Real Estate Team Name Rules on Social Media

What Are the Team Name Rules on Social Media?

A team name is not a firm name. NAR Standard of Practice 12-5 says so, and every state we track asks for the brokerage name on your advertising no matter how your team brands itself. Several states go further. Texas requires team names to be registered with TREC. Georgia, Tennessee, Arkansas and Oklahoma don’t let the team outshine the firm. Colorado bans words like Realty and LLC in team names. New York wants “Team” plus “at” or “of” the brokerage. The safe layout: brokerage name on every post, at least as large as the team name.

Why Teams Get This Wrong So Often

Teams care about their brand. The team name is on the shirts, the yard signs, the Instagram handle and the email signature. It’s what the agents built together, and it’s what clients remember.

So when the graphics template gets made, the team logo goes big and centered, and the brokerage goes small in the corner, if it shows up at all. That’s the most common team advertising problem we see. It’s backwards in most states, because the rules exist so consumers know which licensed firm stands behind the people they’re dealing with. A team isn’t a licensed firm. The brokerage is.

The National Baseline: NAR SoP 12-5

If you’re a REALTOR®, Standard of Practice 12-5 requires the firm name to be readily apparent in your advertising. On displays with limited space, a link to the firm name can work. And it’s direct about teams: a team name is not a firm name.

In practice, that means:

• A post with only the team logo doesn’t satisfy the requirement.
• A team Instagram handle doesn’t stand in for the brokerage name.
• Putting “a [Brokerage] team” in tiny type under a large team logo is risky, because “readily apparent” is the standard.

State rules sit on top of this. In the states below, the details get more specific.

State-by-State Team Name Notes

These come from our state-by-state guide to real estate social media advertising rules. Where a note comes from an association summary instead of the rule text, it’s marked.

Texas

Your team name has to be registered with TREC before you use it in advertising. Under 22 TAC §535.155, a post needs the agent or team name plus the broker’s name (or the broker’s TREC-registered assumed name). The broker’s name has to be at least half the size of the largest agent or team contact information. Texas lets that broker information sit on your profile if it’s readily accessible by a direct link and noticeable, but we still put it on every post.

Georgia

Under 520-1-.09, the firm has to appear equal to or greater than the agent or team, in both size and frequency. Frequency is the part teams miss. If your team name appears twice on a graphic (once in the logo, once in the footer), the firm name should appear at least twice as well. Georgia also requires the firm phone number on file with the commission.

Tennessee

Under 1260-02-.12(3)(b),(6), the firm’s letters have to be the same size as or larger than the licensee’s or team’s. The firm phone number is required too. One click away is acceptable for placement, but the size rule still applies wherever the firm name appears.

Arkansas (secondary)

Per association summaries of AREC Regulation 10.5, the firm has to appear equal to or greater than the agent, team or DBA. We haven’t verified this against the regulation text, so read it before you rely on it.

Oklahoma (secondary)

Per association summaries of OAC 605:10-9-4, the broker’s name or trade name goes on all advertising, including social, and an associate’s name can never appear alone. The broker has to be at least 50% of the size of the associate. Confirm with the rule text.

Colorado

Colorado restricts what a team can be called. Words including Realty, Real Estate, Company and LLC aren’t allowed in a team name, because they make a team sound like a separate brokerage. Under 4 CCR 725-1, Rule 6.10, the firm name also has to appear clearly and conspicuously on each page the broker controls, or within the first click when space is limited.

New York

Under New York’s rules, a team name has to include the word “Team” plus “at” or “of” [the brokerage]. “The Smith Team at ABC Realty” is the pattern. New York’s advertising rule, 19 NYCRR 175.25, also asks for the broker’s name plus an address or phone on every page and your accurate license type.

Alabama

A team rule was pending in Alabama when we checked, and we couldn’t confirm whether it has been adopted. Alabama’s existing rule (§34-27-36(a)(6),(15); Rule 790-X-3-.16) already requires the qualifying broker or company name prominently in every post, unless the company name is in the account name, in a font equal to or larger than other text or logos. A team logo larger than the company name fails that today, team rule or not.

Some states go further. California, for example, pairs the team name with a team member’s name and license number.

A Template Layout That Works Everywhere

Rather than build a different graphic for every state, use one layout that passes the strictest of them:

1. Brokerage name on every post, in the image and the caption. That covers Alabama and North Carolina, the in-post states.
2. Brokerage name at least as large as the team name. Texas asks for half, Oklahoma for 50%, and Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama and Arkansas for equal or larger. Equal passes all of them.
3. Brokerage name at least as often as the team name. That’s Georgia’s frequency rule, and it’s easy to follow. One team logo, one brokerage footer.
4. Team name in the form your state requires. “The Smith Team at ABC Realty” style for New York. A registered name for Texas. No banned words for Colorado.
5. State extras in the caption. Brokerage phone for Georgia, Tennessee and Louisiana. A license number where your state requires one.
6. Video: brokerage name on the first frame and the cover image, not only at the end.

A caption sign-off that works for most teams: “Jane Smith, The Smith Team | ABC Realty.” Add the phone or license number where your state requires it.

Team Accounts vs. Agent Accounts

Many teams run a shared team page plus individual agent pages. The same rules apply to both. A few things to watch:

• The team account’s name and bio. The bio should carry the full brokerage name, phone and any required links. In Texas, that includes links to the IABS form and the Consumer Protection Notice.
• Agents posting team content. If team members share a team graphic, the brokerage name should already be on it, so it travels with the post.
• Agents leaving the team. When someone leaves, their old posts still show the team and brokerage. If they move to a different brokerage, they need to update their bio and cover images right away.

If you’re on a team, our does my brokerage name have to be on every social post? article explains why we put it on every post even in states that allow the profile.

For Brokers Supervising Teams

Teams are where brokers lose the most visibility into advertising. A team leader orders new graphics, the team posts daily, and the brokerage only finds out when a complaint comes in.

Put team branding in your written social media policy:

• Team names must be approved by the broker before use, and registered where the state requires it
• The required size and frequency of the brokerage name relative to the team name
• Who approves team graphics templates
• What happens to team accounts when a team leaves the brokerage

Our brokerage social media policy outline and how brokers supervise agent advertising without approving every post go into more detail. The Brokerage Social Media Playbook covers the bigger picture.

How We Build Team Posts

When Freedom runs social media for a team, the brokerage name and the team name are built into the post templates before the first post, sized and placed to meet the layout above. A Freedom VA builds each post and schedules it in a scheduling tool, and the team leader or agent approves every post before it can publish. Nothing unapproved goes out.

That approval step gives the broker a clear record of who reviewed each ad. We don’t reply to comments or DMs or speak to consumers for the team. If your team also uses us for transaction coordination, we can post your just listed and just sold announcements too, with the right branding. Ask when you get started. See turning transaction milestones into social media posts or the social media management service page.

Quick Check for Team Posts

• Is the brokerage name on the post, in the image and the caption?
• Is it at least as large as the team name?
• Does it appear at least as often as the team name?
• Is the team name registered or formatted the way your state requires?
• Are your state’s extras (phone, license number) included?
• Has your broker approved the team name and the template?

Get the template right once and every post after it is right too.

Related Articles

• Real Estate Social Media Advertising Rules by State
• Does My Brokerage Name Have to Be on Every Social Post?
• How Brokers Supervise Agent Advertising Without Approving Every Post
• Brokerage Social Media Policy: What to Put in It
• Brand Consistency Across Your Agents on Social Media
• The Brokerage Social Media Playbook