The advertising mistakes most Texas agents make.

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By Kasey Jorgenson, designated broker, Jorgenson Real Estate · October 3, 2026

The short version: Your broker’s name must be at least half the size of your largest contact info, including your handle or QR code. Every business website and social profile needs links to the IABS (current version 1-2, effective January 1, 2026) and the Consumer Protection Notice. Team names end in Team or Group. Only claim deals you handled. Posting a sold price isn’t illegal in Texas, but get your client’s written permission first.

Advertising is one of the easiest ways for a good agent to end up with a TREC complaint, because most of the rules are about details nobody notices until somebody files. Here are the mistakes I see most, especially on social media, and how to fix each one in a few minutes.

1. Your broker’s name is too small (the 50% rule)

Every ad must show, in a readily noticeable place, your name or team name and your broker’s name, with the broker’s name at least half the size of the largest contact information for any agent or team in the ad (22 TAC §535.155(a)). Two details catch people:

• “Contact information” is broad. It includes your name, phone, email, website, social media handle, and QR code. A giant QR code or @handle sets the size your broker’s name has to meet.
• Almost everything is an ad. Social media, email, texts, websites, business cards, signs, and billboards all count. The main exceptions are messages to your current client and a directional sign that shows only the broker’s name or logo.
• A logo only counts if the broker’s name inside it meets the half-size test on its own.

2. Your social profile is missing the required TREC links

Every business website needs two links on its homepage: the Information About Brokerage Services notice (§531.20) and the Consumer Protection Notice (§531.18). Each needs a specific label and font size: “Texas Real Estate Commission Information About Brokerage Services” in at least 10-point type, or “TREC Information About Brokerage Services” in at least 12-point. The Consumer Protection Notice works the same way.

TREC treats a social profile you use for business as a business website. On social media, the links can live in your profile or on a page one click away:

• Facebook: in the About section.
• Instagram: in your bio link or a link page, or a story highlight.
• Everywhere: a link in your email signature doesn’t satisfy the rule for a website.

And check your links this week. TREC released a new version of the IABS form (IABS 1-2) effective January 1, 2026. If your bio still points to the old form, it’s out of date.

3. Your team name or title says something it shouldn’t

• Team names have to end in “Team” or “Group,” be registered with TREC by your broker, and can’t include words that suggest an independent brokerage, like “Realty,” “Brokerage,” “Company,” or “Associates” (§535.154, §535.155(d)).
• Titles: a sales agent can’t call themselves owner, president, CEO, or similar in an ad, including in an email address or a website URL.

4. Your “Just Sold” post overstates your role

TREC’s misleading-advertising rules include implying you were part of a transaction you weren’t part of (§535.155(d)). That means no “Just Sold” postcards or “recently sold” lists that include deals you didn’t handle. Three more from the same list:

• Stale listings: advertising a property 10 or more days after it closed without showing its current status.
• Value claims: statements about a property’s value that aren’t based on a disclosed appraisal or a proper opinion of value.
• Rankings: “#1 agent” or “top producer” claims without the objective criteria disclosed in the ad.

“Expert” and “specialist” aren’t banned words, but they have to be true. If it’s a designation, make sure you’ve actually earned it.

5. You posted the sold price without asking

Posting a sold price isn’t illegal in Texas. Being a non-disclosure state only means the government can’t force anyone to report sale prices. But it’s your client’s information:

• Texas REALTORS® recommends getting your client’s permission before sharing the price.
• For REALTORS®, the Code of Ethics bars revealing a client’s confidential information without consent (Standard of Practice 1-9).
• Unlock MLS rules say only the listing or selling participant may use a property’s sold information to advertise, and they warn that Texas buyers and sellers may expect sold data to be used discreetly. Advertising someone else’s listing requires written consent and must name the listing firm.
• Any ad that uses MLS data should state the source and the date range.

For many sellers, especially at higher price points, the price is the most private part of the deal. Get it in writing before you post it.

What happens if TREC gets a complaint

TREC runs an advertising compliance program: an advertising-only complaint generally gets 14 days to fix, and a timely fix leads to dismissal. Don’t count on that as a safety net. Administrative penalties for advertising violations can run $100 to $1,500 per violation, and each day can count separately.

A five-minute audit

• Broker name at least half the size of your biggest contact info, QR code and handle included.
• IABS (the current 1-2 version) and Consumer Protection Notice linked from every business profile and website.
• Team name ends in Team or Group and is registered. No “owner” or “CEO” titles.
• Every “sold” post is a deal you actually handled, with the client’s written okay if it shows the price.
• Closed listings updated to their current status within 10 days.

General information, not legal advice. TREC says I can’t practice law, and I like my license. Run your specific situation past your broker or a real estate attorney.

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