How Do Real Estate Agents Switch Brokerages?

Who Owns the Listing

The listing agreement is a contract between the seller and the brokerage. The agent works on the brokerage's behalf. According to the Pennsylvania Association of REALTORS, because the consumer contracts with the broker and not with the salesperson, an agent generally has no right to take listings to a new brokerage absent a separate agreement. The same source adds that an independent contractor agreement controls if it addresses the question, and that if the agreement is silent the agent must negotiate with the old broker over which listings, if any, the agent may keep.

A listing can still move. According to Bean Group's guide to switching brokerages, listings usually stay with the old brokerage and are reassigned, though sellers can sometimes request a release. In practice a transfer needs the old broker's agreement and the seller's consent, and many MLS systems process the change when both brokers have signed the transfer documentation. The old broker is not required to release the listing unless the contract says so. According to the Pennsylvania Association of REALTORS, if the consumer wants to follow the agent but the broker refuses, the consumer remains bound by the existing contract.

Soliciting a former firm's exclusive listings is a separate risk. According to Illinois REALTORS, in a May 2025 article on moving to a new broker, soliciting the exclusive listing of a real estate firm can be a potential license law violation and a breach of the REALTOR Code of Ethics. Telling clients where an agent is moving is not the same act as asking them to cancel a listing.

Pending Transactions and Commission

A transaction under contract is generally treated as the brokerage's, because the commission is paid to the sponsoring broker. According to Illinois REALTORS, commission checks on deals pending at the time of a move typically go to the sponsoring brokerage, and without a specific contract provision or office policy an agent may go unpaid on deals pending when leaving. The article notes that an agent may need to remain with the sponsoring broker until a deal closes or negotiate an arrangement before leaving.

According to Bean Group, pending deals usually close under the old brokerage, and the payout depends on the agent's agreement. The Pennsylvania Association of REALTORS describes the entitlement on signed but unclosed deals as unclear, because different transactions sit at different stages and need different amounts of remaining work. That work is the main variable in any negotiation over a pending commission.

Agents who want the other side of this pricing question, the split and the fees a new firm will charge, can use How Do You Choose a Real Estate Brokerage? and What Is a Good Commission Split in Real Estate?

The Independent Contractor Agreement

Because the agreement decides most of the questions above, it is the first document to read. According to Bean Group, the agent should check the notice period, the post-termination commission terms, non-solicitation clauses, ownership of leads and marketing, and any team agreement. According to the Pennsylvania Association of REALTORS, an agent's bargaining power is strongest when first joining a broker and weakest at departure, so the exit terms are best negotiated before they are needed.

Most agents are bound by one of these contracts. According to the National Association of REALTORS 2026 Member Profile, 86% of REALTORS were independent contractors at their firms in 2025. The agreement is therefore the governing document for most departures, and it varies by firm. A form contract published in one state is not a template for another, and many companies use their own form with terms that differ widely.

Agents who joined through a team should also read the team agreement, which can add its own notice and lead-ownership terms. The mechanics of team agreements are covered in How Do You Join a Real Estate Team?

The Order of Operations

The order of the steps matters because access to the old firm's systems may end when the agent gives notice. According to Bean Group, the sequence is to secure the new affiliation first, then secure data and marketing assets the agent owns, then notify clients, and notify the current broker last. A workable version has six steps.

First, the agent obtains the new firm's split, cap and fee schedule in writing, including per-transaction and monthly fees. Second, the agent lists every active listing, pending deal and buyer under contract with the stage of each. Third, the agent exports the contacts and marketing material the agent clearly owns and leaves brokerage-owned records alone unless the managing broker approves in writing. Fourth, the agent notifies the current broker in writing with a proposed plan for each file. Fifth, the agent transfers the state license and the MLS and association memberships. Sixth, the agent informs clients, factually, once cleared to do so.

On the license, Bean Group notes that most states do not allow an agent to practice during the gap between sponsoring brokers and that MLS and association records are updated separately from the state license. Forms and signatures should be ready before the notice date so the gap stays short. Cap timing is also worth checking, since caps are measured over a set year and the date of a move changes what an agent pays at each firm. The steps after the move, when the agent joins a new team, are covered in What Should an Agent Do in the First 30 Days on a New Team?

How Often Agents Switch

Switching is common enough that most brokerages plan for it. According to Redfin's 2025 Industry Survey of 500 agents at brokerages other than Redfin, in 46 states and fielded by Ipsos from December 2024 to January 2025, 13.4% of agents had switched brokerages in the previous 12 months and 15% planned to switch in the next 12. According to the same survey, as summarized by nowbam, 19.4% of agents who switched in 2024 planned to switch again.

The same survey shows what agents weigh. According to Redfin, 78.4% rated the commission split very important when choosing a brokerage, 55.2% rated brand and reputation very important and 54.6% rated training and support very important. Redfin is itself a brokerage, and the sample excludes its own agents. The criteria are compared in Is It Better to Join a Team, a Brokerage, or a Revenue Share Company?

Why Relationships Decide What Moves

The business that moves with an agent is the business that was never stored in the brokerage. According to the NAR 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 66% of sellers found their agent through a referral or used an agent they had worked with before, and 43% of buyers were referred to their agent by a friend, neighbor or relative. Those clients attach to a person. A listing contract binds a seller to a firm, but a referral comes from a relationship the agent holds, which is why the contact list the agent owns is the asset most worth protecting.

Blake Suddath, a real estate recruiter and recruiting coach who has personally recruited 400+ agents since September 2019, describes his own brokerage move as one he resisted. After helping build an independent brokerage to about 19 agents in about a year, which then moved to eXp, he said he was "a 225-pound anchor that didn't want to go to eXp" and was looking at a change from a 98/2 split to 80/20.

Frequently Asked Questions

Established real estate agents who want their sphere, content and brand running on a system they own, whichever brokerage they are with, can schedule a call with Blake Suddath and Tyler Lewis at theinnercirql.com/agents/.