NAR Settlement Compliance: What Brokerages Need to Track Now

After the NAR settlement took effect on August 17, 2024, every brokerage must track three things: signed written buyer agreements (dated before property tours), per-transaction commission disclosures showing how compensation was determined, and updated listing agreements that no longer reference MLS-based compensation offers. Brokerages also need to maintain agent training records and audit trails proving consistent compliance across every transaction.

That is the short answer. The rest of this article explains each requirement in detail, why common tracking methods fall short, and how to build a compliance system that holds up under scrutiny.

What the NAR Settlement Actually Changed

In March 2024, the National Association of REALTORS agreed to settle antitrust lawsuits for $418 million. The settlement introduced three core changes to how buyer agent compensation is communicated and agreed upon. These changes went into effect on August 17, 2024, and every brokerage in the country is now expected to operate under them.

Adapting your practices is only half the job. The other half is documenting that you did it — consistently, across every agent and every transaction. A brokerage that cannot produce records showing NAR settlement compliance is exposed, regardless of how well its agents follow the rules day to day.

1. No More MLS-Based Compensation Offers

Before the settlement, listing agents could advertise buyer agent compensation directly in the MLS. That practice is now prohibited. Compensation must be negotiated outside the MLS — directly between parties, through listing brokers, or via other channels. You need records showing how compensation was determined for each transaction and that no offers were made through prohibited channels.

2. Written Buyer Agreements Before Touring

Buyers must now sign written agreements with their agents before touring homes. These agreements must clearly outline the services the agent will provide and the compensation the buyer agrees to pay.

This is not optional. It is a condition of the settlement. Every buyer-side transaction your brokerage handles should have a signed written agreement on file before any property showings took place.

3. Transparent, Negotiable Commission Structures

Commission structures must be transparent and open to negotiation. The era of standardized commission splits communicated through the MLS is over. Each transaction may have a different compensation arrangement, and those arrangements must be clearly documented and disclosed.

For brokerages managing dozens or hundreds of agents, this means every transaction could carry a unique commission structure. Tracking these accurately is no longer a nice-to-have — it is a compliance requirement.

The Full List of What Brokerages Need to Track

Meeting NAR settlement brokerage requirements means maintaining verifiable records across several categories. Here is what your compliance program should cover.

Written Buyer Agreements

Every buyer-side transaction must have a signed written buyer agreement on file. You need to track not just whether the agreement exists, but when it was signed relative to when property tours began. A signed agreement dated after the first showing is a compliance gap, not a checkbox.

Commission Disclosures

Every transaction should include clear documentation of how commission was determined, who is paying it, and that all parties understood the terms. With compensation no longer standardized through the MLS, these disclosures are your proof that the process was transparent and above board.

Updated Listing Agreements

Listing agreements should reflect the new rules. They should not reference MLS-based compensation offers or include language that conflicts with the settlement terms. Track which listing agreements have been updated to the new standard and which ones are still using outdated templates.

Agent Training Records

Your agents need to understand the new rules, and you need to prove they were trained. Track which agents have completed training on NAR settlement requirements, when they completed it, and that they acknowledged your brokerage’s updated policies.

State-Level Variations

State-level implementations of the NAR settlement vary. Some states have added their own requirements on top of the national changes. Your tracking system needs to account for the specific rules in every state where you operate. A compliance system built for one state may leave you exposed in another.

Why Spreadsheets and Manual Tracking Fall Short

Many brokerages responded to the NAR settlement by adding items to their transaction checklists or creating shared spreadsheets to track the new requirements. This approach has three fundamental problems.

Manual tracking depends on human consistency. If one agent forgets to log a buyer agreement, or a transaction coordinator skips a disclosure checkbox, you have a gap in your records. You will not know about it until someone audits your files — and by then, the damage is done.

Spreadsheets do not create audit trails. If a regulator or attorney asks when a document was uploaded, who reviewed it, or whether it was modified after the fact, a spreadsheet cannot answer those questions. You need timestamped, tamper-evident records that show exactly what happened and when.

Disconnected systems make reporting impossible. If your buyer agreements live in one system, your commission records in another, and your training logs in a filing cabinet, generating a compliance report requires manually pulling data from multiple sources. That process is slow, error-prone, and unlikely to happen until it is too late.

The consequences are real. Brokerages that fail to meet the new requirements face lawsuits, fines, license suspension, and loss of MLS access. The settlement was driven by antitrust litigation, and the legal environment around commission practices remains aggressive. Gaps in your documentation make you a target.

See how TotalBrokerage handles NAR settlement compliance

How to Build a Compliance System That Holds Up

A real NAR settlement compliance system has four components: enforced workflows, verified signatures, accurate commission tracking, and full reporting. Here is what each one looks like in practice.

Enforced Document Workflows

Your transaction management process should make it impossible to advance a transaction without the required documents in place. A buyer-side transaction should not move past the showing stage without a signed written buyer agreement. A listing should not go active without an updated listing agreement. Commission disclosures should be required before closing.

This is where custom workflows and Transaction Action Plans earn their value. When your system enforces document requirements at each stage, compliance stops depending on individual memory and becomes part of the process itself.

