--- title: "Tennessee real estate website and online advertising rules" description: "Check Tennessee's brokerage name, website placement, team naming, social media, listing permission, IDX disclosure, and fair housing advertising…" canonical: "https://scalewithsearch.com/articles/website-rules-tennessee" --- ## 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) - 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The firm name must use letters at least as large as your name or your team's name. Advertising belongs under your principal broker's direct supervision. Social media has a separate one-click disclosure rule. Pages displaying outside listing databases need a statement explaining that listings may belong to other firms. These requirements appear in [Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1260-02-.12(3), (5), and (6)](https://publications.tnsosfiles.com/rules/1260/1260-02.20250923.pdf#page=7), read 2026.10.10. The advertising rule does not prescribe a license-number display or a universal Equal Housing Opportunity logo. Keep those findings separate from the required licensed names and firm telephone number. Tennessee's housing advertising statute prohibits discriminatory advertising language. The sections below quote the applicable provisions and identify their scope. ## Which online material counts as advertising? The rule covers advertising that promotes a licensee or the sale or lease of real property. It expressly includes websites, email signatures, social media communications, and streamed video or audio. > “e-mail signatures, websites, social media communications, and video or audio recordings transmitted through internet or broadcast streaming.” Citation: [Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1260-02-.12(1), pages 6–7](https://publications.tnsosfiles.com/rules/1260/1260-02.20250923.pdf#page=6). Read 2026.10.10. Apply the website checks to your homepage, biography, neighborhood pages, landing pages, and property search pages. That page list is a practical checking method; the rule applies to each website page. ## Use the licensed firm name and firm telephone number The rule defines the firm name through two alternatives: > “The entire name of the real estate firm as licensed with the Commission; or” > “The d/b/a name, if applicable, of the real estate firm as licensed with the Commission.” Citation: [Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1260-02-.12(2)(a)–(b), page 7](https://publications.tnsosfiles.com/rules/1260/1260-02.20250923.pdf#page=7). Read 2026.10.10. Use the firm's licensed name or licensed d/b/a. Use the firm telephone number on file with the commission. The general advertising provision also sets the name-size requirement: > “All advertising shall be under the direct supervision of the principal broker and shall list the firm name and the firm telephone number as listed on file with the Commission. The firm name must appear in letters the same size or larger than those spelling out the name of a licensee or the name of any team, group or similar entity.” Citation: [Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1260-02-.12(3)(b), page 7](https://publications.tnsosfiles.com/rules/1260/1260-02.20250923.pdf#page=7). Read 2026.10.10. A personal cell number can be additional contact information. It does not replace the required firm telephone number. Check the brokerage lettering against both your individual name and any team name. Repeat that comparison on mobile layouts and in ad images. ## Put the firm details on every website page > “The firm name and the firm telephone number listed on file with the Commission must conspicuously appear on each page of the website.” Citation: [Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1260-02-.12(5)(a), page 8](https://publications.tnsosfiles.com/rules/1260/1260-02.20250923.pdf#page=8). Read 2026.10.10. A contact-page link alone does not put those details on every page. The text requires conspicuous appearance, without naming a mandatory header or footer position. It does not specify a pixel size. The separate comparison with agent and team lettering still applies. As a layout choice, place readable firm details in a shared page component. Inspect the rendered result on desktop and mobile. Include landing pages that use a different template and listing pages generated by another service. For franchise or cooperative advertising, there is an additional placement provision: > “adjacent to any specific properties advertised for sale or lease in any media.” Citation: [Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1260-02-.12(4)(a), page 7](https://publications.tnsosfiles.com/rules/1260/1260-02.20250923.pdf#page=7). Read 2026.10.10. That provision requires the licensee's name, firm name, and firm telephone number, as registered, beside the advertised properties. The rule also identifies franchise-only advertising as misleading: > “Any licensee advertising that includes only the franchise name without including the firm name;” Citation: [Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1260-02-.12(3)(f)1, page 7](https://publications.tnsosfiles.com/rules/1260/1260-02.20250923.pdf#page=7). Read 2026.10.10. ## Use your licensed name; distinguish it from a license