I’ve got your number

Editor’s Note: This article was edited to update links.

Whenever a form undergoes revisions, I expect to receive telephone calls and emails from our members asking questions about a particular change. However, I never expected to receive so many questions about one thing … your license numbers.

One of the TRID-related changes made to the Standard Agreement of Sale in August of 2015 was the addition of a line in the Broker Relationship Blocks for brokerage and licensee license numbers, which are issued by the State Real Estate Commission. The licensee side of the block asks for the “state license #,” which is the individual licensee’s license number. The broker side of the block asks for the “company license #,” which is the brokerage license number.

License numbers are not required to be in the Agreement to create a valid contract. This was intended to be a convenience for practitioners since the license numbers are required to be on the new Closing Disclosure. This information is required on the Closing Disclosure so that consumers have contact information for the individuals most closely involved with the transaction.

But what brokerage license number should be filled in, and where do you find it?

The license number of all licensed real estate professionals – individuals and companies – can be found on the Department of State’s Verify a License website. When including the brokerage license number, use local the office that had the most contact with the client. For example, if you work in the Meadville office of XYZ Real Estate, which also has offices in Erie and Butler, then you would use the information for the Meadville branch office.

You can tell the difference between license numbers thanks to the Real Estate Commission’s number coding system, which designates the type of license using two letters before the series of numbers. Depending on which license you have, your number will start with one of these:

• AB – Associate Broker
• RB – Standard Brokerage or Broker (sole proprietor)
• RM – Broker, Multi-license
• RS – Real Estate Salesperson
• RB – Brokerage, Standard
• RO – Branch Office

If you are unsure of whether you have found the correct license number for “Jane Smith” on the other side of the transaction we recommend that you leave the line blank and ask Ms. Smith to fill in her license number, just as you would elsewhere in the Agreement.