Moving your Florida real estate license is easy.
If you are thinking about changing brokerages, you may be expecting paperwork, phone calls to the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, conversations with your current broker, and a complicated process for moving your license.
If you are moving your license to Easy Realty, it is much simpler than that.
Complete the Easy Realty Join Now form, and Easy Realty initiates the change of brokerage with the Florida DBPR. Your new employing broker can handle the brokerage change through the DBPR rather than requiring you to figure out the license-transfer process yourself.
That is the part many Florida real estate agents do not realize.
If you are also leaving the National Association of REALTORS®, changing your local association membership, or keeping your MLS access as a non-REALTOR subscriber, those are separate processes.
Let’s break the whole thing down.
How Do I Transfer My Florida Real Estate License to Another Broker?
If you are joining Easy Realty, start by completing our Join Now form.
Easy Realty can then initiate the change of brokerage through the Florida DBPR.
The DBPR refers to this as a Change of Broker/Employer. It changes the qualifying broker with whom your real estate license is associated.
For a Florida real estate sales associate or broker sales associate moving to Easy Realty, you do not have to work out how to perform the brokerage change yourself.
Complete the Join Now form and Easy Realty handles the brokerage-side DBPR process.
How to Move Your Real Estate License to Easy Realty
For most Florida real estate sales associates, the process is simple:
- Complete the Easy Realty Join Now form.
- Easy Realty initiates your change of brokerage with the Florida DBPR.
- Check the DBPR website to verify your updated license information.
- If applicable, contact your local REALTOR association to cancel your association membership.
- If you want to maintain MLS access, complete the appropriate paperwork required by your MLS.
- Follow the instructions Easy Realty provides with the applicable pre-signed MLS form.
That is it.
The important thing to understand is that your Florida real estate license, brokerage affiliation, REALTOR association membership, and MLS access are separate things.
Your Real Estate License, Brokerage, REALTOR Membership, and MLS Are Not the Same Thing
This distinction causes an enormous amount of unnecessary confusion when agents switch brokerages.
There are four separate relationships to understand:
Your Florida real estate license
Your state real estate license is administered through the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation and the Florida Real Estate Commission.
Your brokerage affiliation
As a Florida real estate sales associate or broker sales associate, your license is associated with a qualifying broker. When you transfer your real estate license to another broker in Florida, that brokerage affiliation changes.
Your REALTOR association membership
Your membership in a local REALTOR association and the National Association of REALTORS is separate from the state record showing the brokerage with which your license is associated.
Your MLS access
Your MLS subscription is another separate relationship. Your MLS maintains its own subscriber and brokerage records.
That distinction matters.
You could have already moved your Florida real estate license to Easy Realty while your local association or MLS is still processing its own paperwork.
Your MLS account is not your Florida real estate license.
How Do I Know If My Real Estate License Has Been Transferred?
Do not guess. Check it.
The Florida DBPR provides a public Verify a Licensee service where you can search for your Florida real estate license and review the information associated with it.
This is particularly important if you have started the process of changing real estate brokerages in Florida but your local association or MLS still shows your previous brokerage.
Check your state license through the DBPR first.
If the DBPR reflects your new brokerage but another organization still displays your old brokerage, you are looking at records maintained by different organizations.
Will My Current Broker Be Notified When I Transfer My License?
Yes.
After Easy Realty transfers your Florida real estate license, the DBPR sends your former broker an email notifying them that your license is no longer associated with their brokerage.
The notification does not identify the brokerage to which you moved your license. It simply advises your former broker that your license is no longer associated with their brokerage.
Example of the email the Florida DBPR sends to a former broker after an agent’s real estate license is transferred to another brokerage.
If you are wondering whether you need to call your former broker and ask them to transfer your license, do not confuse that conversation with the actual DBPR brokerage-change process.
Easy Realty can initiate the brokerage change after you complete the Join Now form.
