--- title: "Maryland real estate website rules" description: "Check Maryland brokerage disclosures, page placement, team names, broker review, social media, IDX, license-number questions, and fair housing wording." canonical: "https://scalewithsearch.com/articles/website-rules-maryland" --- ## Site navigation - [Scale With Search](https://scalewithsearch.com/) - Real estate - Real estate - [Real estate](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/real-estate) - Work - Start here - [Send your brief](https://scalewithsearch.com/work#send-your-brief) - [Prepare your six-question brief](https://scalewithsearch.com/work#prepare-your-six-question-brief) - Build - [Site build, content library with SEO, signal desk](https://scalewithsearch.com/work) - For your business - Trades and home services - [Auto body and collision shops](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/auto-body-and-collision-shops) - [Foundation and home repair contractors](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/foundation-and-home-repair) - [Garage door and fencing contractors](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/garage-door-and-fencing-contractors) - 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The brokerage disclosure requires its full business name. A company logo alone does not satisfy that requirement. [Business Occupations and Professions §17-527.2(b)](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=gbo§ion=17-527.2&enactments=false). Read: 2026.10.10. The advertising definition covers promotion through “any means of communication”. Apply the rules to your own website and promotional online material. [COMAR 09.11.02.01G(1)](https://regs.maryland.gov/us/md/exec/comar/09.11.02.01). Read: 2026.10.10. ## Display the licensed identity and full brokerage name The statute requires the licensee's name or designated name as shown on the Commission-issued license documents. It requires that identity and the brokerage name to be “meaningfully and conspicuously” included. The brokerage disclosure must use the “full name of the business”. [Business Occupations and Professions §17-527.2(b)(1) and (2)](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=gbo§ion=17-527.2&enactments=false). Read: 2026.10.10. The regulation also requires the connection between an individual licensee and the broker to be “obvious” in the advertisement. [COMAR 09.11.02.01G(2)](https://regs.maryland.gov/us/md/exec/comar/09.11.02.01). Read: 2026.10.10. A designated name must be “approved by the Commission.” That permission concerns an individual licensee's approved name, including a nickname. It does not make a team brand the licensee's identity. [Business Occupations and Professions §17-527.3(a) and (c)](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=gbo§ion=17-527.3&enactments=false). Read: 2026.10.10. The Commission's checklist asks for the licensee's “full name exactly” as it appears on the license. Confirm with your broker which licensed name or approved designated name to use. [MREC Advertising Checklist, Name of Licensee](https://www.labor.maryland.gov/forms/mrecadchecklist.pdf). Read: 2026.10.10. ## Include the broker's identified telephone number when applicable An associate broker or salesperson using individual phone or email details must also display the broker's or branch office manager's “identified telephone number”. [COMAR 09.11.02.01G(3)](https://regs.maryland.gov/us/md/exec/comar/09.11.02.01). Read: 2026.10.10. Commission guidance says consumers must reach that person “without going through you or your staff.” Phone-menu options are acceptable. A label identifying the broker or branch office manager helps distinguish that number from your personal contact details. [MREC, Telephone Numbers in Advertising](https://www.labor.maryland.gov/license/mrec/mrecphone.shtml). Read: 2026.10.10. Team advertisements have a separate statutory telephone requirement described below. Confirm with your broker which number belongs in your website disclosure. ## Put electronic disclosures in the required part of the page Electronic advertising must place the applicable broker-name and telephone disclosures in the “first 25 percent” of its main page. [COMAR 09.11.02.01G(4)(a)](https://regs.maryland.gov/us/md/exec/comar/09.11.02.01). Read: 2026.10.10. The alternative applies only when the electronic medium has a limit of “280 characters or fewer”. Then the disclosures may occupy the first quarter of a page reached through one hyperlink click from the ad's main page. [COMAR 