Missouri Real Estate License Law, Commission Rules, and Licensee Duties
Where the rules live
Missouri license law is Chapter 339 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri, fleshed out by the Missouri Real Estate Commission's rules in Title 20 CSR 2250. The Commission sits within the Division of Professional Registration and has authority to license, investigate, fine, suspend, and revoke. It does not set commission rates, arbitrate commission splits, or guarantee that a contract form is legally sufficient.
License tiers and sponsorship
Missouri licenses salespersons, brokers, and broker-salespersons. A salesperson must be sponsored by an active broker and may be compensated only by that broker - never directly by a buyer, seller, or cooperating party. A broker-salesperson holds a broker license but works under another broker. Licenses run on a two-year cycle and require continuing education (12 clock hours per cycle, including required core hours). A salesperson whose sponsorship ends must transfer the license and cannot practice while unsponsored.
Broker duties and advertising
Brokers must supervise licensees, keep transaction and trust-account records (roughly three years), and maintain escrow accounts without commingling or conversion. Advertising must identify the brokerage's registered name. Team names require broker approval and may not imply a separate brokerage. Unlicensed assistants may do clerical work, deliver documents, and place pre-approved ads, but may not show property, quote price or terms, or negotiate.
Discipline and the Recovery Fund
The Real Estate Education, Research, and Recovery Fund can reimburse consumers who obtain a judgment against a licensee for a wrongful act, subject to statutory caps and conditions.
Traps and a rule of thumb
Questions love the false statement that the state sets commission rates, or that a salesperson may accept a fee from a client. Rule of thumb: if the task requires judgment about price, terms, or property, it is brokerage and only a licensee may do it for pay; clerical work is fine, negotiating is not.