2.1 Ohio Agency Relationships Overview

How Ohio Frames Agency

Agency is a fiduciary relationship in which a broker acts on behalf of a principal. In Ohio it is governed by Ohio Revised Code (ORC) 4735.51 through 4735.75 and the Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) 1301:5-6 rules. The Ohio salesperson exam is administered by PSI: 120 scored questions split into an 80-question national portion and a 40-question state portion, each requiring 70% to pass. Brokerage Relationships (Agency Law) is 14 of the 40 state questions in the PSI outline, second only to License Law and Rules (16).

A core distinction the exam tests repeatedly is client versus customer.

Creating an Agency Relationship

Under ORC 4735.55, an agency relationship in Ohio is created only by a written, dated, signed brokerage agreement. A handshake, a verbal promise, or merely showing property does not create a client relationship. The agreement must state the type of representation, the compensation, and a definite expiration date.

Exam trap: "At first substantive contact the agent agreed verbally to represent the buyer." That creates no client relationship in Ohio. Until a written agreement is signed, the buyer is a customer.

Watch the timing vocabulary in ORC 4735.56: a seller receives the Consumer Guide when the agency agreement is signed (or before advertising or showing if no agreement is required); a purchaser receives it before the earliest of a prequalification evaluation, a request for specific financial information, a showing other than at an open house, discussing or submitting an offer, or a buyer agency agreement. If that earliest event happens by phone or email, the licensee discloses the agency relationship by the same medium and provides the guide at the first meeting that follows.

Fiduciary Duties Under ORC 4735.62

A licensee representing a client is a fiduciary and must use best efforts to further the client's interest, including these nine duties in ORC 4735.62:

The national mnemonic OLD CAR (obedience, loyalty, disclosure, confidentiality, accounting, reasonable care) covers six of them; ORC 4735.62 adds performing the written agreement, complying with the law including fair housing, and advising expert advice.

After the relationship ends, unless otherwise agreed in writing, the licensee still owes the client an accounting of all money and property and confidentiality (ORC 4735.74).

The Two Required Disclosure Documents

Ohio uses two separate documents, and the exam loves to swap their names and timing:

1. Consumer Guide to Agency Relationships (OAC 1301:5-6-05). A brokerage-authored brochure, titled in 14-point type, explaining seller agency, buyer agency, dual agency, and the duties owed. It goes to a seller at the agency agreement and to a purchaser before the earliest triggering event in ORC 4735.56(D) (for example, a showing other than at an open house), and the consumer signs only to acknowledge receipt.
2. Agency Disclosure Statement (ORC 4735.57). A state-prescribed form confirming exactly who each licensee represents in this transaction. It must be signed by all parties before, or at the time of, signing the offer to purchase or lease.

Worked example: A licensee meets a walk-in buyer at an open house. Before she discusses an offer or shows the buyer another property, she hands over the Consumer Guide. The buyer later writes an offer; before that offer is signed, the licensee provides the Agency Disclosure Statement confirming she represents the seller. Both documents are required, in that order.

Ministerial Acts and Customer-Level Service

A customer is owed only honesty, fairness, and disclosure of known material defects. The licensee may still perform ministerial acts, defined in ORC 4735.01 as routine, non-discretionary tasks that do not amount to representation.

If a licensee starts giving advice or advocating, they risk creating an unintended agency or, worse, undisclosed dual agency. The exam tests whether you can tell a ministerial act apart from a fiduciary one.

Disclosure When Contact Begins by Phone or Email

Ohio has a special rule for remote contact (ORC 4735.56(E)). If the earliest triggering event is by telephone or electronic mail, the licensee must disclose by that same medium the nature of the agency relationship the licensee already has with the seller and the buyer, then provide the Consumer Guide at the first meeting that follows.

Worked example: A buyer emails a listing agent to discuss making an offer on a home. The agent must reply by email that she represents the seller, then provide the Consumer Guide when they first meet.

Why This Matters for Discipline

Treat agency-disclosure timing as a compliance rule. The penalties under ORC 4735.18 range from a reprimand to fines, suspension, or revocation, and an aggrieved consumer may also recover from the Real Estate Recovery Fund. Treat the disclosure timeline as a bright-line compliance rule, not a formality, and you will answer the agency-overview questions correctly.