Brokerage & Agency

    Fiduciary Duties

    The full duties of trust a broker owes a client, often memorized with the mnemonic OLD CAR.

    Fiduciary duties are the highest duties of care and trust one party owes another. In Texas, a broker who represents a client as an agent owes these duties to that client. The common mnemonic is OLD CAR: Obedience, Loyalty, Disclosure, Confidentiality, Accountability, and Reasonable care.

    These duties run to a client, the party the broker represents under a representation agreement. To a customer, a party the broker does not represent, the license holder owes honesty, fair dealing, and disclosure of known material defects, but not the full set of fiduciary duties. Confidential information stays confidential even after the representation ends.

    On the exam

    When a scenario describes a license holder putting their own interest first or revealing the client's bottom line, the breached duty is usually loyalty or confidentiality.

    Exam trap

    Fiduciary duties run to a client, not to a customer. A license holder still owes a customer honesty, fair dealing, and disclosure of known material defects.

    Tested in

    Contracts & Agency (13% of the exam)

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    This definition is Texas real estate exam-prep education, not legal, tax, or professional advice. Verify current rules against the official source before relying on them for a real transaction. Back to the full glossary.