Brokerage Practice: Advertising, Trust Money & Records

Brokerage Practice is the day-to-day rulebook: how you prove you are licensed, how you advertise, how you handle other people's money, and how long you keep the paperwork. Trust money in particular is where real NC brokers most often get disciplined, so the exam tests its deadlines and prohibitions closely.

Proof of licensure and keeping the Commission informed

• Each broker keeps the annual pocket card as evidence of licensure and must produce it on request while doing brokerage (Rule 58A .0101(a)).
• Every firm prominently displays its license certificate (or a copy) in each office, and the BIC displays theirs in the office they run (Rule 58A .0101(b)).
• A broker notifies the Commission in writing within 10 days of any change in personal name, firm or trade name, residence or firm address, phone number, or email (Rule 58A .0103(b)).
• Before advertising or operating under a name other than the licensed name, a broker files an assumed name certificate and notifies the Commission (Rule 58A .0103(c)).

Advertising

Rule 58A .0105 sets three core rules:

1. BIC consent and firm name. A broker may not advertise brokerage services or property for others without the consent of their BIC and without including the name of the firm or sole proprietorship they are affiliated with.
2. Owner's written consent. A broker may not put up a "for sale" or "for rent" sign, or otherwise advertise a property, without the written consent of the owner or the owner's authorized agent.
3. No blind ads. An ad may not suggest that the owner is selling it personally. It must show that it is a broker's or firm's ad, and it may not consist only of contact information such as a phone number, P.O. box, or web address.

Example: A social-media post reading "Charming 3BR in Wilmington, call 910-555-0100" with no firm name is a blind ad, even if the broker's BIC approved it.

Trust money: deposit fast, keep it separate

Money a broker receives in a fiduciary capacity is trust money. It must go into a trust or escrow account no later than three banking days after the broker receives it (Rule 58A .0116(a)). Key exceptions:

• Provisional brokers hand all money they receive to their affiliated broker upon receipt (Rule 58A .0116(b)(1)).
• Earnest money or a tenant security deposit paid by something other than cash with a pending offer may be held until the offer is accepted. It must then be deposited no later than three days after acceptance, and the acceptance date must appear in the contract (Rule 58A .0116(b)(3)).

The account itself must be a demand deposit account in a federally insured depository institution doing business in North Carolina that agrees to open its records to the Commission (§ 93A-6(g)). It must be labeled "Trust Account" or "Escrow Account" on bank statements, deposit tickets and checks, and must allow full withdrawal on demand without penalty (Rule 58A .0117(b)). Before using an interest-bearing trust account, the broker needs written authorization from all parties with an interest in the money, stating who gets the interest (Rule 58A .0116(c)).

A broker may never disburse more for a client than that client's balance in the account (Rule 58A .0116(f)), and must account for and remit others' money within a reasonable time (§ 93A-6(a)(7)).

When the parties fight over a deposit

If buyer and seller (or landlord and tenant) dispute a deposit other than a residential tenant security deposit, the broker keeps it in the trust account until there is a written release from the parties or a court order (Rule 58A .0116(d)). Alternatively, under N.C.G.S. § 93A-12 the broker may deposit the money with the clerk of court in the county where the property is located. Before doing so, the broker must notify the claimants and wait 90 days after that notice. Apart from the rule's narrow procedure for a claim that appears abandoned (reasonable effort to notify the absent party first), the broker may not simply pick a winner.

Records and documents

• Brokers keep transaction records for three years after all funds are disbursed or the transaction concludes, whichever is later (Rule 58A .0108(a)).
• Records include contracts, leases, agency agreements, offers, trust records, earnest money receipts, disclosures, closing statements, advertising, and square-footage documentation (Rule 58A .0108(b)).
• The Commission may inspect records without prior notice (Rule 58A .0108(c); § 93A-6(d)).
• Brokers give the firm a copy of agency disclosures, agreements, offers, contracts and leases within three days of receipt (Rule 58A .0108(d)).
• Brokers deliver a copy of any agency agreement, offer, contract, lease or option to their client or customer within three days of receiving the executed document (Rule 58A .0106(a)).

Trust money

Money received by a broker acting in a fiduciary capacity, such as earnest money, rents, or security deposits.

Blind ad

An ad that hides that a broker is advertising, making it appear the owner is selling or renting directly.

Where this shows up on the exam

Brokerage Practice is 12 of the 60 scored State items in the Pearson NC outline (April 2026), second only to Agency. Know the three-banking-day deposit rule, the provisional broker "upon receipt" rule, the $100 company-funds limit, the 90-day clerk-of-court notice, and the three-year record rule cold.

Sources

North Carolina law as published by the General Assembly and the Office of Administrative Hearings, checked 2026-11-05:

• 21 NCAC 58A .0101(a)
• 21 NCAC 58A .0101(b)
• 21 NCAC 58A .0103(b)
• 21 NCAC 58A .0103(c)
• 21 NCAC 58A .0105(a)(1)
• 21 NCAC 58A .0105(a)(2)
• 21 NCAC 58A .0105(b)
• 21 NCAC 58A .0106(a)
• 21 NCAC 58A .0108(a)
• 21 NCAC 58A .0108(b)(13)-(14)
• 21 NCAC 58A .0108(c)
• 21 NCAC 58A .0108(d)
• 21 NCAC 58A .0116(a)
• 21 NCAC 58A .0116(b)(1)
• 21 NCAC 58A .0116(b)(3)
• 21 NCAC 58A .0116(c)
• 21 NCAC 58A .0116(d)
• 21 NCAC 58A .0116(f)
• 21 NCAC 58A .0116(g)
• 21 NCAC 58A .0117(b)
• 21 NCAC 58A .0117(c)(4)(C)
• N.C.G.S. § 93A-12(b)
• N.C.G.S. § 93A-12(d)
• N.C.G.S. § 93A-17(a)
• N.C.G.S. § 93A-17(b)
• N.C.G.S. § 93A-6(a)(12)
• N.C.G.S. § 93A-6(a)(7)
• N.C.G.S. § 93A-6(d)
• N.C.G.S. § 93A-6(g)
• Pearson VUE, Real Estate Licensing in North Carolina (April 2026), Examination Content Outline