Este artículo está disponible solo en inglés.
Short answer: only if you are a member of the National Association of REALTORS®, and only next to your own name or your firm's name. A domain like danaruizrealtor.com is fine for a member. One like miamirealtor.com or bestrealtorkendall.com is not, because it uses the word as a description instead of a membership. If you aren't a member, leave the word out entirely.
Why can't I use the word however I like?
REALTOR® is not a job title. It is a registered trademark owned by the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), and it means "member of NAR", nothing more. NAR's Membership Marks Manual says the term may never be used as a description of someone's licensed status. Passing the state exam makes you a licensed real estate agent (in Florida, a sales associate). Joining a local association of REALTORS® is what lets you use the trademark.
That is why the rules care about how the word sits in your domain, not just whether it is there.
What does NAR actually allow in a domain or username?
NAR's rules for using the marks online say a member may use REALTOR® in a domain name or a social media username only in connection with the member's name or firm name. Normally the trademark has to be written in capitals with the ® symbol, but NAR relaxes that where a domain or username can't show it, so lowercase in a web address is fine.
NAR's own examples, for a member called Jane Smith, translated to our fictional agent Dana Ruiz:
- Allowed: danaruizrealtor.com, ruizrealtor.com, realtordanaruiz.com, dana_ruiz_realtor on Instagram, and even miamidanarealtor.com, because her name is still attached to the word.
- Not allowed: miamirealtor.com, yourmiamirealtor.com, localrealtor.com, number1realtor.com, top_miami_realtor, realtormom. Each one pairs the word with a place or a description instead of a person.
The test is simple: does the word sit next to your name, or does it describe a service? If you could swap "Realtor" for "real estate agent" and the domain would still make sense, it is being used as a description, and that is the use NAR's rules forbid.
Can I use "Realtor" in a Spanish domain like turealtorenmiami.com?
No. The rule doesn't change with the language. "Tu realtor en Miami" means "your Realtor in Miami", which is the same descriptive use as NAR's "yourchicagorealtor" example. If you want a Spanish-friendly address, use your name, or a phrase with no trademark in it, such as danaruizbienesraices.com.
What if I'm licensed but not an NAR member?
Then you can't use REALTOR® in your domain, your username, your logo or your bio at all. Unauthorized use by a non-member is one of the specific misuses NAR's manual covers, and it publishes a sample letter associations send about it. Call yourself a real estate agent, a sales associate or a broker, whichever your license actually says.
What happens if I let my membership lapse?
Your right to the trademark ends with your membership. NAR's manual treats use by a former member as unauthorized, so a domain built around "realtor" becomes something you have to replace. That means a new domain, redirects, new business cards and updating everywhere the old address was listed.
Is a "realtor" domain worth it even if I'm allowed one?
Usually not. A domain that is just your name has none of these strings attached:
- It survives a lapse in membership, a move to commercial work or a switch to being a broker.
- It survives a brokerage change, as long as the domain is registered to you. We covered that in what happens to your website when you switch brokerages.
- It is shorter and easier to say out loud, which matters when you are giving it to someone at an open house.
- It works in both languages. danaruiz.com reads the same to an English or Spanish speaker.
If your name is taken, adding a short real estate word that isn't a trademark works well: danaruizhomes.com, danaruizrealestate.com or danaruizkendall.com. Before you register anything, also check your brokerage's advertising policy, since some brokerages have their own rules about agents' domain names.
Swift Agent Sites builds your website on your own domain, usually live the same day, for $89 a month or $890 a year with no setup fee, hosting and https included, in English, Spanish or both.
Related: