The task, not the job title, decides whether a license is required
Administrative
Prepare, schedule, deliver, record, or relay approved facts within stated controls
Licensed
Solicit, show, advise, negotiate, or make the consumer-facing substantive decision
Supervised
Broker knowledge and consent remain prerequisites even when the task itself is unlicensed
A California unlicensed real estate assistant may perform supervised administrative work with the broker's knowledge and consent. The assistant may not solicit for a specific transaction, show property, discuss price or terms, interpret documents, advise a consumer, negotiate, or perform mortgage-loan activity that requires an endorsement. A permitted task can cross the line because of what the assistant says or decides while doing it.
DRE, Unlicensed Administrative Assistants · checked 2026-08-27Start with sections 10131 and 10137, then use the DRE guideline
10131
What requires a broker license
For another and for compensation or expected compensation, the statute covers selling, buying, leasing, solicitation, negotiation, rent collection, and specified real-estate-secured loan services.
10137
Who may be employed or paid
A broker may not employ or compensate an unlicensed person, directly or indirectly, to perform an act within the licensed scope. Payment terminology cannot change the nature of the work.
DRE guideline
Practical safe boundaries
DRE identifies administrative scenarios that generally remain outside the broker definition when performed with broker knowledge and consent. The guideline does not add to or override the law.
Guidance is not a universal safe harbor
DRE warns that it takes very little for unlicensed work to become licensed activity. Negotiation is broader than bargaining over price. Conduct that directly assists or aids negotiation or closing can cross the line, so the complete words, audience, purpose, and authority matter.
California unlicensed-assistant activity map
| Work area | Generally permitted within the guideline | Keep with a licensee |
|---|---|---|
| Prospecting | Canvass for general interest in a broker's services, then refer an interested person or schedule a licensee appointment | Induce the person to use the broker or solicit for a specific property, transaction, or product |
| Open house | With the principal's consent, place signs, greet visitors, provide approved written facts, hand out approved materials, and arrange licensee appointments | Show or exhibit the property, discuss terms, location, neighborhood, schools, or otherwise solicit for the property |
| CMA | Prepare or conduct a comparative market analysis for the licensee's approval and use | Independently give the consumer a pricing opinion, recommend a list or offer price, or use the analysis to negotiate |
| Public communication | Repeat factual information from writing prepared by the licensee | Create a specific-property solicitation, add advice, or answer beyond the approved writing |
| Appointments and vendors | Schedule licensee meetings and, when properly directed, order reports, inspections, appraisals, credit reports, repairs, or other services | Select a transaction strategy for the consumer or recommend substantive contract terms |
| Property access | With the principal's consent, let an inspector or repair worker enter; use a clearly identified data sheet prepared by the broker, licensee, or principal | Show the property to a prospective buyer or tenant or supply unscripted property representations |
| Advertising | Prepare and design transaction advertising for licensee review and approval before publication | Publish independently, make unverified claims, omit required disclosures, or use the ad to perform licensed solicitation |
| Documents | Prepare or complete documents under licensee supervision when the licensee reviews or approves the final version before presentation | Choose terms, advise a party what to sign, explain legal effect, or present an unreviewed final document |
| Delivery and signatures | Mail, deliver, pick up, arrange delivery, and obtain signatures | Discuss the document's content, relevance, importance, or significance |
| Trust funds | Accept, account for, or provide a receipt for trust funds | Choose an unauthorized destination, alter instructions, negotiate the deposit, or miss the broker's handling controls |
| Transaction status | Report when information or a service will be delivered, performed, or completed | Interpret the report, advise on its consequence, or negotiate a response |
| Document review | Check documents as instructed and make internal recommendations to the broker | Make the final completeness or compliance determination for the transaction |
“Generally permitted” assumes the exact limits in DRE's guideline, including broker knowledge and consent. It is not permission to expand the task through an improvised conversation.
The verb often reveals where the task changes character
Schedule
Sell
Deliver
Explain
Prepare
Approve
Record
Decide
Grant vendor access
Show to a prospect
Repeat approved facts
Add an opinion
This is a study cue, not a statutory word test. For example, an assistant may prepare a CMA for a licensee's approval and use. That does not authorize the assistant to approve the price, present an independent opinion, or negotiate from the analysis.
