Offices, signs and change-of-address notices
The office
Every active broker must keep an office of at least one enclosed room in a building of stationary construction (Fla. Stat. 475.22(1)). Rule 61J2-10.022 allows that office to be in a residential location if local zoning does not forbid it, the minimum office requirements are met, and the broker's sign is properly displayed.
Sales associates do not keep their own offices. They must be registered from and work out of an office maintained and registered in the employer's name (61J2-10.022).
The sign
The sign goes on or about the entrance of the office (and of each branch office) where a person about to enter can easily see and read it (475.22(1)). It must show:
| Brokerage type | Sign must show |
|---|---|
| Sole broker | The broker's name and any trade name |
| Partnership or corporation | The firm's name or trade name and the name of at least one broker |
| Every sign | At least the words "licensed real estate broker" or "lic. real estate broker" |
Branch offices
If a licensee wants to do business at another location, that location must be registered as a branch office, with an annual fee of no more than $50 per office (475.24). An office counts as a branch if a broker based elsewhere has a name or advertising displayed there so the public would reasonably believe the broker owns or runs it.
A temporary shelter on a subdivision the broker is selling is not a branch office if no closings happen there and no salespeople are permanently assigned to it (61J2-10.023(2)). A registration cannot be moved from a closed branch to a new location (61J2-10.023(3)).
Address and employer changes
- Mailing and email address. Every licensee must notify the department in writing within 10 days after a change (61J2-10.038(2)). A first failure brings a citation; repeat violations lead to discipline.
- Changing employers. When a sales associate changes employers, the license ceases to be in force, and the change must be reported to the commission on its form no later than 10 days after the change (475.23).
- Broker moves the office. A broker's license likewise ceases to be in force on a change of business address. The brokerage files the change-of-address notice, listing associates no longer employed, and that filing also covers the associates who stay (475.23).