Tennessee · state portion · advertising and firm rules
Tennessee real estate advertising rules
Advertising and broker/affiliate relationships are the largest group of the Tennessee state portion: 12 of 40 questions. The advertising half comes almost entirely from one rule, 1260-02-.12, and its key idea is that the public must always be able to see which licensed firm stands behind an ad.
Updated Oct 24, 2026 · Not affiliated with any state commission or test provider.
12state-portion questions
15questions on this page
1 clickfirm name on social media
What the outline lists
The two PSI areas on this page (state outline, p. 14):
Advertising and marketing: owner/agent advertising, “For Sale” signs, company and team advertising, internet advertising, information required in advertised listings, gifts and prizes, social media.
Broker/affiliate relationships: how compensation may be paid, permitted affiliations, the broker’s supervisory responsibility, change of affiliation, ownership of affiliates’ listings.
What every ad must show
Rule 1260-02-.12 covers far more than print: signs, flyers, letterheads, e-mail signatures, websites, social media and streamed video all count. Hats, pens, name tags and business cards do not (Rule 1260-02-.12(1)).
Firm name and firm phone, both as on file with the Commission, in every ad, under the principal broker’s direct supervision.
Same size or larger: the firm name may not be smaller than the agent’s name or the team’s name.
Your licensed name in any ad that names you.
Written permission from the owner (or the owner’s agent) before a sign goes up, and from the listing agent or broker before you advertise someone else’s listing.
15 advertising and firm-rule questions
0 of 15 answered · 0 correct
Question 1 of 15 · Advertising and broker/affiliate rules · 12 items
What is the maximum number of principal brokers an affiliate broker can work under simultaneously in Tennessee?
Answer and explanations
Incorrect: A second firm would need a second license, which the statute does not issue.
Incorrect: Three firms is further from the rule; one license means one principal broker.
Correct: T.C.A. § 62-13-309 allows only one license per affiliate broker in effect at a time, and it is held under one principal broker.
Incorrect: Tennessee does set a limit: one license in effect at a time, so one principal broker.
Question 2 of 15 · Advertising and broker/affiliate rules · 12 items
Under Tennessee regulations, who is responsible for ensuring that all team advertising complies with commission rules?
Answer and explanations
Incorrect: TREC enforces the rules after the fact; it does not supervise a firm's advertising.
Incorrect: Rule 1260-02-.41(3) forbids handing supervisory duties to a team, so the team leader cannot be the one responsible.
Correct: Rule 1260-02-.12(3)(b) puts all advertising under the principal broker's direct supervision, and Rule 1260-02-.41(3) bars delegating that to a team.
Incorrect: A coordinator may draft the ads, but the rule assigns supervision to the principal broker.
Question 3 of 15 · Advertising and broker/affiliate rules · 12 items
Under TREC rules, an affiliate broker may be engaged only by a principal broker who is:
Answer and explanations
Incorrect: Trade association membership is voluntary and plays no part in the rule.
Incorrect: The rule has no geographic test; it asks that the broker be reachable during working hours.
Incorrect: The rule sets no minimum years as a broker; it looks at focus and availability, not seniority.
Correct: Rule 1260-02-.01(2) requires the principal broker to be engaged primarily in the real estate business and accessible during normal daytime working hours.
Question 4 of 15 · Advertising and broker/affiliate rules · 12 items
Under Tennessee Real Estate Commission rules, which of the following must be included in all real estate advertisements?
Answer and explanations
Correct: Rule 1260-02-.12(3)(b) requires the firm name and the firm phone number on file with TREC in every ad.
Incorrect: TREC's web address is not required in ads; the firm's own name and phone are.
Incorrect: The rule calls for the firm phone on file, not a personal number.
Incorrect: License dates appear nowhere in the advertising rule.
Question 5 of 15 · Advertising and broker/affiliate rules · 12 items
When a real estate team advertises in Tennessee, which statement is true regarding their marketing materials?
