California-specific tool
Unlicensed assistant activity checker
The practical line is between supervised administrative support and conduct that solicits, shows, advises, or negotiates. The responsible broker must know what the assistant is doing and keep the work inside that line.
Generally permitted with broker knowledge and consent
- Place signs, greet visitors, hand out licensee-approved materials, and arrange appointments at an open house, with the principal's consent
- Make general-interest canvassing calls, then refer an interested person to a licensee without soliciting for a specific property, transaction, or product
- Schedule appointments and order reports or services at a licensee's direction
- Let inspectors or repair workers into a property with the principal's consent, without showing the property to a prospective buyer or tenant
- Prepare a comparative market analysis for the licensee's approval and use
- Prepare advertising that a broker or associate licensee reviews and approves before publication
- Provide factual information from writings prepared by the licensee
Requires a license
- Show or exhibit a property to a prospective buyer or tenant
- Discuss price, terms, schools, neighborhood, property features, or the conditions of a possible sale at an open house
- Solicit a consumer for a specific property, transaction, or real estate product
- Negotiate, quote terms, recommend a price, or communicate a seller's or buyer's bargaining position
- Explain or interpret contracts, disclosures, financing documents, or legal rights
- Perform any other act for which a real estate license or MLO endorsement is required
The same line applies when the assistant is software
DRE's March 2026 AI advisory says using an AI tool to conduct licensed activity may be equivalent to asking an unlicensed assistant to do it. A licensee remains responsible for reviewing factual claims, advertising, disclosures, and consumer communications, and the responsible broker's supervision duty still applies.
DRE describes its unlicensed-assistant document as a guideline, not a substitute for the Real Estate Law. A real task can change character based on what is said, who receives it, and whether it becomes solicitation, advice, showing, or negotiation. When the boundary is uncertain, the broker should keep the task with a licensee.
Study supervision and licensed activitiesCommon questions
Can an unlicensed assistant host an open house in California?
An unlicensed assistant may help at an open house by placing signs, greeting visitors, handing out approved factual materials, and arranging appointments when the principal consents. Only a licensee may show or exhibit the property, discuss price or terms, discuss features such as schools or the neighborhood, or solicit for the property.
Can an unlicensed assistant make cold calls in California?
DRE's guideline permits general canvassing to identify interest in a broker's services, followed by referral to a licensee or scheduling an appointment. The assistant may not induce the person to use the broker or structure the call as solicitation for a specific property, transaction, or product.
Can an unlicensed assistant prepare a comparative market analysis?
DRE's guideline allows an assistant to prepare a comparative market analysis when it is subject to the licensee's approval and used by the licensee. The assistant should not independently present a pricing opinion or negotiate based on it.
How may a California broker pay an unlicensed assistant?
Business and Professions Code section 10137 prohibits employing or compensating an unlicensed person for acts that require a license. The activity is the controlling issue. A wage, bonus, marketing-fee, or reimbursement label cannot legalize solicitation, negotiation, showing property, or another licensed act.