Free Texas State Law study sheet
Texas Agency and Brokerage Texas Real Estate Exam Cheat Sheet
Quick answerThis is the largest Texas state-law area. It tests IABS delivery, representation, intermediary practice, minimum services, broker supervision, and the proper use of unlicensed assistants.
Source-checked Texas State Law portion
Texas law controls this page. Do not replace a TREC or Texas rule with a generic national principle.
Draw the relationships. Identify the broker, the represented party, any appointed license holder, and the written consent before deciding who may advise whom.
Exam scope
What Pearson tests
Verified against the official content outline.
- Agency disclosure, IABS timing and its three exceptions, and what the notice does not create
- Intermediary consent, the compensation-source requirement, appointments, and limits on advice
- Duties to clients, minimum services, and the confidential-information boundary
- Enforcing written compensation agreements under the governing contract and Texas law
- Broker-sales-agent relationships, sponsorship, and compensation routing
- The broker's responsibility for a sales agent's acts, which delegation does not move
- Appropriate use of unlicensed assistants, and the 2026 showing and written-agreement rules
Decision traps
Common traps to catch
Check the governing source material.
- IABS is a notice, not a representation agreement.
- Texas uses intermediary practice with written consent. Do not import another state's dual-agency rule.
- An intermediary can exist without appointments. Without appointments, the intermediary does not give opinions or advice favoring either party.
- Written consent alone is not enough: TRELA Sec. 1101.559(a)(2) requires the consent to state the source of any expected compensation.
- Confidentiality protects a party's negotiating position, never the property's condition. Known material defects are still disclosed.
- A broker cannot delegate away responsibility. Sec. 1101.803 has no knowledge requirement, so "the broker did not know" is a distractor.
- A sales agent may accept compensation only from the sponsoring broker. Broker consent does not authorize a direct payment.
- For a 2026 open house, identify the host's broker. A listing-side host discloses owner representation; an outside host who does not represent the owner provides IABS and obtains the required written agreement before showing.
Essential vocabulary
Texas Agency and Brokerage terms to know
- IABS
- The Information About Brokerage Services notice explaining Texas brokerage relationships.
- First substantive communication
- The point when IABS becomes due in a meaningful discussion with a party about a proposed transaction involving specific real property, unless an exception applies.
- Intermediary
- A broker representing both parties in the same transaction with the written consent required by Texas law.
- Written consent
- Consent from both parties that makes intermediary lawful, and that must state the source of any expected compensation.
- Appointed license holder
- A license holder appointed to communicate with and advise one party during an intermediary transaction.
- Dual agency
- The relationship Texas does not permit; the lawful path is intermediary with written consent.
- Client
- The party the broker represents, owed the duties that come with representation.
- Customer
- The party the broker does not represent, still owed honesty and material-defect disclosure.
- Minimum services
- The statutory floor a broker representing a party must provide, including presenting any offer.
- Confidential information
- A party's negotiating position, which an intermediary may not disclose without written authorization.
- Material defect
- A known defect in the property's condition, which confidentiality does not cover.
- Sponsorship
- The broker relationship that authorizes and supervises a sales agent's brokerage work.
- Broker responsibility
- A broker's liability for conduct by a sales agent associated with or acting for the broker.
- Unlicensed assistant
- A person who may perform clerical support but not acts requiring a license.
- Showing without representation
- The limited 2026 showing a broker may conduct without representing the party.
- Written buyer agreement
- The agreement required before showing residential property to a prospective buyer.
Check your recall
Can you answer these without notes?
Open each card only after you commit to an answer.
1Does delivering IABS create representation?
No. IABS informs. Agreement and conduct create agency.
2What consent makes intermediary lawful?
Both parties' written consent, naming the expected compensation source.
3Must a broker present an offer the broker thinks is too low?
Yes. Minimum services require every offer to or from the party.
4What makes a brokerage compensation promise enforceable?
Use the controlling written agreement and the applicable Texas law. Do not assume a spoken promise or MLS entry replaces the required writing.
5Who may pay a sales agent for a transaction?
The sponsoring broker, or the broker sponsoring the agent when it was earned.
6Can a broker delegate away responsibility?
No. Tasks may be delegated; overall responsibility remains.
7What may an unlicensed assistant confirm?
Advertised size, price, and terms after identifying as clerical staff. No opinions, showing, or negotiation.
8May the same associated license holder be appointed to both parties?
No. Sec. 1101.560(a) requires a different license holder for each party.
9What must the broker do when appointments are made?
Provide written notice of the appointment to all parties.
10Without appointments, may anyone advise a party?
No. Everyone stays neutral and gives no opinions or advice favoring either side.
11What are the three IABS exceptions?
A residential lease under one year with no sale considered, a party known to be represented by another license holder, and a communication at a property held open concerning that property.
Use the sheet, then retrieve
Turn recognition into recall.
Read the full lesson when a definition is fuzzy. Then answer the topic questions without looking back at this sheet.
Primary sources
Checked .
- Pearson VUE Texas Real Estate Content Outlines
- TRELA, Intermediary and Representation Provisions
- TREC, Information About Brokerage Services
This is exam-prep education, not legal, tax, or transaction advice. Confirm the current law, form, and official exam materials before relying on a rule in practice.