Answer and explanations
Incorrect: Rule 1260-02-.41(4) forbids a team from presenting itself as separate from the licensed firm.
Incorrect: Every ad must carry the firm name and phone, so a team name can never stand alone.
Correct: Rule 1260-02-.12(3)(b) requires the firm name in letters the same size or larger than the team's name.
Incorrect: Tennessee licenses firms, not teams; there is no separate team registration.
Question 6 of 15 · Advertising and broker/affiliate rules · 12 items
In Tennessee, what must a real estate team name NOT include?
Answer and explanations
Incorrect: Naming a team after its leader is allowed, as long as the firm name is at least as large.
Incorrect: A place name does not imply a separate firm, so the rule does not forbid it.
Correct: Rule 1260-02-.12(3)(f)2 treats team ads with terms like Realty, Company, LLC or Associates as misleading, because they suggest a separate brokerage.
Incorrect: The rule itself speaks of licensees who hold themselves out as a team or group; those words are fine.
Question 7 of 15 · Advertising and broker/affiliate rules · 12 items
When a Tennessee real estate licensee advertises properties on their website, what is required?
Answer and explanations
Incorrect: Visitors often land on inner pages from search, which is why the rule covers each page.
Correct: Rule 1260-02-.12(5)(a) requires the firm name and firm phone on file with TREC to appear conspicuously on each page of the website.
Incorrect: A contact page alone fails the each-page requirement, and the phone number is required too.
Incorrect: The rule does not depend on what a page shows; every page needs the firm name and phone.
Question 8 of 15 · Advertising and broker/affiliate rules · 12 items
Under TREC rules, before a Tennessee licensee posts a For Sale sign on a property, what must the licensee have?
Answer and explanations
Incorrect: TREC issues no sign permits.
Incorrect: Spoken consent is not enough; the rule says written authorization.
Incorrect: An association may regulate signs, but TREC's rule asks for the owner's written authorization.
Correct: Rule 1260-02-.12(3)(d) bars posting a sign anywhere without written authorization from the property's owner or the owner's agent.
Question 9 of 15 · Advertising and broker/affiliate rules · 12 items
When a Tennessee real estate licensee offers a gift or prize as part of a promotional campaign, what is required?
Answer and explanations
Correct: Rule 1260-02-.33(1) allows a gift or prize only under the firm's sponsorship and approval, in a signed writing that gives specifications, fair market value, delivery and conditions.
Incorrect: Nothing requires identical gifts for every client; the rule regulates how the offer is made and disclosed.
Incorrect: There is no dollar cap on a gift; Rule 1260-02-.33(2) restricts cash and gift-card incentives instead.
Incorrect: TREC does not pre-approve promotions; approval comes from the licensee's own firm.
Question 10 of 15 · Advertising and broker/affiliate rules · 12 items
An affiliate broker who has been released by one Tennessee firm is moving to another. When may the affiliate begin real estate activity for the new firm?
Answer and explanations
Incorrect: Transfers are not tied to renewal; they are filed whenever the affiliate moves.
Incorrect: Telling the old broker starts the release, but the affiliate still cannot work until the transfer is processed.
Incorrect: A handshake with the new broker does not move the license; TREC has to process the transfer first.
Correct: Rule 1260-02-.02(2) bars licensed activity until the change of affiliation is received and processed by the Commission (an online transfer counts once completed and confirmed).
Question 11 of 15 · Advertising and broker/affiliate rules · 12 items
Under TREC rules, which cash-based incentive may a Tennessee licensee give in connection with a real estate transaction?
Answer and explanations
Incorrect: Cash rebates are named in Rule 1260-02-.33(2) as prohibited.
Incorrect: Rule 1260-02-.33(2)(c) says closing gift cards may not be used in any advertisement to induce business.
Incorrect: Cash prizes are banned outright; a non-cash prize would need firm approval and a written offer.
Correct: Rule 1260-02-.33(2)(b) allows a gift card as a closing gift, one of only two exceptions to the cash-incentive ban.
