5.2 Advertising & Brokerage Operations Rules

Advertising rules — no blind ads

New Hampshire's administrative Rea rules and RSA 331-A control how licensees advertise. The cornerstone rule, tested constantly, is the ban on the blind ad: every advertisement of property for sale or rent, or of real estate services, must identify the licensee's employing firm and/or principal broker, not merely the salesperson's personal name or phone number.

Key advertising principles:

• Firm identification. Print, radio, TV, signs, and internet/online ads must disclose the brokerage firm. A Facebook post or a personal website is still an "advertisement" and must name the firm.
• No false or misleading claims. A licensee may not misstate price, availability, features, their own experience, or the services offered.
• Authority to advertise. A salesperson advertises under the principal broker's authority; the broker remains responsible for what the team puts out.
• Owner consent. A licensee advertises a specific property only with the owner's authorization (a listing agreement), and must promptly stop when a listing ends.

Why it matters: A "blind ad" hides who is actually behind the listing, which the Commission treats as deceptive. If an exam scenario shows a salesperson running an ad with only their own cell number and no brokerage name, that ad violates NH advertising rules.

Brokerage operations, supervision, and self-dealing

The principal broker's supervisory role

New Hampshire brokerage is organized around the principal broker. Every salesperson and associate broker is affiliated with and supervised by one principal broker at a time. The principal broker:

• Holds and reconciles the escrow/trust account (no salesperson controls escrow);
• Is responsible for the advertising, disclosures, and conduct of affiliated licensees;
• Maintains transaction and trust records the Commission may audit.

Liability flows up the supervisory chain: if an affiliated salesperson mishandles client money or runs an improper ad, the principal broker can be disciplined for failure to supervise. That is why a salesperson cannot, for example, open their own escrow account or hang their license at two firms simultaneously.

Listing pitfalls — net listings

A net listing sets a price the seller will "net," letting the broker keep everything above it as commission. New Hampshire Rule Rea 404.04(f) expressly prohibits net listings. The underlying conflict is that the seller does not share in the upside and may not appreciate the size of the broker's resulting fee. The prohibition applies to the net-listing compensation structure itself; disclosure does not make it permissible. The exam-safe answer: a licensee should not steer a seller into a net listing.

Disclosing your own licensed status

When a licensee buys or sells property for their own account (or for a spouse, family member, or entity they control), New Hampshire requires the licensee to disclose that they hold a real estate license to the other party to the transaction. The duty exists because a licensed person has training and access (MLS data, market knowledge) that the other side may not, and hiding the license can be a deceptive practice.

Exam takeaway: Operations questions reward the answer that protects the consumer and the principal: identify the firm in ads, route money and supervision through the principal broker, avoid net-listing self-dealing, and disclose your license when you are a party.

License affiliation, transfers, and unlicensed assistants

Beyond advertising, the state exam probes how a brokerage is staffed and supervised. Three operational details recur.

One principal broker at a time; transfers

A salesperson or associate broker may be affiliated with only one principal broker at a time. When a licensee changes firms, the license must be transferred — the prior principal broker releases it and the new principal broker takes responsibility going forward. A licensee may not legally practice (show property, write offers, collect commissions) during a gap when the license is not placed with a principal broker. Listings and the listing agreement belong to the brokerage, not the departing salesperson, so a licensee cannot simply take active listings to a new firm without the broker's consent.

Unlicensed assistants — the line they cannot cross

Brokerages employ unlicensed assistants, and the exam tests what they may and may not do. Unlicensed staff may perform ministerial and clerical tasks: scheduling, preparing marketing materials at the licensee's direction, handling keys, and answering factual questions from a script.

They may not perform activities that require a license — negotiating terms, quoting price opinions, soliciting listings, discussing the property's merits to induce a sale, or independently showing property and answering substantive buyer questions. When an exam scenario has an assistant "negotiating the price" or "explaining why the home is a great deal," that crosses into licensed activity and is a violation that the supervising broker is responsible for.

Compensation flows through the broker

Finally, a salesperson is paid by their principal broker, not directly by a buyer, seller, or another brokerage. Commission is earned by the brokerage and split per the firm's agreement with the licensee. A licensee who accepts a commission or referral fee directly from a consumer or an unlicensed person, bypassing the principal broker, commits a violation. The unifying operations principle for the exam: authority, money, and supervision all run through the principal broker.