Truthful and not misleading
The truthfulness requirement is broad on purpose. Claims about a property, about results, about credentials and about the services offered all have to be accurate and supportable, and the responsible licensee or broker must be identifiable from the ad.
The same standard applies to a yard sign as to a paid campaign. A sign is advertising.
The brokerage name has to be prominent
Every advertisement tied to brokerage activity must prominently display the name or trade name of the qualifying broker or the company. On a property sign, that means the brokerage branding is part of the sign, not a sticker in the corner as an afterthought.
Social media is where offices most often slip. There are two clean ways to comply on a page-based platform: put the brokerage name in the page name itself, so every post inherits it, or include the brokerage name in the body of each post about brokerage activity. Pick one per account and write it into your social media policy so nobody has to guess.
On a short-form platform where character limits make repetition impractical, the Commission's practical guidance has been that the brokerage name must be prominently displayed on the main profile, reachable in one click from any post. That still requires the profile to actually carry the name.
- Page name contains the brokerage name → every post is compliant automatically
- Page name does not → each brokerage-activity post must name the brokerage in the body
- Reels, stories, live video and images all count as advertising
- A personal profile resharing a business-page post does not remove the requirement
Signs need the owner's consent
Placing a sign on a property offered for sale, lease or rent without the owner's consent violates §34-27-36(a)(9). Three fact patterns cause most of the trouble:
First, a for-sale sign staked on vacant land because it looked unused — ownership must be confirmed and consent obtained, no matter how empty the lot looks. Second, open house directional signs placed on a neighbor's lawn without asking. Temporary does not mean permitted. Third, signs in public rights of way, medians and other public spaces without authorization, which also runs into local ordinance.
Local rules sit on top of state law. Check the city or county planning department, keep an eye on ordinance changes, and put what you learn into the office signage policy so licensees are not each researching it separately.
Make the review a process
Because the qualifying broker is answerable for the ads that run under the company's name, the practical answer is an approval queue: the licensee submits the ad copy or asset and where it will run, the broker checks it against a short list — truthful, brokerage name prominent, owner consent obtained for signage, local ordinance considered — and approves, requests changes, or rejects. Keep the history.