Question 12 of 15 · Advertising and broker/affiliate rules · 12 items
A Tennessee firm belongs to a national franchise. Which ad do TREC rules treat as false, misleading or deceptive?
Answer and explanations
Incorrect: The firm name must be the same size or larger than a team name, so this is compliant.
Correct: Rule 1260-02-.12(3)(f)1 names advertising that includes only the franchise name, without the firm name, as misleading.
Incorrect: Rule 1260-02-.12(3)(c) requires exactly that when an ad refers to an individual licensee.
Incorrect: The firm phone on file is a required element of every ad.
Question 13 of 15 · Advertising and broker/affiliate rules · 12 items
Which of these is NOT advertising under TREC's advertising rule?
Answer and explanations
Incorrect: Flyers are listed as advertising in the rule.
Incorrect: Websites are advertising, and Rule 1260-02-.12(5) adds the each-page firm name and phone requirement.
Incorrect: E-mail signatures are named in Rule 1260-02-.12(1) as advertising, so they carry the firm name and phone.
Correct: Rule 1260-02-.12(1) excludes promotional items such as business cards, pens, hats and name tags from the definition of advertising.
Question 14 of 15 · Advertising and broker/affiliate rules · 12 items
A Tennessee firm's website shows listings pulled from an outside database. What must each page with those listings include?
Answer and explanations
Incorrect: Listings must be current and accurate under Rule 1260-02-.12(5)(c), but no entry date has to be shown.
Correct: Rule 1260-02-.12(5)(b) requires a statement on each such page that some or all listings may not belong to the firm whose site is being visited.
Incorrect: No rule asks for any agent's home address.
Incorrect: A link to TREC is not required on a firm website.
Question 15 of 15 · Advertising and broker/affiliate rules · 12 items
To win listings, a Tennessee licensee tells sellers, “If your home doesn't sell in 90 days, I'll buy it.” Under TREC rules, how must this offer be made?
Answer and explanations
Correct: Rule 1260-02-.12(7)(b) says any offer, guaranty or warranty made to induce someone into an agency relationship must be in writing and disclose all pertinent details on its face.
Incorrect: The rule has no price limit; it governs the form and disclosure of the offer.
Incorrect: TREC does not pre-approve guaranteed-sale offers; the rule sets how they are made.
Incorrect: A spoken promise is exactly what the rule rules out; the guaranty must be written.
Answer every question to see your score
Websites, social media and teams
Websites
The firm name and phone must appear conspicuously on each page. A page showing listings from an outside database must say that some or all of them may not belong to the firm, and listing information has to be kept current.
Social media
The firm name and phone must be no more than one click away from the viewable page (Rule 1260-02-.12(6)).
Teams
A team may not advertise with words like “Realty,” “Real Estate,” “Company,” “LLC,” “Inc.” or “Associates” that make it look like a separate brokerage. Teams must belong to one firm, may not have their own office, are paid only by their principal broker, and cannot be given the principal broker’s supervisory duties (Rule 1260-02-.41).
A franchise name alone is false advertising
An ad that shows only the franchise brand, without the firm name, is listed in the rule as misleading. So is a webpage linking to an unlicensed entity that appears to be doing work that needs a license.
Gifts, prizes and guarantees
A gift or prize offered to win a listing, sale or lease must be sponsored and approved by your firm and put in writing, signed by you, with its specifications, fair market value, delivery time and place, and any conditions. Cash-based incentives (cash, rebates, gift cards) are banned, except a gift card at an open house for other licensees or as a closing gift, and the closing gift card may not be advertised (Rule 1260-02-.33). Any guarantee offered to win business must be in writing with every pertinent detail on its face.
You and your principal broker
An affiliate works only through a principal broker who runs the office full time, is primarily in the real estate business and is reachable during normal working hours (Rule 1260-02-.01). Commissions earned under that broker can still be paid after you transfer, retire, are released, let the license expire, or die (Rule 1260-02-.39). The general law of agency and listing agreements is national material: agency.