Mississippi License Law, Commission Rules, and State-Specific Practice
Who is regulated and how
The Mississippi Real Estate Commission (MREC), operating under Title 73, Chapter 35 of the Mississippi Code, licenses and disciplines brokers and salespersons, oversees trust funds, approves pre-licensing education, and administers a recovery fund for consumers harmed by licensee misconduct. A salesperson must be sponsored by and work under a licensed broker; the broker is responsible for supervising salespersons and for all advertising placed by the firm, which must identify the brokerage.
A license is required for anyone who, for compensation, lists, sells, buys, leases, or negotiates real estate for another. Statutory exemptions typically cover owners selling their own property, attorneys performing legal work, court-appointed fiduciaries, and certain auction and mineral-lease activities. Unlicensed assistants may perform clerical tasks but may not show property, quote terms, or negotiate.
Money, agency, and discipline
Trust and escrow funds must be held in a separate account, accounted for accurately, and never commingled with the broker's operating funds. Commissions may be paid only to a licensed broker - never directly to a salesperson by a client or third party. MREC rules recognize seller agency, buyer agency, dual agency with written informed consent, and designated agency, and require disclosure of the relationship at the earliest practical time. Grounds for discipline include fraud or misrepresentation, undisclosed dual agency, commingling or conversion, failure to supervise, unlicensed activity, and convictions affecting fitness to practice. Discipline may include reprimand, probation, suspension, revocation, fines, and education requirements.
Worked example: a seller offers a salesperson $500 "for her trouble" at closing. The salesperson may not accept it; all compensation must flow through her broker. Accepting it directly is a license-law violation even with the dollar amount disclosed in writing.
Traps: "my broker said I could keep a small gift" is not a defense; supervising brokers are liable for what they failed to catch. Rule of thumb: follow the money - if it flows to anyone but the broker, something is wrong.