09.11.02.01G(4)(b)](https://regs.maryland.gov/us/md/exec/comar/09.11.02.01). Read: 2026.10.10. Confirm with your broker how the proposed layout meets the placement requirement. For a practical check, open each advertising page directly on desktop and phone. Inspect the homepage, biography, landing pages, and property pages. Check whether a menu, image, or overlay hides the disclosure. These device checks are implementation recommendations. ## Keep the team name connected to the brokerage Section 17-547(a) prohibits team names containing “real estate” or “real estate brokerage”. It also prohibits terms suggesting brokerage services independent of the broker. [Business Occupations and Professions §17-547(a)](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=gbo§ion=17-547&enactments=false). Read: 2026.10.10. The Commission's teams guide also identifies “Realty” as a prohibited team-name term. [MREC, Do's and Don'ts for Teams and Groups, Team Basics, page 1](https://www.labor.maryland.gov/license/mrec/mrecteams.pdf#page=1). Read: 2026.10.10. All team advertising must contain three items. The brokerage name must be displayed in a “meaningful and conspicuous way”. Include the name of “at least one” licensed team member. Include the telephone number of the broker or “branch office manager”. [Business Occupations and Professions §17-547(b)(1) through (3)](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=gbo§ion=17-547&enactments=false). Read: 2026.10.10. The team name must be “directly connected” to the brokerage name. [Business Occupations and Professions §17-547(c)](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=gbo§ion=17-547&enactments=false). Read: 2026.10.10. The regulation permits only “of”, “from”, “with”, or “at” between those names. No additional word, “symbol, or image” is allowed. [COMAR 09.11.02.01G(5)(a) and (b)](https://regs.maryland.gov/us/md/exec/comar/09.11.02.01). Read: 2026.10.10. The Commission's May 2026 minutes state that team names are “not currently required” to receive formal Commission approval. That statement does not remove the naming and advertising restrictions. Confirm with your broker before changing the website's team identity. [MREC, May 20, 2026 minutes, Team Names](https://www.labor.md.gov/license/min/realestate-may2026.shtml). Read: 2026.10.10. ## Separate license numbers from licensed names and categories The advertising provisions reviewed here do not specify a general website display requirement for an individual license number. The required name disclosure is a separate matter. Confirm with your broker which additional fields your website needs. [Business Occupations and Professions §17-527.2(b)](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=gbo§ion=17-527.2&enactments=false); [COMAR 09.11, reviewed advertising provisions](https://regs.maryland.gov/us/md/exec/comar/09.11/index.full.html). Read: 2026.10.10. The teams guide requests the team leader's “license number” when notifying the Commission of team formation. That administrative request does not state a website-number requirement. [MREC, Do's and Don'ts for Teams and Groups, Team Basics, page 1](https://www.labor.maryland.gov/license/mrec/mrecteams.pdf#page=1). Read: 2026.10.10. License category is also distinct from license number. The Commission's published counsel guidance says there is no “general mandate” to put broker, associate broker, or salesperson in every advertisement. It explains a licensing-status disclosure for advertising property transactions on the licensee's own account. [MREC, Use of Statutory Licensing Categories in Advertising, published counsel memorandum dated 2005.11.23](https://www.labor.maryland.gov/license/mrec/mrecadvice.shtml). Read: 2026.10.10. If you include a category, use the correct licensed category. The Commission's checklist distinguishes Salesperson, Associate Broker, and Broker. [MREC Advertising Checklist, License Category](https://www.labor.maryland.gov/forms/mrecadchecklist.pdf). Read: 2026.10.10. ## Use the broker's advertising review process Supervision factors include personnel available to “review and discuss” advertising and “Written procedures and policies” addressing advertising requirements. The rule also considers evidence of review of “advertisements to be placed” by affiliated licensees. [COMAR 09.11.05.03B(1)(b)(iii), B(1)(c)(iii), and B(2)(c)](https://regs.maryland.gov/us/md/exec/comar/09.11.05.03). Read: 2026.10.10. The Commission's checklist says advertisements should undergo “compliance review before release.” It identifies the broker, branch