January 01, 2026

The National Association of REALTORS® Code of Ethics was adopted in 1913 and is frequently amended to reflect modern practices and expectations of professionalism. The following changes took effect January 1, 2026.

Deleted Standard of Practice 3-4 Related to Variable Rate Commissions

Standard of Practice 3-4’s disclosure requirement for variable rate commissions was based on unilateral MLS offers of compensation. With practice changes following the NAR settlement agreement, cooperative compensation is now only one of many negotiated variables. Removing this standard of practice modernizes the Code of Ethics to reflect current practice.

Amended Article 7 about Compensation Disclosure Clarification

The modified Article 7 retains a REALTOR®’s ethical duty to disclose to clients when accepting compensation from more than one party while clarifying there is no obligation to disclose the contents of a buyer-broker agreement to sellers or their brokers.

The change removes the phrase “all parties” from Article 7’s disclosure requirements while maintaining client transparency. This change ensures buyer brokers need not reveal details of buyer-broker agreements to sellers or their brokers.

Amended Standard of Practice 17-4 about Arbitration

This change expands and modernizes the specific non-contractual disputes subject to arbitration and updates the language to align with the NAR settlement agreement. The amended language reflects current practice and ensures compliance with settlement terms.