Minnesota License Law, Statutes, and Administrative Rules
The licensing framework
Minnesota regulates brokerage under Minn. Stat. ch. 82 and Minn. R. ch. 2100, with the Department of Commerce as the licensing agency. A license is required whenever a person, for another and for compensation, lists, markets, shows, negotiates, or attempts to negotiate a sale, purchase, lease, or exchange of real property, or solicits buyers. A salesperson works under a sponsoring broker: the broker is paid, the broker pays the salesperson, and the broker must supervise the salesperson's activity. Licenses renew on a two-year cycle and carry continuing-education requirements - confirm current hour counts on the Commerce website rather than memorizing them.
Unlicensed assistants are a favorite exam target. Clerical tasks, delivering documents, scheduling showings, and giving out factual, publicly available information (list price, square footage) are fine. Negotiating price or terms, giving opinions about value or condition, or running an open house as the agent of record is not. Advertising must identify the brokerage by its licensed name, blind ads are prohibited, and a licensee selling their own home must disclose license status in the marketing.
Traps
- Assuming a license is needed only for repeat or 'big' transactions - one compensated transaction is enough.
- Thinking a salesperson can accept a client's check; only the broker may be paid.
- Blind advertising and team names that omit the brokerage.
- Paying a finder's fee to an unlicensed person.
Rule of thumb
If someone is being paid by another person to help produce a real estate transaction, that person needs a license - or must be a genuinely clerical, non-negotiating assistant under supervision.
Worked example
A builder promises an unlicensed friend $1,500 for each buyer she brings to the model home, and she answers financing questions and writes up offers. She never calls herself an agent, but she is compensated for brokerage services and negotiating terms; the arrangement violates ch. 82 and exposes the builder to enforcement action.