number > “Any advertising which refers to an individual licensee must list that individual licensee’s name as licensed with the Commission.” Citation: [Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1260-02-.12(3)(c), page 7](https://publications.tnsosfiles.com/rules/1260/1260-02.20250923.pdf#page=7). Read 2026.10.10. The required identifier in this provision is your licensed name. Rule 1260-02-.12 does not add an individual or firm license-number display requirement for websites or online ads. That finding concerns this advertising rule. For any additional requirement affecting your particular website, confirm with your broker. ## Keep the team identity within the licensed firm The advertising rule identifies misleading team wording: > “Licensees who hold themselves out as a team, group, or similar entity within a firm who advertise themselves utilizing terms such as ‘Real Estate,’ ‘Real Estate Brokerage,’ ‘Realty,’ ‘Company,’ ‘Corporation,’ ‘LLC,’ ‘Corp.,’ ‘Inc.,’ ‘Associates,’ or other similar terms that would lead the public to believe that those licensees are offering real estate brokerage services independent of the firm and principal broker; or” Citation: [Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1260-02-.12(3)(f)2, page 7](https://publications.tnsosfiles.com/rules/1260/1260-02.20250923.pdf#page=7). Read 2026.10.10. Inner quotation marks are changed to single marks for readability. The listed terms and the impression of independent brokerage services are part of the provision. The rule does not supply a universal required suffix for every team name. Keep the licensed firm's identity visible beside your team branding. The firm name's letter-size requirement applies when a team name appears. The separate team rule requires members to be: > “affiliated with the same licensed firm” It also prohibits teams from presenting themselves independently: > “No licensees who hold themselves out as a team, group, or similar entity within a firm shall represent themselves as a separate entity from the licensed firm.” Citation: [Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1260-02-.41(1) and (4), pages 13–14](https://publications.tnsosfiles.com/rules/1260/1260-02.20250923.pdf#page=13). Read 2026.10.10. Check the team logo, domain wording, biography, and contact labels together. Confirm the proposed team name with your broker. ## Put advertising review under the principal broker Rule 1260-02-.12(3)(b), quoted above, places all advertising under the principal broker's direct supervision. The team rule also states: > “The principal broker shall not delegate his or her supervisory responsibilities to any licensees who hold themselves out as a team, group, or similar entity within a firm” Citation: [Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1260-02-.41(3), pages 13–14](https://publications.tnsosfiles.com/rules/1260/1260-02.20250923.pdf#page=13). Read 2026.10.10. This excerpt ends before the rule's explanation of continuing broker responsibility. The commission's task guidance describes work an unlicensed person may perform: > “Place ads that have been approved by the Principal Broker.” Citation: [Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, Real Estate Commission, “Do I need a license to...?”](https://support.commerce.tn.gov/hc/en-us/articles/35594872777363-Do-I-need-a-license-to). Read 2026.10.10. As a publishing workflow, give your broker the proposed pages, ad images, and listing disclosures before release. Keep the approved version and its review date. That recordkeeping suggestion does not add a commission-mandated advertising approval form or retention period. ## Test social media's one-click disclosure > “With regards to social media advertising by licensees, the firm name and firm telephone number listed on file with the Commission must be no more than one click away from the viewable page.” Citation: [Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1260-02-.12(6)(b), page 8](https://publications.tnsosfiles.com/rules/1260/1260-02.20250923.pdf#page=8). Read 2026.10.10. Start from the public view of the advertisement. Follow the actual link and count the clicks needed to see both firm details. A destination that requires another click does not meet the quoted one-click condition. The website you reach still has its own every-page requirement. ## Add the outside-listings statement wherever the database appears > “Each page of a website which displays listings from an outside database of available properties must include a statement that some or all of the listings may not belong to the firm whose website is being visited.” Citation: [Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1260-02-.12(5)(b), page 8](https://publications.tnsosfiles.com/rules/1260/1260-02.20250923.pdf#page=8). Read 2026.10.10. This provision applies when your IDX display uses an outside database. Check search results, property details, and other pages displaying that inventory. The rule states what the disclosure must explain; it does not prescribe a single verbatim sentence. For the exact wording and any additional feed requirements, confirm with your broker. Advertising another licensee's listing has a separate permission rule: > “No licensee shall advertise property listed