Real Estate Code of Ethics: Duties, Filing, and Hearings

The real estate Code of Ethics is the set of professional conduct rules that every member of the National Association of REALTORS® agrees to follow as a condition of membership. It contains seventeen articles covering how REALTORS® must treat clients, the public, and each other, and anyone who believes a REALTOR® broke those rules can file a written complaint with the local association. A hearing panel can impose fines of up to $15,000, require ethics education, suspend membership, or expel the member outright.¹

Who the Code Actually Binds

Every state requires a license to sell real estate, but a license does not make someone a REALTOR®. That title belongs only to agents, brokers, and appraisers who voluntarily join the National Association of REALTORS® and pledge to abide by its code. A REALTOR® has agreed to standards that go beyond the minimum requirements of state licensing law.²

If the person you dealt with is not a NAR member, the code does not apply to them and the complaint process below is not available. Your route in that case is your state real estate commission.

Even when the agent is a member, the code and state license law run on separate tracks. State commissions enforce licensing laws and can revoke a license. A REALTOR® association enforces only the code among its own members; it can fine or expel a member but has no authority over anyone’s state license.³ A single act of misconduct can violate both systems, so you may need to file in both places.

What the Code Requires

The seventeen articles fall into three groupings: duties to clients and customers (Articles 1–9), duties to the public (Articles 10–14), and duties to other REALTORS® (Articles 15–17).⁴

Duties to Clients and Customers

Article 1 requires a REALTOR® representing a buyer, seller, landlord, or tenant to protect and promote that client’s interests, while still dealing honestly with everyone else in the transaction. Article 6 prohibits accepting hidden commissions or rebates on expenses charged to a client without the client’s knowledge and consent. Article 9 requires that listing agreements, purchase contracts, leases, and similar documents be put in writing using clear, understandable language.⁴

Duties to the Public

Article 10 is the code’s anti-discrimination rule. REALTORS® cannot deny equal professional services based on race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, national origin, sexual orientation, or gender identity, and they cannot participate in any plan or agreement to discriminate on those grounds. Standard of Practice 10-5 also prohibits harassment of any person based on those same protected characteristics in a REALTOR®’s professional capacity or real estate-related activities.⁴

Other articles in this group require truthfulness in advertising and public statements. Article 14 adds a cooperation duty: a REALTOR® charged with unethical conduct must place all relevant facts before the hearing panel and cannot obstruct the process.

Duties to Other REALTORS®

The last three articles require cooperation between brokers when it serves the client’s interest and prohibit false or misleading statements about competitors. Article 17 sends most contractual disputes between REALTORS® at different firms, including commission fights over who procured a sale, into association arbitration rather than court. That track is separate from the ethics complaint process described below and is primarily a concern between brokers, not consumers.

How to File an Ethics Complaint

Any person can file an ethics complaint against a REALTOR®, whether or not the complainant is a NAR member. The complaint must be in writing, signed in your own name, and submitted to the local association where the REALTOR® holds membership or participates in the MLS.⁵ Anonymous complaints are generally not accepted.

The standard filing vehicle is Form E-1, available from the local association. You identify which articles of the code were allegedly violated, then write a chronological statement of facts describing what happened. Specific dates matter. Attach supporting documents: listing agreements, purchase contracts, emails, text messages, or anything else that corroborates your timeline.

Complaints must be filed within 180 days. The clock starts on the later of two dates: when you could reasonably have discovered the violation, or when the transaction or event concluded.⁵ Miss that window and the complaint will usually be dismissed, so file promptly.

One limit worth knowing upfront: an ethics panel cannot award you money. A code violation is treated as an offense against the association and its members generally, not as a private dispute between two parties. If you lost money because of a REALTOR®’s conduct, you have to pursue that separately through arbitration, mediation, or the courts.⁶

Everything about the proceeding is confidential: the allegations, the findings, and the final decision. Association staff, panel members, and parties are all prohibited from reporting or publishing any of it except as the Code of Ethics and Arbitration Manual specifically allows.⁷

Ombudsman and Mediation Before a Hearing

Not every complaint needs a hearing. Many local associations offer two informal paths that can resolve a problem faster.

An ombudsman is a neutral party appointed by the association to resolve disputes through communication, not through findings. The ombudsman does not decide whether the code was violated or who owes money; they work to clear up misunderstandings before they become formal charges. Participation is voluntary, and if you decline you can proceed with a formal complaint or mediation.⁸

Mediation is a step up. A trained mediator brings the parties together to work toward a mutually acceptable resolution, which can include payment of disputed funds, repairs, a written apology, acknowledgment of a code violation, or agreed-upon discipline.⁹ It is also voluntary; any party can withdraw and send the case to a formal hearing.

In both tracks, if the respondent later fails to honor the agreement, you can resubmit the original complaint and keep the benefit of the original filing date for timeliness.

The Hearing and Possible Penalties

When informal resolution fails or is skipped, the Grievance Committee reviews the complaint first. Its job is narrow: assuming every fact alleged is true, could the conduct constitute a violation? The committee does not weigh evidence or decide credibility. If the answer is yes, the case goes to a full hearing. If not, it is dismissed.¹⁰

The hearing is run by a panel of the respondent’s peers. Both sides present testimony, call witnesses, and submit documents. Every party has the right to be represented by legal counsel, a REALTOR® of their choosing, or both. If you plan to bring counsel, notify the association and all other parties at least fifteen days in advance.¹¹

If the panel finds a violation, it can impose any of the following penalties, from least to most severe:

Letter of warning, placed in the member’s file.
Letter of reprimand, also placed in the file.
Mandatory attendance at a specified ethics course or seminar.
A fine of up to $15,000, regardless of how many articles were violated in a single hearing.
Suspension of membership for 30 days to one year, with automatic reinstatement afterward.
Expulsion for one to three years, with reinstatement available only by application after the expulsion period ends.
Suspension or termination of MLS access for a specified period.

The association can also charge an administrative processing fee of up to $500 on top of any discipline.¹

Appeals

Either party can appeal, but the grounds are limited. An appeal must be in writing and accompanied by a deposit of up to $500. A respondent can argue that the panel misapplied the code, that a procedural deficiency affected the outcome, or that the discipline recommended was too harsh or too lenient. A complainant’s appeal is narrower: only procedural grounds, meaning you were deprived of a full and fair hearing.

No new evidence is admitted on appeal except evidence related to a due process claim. The Board of Directors decides the appeal based on the transcript of the original hearing, and only the issues raised in the written appeal request are considered.¹²

1
National Association of REALTORS®. Part 2, Section 14 – Nature of Discipline
2
National Association of REALTORS®. The Code of Ethics
3
National Association of REALTORS®. Regulating Real Estate Professionals
4
National Association of REALTORS®. 2026 Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice
5
National Association of REALTORS®. Part 4, Section 20 – Initiating an Ethics Hearing
6
National Association of REALTORS®. Introduction to the Code of Ethics and Arbitration Manual
7
National Association of REALTORS®. Statement of Professional Standards Policy Applicable to Ethics Proceedings
8
National Association of REALTORS®. Local and State Association Ombudsman Services
9
National Association of REALTORS®. Part 4, Appendix XI – Ethics Mediation
10
National Association of REALTORS®. Part 3, Section 19 – Grievance Committees Review of an Ethics Complaint
11
National Association of REALTORS®. Part 1, Section 4 – Right of Counsel to Appear
12
National Association of REALTORS®. Part 4, Section 23 – Action of the Board of Directors