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Short answer: A Texas agent's website needs two linked notices on the homepage, your name as licensed, and your broker's name at least half the size of your largest contact detail. Your license number is optional. The rest of TREC's rules are about what a site must not say, and most of them catch team names and titles.
TREC's website rules sit in three places in the Texas Administrative Code: Rule 531.18 (Consumer Protection Notice), Rule 531.20 (Information About Brokerage Services) and Rules 535.154 and 535.155 (names and advertisements). Everything below comes from the text of those rules on TREC's rules page and from TREC's own FAQ, as both read on 14 October 2026. TREC notes that its page is a courtesy copy and that the Texas Secretary of State holds the official text.
Has anything changed recently? Not for websites. TREC's list of recently adopted rules shows changes taking effect on 31 August 2026, but they cover course completion records and an advisory committee. The advertising rules still carry the effective date of 15 May 2018 in TREC's FAQ.
This is a plain-English summary, not legal advice. In Texas your sponsoring broker is responsible for your advertising, and their policy may be stricter than the rule.
What has to be on the homepage?
Two links, each in a readily noticeable place on the homepage of every business website you control:
- Information About Brokerage Services (IABS). The link text must be "Texas Real Estate Commission Information About Brokerage Services" in at least 10-point type, or "TREC Information About Brokerage Services" in at least 12-point type (Rule 531.20). The link must point to a completed IABS form, with your broker's contact information filled in. The blank form from TREC is not enough. Get the current form from TREC's IABS page.
- Consumer Protection Notice. The same two label options and the same font sizes: "Texas Real Estate Commission Consumer Protection Notice" at 10 point or "TREC Consumer Protection Notice" at 12 point (Rule 531.18). The notice is on TREC's Consumer Protection Notice page.
Our general guide covers where those links usually sit. The points below are the ones agents get wrong.
Can I edit or restyle the IABS form to match my site?
Only the contact section. Rule 531.20 lets you reproduce the IABS form provided the text is copied word for word and the spacing, borders and placement look identical to TREC's published version. The one exception is the Broker Contact Information section, which you may prefill. A PDF of the form with your broker's details filled in is the safe choice. Do not rewrite it as a styled web page.
Which of my websites count as a "business website"?
Both rules define it the same way: a website that is open to the public, contains information about your real estate brokerage services, and whose content you control. Your own domain counts. So does a single-property site you built, and so does a landing page you run ads to. A profile page on your brokerage's site, where the brokerage controls the content, does not fit the "you control" part of that definition.
Is a link in my email signature enough?
Not for the IABS form you owe a buyer or seller. The website link is one of two IABS duties under Rule 531.20. The second is to give the completed form at your first substantive communication about a specific property. That can be in the body of an email, as an attachment, or as a link in the body that specifically mentions the IABS notice. The rule says the link may not be in a footnote or signature block.
What has to appear with my name?
Rule 535.155 treats your website as an advertisement. Its definition covers "the Internet" and all electronic media. Every advertisement must show, in a readily noticeable place:
- The name of the license holder or team placing it, meaning your name as it appears on your license or an alternate name you have registered with TREC. A common short form such as Kim for Kimberly counts as the same name. A nickname or a married name that differs from your license has to be registered first.
- Your broker's name, at least half the size of the largest contact information for any sales agent, associated broker or team in the ad. "Contact information" is defined broadly. It includes your name, phone number, email address, website address, social media handle and QR code.
The half-size test is the one that catches websites. If your name is the 48-pixel headline on your homepage, your broker's name needs to be at least 24 pixels somewhere readily noticeable. A small gray line in the footer does not pass. TREC's FAQ says a logo counts as the broker's name, but only if the broker's name inside the logo is at least half the size, not the logo as a whole.
Do I have to put my license number on my website?
No. TREC's FAQ answers "Is a license holder required to put their license number on a sign or other advertising?" with a plain "No." Many Texas agents add their number anyway, and nothing in the rules stops you.
What does TREC say about team names?
This is where most Texas agent sites go wrong, because a sales agent's site often wants a brand. Under Rule 535.154:
- A sales agent cannot have an assumed business name. TREC's FAQ says any name a sales agent uses, other than the licensed name or a registered alternate name, is treated as a team name and must meet the team rules.
- A team name must end in "Team" or "Group". "The Ruiz Group" works. "Ruiz Realty" and "Ruiz Home Partners" do not.
- Your broker registers it, before you use it. The broker registers the team name with TREC, and must tell TREC within 10 days after you stop using it.
- No words that suggest a separate brokerage. Rule 535.155 names "brokerage", "company" and "associates" as examples.
- Your broker's name is still required, at the half-size ratio, next to the team name.
Can my domain name be my team name?
Yes, if the name itself would be allowed. TREC's FAQ says a URL or email address is not an advertisement on its own. But an ad that contains a sales agent's URL or email with a title that implies responsibility for a brokerage breaks Rule 535.155, and TREC judges every ad as a whole. The FAQ gives the example of a sales agent named Sally White. She cannot advertise as "Sally's Spectacular Properties" or "White Real Estate", because both suggest she runs the brokerage. A domain built on a name like that is risky for the same reason. Something like danaruiz.com or ruizgrouphomes.com avoids the question.
What else must a Texas agent's site not say?
Rule 535.155 lists the kinds of advertisement that count as misleading. The ones that matter most on a website:
- Titles. No "owner", "president", "CEO", "COO" or similar title on a sales agent, and no email or web address that implies it.
- Other people's listings. A property under someone else's exclusive listing needs the listing broker's permission and the listing broker's name, unless they have waived the name in writing.
- Stale listings. Take a listing down within 10 days after the listing agreement ends. A "sold" or past listing that is 10 or more days past closing must show its current status.
- Claimed deals. Nothing that implies you were involved in a transaction when you were not.
- Property values. A value needs a disclosed appraisal that is available on request, or must follow TREC's broker price opinion rules.
- Rankings. "#1 agent in Katy" is allowed only if the ranking rests on objective criteria that the ad discloses.
- Rebates. An offer to rebate part of your commission must say it is subject to the consent of the party you represent. If the rebate depends on a lender or on using a particular provider, the ad must also say it is subject to restrictions.
- Recommended vendors. If you promote an inspector, lender or mover and may be paid when a client uses them, the page must disclose that you may receive compensation.
- Unlicensed people. An assistant's photo or name must make clear they do not hold a license.
Will TREC check my website for me?
No. TREC's FAQ says it does not review a sales agent's advertising and will only discuss advertising questions with a broker. Your sponsoring broker is responsible for your advertising, and both of you can be disciplined for a violation. A quick checklist for your broker: the two homepage links, a completed IABS, the half-size broker name, and a registered team name.
Swift Agent Sites builds agent sites on your own domain, in English and/or Spanish, with hosting and https included, usually live the same day, for $89 a month or $890 a year with no setup fee. Your broker still signs off on what a Texas site says.
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