Any contractual, transaction, commission, listing, brokerage-property, or other obligations involving your former brokerage are separate matters.
Will Easy Realty Contact My Former Broker?
Easy Realty initiates the brokerage change through the Florida DBPR.
Once the license has been transferred, the DBPR sends your former broker an email advising that your license is no longer associated with that brokerage.
If you need to communicate with your former brokerage about listings, pending transactions, commissions, agreements, records, equipment, or other obligations, those matters should be handled separately.
Will My Former Broker Know That I Joined Easy Realty?
The DBPR email notifying your former broker that your license has moved does not identify the new brokerage.
Your former broker may subsequently see your new brokerage affiliation through the public DBPR license record, but the email notification itself simply advises that your license is no longer associated with the former brokerage.
Do I Need to Contact the DBPR Myself?
Normally, you do not need to contact the DBPR to initiate the brokerage change when Easy Realty is handling it for you.
Complete the Easy Realty Join Now form, and Easy Realty takes care of the brokerage-side DBPR process.
This is one of the reasons why transferring your Florida real estate license can be much easier than agents expect.
Do I Have to Fill Out a DBPR RE 11?
The Florida DBPR uses Form RE 11 for certain status changes involving sales associates and broker sales associates, including a change of employer.
When Easy Realty handles your brokerage change electronically, you ordinarily do not need to complete the paper RE 11 merely to move from your current brokerage to Easy Realty.
Do I Need My Old Broker’s Permission to Transfer My License?
The state license-change process is separate from any independent contractual or business responsibilities you may have to your former brokerage.
Changing your brokerage affiliation does not eliminate obligations you may have concerning:
- Current listings
- Pending transactions
- Commission arrangements
- Brokerage records
- Company equipment or property
- Outstanding balances
- Independent-contractor agreement provisions
- Other obligations connected with your departure
Those issues are separate from the administrative process of transferring your real estate license to another brokerage.
How Quickly Can My License Be Transferred to Easy Realty?
Easy Realty normally initiates license transfers within minutes during regular business hours after receiving a completed Join Now form and the information required to process the change.
That describes Easy Realty’s normal handling target. It is not a guarantee regarding the availability, operation, or processing time of a DBPR system.
Once your license has been moved, use the Florida DBPR license search to verify your license information yourself.
What Happens to My REALTOR Membership When I Join Easy Realty?
Moving your Florida real estate license and canceling your REALTOR association membership are not the same transaction.
If you are transitioning from REALTOR membership to Easy Realty’s non-REALTOR brokerage model, contact your local association and complete its process for canceling your association membership.
Changing the brokerage associated with your Florida real estate license does not itself change your separate association membership.
What Happens to My MLS Access When I Transfer to Easy Realty?
Your MLS participation is also separate from your Florida real estate license transfer.
If you are currently an MLS subscriber and want to maintain MLS access while transitioning away from REALTOR association membership, follow the applicable procedure for your MLS.
The terminology used for non-REALTOR participation can differ among MLS organizations. Depending on the MLS and its participation structure, you may encounter terminology such as:
- Non-member subscriber
- Non-REALTOR subscriber
- Non-association subscriber
- Thompson Broker participation
Easy Realty provides the applicable form and instructions for the MLS transition when appropriate.
Changing your brokerage through the DBPR is one process. Canceling your REALTOR association membership is another. Updating your relationship with your MLS is another.
Do not mistake a delay or different status in one organization’s system for evidence that your Florida real estate license has not been transferred.
What If My MLS Still Shows My Previous Brokerage?
First, check your Florida real estate license through the DBPR Verify a Licensee service.
If your DBPR license record reflects Easy Realty but your MLS or association still shows your previous brokerage, you are dealing with a separate MLS or association record.
Follow the membership department’s instructions for completing its change process.
This is why every agent should understand the difference between their state license, brokerage affiliation, REALTOR association membership, and MLS access.
