The different types of real estate agents sort into three overlapping groups: the license tier a professional holds (salesperson, broker, or associate broker), the role they play in a specific transaction (listing agent, buyer’s agent, dual agent, designated agent, or transaction broker), and any specialty they focus on (commercial, property management, or referral). On top of all that sits the REALTOR® designation, which is a membership status rather than a license level. Knowing which category your agent falls into tells you whose interests they are legally bound to protect and what they can and can’t do without a supervising broker signing off.
License Tiers: Salesperson, Broker, Associate Broker
Every state licenses real estate professionals in tiers, and the tier controls what the person can legally do on their own.
The entry-level license is the salesperson, sometimes called a sales agent. Getting it means completing pre-licensing coursework, passing a state exam, and clearing a background check. Required education hours vary widely by state, from roughly 40 hours on the low end to 150 or more. A salesperson cannot operate independently. They have to work under a licensed broker, and that broker is legally responsible for the salesperson’s conduct.
A broker holds a higher-level license, earned after more education and, in most states, two to three years of active practice as a salesperson. Brokers can open their own firms, hire salespersons, hold escrow funds, and run transactions on their own authority. Every brokerage you see advertised has a licensed broker behind it, even when the agents you deal with day to day are salespersons working under that broker’s supervision.
In between sits the associate broker, sometimes called a broker associate. This person has the broker’s license and credentials but chooses to work under another broker’s firm rather than open their own. Listing agreements and transactions still run through the supervising broker’s name. It’s a common setup for experienced agents who want the credential without the overhead of running a brokerage.
Listing Agents
If you are selling a property, the agent you hire to market it and manage the sale is your listing agent. They owe you a set of fiduciary duties commonly described as obedience, loyalty, disclosure, confidentiality, accounting, and reasonable care. In practice, that means they follow your lawful instructions, put your interests ahead of their own, keep your financial situation private, track money flowing through the transaction, and apply sound professional judgment.
The relationship is set up in a listing agreement, a written contract that spells out how long the agent represents you and how they are paid. Traditionally, seller-paid commissions ran around 5% to 6% of the sale price, split between the listing agent and the buyer’s agent. That has shifted since the NAR settlement changes took effect in August 2024. Listing agents can still offer compensation to a buyer’s agent, but those offers cannot appear on the Multiple Listing Service anymore. Compensation on both sides of the deal is now more openly negotiated.
Listing agents also carry disclosure duties that run toward the buyer. Federal law requires sellers and their agents to disclose known lead-based paint hazards in any home built before 1978, provide a lead hazard pamphlet, and give the buyer at least ten days to arrange a paint inspection.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 U.S. Code 4852d – Disclosure of Information Concerning Lead Upon Transfer of Residential Property
Buyer’s Agents
A buyer’s agent represents you if you are the one purchasing. Their fiduciary duty runs exclusively to you. They pull market data and comparable sales, help you evaluate properties and inspections, and make sure you receive all legally required disclosures before you commit.
The biggest recent change in buyer representation is how these agents get hired and paid. Under the NAR settlement that took effect in August 2024, anyone working with a buyer’s agent who is a REALTOR® or who participates in a REALTOR®-affiliated MLS has to sign a written buyer representation agreement before the agent can show them any homes. That agreement must state the agent’s compensation in specific terms, not open-ended ones. The buyer’s agent cannot receive compensation from any source that exceeds what the buyer agreement allows.2National Association of REALTORS®. NAR Settlement FAQs
Before these rules, a buyer could tour homes for weeks without signing anything, and the listing broker typically paid the buyer’s agent through the MLS. Now you need to understand and agree to your agent’s compensation up front. Buyer broker compensation can still be negotiated as part of your purchase offer, and sellers can still choose to contribute toward it, but the assumption that the seller’s side always covers it is gone.2National Association of REALTORS®. NAR Settlement FAQs
Dual Agents, Designated Agents, and Transaction Brokers
Sometimes one agent, or one brokerage, ends up working with both sides of the same deal. There are three ways that can play out.