At an open house, hospitality is different from showing
The limited support role
- Obtain the principal's consent
- Place signs and greet visitors
- Hand out licensee-prepared or approved materials
- Provide factual information from approved material
- Arrange a later appointment with the licensee
The licensee role
- Show or exhibit the property
- Discuss a possible sale's terms or conditions
- Discuss the property, location, neighborhood, or schools
- Answer substantive condition questions
- Induce the visitor to buy or retain brokerage services
Post 138 will own the field checklist
This article owns the full assistant activity boundary. The later open-house article will cover staffing, scripts, visitor questions, handoffs, signage, and event-specific controls without repeating this complete twelve-area map.
Possession of a document or deposit does not create decision authority
| Item | Assistant may handle | Licensee or broker controls |
|---|---|---|
| Contract or disclosure | Prepare under direction, deliver, pick up, and obtain a signature | Terms, final review or approval, explanation, advice, and negotiation |
| Report | Order when directed and communicate delivery or completion status | Interpret findings, recommend a response, and negotiate repairs or credits |
| Trust funds | Accept, account for, or issue a receipt | Lawful handling system, instructions, deposit destination, signatory authority, records, and supervision |
Receipt by the assistant can start the applicable trust-fund clock. The funds generally must reach the owner, neutral escrow, or broker trust account no later than three business days after receipt unless a valid held-check rule applies. Use the dedicated deadline article for that complete workflow.
Apply the trust-fund clock after receiptCompensation follows the activity
Section 10137 makes it unlawful for a broker to employ or compensate an unlicensed person for licensed acts. The correct exam sequence is activity first, payment second. If the person solicited, negotiated, showed property, or performed another licensed act, calling the payment a salary, bonus, marketing fee, reimbursement, or vendor charge does not cure it. DRE's official assistant guideline does not state a separate rule that all transaction-related bonuses are automatically unlawful regardless of the work performed.
Software does not get a wider license boundary
DRE's March 17, 2026 AI advisory says using AI to conduct licensed activity may be equivalent to asking an unlicensed assistant to do it. A brokerage may use software to draft, summarize, track, or flag, but the licensee must independently verify factual claims and approve outputs before relying on them in transactions or consumer communications. Responsibility remains with the licensee and responsible broker.
A chatbot that moves from scheduling into property-specific persuasion, pricing advice, document interpretation, or negotiation creates the same boundary problem as a human assistant.
A broker needs controls that work before the conversation starts
- 01Write task-specific boundaries instead of relying on the title assistant.
- 02Identify the moment each permitted task must be handed to a licensee.
- 03Approve scripts, factual sheets, advertising, and final transaction documents before public use.
- 04Require assistants to document consent, directions, delivery, signatures, funds, and handoffs.
- 05Review calls, messages, chatbot flows, open-house conduct, and transaction files for boundary drift.
- 06Verify current license and endorsement status before assigning any licensed activity.
DRE's August 2025 enforcement guidance treats failure to supervise and unlicensed activity as separate common violations. A broker may therefore face a problem in both the assignment of the work and the system used to monitor it.
DRE, Most Common Enforcement Violations, August 26, 2025 · checked 2026-08-27Eight mistakes that erase the administrative boundary
Treating an assistant's job title as permission for every assigned task
Letting general canvassing turn into a specific-property pitch
Calling an open-house conversation factual after adding advice or persuasion
Allowing document delivery to become document interpretation
Letting a vendor into property without the principal's consent
Publishing assistant-drafted advertising before licensee review and approval
Assuming a compensation label can legalize licensed activity
Allowing a chatbot or automation to show, advise, solicit, or negotiate independently
Use the quick checker, then study the complete Practice area
Classify the exact action and words
Use the checker for a fast permitted-versus-licensed contrast, then connect the rule to broker supervision, trust funds, advertising, and technology.
Open the unlicensed-assistant checkerCalifornia license requirement FAQs
Keep going
Place assistant boundaries inside the complete Practice area
Move from qualification to forms, fingerprints, the examination, and license issuance.
Check common unlicensed-assistant activities
Use the fast permitted-versus-licensed task checker before reviewing the full reasoning.
Continue from trust-fund receipt to the handling clock
Apply the three-business-day rule, records, reconciliation, and retention after an assistant accepts funds.
Practice the permitted-activity line
Classify supervision, solicitation, documents, open houses, funds, and compensation in exam-style scenarios.