Can I Keep MLS Access Without Being a REALTOR?
Depending on the MLS and its participation structure, non-REALTOR MLS participation may be available.
The terminology, agreements, eligibility requirements, and procedures can differ by MLS.
If you are joining Easy Realty and want to maintain MLS access, follow the applicable instructions Easy Realty provides for your MLS.
Can I Join Easy Realty If I Have a Florida Broker’s License?
Yes. Absolutely.
Easy Realty has both real estate sales associates and broker sales associates, commonly called broker associates.
If you are already a broker sales associate, you can move your license to Easy Realty.
If you are currently acting in the capacity of a broker, however, there is an additional licensing step.
The Florida DBPR uses Form RE 13 for broker transactions that include changing from Broker to Broker Sales Associate.
Easy Realty can provide the appropriate RE 13 form and instructions as part of the joining process.
What Is a Broker Sales Associate in Florida?
A broker sales associate is a Florida real estate license status for a person with broker-level licensure who operates under another qualifying broker rather than acting in the qualifying-broker capacity.
You will also commonly hear a broker sales associate described as a broker associate.
Having earned a Florida broker’s license does not prevent you from joining Easy Realty.
Florida brokers can join Easy Realty as broker sales associates.
Do I Have to Give Up My Broker’s License to Join Easy Realty?
Do not think about the process simply as giving up everything you earned by obtaining your broker’s license.
The more accurate description is that an individual who needs to make this change moves from Broker status to Broker Sales Associate status.
That is different from changing from broker to an ordinary real estate sales associate.
What Is DBPR Form RE 13?
Form RE 13 is a Florida DBPR form for Broker Transactions.
One of those transactions involves changing from Broker to Broker Sales Associate.
If that status change applies to you when joining Easy Realty, Easy Realty will provide the appropriate RE 13 form.
What If I Am Already a Broker Sales Associate?
If you are already a broker sales associate, your situation is different from someone currently acting in the capacity of a broker.
You do not need to become an ordinary sales associate simply because you are transferring your license to Easy Realty.
Having a broker sales associate license does not prevent you from moving your license to Easy Realty.
What If I Currently Qualify My Own Brokerage?
If you currently serve as the qualifying broker for a real estate brokerage, that role must be addressed before you operate as a broker sales associate under Easy Realty.
This is different from transferring an ordinary sales associate or an existing broker sales associate between brokerages.
Your individual license-status change and your responsibilities involving a company you currently qualify are separate matters.
Can I Change Back From Broker Sales Associate Status Later?
Broker and broker sales associate are different license statuses within Florida’s real estate licensing system.
Any future status change would need to use the applicable DBPR process and satisfy the requirements in effect at that time.
Becoming a broker sales associate under Easy Realty does not mean you become an ordinary sales associate.
What Happens to My Listings or Pending Transactions When I Change Brokerages?
Transferring your Florida real estate license does not automatically determine what happens to your existing listings, buyer agreements, pending transactions, or commissions.
Your license affiliation and your existing brokerage business are separate issues.
If you have business in progress when switching real estate brokerages in Florida, address those matters directly rather than assuming the license transfer determines the outcome.
Questions may include:
- Which brokerage will continue servicing an existing listing?
- How will a pending transaction be handled?
- How will a pending commission be processed?
- Are documents, files, keys, signs, lockboxes, or other property required to be returned?
- Are there provisions in your agreement with your former brokerage that apply after departure?
Those issues are separate from moving your license to Easy Realty.
Florida Real Estate License Transfer FAQs
How do I transfer my Florida real estate license?
If you are joining Easy Realty, complete the Join Now form. Easy Realty can then initiate the brokerage change with the Florida DBPR.
How do I switch real estate brokerages in Florida?
When switching to Easy Realty, start with the Join Now form. Easy Realty handles the brokerage-side DBPR process, while REALTOR association membership and MLS changes, when applicable, are handled separately.
