Washington's firm-name rule for agent ads, in plain English
If you advertise real estate services in Washington, your brokerage's licensed name has to be on the ad. The rule is short, and most of the questions about it come from where it applies and how team names fit in.
What the rule says
“All advertising or solicitations without limitation for brokerage services, to include the internet-based advertising, web pages, email, newspaper, and other visual media must include the firm name or an assumed name as licensed.”WAC 308-124B-210(1)
"Firm name" means the name your brokerage is licensed under, or an assumed name it has licensed. It's the name your designated broker can show you on the firm's license.
Where it applies
The rule says "without limitation", so treat anything that markets your services as advertising. In practice that includes:
- Your website and every listing page on it
- Social media posts and profiles
- Email newsletters and your email signature
- Yard signs, riders, open house boards and flyers
- Postcards, business cards and print ads
- Video and online ads
Team names and personal brands
Many agents market under a team name or a personal brand. If that name isn't licensed as an assumed name, the rule adds four conditions:
- Show the firm's licensed name clearly and conspicuously alongside the team name or brand, every time.
- Don't use words that suggest a separate legal entity, such as "Inc.", "LLC", "LLP", "Corp.", "firm" or "company".
- Don't use words people read as a firm or an office, such as "realty", "realtors", "firm" or "real estate".
- Get your designated broker's written approval before you use the name.
So "The Lakeside Group, Windward Homes" can work. "Lakeside Realty LLC" can't, unless the brokerage has licensed that name.
A quick check before you post
- Is the brokerage's licensed name on it, and easy to read?
- If there's a team name, does it avoid entity words and "realty" or "real estate"?
- Has your designated broker approved the team name in writing?
- On a small item like a sign rider, is the firm name somewhere in the set it goes up with?
How Mullion handles it
Your brokerage name lives in your Desk profile. Mullion adds it to your site, every listing page and every social image, and the sign studio checks for it before you save or order a design. You still decide what you publish, so check anything you change by hand.
This is a plain-language summary, not legal advice. Your designated broker has the final say on your advertising. Read the full rule at the Washington State Legislature: app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=308-124B-210.