Trade names and what unlicensed personal assistants may do

Florida trade names

A trade name is a business name other than the actual name of the individual or entity. Under Florida Administrative Code Rule 61J2-10.034, an individual broker, partnership, or corporation may use one trade name. It must be disclosed when requesting the license and placed on the registration or license. The Commission refuses a trade name identical to another Commission registrant's or licensee's real or trade name. A sales associate cannot use this rule to establish an independent brokerage identity.

Fictitious-name registration and real estate licensing serve different purposes. Section 865.09 makes fictitious-name registration public notice, not ownership of a name or a reservation against future use. Its exemption for a licensed professional or active registered entity depends on whether the operating name differs from the licensed or registered name. Filing a fictitious name does not replace recording a broker's trade name with the Commission and on the license, as section 475.42(1)(j) requires.

Unlicensed personal assistants

For an ordinary brokerage assistant, separate clerical support from licensed real estate services. An assistant may answer and route calls, schedule appointments for licensees, organize records, type material as directed, and perform routine office bookkeeping. Typing a licensee's chosen terms is clerical; choosing or explaining those terms is not.

An unlicensed assistant must not show listed property to prospective buyers, solicit listings, negotiate price or terms, recommend an offer, or explain a contract's legal effect. A broker's presence, instructions, or payment of a salary does not confer a license. Route substantive property and transaction questions to a licensee. Compensation for ordinary clerical support should be salary or hourly pay rather than a share of commissions for performing licensed services. Section 475.41 makes commission contracts for licensed services invalid when the required license was lacking when the services were performed.

Specific statutory exemptions exist, including certain onsite apartment leasing employees; they are not a general exemption for personal assistants.

Exam check: Ask both whether the brokerage name is properly registered and whether the person doing the work has authority to perform that work. A correct business name does not authorize an unlicensed person to negotiate.