Usually before the showing, but California states the rule as a rebuttable presumption
Expected signing point
Before the buyer's agent or an affiliated licensee shows property in person or virtually
Legal form
A rebuttable presumption that signing before the showing was practicable
Absolute outside deadline
No later than the buyer executes an offer to purchase real property
As of August 27, 2026, California presumes it is practicable for a buyer's agent to obtain a signed buyer-broker representation agreement before the agent or an affiliated salesperson or broker associate shows the buyer property in person or virtually. The presumption can be rebutted, so state law does not phrase this as an exception-free ban on every pre-agreement showing. The underlying statute still requires signing as soon as practicable and never later than the buyer executes an offer.
DRE, 2026 Regulations, section 2906.2 · checked 2026-08-27Read the statute and regulation together
| Layer | Rule | Authority |
|---|---|---|
| Statutory command | Execute as soon as practicable | Civil Code section 1670.50(a) |
| Statutory outside deadline | Never later than execution of the buyer's offer | Civil Code section 1670.50(a) |
| 2026 evidentiary presumption | It is presumed practicable before an agent-led in-person or qualifying virtual showing | Commissioner's Regulation 2906.2 |
Presumption is not permission to wait
The statute leads with as soon as practicable. The 2026 presumption identifies a point that will ordinarily be considered practicable. It does not create a routine right to postpone signing until the showing, much less until the offer.
A showing can be in person or a buyer-directed digital walk-through
In person
The buyer's agent or an affiliated licensee takes the buyer through the property. The regulation does not limit the presumption to a private appointment or a particular property type.
Virtual
At the buyer's direction, the buyer's agent or affiliated licensee enters the for-sale property and provides the absent buyer a live or recorded digital walk-through, including interior or exterior images.
A listing video is not automatically a regulated virtual showing
The regulation's definition requires the buyer-side licensee to enter the property at that buyer's direction. Watching public listing media is different from directing an agent to enter and conduct a personalized walk-through.
Six showing scenarios with different answers
| Fact | Classification | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Buyer's agent walks through a listed home with the buyer | Covered in-person showing | The 2026 presumption says signing before the showing was practicable |
| Buyer's agent enters a home at the absent buyer's direction and gives a live video tour | Covered virtual showing | The regulation expressly includes this live digital walk-through |
| Buyer's agent enters and records a walk-through for the absent buyer | Covered virtual showing | The regulation expressly includes recorded digital walk-throughs |
| Buyer independently attends a seller's open house | Not a showing by the buyer's agent on that fact alone | The buyer agent did not enter or show the property in this event |
| Listing agent opens the home while acting solely for the seller | Seller-side showing | Regulation 2906.2(c) says that conduct alone is not buyer agency |
| Buyer views listing photos or a prerecorded marketing tour without an agent entering at the buyer's direction | Not the regulation's defined virtual showing | The definition requires buyer-directed entry by the buyer's agent or an affiliated licensee |
These examples classify the showing event. An existing buyer-agent relationship or other licensed buyer-side services can make an agreement required as soon as practicable even when a particular event is not the regulation's defined showing.
A seller-only agent does not become the buyer's agent by opening the door
Regulation 2906.2(c) says a seller's agent acting solely on behalf of a seller is not acting as a buyer's agent when showing property to potential buyers, whether at an open house or another showing. That provision protects the role distinction. It does not authorize the listing agent to provide buyer representation while continuing to call every interaction seller-only.
Seller-side conduct
Provide access, describe the property accurately, communicate required facts, and identify the seller agency.
Buyer-side undertaking
Agree to search, advise, negotiate, or perform licensed services for the buyer. That conduct requires the actual buyer-agency and agreement analysis.
Rebuttable does not mean optional
What the regulation supplies
A starting inference that obtaining the signed agreement before the showing was practicable.
What it does not list
Automatic exceptions, safe-harbor emergencies, a grace period, or facts that always defeat the presumption.
What remains
The licensee must still execute as soon as practicable and before the buyer's offer, and must comply with any stricter rule that independently applies.
Do not invent a guaranteed exception
Whether evidence rebuts the presumption is fact-specific. A licensee should not build a standard operating practice around an unlisted exception. The safer workflow is to provide the agency disclosure, explain the proposed agreement, allow meaningful review, and sign before the first agent-led showing.
State law and private practice rules can set different deadlines
California public law
Civil Code section 1670.50 and Regulations 2906.1 through 2906.3 apply to California licensees within their stated scope. DRE enforces the Real Estate Law and its regulations.
Association, MLS, or brokerage rule
A private rule may require signing before touring without using California's rebuttable-presumption wording. DRE has emphasized that the state-law deadline and covered trade-practice deadline are not identical and that DRE does not enforce the private settlement itself.
A licensee must identify every rule that actually applies to the brokerage and transaction. Satisfying the state-law outside deadline does not excuse violation of a stricter private rule, while a private rule should not be misstated as the text of California's statute.
DRE advisory distinguishing state law from covered trade practice · checked 2026-08-27The clean first-showing workflow
Identify the intended role
Confirm that the licensee will perform licensed services for the buyer rather than act solely for the seller.
Deliver the agency disclosure
Give the section 2079.14 relationship form before executing the buyer-broker agreement.
Explain the agreement
Cover services, compensation, when compensation is due, termination, term, and the buyer's practical choices.
Allow meaningful review and sign
Obtain all required signatures before the agent-led showing whenever practicable, which the 2026 rule presumes.
Show and perform within scope
Follow the agreement, preserve duties, document changes in writing, and never wait beyond the offer deadline.
Use role, event, presumption, evidence, deadline
Identify the role
Is this person acting as the buyer's agent, an affiliated licensee, or solely as the seller's agent?
Identify the event
Is the licensee taking the buyer through property in person or entering it at the buyer's direction for a live or recorded walk-through?
Apply the presumption
If yes, presume it was practicable to obtain the signed agreement before that showing.
Check for a genuine rebuttal
The regulation does not list automatic exceptions. Any claimed inability to sign earlier depends on evidence and the actual circumstances.
Respect the outside deadline
Even a rebutted showing presumption does not permit execution later than the buyer's offer.
Eight pre-showing agreement mistakes
Saying California has no before-showing rule after January 1, 2026
Calling the rebuttable presumption an exception-free statutory ban
Treating rebuttable as permission to skip the agreement
Ignoring a buyer-directed recorded walk-through as a virtual showing
Calling public listing media a buyer-directed virtual showing without the required agent entry
Making a seller-only open-house host the buyer's agent merely for providing access
Letting a seller's agent perform buyer-side licensed services without reclassifying the relationship
Using the offer deadline to override a stricter private rule that actually applies
Treat the first showing as a relationship checkpoint
Know the role before entering the property
The complete 2026 guide explains the agreement's terms, 90-day calculation, renewal, compensation, and entity exception.
Place the agency disclosure before the agreementCalifornia license requirement FAQs
Keep going
Place the signed representation agreement in the Contracts area
Move from qualification to forms, fingerprints, the examination, and license issuance.
Read the complete 2026 agreement guide
Continue from showing timing to required terms, 90-day calculation, renewal, compensation, and exceptions.
Give the agency disclosure before signing
Place the relationship disclosure and signed agreement in the correct order.
Test whether conduct created buyer agency
Distinguish seller-side access from an undertaking to represent the buyer.