Dual agency is when a single agent represents both the buyer and the seller. It creates an inherent conflict, because the agent cannot fully advocate for either side when they owe duties to both. A dual agent typically cannot advise on pricing strategy, cannot share one party’s confidential motivations with the other, and mostly serves as a conduit passing information between the two sides. Most states require both parties to give written informed consent before dual agency can proceed.3National Association of REALTORS®. Agency A handful of states, including Colorado, Florida, Kansas, and Texas, prohibit dual agency altogether.
Designated agency is the middle ground. When a brokerage represents both sides, the managing broker can assign one agent exclusively to the seller and a different agent exclusively to the buyer. Each designated agent owes full fiduciary duties to their own client, which avoids the diluted representation problem of pure dual agency.4National Association of REALTORS®. Vocabulary: Agency and Agency Relationships Not every state recognizes this arrangement.
A transaction broker, also called a facilitator, takes a different approach. They don’t represent either party and don’t owe fiduciary duties to either one. Their job is to help both sides complete paperwork and close the deal without advocating for one over the other. It works best when both parties are experienced and want professional help with the mechanics of closing without paying for full representation.
REALTORS® and Standard Licensees
Not every licensed agent is a REALTOR®. The term is a registered trademark belonging to the National Association of REALTORS®, and only NAR members can use it. Members agree to follow a Code of Ethics that goes beyond state licensing law, covering things like honest advertising, cooperation with other brokers, and a formal grievance process for consumer complaints.5National Association of REALTORS®. The Code of Ethics
The designation doesn’t grant any additional legal authority. A REALTOR® and a non-member licensee can do the same work. The difference is the voluntary ethical standard and, often, access to the local MLS that comes with membership.
Specialty Roles
Commercial Agents
Commercial agents handle office buildings, retail space, industrial properties, and multifamily investment properties. The skill set differs substantially from residential work. Commercial deals involve longer timelines, different financing structures, lease negotiations measured in years, and valuations based on income rather than comparable sales. Many commercial agents hold additional certifications such as the CCIM (Certified Commercial Investment Member) designation.
Property Managers
Property managers run the day-to-day administration of rental properties on behalf of owners: finding tenants, collecting rent, coordinating maintenance, and enforcing lease terms. Most states require a real estate license or a specialized property management license to do this work for pay. The legal framework governing property managers overlaps with landlord-tenant law more than with traditional sales.
Referral Agents
A referral agent holds an active real estate license but doesn’t actively list or sell properties. They connect buyers or sellers with full-service agents and earn a percentage of the commission when the referred transaction closes, typically 20% to 35% of the receiving agent’s share. It’s a common arrangement for semi-retired agents or people who want to keep a license active without handling transactions directly. An active license is still required to collect referral fees legally.
What Every Agent Owes You by Law
Regardless of role, every agent involved in a residential sale shares a baseline of federal duties.
The lead-based paint disclosure rule applies to any home built before 1978. The seller and their agent must inform the buyer of any known lead hazards, provide available inspection reports, include a lead warning statement in the purchase contract, and give the buyer at least ten days to arrange their own lead inspection.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 U.S. Code 4852d – Disclosure of Information Concerning Lead Upon Transfer of Residential Property The EPA also requires that sellers hand over the “Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home” pamphlet.6U.S. EPA. Lead-Based Paint Disclosure Rule (Section 1018 of Title X)
The Fair Housing Act applies to every agent in every transaction. It prohibits advertising, showing, selling, or renting property in a way that discriminates based on race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, or national origin.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 U.S. Code 3604 – Discrimination in the Sale or Rental of Housing It reaches not just outright refusals to sell but also more subtle conduct like steering buyers toward or away from certain neighborhoods, or representing that a property is unavailable when it isn’t. Violations carry both civil and criminal penalties.