State Real Estate Commissions

The real estate commissions are official state bodies which license and regulate the real estate profession. Generally, they provide resources and testing services for real estate practitioners and appraisers, as well as information and services for consumers. However, real estate commissions do not exist in all 50 states of the USA.

A Note on Regulatory Bodies

As regulatory bodies, the role of these commissions is not to protect the industry or the profession that it regulates nor to protect consumers. It is not the role of regulators to be advocates for either a profession or consumers. The role of the regulators is rather to protect the public interest.

Protecting the public interest means assuring every individual's right to justice and equal opportunity. Therefore, the public interest demands that regulators use their best efforts to achieve impartiality.

Regulators protect the public interest when they deny the right to practice to the incompetent and unscrupulous.
Regulators protect the public interest when they eliminate barriers that unreasonably limit entry into a field of practice.
Regulators protect the public interest when they refuse to use licensing or registration laws to settle private disputes.
Regulators protect the public interest when they refuse to use licensing or registration laws to advance the interest of private trade associations.
Regulators protect the public interest when they encourage free and open markets.

Most states in the USA maintain formal real estate commissions, but some states regulate the practice of real estate less formally. For each state, the commission or other body which regulates real estate issues is identified below with a title and corresponding link.