office manager, or their designee. For team advertising, it also calls for team-leader review and approval. This is published guidance implementing broker supervision. [MREC Advertising Checklist, introductory paragraphs](https://www.labor.maryland.gov/forms/mrecadchecklist.pdf). Read: 2026.10.10. The same checklist asks about “written authorization” from the owner or listing broker before advertising a property. Confirm with your broker how that authority applies to the listing material you publish. [MREC Advertising Checklist, Authority to Advertise](https://www.labor.maryland.gov/forms/mrecadchecklist.pdf). Read: 2026.10.10. Obtain the current brokerage policy before changing pages or launching ads. Keep the approved wording and version available for the website work. ## Review social media and IDX displays as advertisements The Commission's electronic-media checklist expressly includes Facebook and Instagram. It repeats the page-placement rule and conditional one-click alternative. A profile link alone does not demonstrate that every promotional post satisfies those conditions. [MREC Advertising Checklist, Electronic Media and the One-Click Rule](https://www.labor.maryland.gov/forms/mrecadchecklist.pdf). Read: 2026.10.10. Inspect the advertisement in its published format. Confirm with your broker how captions, graphics, and video disclosures will appear. IDX property pages still need truthful advertising. The statute permits discipline for advertising in a “misleading or untruthful manner”. Review the displayed information and brokerage attribution together. [Business Occupations and Professions §17-322(b)(19) and (20)](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=gbo§ion=17-322&enactments=false). Read: 2026.10.10. A separate Maryland-specific IDX disclaimer, listing-broker credit format, or fixed refresh interval was not established by the Commission sources reviewed here. Confirm with your broker which MLS or feed requirements govern your display. Those requirements remain unresolved in this article. [COMAR 09.11](https://regs.maryland.gov/us/md/exec/comar/09.11/index.full.html). Read: 2026.10.10. ## Check fair housing content and any applicable logo requirement Maryland prohibits dwelling-sale or rental advertisements indicating “any preference, limitation, or discrimination” based on protected characteristics. The statute lists race, color, religion, sex, disability, marital status, familial status, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, source of income, and military status. [State Government §20-705(3), subject to its opening exceptions](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=gsg§ion=20-705&enactments=false). Read: 2026.10.10. The administrative rule addresses discriminatory use of “words, phrases, photographs, illustrations, symbols, or forms”. It also addresses discriminatory selection of advertising media or locations. Review the page content and audience selection. [COMAR 14.03.04.05A(3)(a) and (c)](https://regs.maryland.gov/us/md/exec/comar/14.03.04.05). Read: 2026.10.10. The Maryland sources reviewed here do not establish a universal agent-website requirement for an Equal Housing Opportunity logo or statement. A specific logo-size requirement also remains unverified. These findings do not establish that no other requirement applies. [COMAR 14.03.04, reviewed fair housing regulations](https://regs.maryland.gov/us/md/exec/comar/14.03.04/index.full.html). Read: 2026.10.10. Confirm with your broker which logo or statement requirements apply to your website and ads. Use the required wording and dimensions where an applicable requirement specifies them. ## Check your own website Use this short implementation checklist with the cited rules. Screenshots and device checks are practical recommendations. 1. Match the displayed licensee identity and full brokerage name to the licensed records. 2. Check the broker's identified phone number wherever the applicable contact or team rule requires it. 3. Inspect electronic disclosure placement on desktop and phone, including pages opened directly. 4. Use the one-click alternative only after confirming the medium's qualifying character limit. 5. Check team-name restrictions, the connecting word, a licensed member's name, and the required broker number. 6. Confirm any additional license-number field and follow the brokerage's advertising approval process. 7. Check property-advertising authority, accurate IDX information, and the applicable feed disclosure requirements. 