TotalBrokerage’s Transaction Management tools let you build custom workflows with mandatory document checkpoints. Transaction Action Plans ensure that every transaction — whether your brokerage handles ten per month or ten thousand — follows the same compliant process. All documents are stored in a centralized location, organized by transaction, and accessible for review at any time.

Legally Binding Signatures with Audit Trails

Written buyer agreements and commission disclosures are only useful if they are properly executed. You need signatures that are legally binding, timestamped, and tied to a clear chain of custody.

TotalBrokerage’s E-Signature platform provides exactly that. Every signature captures a complete audit trail — who signed, when they signed, and from where. This is the kind of evidence that holds up in a regulatory review or legal proceeding. No chasing down paper copies. No questions about whether a document was signed before or after a key date.

Flexible Commission Calculations

With every transaction potentially carrying a different commission structure, manual commission calculations are a liability. One error in a spreadsheet can mean an incorrect payout, a compliance violation, or both.

TotalBrokerage’s Automatic Commission Calculations handle flexible commission structures out of the box. Whether compensation comes from the seller, the buyer, or a combination, the platform calculates it accurately and stores every calculation with a full record. When you need to demonstrate that commissions were handled transparently and correctly, the documentation is already there.

Compliance Reporting That Keeps You Ahead

You should be able to answer these questions at any time: Which transactions are missing required documents? Which agents have not completed settlement training? Where are the gaps?

TotalBrokerage’s Reporting tools give you that visibility. Run reports that show exactly which transactions have all required documents on file and which ones need attention. Identify compliance gaps before they become compliance failures. This is active monitoring, not retrospective analysis.

Agent Training and Policy Acknowledgment

New rules mean nothing if your agents do not understand them. And understanding means nothing if you cannot prove it.

TotalBrokerage’s Agent Onboarding and Human Resources features include training modules and policy acknowledgment tracking. Assign training on NAR settlement requirements, track completion, and maintain records showing that every agent at your brokerage has been trained on the new rules and acknowledged your updated policies.

Complete Audit Trails

Every action in TotalBrokerage — every document upload, every signature, every commission calculation, every training completion — is recorded with a timestamp and user attribution. This creates the kind of audit trail that regulators and attorneys look for. Document review verification confirms not just that a file exists, but that it was reviewed by the appropriate person at the appropriate time.

The Compliance Standard Has Changed

The NAR settlement did not just change commission practices. It raised the compliance standard for every brokerage in the industry. The brokerages that treat this as a documentation problem — not just a practice problem — are the ones that will be protected when questions arise.

Spreadsheets and good intentions are not enough. You need a system that enforces the right process, captures the right records, and gives you visibility into your compliance posture across every agent and every transaction.

TotalBrokerage was built for exactly this kind of operational rigor. Transaction management, e-signatures, commission calculations, compliance tracking, reporting, and agent onboarding — all in one platform, with a full audit trail behind every action.

Book a demo to see how TotalBrokerage can help your brokerage meet every NAR settlement requirement with confidence.

FAQ

What changed for brokerages after the NAR settlement?

The NAR settlement, which took effect on August 17, 2024, introduced three major changes: buyer agent compensation can no longer be offered through the MLS, buyers must sign written agreements with their agents before touring homes, and commission structures must be transparently negotiated and documented on each transaction. These changes create new documentation requirements that every brokerage must track consistently across all agents and transactions.

Do brokerages need written buyer agreements for every transaction?

Yes. Under the NAR settlement terms, a signed written buyer agreement is required before an agent can begin showing properties to a buyer. The agreement must clearly outline the services the agent will provide and the compensation the buyer agrees to pay. Brokerages should track not just that the agreement exists, but that it was signed before any property tours took place, since a backdated agreement is a compliance gap.

What are the risks of not complying with the NAR settlement?

Brokerages that fail to meet the new requirements face lawsuits, fines, license suspension, and potential loss of MLS access. The settlement was driven by antitrust litigation, and the legal environment around commission practices remains aggressive. Even brokerages whose agents follow the rules day to day are exposed if they cannot produce documentation proving consistent compliance across every transaction.

Why aren’t spreadsheets enough for NAR settlement compliance?

Spreadsheets depend on manual data entry, so a single missed checkbox or forgotten upload creates a gap in your records that you may not discover until an audit. They also cannot create the timestamped, tamper-evident audit trails that regulators and attorneys require as proof of when documents were executed. For brokerages managing dozens or hundreds of agents with unique commission structures on every deal, automated workflows with enforced document checkpoints are far more reliable.

Do state-level rules affect NAR settlement compliance?

Yes. While the NAR settlement sets a national baseline, several states have added their own requirements on top of the federal changes. These can include additional disclosure obligations, different timing requirements for buyer agreements, or specific language that must appear in contracts. A brokerage operating in multiple states needs a tracking system that accounts for each state’s rules — what is compliant in one state may not be sufficient in another.

See TotalBrokerage in action and find out how your brokerage can build a NAR settlement compliance system that holds up under scrutiny.