4.3 Complaint and Disciplinary Process

Filing and Investigation

Missouri's disciplinary process is designed to protect consumers while giving licensees due process. The single most exam-relevant feature is the two-step structure: the Administrative Hearing Commission (AHC) decides whether cause for discipline exists, and only then does MREC decide what discipline to impose. These are two different bodies and two different hearings.

Who can file and how

Anyone may file — a buyer, seller, tenant, a competing licensee, MREC staff, law enforcement, or another agency. Complaints are submitted in writing to MREC and should identify the licensee, describe the conduct, and attach supporting documents.

Investigation powers

During investigation, MREC may subpoena records and witnesses, audit escrow/trust accounts, and inspect brokerage offices. Section 339.100 RSMo gives the commission formal subpoena authority. If the investigation supports a violation, MREC files a complaint with the AHC.

Trap: MREC by itself does not decide guilt in a contested case — it must take a contested matter to the AHC first. An answer saying "MREC holds a trial and revokes the license" skips the AHC step.

The Two-Step Hearing, Consent Agreements, and Appeals

Step 1 — AHC finds cause

The AHC is an independent tribunal outside MREC. It conducts a formal evidentiary hearing where the licensee has the right to:

• Written notice of the charges,
• A hearing with the chance to present evidence and witnesses,
• Counsel (attorney or representative),
• Cross-examination of adverse witnesses.

The AHC issues findings on whether cause for discipline exists under Section 339.100. It does not set the punishment.

Step 2 — MREC imposes discipline

If the AHC finds cause, the matter returns to MREC, which holds a disciplinary hearing to decide the actual sanction — censure, probation, suspension, revocation, and/or a civil penalty up to $2,500 per offense.

Consent agreements (settlement)

Many cases resolve before a full AHC hearing through a consent agreement — a negotiated settlement specifying agreed discipline, which MREC must approve. It avoids a contested hearing and is faster for both sides.

Appeals ladder

A licensee dissatisfied with the outcome may appeal:

1. Circuit court (judicial review of the administrative decision),
2. Missouri Court of Appeals,
3. Missouri Supreme Court (discretionary).

Grounds for appeal include procedural error, insufficient evidence, abuse of discretion, or misapplication of law.

Trap: Do not confuse the AHC (administrative) with the circuit court (judicial). Appeals to the courts come after the administrative process is complete.

Burden of Proof, Emergency Action, and Practical Timeline

Who must prove what

In a Missouri disciplinary case the state (through MREC) bears the burden of proving cause before the AHC; the licensee is not required to prove innocence. The standard is the administrative preponderance of the evidence — more likely than not — not the criminal "beyond a reasonable doubt." That lower, civil-style bar is precisely why thorough contemporaneous documentation and prompt cooperation matter so much to any licensee under investigation.

Emergency and summary action

Most discipline follows the full two-step process. But where the public faces imminent harm, MREC has narrower emergency tools and may pursue injunctive relief in court to stop ongoing unlicensed activity or egregious conduct. The exam's main point is that routine discipline is not summary — a licensee gets notice and a hearing before losing a license in an ordinary case.

What a licensee should do when a complaint arrives

Mapping the full path

Put the whole sequence together so the order is automatic on exam day: a complaint is filed → MREC investigates (subpoenas, audits, inspections) → MREC files a complaint with the AHC → the AHC holds a hearing and finds whether cause exists → if cause is found, MREC holds a disciplinary hearing and imposes the sanction → the licensee may appeal to circuit court, then the Court of Appeals, then (discretionarily) the Missouri Supreme Court. A consent agreement can short-circuit the hearing stages by negotiated settlement that MREC approves.

Trap: Watch for answers that put the courts before the AHC, or that let MREC revoke a license without any AHC finding in a contested matter — both reverse the correct order.