A REALTOR® is a member of the National Association of REALTORS® who is required to abide by a strict Code of Ethics. The term REALTOR® is a registered trademark of the National Association of REALTORS®, and misuse of the term is a trademark violation. To become a REALTOR®, a person who holds a real estate or appraiser license may join their local REALTOR® Association, which makes them automatically a member of the State and National Associations.

Before becoming a REALTOR®, you first must earn a real estate or appraiser license. All North Carolina real estate professionals are licensed by the North Carolina Real Estate Commission (NCREC) or the North Carolina Appraisal Board (NCAB).

If you have an active North Carolina real estate or appraiser license and are interested in becoming a REALTOR®, please contact the local board/association of REALTORS® nearest you for additional information on becoming a member.

Once you have your license, consider taking an extra step toward competence and professionalism by joining your local, state, and national associations of REALTORS®. Then, and only then, may you legally use the term “REALTOR®” following your name – a symbol that identifies a real estate professional who is a member of the REALTOR® family and subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics.

To join, ask your broker which local association of REALTORS® he or she belongs, then contact that local board for an application and additional instructions.

NC REALTORS® (registered as The North Carolina Association of REALTORS® with the Secretary of State) is a trade association dedicated to providing members with opportunities and resources that help them do their jobs better. Our mission statement is succinct: “Dedicated to the advancement of North Carolina’s REALTORS® and their communities.” The headquarters office is located at 4511 Weybridge Lane in Greensboro and can be reached at 336-294-1415.

The North Carolina Real Estate Commission (“Commission”) is an independent state governmental agency. The Commission’s primary function is to license and regulate real estate agents (persons and firms who sell, lease, etc. real estate for others). North Carolina’s 80,000-plus real estate agents are licensed as brokers. The Commission office is located at 1313 Navaho Drive in Raleigh and can be reached at 919-875-3700.

REALTOR® Code of Ethics Complaint

There are several options that are available to you if you are having a dispute with a REALTOR® or believe a REALTOR® has violated the Code of Ethics.

Ombudsman

The situation might be a candidate for the NC REALTORS® Ombudsman Program. The Ombudsman Program is informal telephone mediation. Like mediators, Ombudsman help the parties involved in a transaction find solutions. The process voluntary and confidential. If for some reason the program is not successful in resolving the dispute, other options are still available and listed below.

Explore the Ombudsman Program

Complete an Ombudsman Request Form

Ethics Complaint

NC REALTORS® is a voluntary professional society; not all real estate agents in North Carolina are REALTORS®. REALTOR® is a trademarked term owned by the National Association of REALTORS®, which signifies membership in the National Association of REALTORS®. REALTORS® are bound by a Code of Ethics promulgated by the National Association of REALTORS®. The purpose behind the hearing of an ethics complaint is to determine the factual conduct and educate the parties respecting the propriety of the conduct, rather than providing monetary damages to the complainant. You must file an ethics complaint within one hundred eighty (180) days after the facts constituting the matter could have been known in the exercise of reasonable diligence. Learn more. 

Enforcement of the Code of Ethics is a privilege and responsibility of the local Board or Association of REALTORS®. If you believe that a REALTOR® has violated the Code of Ethics, you must contact the local Board or Association directly to verify the individual agent’s REALTOR® membership and file the appropriate documents. You can look the up the REALTOR® on our website here to determine which local board they are a member of.

NCREC Complaint

Please note that the North Carolina Real Estate Commission is an independent agency of the State responsible for licensing and regulating the conduct of all real estate agents in North Carolina and is not affiliated with NC REALTORS® or any local Board or Association of REALTORS®. If you wish to file a complaint with the Commission, you should contact the Commission at (919) 875-3700 or visit the Commission’s website for more information. This is a separate and distinct complaint procedure from that of a REALTOR® association.

Transactions (zipForm® Edition) is the official forms software for NC REALTORS®. The online version is available to you, as a member benefit, at no cost.

First-time users: You must have a login to the NAR website to set up an account with Transactions (zipForm® Edition). If you don’t have one set up, go to nar.realtor, click on “Sign In” on the top right. Click “Register” at the top of the login box and choose your own username and password. To set up an account with Transactions (zipForm® Edition), visit http://www.zipform.com/order/order.asp and follow the steps, selecting NC REALTORS® from the drop down menu of associations. When the login window appears, log into the NAR site with the credentials you just set up. Choose your own username and password for your Transactions (zipForm® Edition) account when requested. Once you complete this initial registration, logging in at Transactions (zipForm® Edition) on subsequent visits will take only seconds.

Transactions (zipForm® Edition) is synched with the NAR database. If you have any changes to your company name, address, email or phone numbers, simply follow the directions here. Your changes will automatically update in Transactions (zipForm® Edition).

In addition to Transactions (zipForm® Edition)’s excellent, user-friendly website, customer service support is available 24 hours per day Monday through Friday and 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. on weekends and holidays by calling (586) 840-0140.

For issues regarding Transactions (zipForm® Edition), please contact their Tech Support Line 24 hours per day Monday through Friday and from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekends and holidays by calling (586) 840-0140.