 for the associate hand-off and F.A.C. 61J2-14.008 for the broker's placement into escrow, which the lessons state as no later than the end of the third business day after receipt. Weekends and legal holidays are not business days. Get a dated receipt and file it.
• Get written confirmation of receipt when a title company or attorney holds the depositLog the holder's contact on the contract and confirm receipt in writing. Do not assume the deposit arrived because the buyer says it was sent. Tell your broker at once if a check bounces.
• Keep client money separate from firm and personal money, and never spend a depositMixing money is commingling and using someone else's escrowed money is conversion. Both are treated as breach of trust. The broker reconciles each escrow account monthly, so your receipts must be in the file.
• In a deposit dispute, stop, promise nothing and call your broker the same dayThe broker must follow Florida's escrow dispute process and notify FREC on a set clock. Log the date of the last demand the day it happens. Confirm with your broker of record, and remember DBPR cannot award restitution or decide commission fights.
• Route commissions, retainers, application fees and security deposits through the brokerCommissions belong to the brokerage. Never quote a fee your broker has not approved, and ask whether any money handed to you counts as transaction funds.
• Verify every wire instruction change by phone at a number you already knowTell clients in writing at contract that only the title company sends wire instructions and your firm never changes them by email. Never use a number from the email that changed the instructions. If someone is fooled, the client calls the bank for a recall at once and files at ic3.gov.

A complete file shows what you said, when and why. It protects you in a license case and in a lawsuit.

• Keep a complete file: agreements, LOI, contract, receipts, disclosures and messagesInclude disbursement authorizations, commission agreements, emails, texts and call notes. Do not keep deal files only on your phone, and do not delete a message once a dispute begins.
• Confirm every phone call or oral instruction by same-day emailWrite what was asked, what you said, what you did not verify and who should confirm it. This is the cheapest protection in the business.
• Deliver files to your broker and ask for the written retention policyAs the lessons summarize F.S. 475.5015, the broker keeps records at least 5 years, and longer after litigation ends. Confirm the exact policy with your broker of record and label each file with its keep-until date.
• Save the final version of every ad, OM and email blast exactly as sentIf a claim is questioned later, the file should show the text, the sources and the seller's written approval.
• On a complaint letter or subpoena, notify your broker and insurer the same dayDo not contact the complainant, preserve emails, texts, drafts and call logs, and never edit or delete anything. A response is due on a short clock, so write down the date you were served. Your broker of record arranges legal help.

Every flyer, post, video, sign and signature is an advertisement.

• Carry the licensed name in every ad: MaxLife Commercial, a division of MaxLife Realty LLCThe licensed brokerage name recorded with FREC is MaxLife Realty LLC (F.A.C. 61J2-10.025). Never use MaxLife Commercial alone in a signature, flyer or post. Your broker of record owns the exact wording and layout, including any trade-name question, so confirm with your broker of record.
• Show your registered last name, with the firm name beside your contact informationOnline, the licensed name should sit next to, or directly above or below, phone, email or address. Check old templates that show only the short name, and check every signature, profile, video description and sign.
• Get broker approval of any team name, and never show a designation you cannot useA team name may include team or group but may not include words like Realty, Properties or LLC, or print larger than the firm name (F.A.C. 61J2-10.026). Do not display REALTOR, CCIM or another designation unless you are entitled to it.
• Get the seller's written approval of copy, price and terms before publishingUse the listing agreement as the guide. Post a just-closed deal, a buyer or seller identity or a tenant name only with written permission. Only the listing or selling broker may say sold.
• Label a BOV as a broker opinion of value, never an appraisal, and guarantee nothingAdd a footer that says it is not an appraisal and was prepared by a licensee who is not a certified or licensed appraiser. Never guarantee price, timing, renewal or return. Show in-place and pro forma numbers separately.
• Claim only experience, volume and rankings you can documentDo not call yourself an expert or top producer, and do not claim a deal you did not handle. Testimonials must be real, permitted and disclosed if there is a relationship. No fake reviews, and no reward tied to positive sentiment.
• Confirm permission for photos, comps, drone footage, music and tenant logosA data subscription is licensed for your use, not usually for republishing. Get a written license from the photographer, use certificated drone pilots and get the owner's written OK, and label any rendering as not actual conditions.

Confirm the current rules with your broker of record before you build a call list.