by another licensee without written authorization from the listing agent or listing broker.” Citation: [Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1260-02-.12(3)(e), page 7](https://publications.tnsosfiles.com/rules/1260/1260-02.20250923.pdf#page=7). Read 2026.10.10. An outside-listings disclosure does not itself establish written authorization. Confirm with your broker how your feed agreement and any separate listing advertisements satisfy the permission requirement. The website rule requires: > “Listing information must be kept current and accurate.” Citation: [Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1260-02-.12(5)(c) and (6)(c), page 8](https://publications.tnsosfiles.com/rules/1260/1260-02.20250923.pdf#page=8). Read 2026.10.10. Both provisions apply that requirement to advertising placed by the licensee. They exclude syndicated or aggregated advertising by third parties outside the licensee's control and ability to monitor. Check the price and status on pages and posts you control. ## Keep claims and offers accurate > “No licensee shall advertise in a false, misleading, or deceptive manner.” > “Unsubstantiated selling claims and misleading statements or inferences are strictly prohibited.” Citation: [Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1260-02-.12(3)(f) and (7)(a), pages 7–8](https://publications.tnsosfiles.com/rules/1260/1260-02.20250923.pdf#page=7). Read 2026.10.10. Offers intended to induce an agency relationship or contract have an additional disclosure requirement: > “Any offer, guaranty, warranty or the like, made to induce an individual to enter into an agency relationship or contract, must be made in writing and must disclose all pertinent details on the face of such offer or advertisement.” Citation: [Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1260-02-.12(7)(b), page 8](https://publications.tnsosfiles.com/rules/1260/1260-02.20250923.pdf#page=8). Read 2026.10.10. Check your performance claims, guarantees, and offer conditions during the same advertising review. ## Separate fair housing content from a logo requirement Tennessee's housing advertising prohibition addresses discriminatory content. It covers notices, statements, advertisements, signs, applications, and records of inquiry that indicate: > “directly or indirectly, a limitation, specification, or discrimination as to race, color, creed, religion, sex, disability, familial status, or national origin or an intent to make such a limitation, specification, or discrimination;” Citation: [Tenn. Code Ann. § 4-21-601(a)(5), enacted text in 2025 Public Chapter 471, § 6, page 24](https://publications.tnsosfiles.com/acts/114/pub/pc0471.pdf#page=24). Read 2026.10.10. Neither that advertising provision nor commission Rule 1260-02-.12 states a blanket website requirement for an Equal Housing Opportunity logo or slogan. This finding is limited to those Tennessee provisions. It does not determine every requirement that may apply to a specific housing program or website. For your site, confirm with your broker whether a logo or statement is required. A specific court order can require advertising notices. Tennessee's statute permits a court to award affirmative relief that includes: > “Posting notices in conspicuous places in the respondent's place of business in the form prescribed by the commission and inclusion of such notices in advertising material;” Citation: [Tenn. Code Ann. § 4-21-302(b)(3)(F), enacted text in 2025 Public Chapter 471, § 3, page 11](https://publications.tnsosfiles.com/acts/114/pub/pc0471.pdf#page=11). Read 2026.10.10. That is authority for relief in a particular case, rather than a universal logo instruction for every agent website. Review the advertisement's wording even when a fair housing logo is present. ## Check your site and ads - [ ] Each website page conspicuously shows the licensed firm name or licensed d/b/a and registered firm telephone number. - [ ] Firm-name letters are at least as large as the individual or team name in the advertising. - [ ] Individual names match the names licensed with the commission. - [ ] Team branding identifies the licensed firm and avoids an impression of independent brokerage services. - [ ] The principal broker supervises advertising; delegated ad placement uses broker-approved material. - [ ] Both firm details are visible within one click of each social media advertisement. - [ ] Every page displaying outside listings carries the outside-listings statement. - [ ] Other licensees' listings have the required written authorization; controlled listing information stays current and accurate. - [ ] Claims and inducements meet the quoted truthfulness and written-disclosure provisions. - [ ] Housing advertising contains no prohibited discriminatory wording; site-specific logo or notice requirements are confirmed with your broker. Save the affected page addresses and screenshots as your repair list. Use the [real estate website page](/for/real-estate) to prepare the scope for the $2,000 whole website fix. Include the page templates, listing display, disclosure placement, and advertising approval workflow that need correction. ## 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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