Can my new broker transfer my real estate license?
Yes. Your new employing broker can initiate the applicable brokerage change through the Florida DBPR.
Do I transfer my real estate license myself?
If you are joining Easy Realty, you do not need to navigate the brokerage-transfer process yourself. Complete the Join Now form, and Easy Realty initiates the brokerage change.
Do I have to contact the DBPR when changing brokers?
Normally, you do not need to contact the DBPR yourself to initiate the brokerage change when Easy Realty is handling the process.
Do I need to fill out an RE 11 to change brokerages?
If Easy Realty is handling your brokerage change electronically, you ordinarily do not need to complete the paper RE 11 simply to transfer your license to Easy Realty.
How can I tell which brokerage my Florida real estate license is with?
Use the Florida DBPR Verify a Licensee service to check your license information.
Will my previous broker know that I transferred?
Yes. After the license moves, the DBPR sends your former broker an email notifying them that your license is no longer associated with their brokerage.
Will the DBPR email tell my old broker that I joined Easy Realty?
The DBPR notification advising the former broker that the license is no longer associated with their brokerage does not identify the new brokerage.
Does my old broker have to transfer my real estate license?
When joining Easy Realty, Easy Realty handles the brokerage-side DBPR change. Any separate contractual or business obligations involving your former brokerage should be addressed independently.
Do I have to make my license inactive before joining another brokerage?
The applicable DBPR brokerage-change process is used to change the qualifying broker associated with your license. When joining Easy Realty, we handle the brokerage-side licensing process.
Is changing brokerages the same as canceling my REALTOR membership?
No. Your Florida real estate license and brokerage affiliation are separate from your REALTOR association membership.
Is changing brokerages the same as changing my MLS?
No. Your MLS relationship is separate from your DBPR license affiliation and must be handled through the applicable MLS process.
Can I leave my REALTOR association and keep MLS access?
Depending on the MLS and its participation structure, non-REALTOR participation may be available. If you are joining Easy Realty and want to maintain MLS access, follow the instructions provided for the applicable MLS.
Can I join Easy Realty without being a REALTOR?
Yes. Easy Realty supports licensed real estate agents who do not maintain REALTOR membership.
Can a Florida broker join Easy Realty?
Yes. Brokers can join Easy Realty as broker sales associates. If a broker-status change is required, Easy Realty can provide the applicable RE 13 form and instructions.
Can a Florida broker work under another broker?
Yes. The applicable Florida license status is broker sales associate, also commonly called a broker associate.
Is a broker associate the same as a broker sales associate?
“Broker associate” is commonly used conversationally. Broker Sales Associate is the Florida licensing terminology used for the status.
Do I become an ordinary sales associate if I change from broker to broker sales associate?
No. Broker Sales Associate is distinct from ordinary Sales Associate status.
What happens if DBPR shows Easy Realty but my MLS still shows my old brokerage?
The DBPR and MLS maintain separate records. If your state license reflects Easy Realty, complete the applicable MLS change process and follow up with the MLS membership department if necessary.
Does moving my license determine what happens to my pending commissions?
No. The license transfer and the handling of pending commissions are separate matters. Commission questions should be addressed based on the transaction, applicable agreements, and the brokerages involved.
Ready to Move Your Florida Real Estate License?
Do not make changing brokerages more complicated than it needs to be.
If you are ready to transfer your Florida real estate license to Easy Realty, start by completing the Easy Realty Join Now form.
Easy Realty handles the brokerage-side DBPR process.
If you are transitioning away from REALTOR membership or maintaining MLS access, Easy Realty will also provide the applicable instructions and forms for the next steps.
If you hold a Florida broker’s license, that is fine too. You can join Easy Realty as a broker sales associate, with the appropriate DBPR status change when required.
And once your license has moved, you do not have to wonder whether it happened.
Check your own license through the Florida DBPR license search.
Moving your Florida real estate license is easy.