8. Review fair housing content and confirm any applicable logo or statement treatment. Confirm with your broker before releasing changes. Bring the approved requirements into your [real estate website brief](/for/real-estate). ## Related: Real estate - [Check your real estate website in 30 minutes](/articles/real-estate-website-audit) - [Test the seller inquiry path on your real estate website](/articles/seller-inquiry-path-agent-website) - [Own your real estate website: domain, hosting, editing, and leads](/articles/own-your-site) ---- ```text .|########||. .|########||. .|########||. |##||. .||##|. |##||. .||##|. |##||. .||##|. |#|. .|#|. |#|. .|#|. |#|. .|#|. |#| |#| |#| |#| |#| |#| .#| |#. .#| |#. .#| |#. .#. .#| .#. .#| .#. .#| |#. .#| |#. .#| |#. .#| |# ...... #| |# ...... #| |# ...... #| .# ||#########| #| .# ||#########| #| .# ||#########| #| .#. |######||######|. .#. .#. |######||######|. .#. .#. |######||######|. .#. #. .##|###|##|#|######| .# #. .##|###|##|#|######| .# #. .##|###|##|#|######| .# || |##|#||||||||||||#||#| || || |##|#||||||||||||#||#| || || |##|#||||||||||||#||#| || # |#||||||||||||||||||||#| #. # |#||||||||||||||||||||#| #. # |#||||||||||||||||||||#| #. || |#||||||||||||||||||||||#| || || |#||||||||||||||||||||||#| || || |#||||||||||||||||||||||#| || # .#||||||||||||||||||||||||#| # # .#||||||||||||||||||||||||#| # # .#||||||||||||||||||||||||#| # || ....|||#||||||##|#|||#|#||##||||....|. || || ....|||#||||||##|#|||#|#||##||||....|. || || ....|||#||||||##|#|||#|#||##||||....|. || #. . ....|# ....#||| ||| .#||| ....#. .# #. . ....|# ....#||| ||| .#||| ....#. .# #. . ....|# ....#||| ||| .#||| ....#. .# # . ||||#| .#####|| . .#| .#||| ||||# #. # . ||||#| .#####|| . .#| .#||| ||||# #. # . ||||#| .#####|| . .#| .#||| ||||# #. .| ||||| #. |#|||||. || #. |#||. .||||| || .| ||||| #. |#|||||. || #. |#||. .||||| || .| ||||| #. |#|||||. || #. |#||. .||||| || || |.... #. ....|#. |. ...|. ....|| || || |.... #. ....|#. |. ...|. ....|| || || |.... #. ....|#. |. ...|. ....|| || #. .||||||##||||||##||####|||||||#||||||#| .# #. .||||||##||||||##||####|||||||#||||||#| .# #. .||||||##||||||##||####|||||||#||||||#| .# # .||####|###########################|. # # .||####|###########################|. # # .||####|###########################|. # # .#||||||.#.|| # |. ..# #| #|||||#| # # .#||||||.#.|| # |. ..# #| #|||||#| # # .#||||||.#.|| # |. ..# #| #|||||#| # # .#|||||| .. |# ## |#| ...#|#|||#| # # .#|||||| .. |# ## |#| ...#|#|||#| # # .#|||||| .. |# ## |#| ...#|#|||#| # # .#|||#|# .# .#| #| ##|.#..#|||||#| # # .#|||#|# .# .#| #| ##|.#..#|||||#| # # .#|||#|# .# .#| #| ##|.#..#|||||#| # # .#||||||############|######|||||#| # # .#||||||############|######|||||#| # # .#||||||############|######|||||#| # # |...||#||||||#||||#|#||||||#|||||#||| |.| # # |...||#||||||#||||#|#||||||#|||||#||| |.| # # |...||#||||||#||||#|#||||||#|||||#||| |.| # #. .. ||||# .|||##|. |#| .|| || .|||#. #| # .# #. .. ||||# .|||##|. |#| .|| || .|||#. #| # .# #. .. ||||# .|||##|. |#| .|| || .|||#. #| # .# || | ...|| ...##| | #| .|. |. ##### .. .| || || | ...|| ...##| | #| .|. |. ##### .. .| || || | ...|| ...##| | #| .|. |. ##### .. .| || || ||||| || ||||#| . |. |. |#. ||||| |#| || || || ||||| || ||||#| . |. |. |#. ||||| |#| || || || ||||| || ||||#| . |. |. |#. ||||| |#| || || .# |.....#|....|#.||||.|||##.|#|....||.#||.#. #. .# |.....#|....|#.||||.|||##.|#|....||.#||.#. #. .# |.....#|....|#.||||.|||##.|#|....||.#||.#. #. #.|||||||#############################| ||| .# #.|||||||#############################| ||| .# #.|||||||#############################| ||| .# || ##||#||#||||||#||#||#||#||##. || || ##||#||#||||||#||#||#||#||##. || || ##||#||#||||||#||#||#||#||##. || # .#|||||||||#||#|||||||||||#| # # .#|||||||||#||#|||||||||||#| # # .#|||||||||#||#|||||||||||#| # || |#||||||||||||||||||||||#| || || |#||||||||||||||||||||||#| || || |#||||||||||||||||||||||#| || .# |#||||||||||||||||||||#| #. .# |#||||||||||||||||||||#| #. .# |#||||||||||||||||||||#| #. || |#||||||||||||||||||#| || || |#||||||||||||||||||#| || || |#||||||||||||||||||#| || #. .######|#|#########| .# #. .######|#|#########| .# #. .######|#|#########| .# .#. |#####||||#####| .#. .#. |#####||||#####| .#. .#. |#####||||#####| .#. |# ||########|| #. |# ||########|| #. |# ||########|| #. |# ...... #| |# ...... #| |# ...... #| |#. .#| |#. .#| |#. .#| |#. .#. |#. .#. |#. .#. .#| |#. .#| |#. .#| |#. |#| |#| |#| |#| |#| |#| .|#|. .|#|. .|#|. .|#|. .|#|. .|#|. |##||. .||##| |##||. .||##| |##||. .||##| .||########||. .||########||. .||########||. 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