• Dial by hand, and never use bulk texting or ringless voicemailText only someone who has agreed to texts, and say who you are in the first message. Autodialed or prerecorded calls and texts need proper consent. Use only lists you have scrubbed.
• Scrub personal or unknown numbers against Do Not Call lists every 31 daysYou often cannot tell a personal cell from a business line, so treat unknown numbers as protected. Keep a do-not-contact log with dates and honor a stop request the same day.
• Call only from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. recipient time, no more than three times in 24 hoursThe lessons cite F.S. 501.616(6) for these limits and found no licensee exemption. Confirm the current text with your broker of record.
• Make every email honest: real headers, advertisement notice, postal address, opt-outThe federal email rule has no business-to-business exception. Honor opt-outs promptly, and put your address and an opt-out line on every message.
• Get every party's consent before recording a call or meeting, including an AI note takerFlorida generally requires all parties to consent. Announce the recording and wait for a clear yes, then note the consent in the file. Do not record a plant or warehouse walk-through where employees are talking.
• Never solicit an owner under another broker's exclusive, and never use a false pretextAsk the other broker in writing for the expiration date. Use general mailings to a whole farm, not a call to the one owner on a rival's sign. Never say you have a buyer when you do not.

You are not counsel. Notice the issue early and route it to your broker of record and an attorney.

• Treat every prospect the same and ask every buyer the same ownership questionsFederal fair housing law covers dwellings, but other federal and Florida laws still bar discrimination in commercial sales and leases. Base showings and terms on use, credit, rent, term and timing, not who someone is.
• Write down ADA observations and never say a building is ADA compliantOn a tour note accessible parking, the entrance route, restrooms and who is responsible for ADA work under the lease. Both landlord and tenant can be exposed, even under an absolute-net lease. Recommend a specialist.
• Never discuss fees, splits or who will work with whom with a competitorYour fee is your own decision, made deal by deal with your client. If a conversation at an association event or a networking meeting drifts to rates, leave and tell your broker of record.
• Screen entity owners against OFAC at contract and again before closingFile a dated printout. An entity owned 50 percent or more in total by blocked persons is itself blocked. Accept no funds on a hit or an unclear source, and call your broker of record at once. Keep screening records, and ask your broker how long.
• Recommend an early Phase I in the buyer's name on industrial, IOS and fuel-history sitesNever call a property clean or say a Phase I is not needed. Report odor, staining, old tanks or floor drains to your client in writing. Certain Phase I components must fall within 180 days before closing, so confirm dates with your broker and the consultant.
• Refer foreign-principal, FIRPTA and proximity questions to counsel, a CPA and titleFlorida's SB 264 (F.S. 692.201 to 692.205) turns on the country, the location and the buyer's ownership. A name or accent says nothing. If the seller may be a foreign person, ask early because withholding may apply. Confirm current law with your broker of record and an attorney.
• Protect personal data and report any incident to your broker of record the same dayUse the brokerage's approved system with multi-factor authentication, keep ID copies off personal devices and out of email, collect only what the deal needs and never ask visitors to send Social Security or bank numbers through a form or email.

The law is the floor. Run this review each quarter and give the result to your broker.

• Before you send, sign, pay or promise, run facts, rules, duties, options, chooseList at least three options, including decline, disclose and escalate. Pick the one you could defend to your client, the other side, your broker and a hearing panel, and write a dated note.
• Score the eight audit areas pass or fix and hand the result to your brokerThe areas are advertising, records, deposits, disclosures, conflicts, communications, licensing and education. Pass means, for example, that every ad, signature and post shows the licensed name, each deposit reached your broker by the end of the next business day, and any interest or referral has written broker approval. Anything else is a fix.
• Write a note to file for each decision to disclose, decline or escalateRecord who, what, the sources and rule, the decision, who approved it and the follow-up. Add the quarter's self-audit result to your broker's file.
• Own any mistake: stop, tell your broker the same day, correct the record, fix the causeAn error is an honest mistake, and a violation is a breach of a law or rule, intended or not. Hiding it is worse. Correct, disclose to affected parties, apologize once and fix the cause within the week.
• Re-check statutes, rules and firm policy for changes before you rely on a citationRead current text at leg.state.fl.us and flrules.org. Where the text and Course 27 differ, the current text wins. Confirm with your broker of record when a rule affects a live deal.