A real estate referral form is a written agreement between two brokerages that hands a client from one agent to another, usually across markets, in exchange for a percentage of the eventual commission. To complete one correctly, you need accurate information on both brokerages, a specific description of the client, a negotiated fee and expiration date, and signatures from the agents and their managing brokers. The template may come from your state or local Realtor association, your own brokerage, or NAR’s CIPS group for international referrals, but the fields are substantially the same.
Information to Pull Together First
Every form asks for the same baseline data on both sides. Before you start typing, collect:
- The full legal name of each brokerage as it appears on the firm’s license, not a trade name or team name.
- The individual agents on each side who will handle the client.
- Phone and email for both agents, and for the managing brokers if the form asks.
- License numbers. Some forms require them; even when they don’t, adding them cuts down on confusion when names are common or the brokerages sit in different states.
You also need the client’s name, contact information, and a real description of what they want. Be specific. “Buyer looking for a three-bedroom under $400,000 in the Raleigh metro, pre-approved, wants to close by August” gives the receiving agent something to work with. A vague referral wastes everyone’s time and is the fastest way to lose a colleague’s goodwill.
Filling Out the Form
Most forms open with a checkbox or dropdown for the transaction type. At minimum you’ll pick between a buyer referral and a listing referral; some forms also split residential from commercial. Getting this right tells the receiving agent what kind of work they’re taking on and whether they need a particular license class.
The client description section is where property requirements, budget, and timeline go. Flag special circumstances in writing. A 1031 exchange deadline, employer relocation assistance, or a home that has to sell before the client can buy are all things the receiving agent needs to know up front, not after they’ve already started showing property.
Every form has a space for the referral fee percentage and an expiration date. Both are negotiated. Look for an additional-conditions field as well, and use it to note anything the receiving agent should know: whether the client has already been shown property in that market, or whether the same referral has gone to other agents.
Setting the Fee and the Duration
Referral fees between brokerages generally run 20 to 35 percent of the receiving agent’s commission, with 25 percent as the most common benchmark. There is no fixed standard and no rule that you have to accept a particular number. A pre-qualified client ready to write an offer is worth more than a cold name and number, and the fee should reflect that.
Duration is also negotiable. If the client takes six months to find a house and closes 30 days after that, you want to be certain the agreement hasn’t already expired. Set an end date that gives the receiving agent realistic time to work the deal without leaving you exposed when a transaction drags.
One guardrail: antitrust law prohibits brokerages from collectively agreeing on referral fee rates. You can set your own fee using your own business judgment, but you cannot coordinate rates with competitors. Even casual talk at an association meeting about what fee “everyone charges” can create exposure. Each fee is independently negotiated between the two parties on the agreement.
Who Needs to Sign
Signatures are where referral agreements most often fail. Referral fees are legally owed to the brokerage rather than to the individual agent, so most forms include signature lines for both the agents and their managing brokers. NAR’s Code of Ethics backs this up: Standard of Practice 16-15 requires Realtors to compensate cooperating principal brokers rather than paying sales licensees directly without the cooperating broker’s knowledge and consent.1National Association of REALTORS®. 2026 Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice
Get the managing broker’s signature on both sides before the receiving agent starts working with the client. An agreement signed only by agents may not hold up if the fee is later disputed, because an agent alone typically lacks authority to bind the brokerage to a payment obligation. If your template only has agent signature lines, add broker lines or attach a separate broker acknowledgment.
Email with read receipts or an electronic signature platform creates a clear timestamp for delivery. Send the completed form to the receiving brokerage, wait for the countersigned copy, and save it. The date on the countersignature is your official start date for the referral period.
RESPA and Unlicensed Referral Sources
The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act generally prohibits paying or receiving fees for the referral of settlement services, but the statute carves out an explicit exemption for “payments pursuant to cooperative brokerage and referral arrangements or agreements between real estate agents and brokers.”2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 12 USC 2607 – Prohibition Against Kickbacks and Unearned Fees The implementing regulation limits the exemption to arrangements where all parties are acting in a real estate brokerage capacity, and it does not cover fee splits between real estate brokers and mortgage brokers.3eCFR. 12 CFR 1024.14 – Prohibition Against Kickbacks and Unearned Fees
In practice, your referral fee is legal as long as both sides hold active real estate licenses and the money moves between brokerages. Paying a referral fee to an unlicensed person, such as a friend who mentioned your name or a past client who sent someone over, violates RESPA when the transaction involves a federally related mortgage loan. A gift card or small thank-you that isn’t tied to the deal closing is the safer way to acknowledge an unlicensed source.
W-9 and 1099-NEC
Before you pay a referral fee to another brokerage, collect a completed IRS Form W-9. The W-9 gives you the brokerage’s taxpayer identification number, which you need to file the required information return.4Internal Revenue Service. About Form W-9, Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification Skip this step and you’ll be chasing a TIN at year-end when you’re trying to issue tax forms.
For tax years beginning after 2025, the reporting threshold for nonemployee compensation on Form 1099-NEC rose from $600 to $2,000, with inflation adjustments starting in 2027.5Internal Revenue Service. Publication 1099 (2026), General Instructions for Certain Information Returns If your referral payment to another brokerage meets or exceeds $2,000 in a calendar year, you file a 1099-NEC for it. Below that threshold the receiving brokerage still owes income tax on the payment; the threshold only governs whether you file the form.
Recordkeeping and the Closing Agent
Both brokerages should store the executed referral agreement with their other transaction files. State real estate commissions set their own retention periods. Georgia requires three years and Colorado requires four, so check your state’s rule and keep the agreement at least that long. Longer is better when you’re unsure. A fee dispute that surfaces two years after closing is far easier to resolve when you can produce the signed original.
The agreement matters at closing, too. The settlement agent needs to know about the fee split so the disbursement is calculated correctly. If the agreement is missing or unclear at that point, the closing may be delayed or the referral fee held back while the parties sort it out. Send a copy of the executed form to the closing agent well before the settlement date rather than assuming the receiving brokerage will handle it.