Does my license go inactive when I leave my brokerage in Texas?

Yes. Texas Occupations Code §1101.367 says that when the relationship with your sponsoring broker terminates, the terminating party must immediately notify the Commission in writing, and on receiving that notice the Commission places the sales agent license on inactive status. Under §1101.352(b) a person may not act as a sales agent unless the person is sponsored by a licensed broker. So there can be a gap when you can’t work, and how long it lasts depends on the order you do things in. A sponsorship change is two-sided: you request it and your new broker accepts it, both in TREC’s REALM Portal.

How much does it cost to change brokers in Texas?

Nothing, at TREC. The $10 sponsorship invitation or request fee was eliminated on January 2, 2020, and there is no sponsorship-change line item anywhere on the current fee schedule (effective December 15, 2025). Eliminating the fee did not remove your responsibility to notify TREC of the change. Association and MLS dues are separate and are not TREC’s.

Do I keep my listings if I switch brokerages?

No. TREC answers this directly: “No. Listing agreements are private contracts between the property owner and the real estate broker, not the sales agent.” In Fort Worth the listings themselves are moved with the Greater Fort Worth Association of REALTORS®’s MLS Listings Transfer Request, which requires the releasing broker’s signature and the MLS number of every listing being transferred.

Can my old broker still pay me a commission after I leave?

Yes. TREC: “Yes, Commission Rule 535.3 permits you to receive any compensation through your current sponsoring broker or the broker who sponsored you at the time you earned the right to the compensation.” In plain terms, a commission you had already earned the right to can still be paid through the broker who sponsored you when you earned it. Your independent contractor agreement governs what you are owed; Rule 535.3 governs who may pay it.

What paperwork changed for Texas agents in 2026?

The Information About Brokerage Services form. IABS 1-2 has been required since January 1, 2026 because of Senate Bill 1968, which added a non-representation status and written agreement requirements to the Real Estate License Act and removed subagency from Texas license law entirely. If you change brokers you re-issue the form under your new broker’s information. Adding your license suffix is optional: “You are not required to (although you may) add your license suffix to the IABS form, in your advertising, or on contracts.”

Does my REALTOR® and MLS membership move with me automatically?

No — it is a choice you make, and it depends on your broker, not on you. Greater Fort Worth Association of REALTORS® offers REALTOR® membership only where your sponsoring broker is a REALTOR® member at GFWAR or another association, and you select primary, secondary or MLS-only access. Timing matters: “No MLS refunds will be made to members leaving the Association or the real estate business after a billing quarter has begun.” GFWAR publishes no agent transfer fee; call them at 817.336.5165 before you assume there is or is not one.

For licensed Texas real estate agents

How to switch real estate brokerages in Texas

The moment you leave your sponsoring broker, Texas law puts your license on inactive status, and you may not work while it is. You control how long that lasts. Here is how to keep it short.

Below: what the law says, how to file the change with TREC online, which form moves your listings, and honest reasons to stay or go. Written by the brokerage side of 6th Avenue Homes, and written to be useful even if you never call us.

Skip to: should you switch?

The gap, if you resign first

You may not work

Sponsored → inactive → sponsored again.

How long that gap lasts depends on the order you resign and get sponsored again.

Two 6th Avenue Homes agents looking at a listing on a laptop in the Fort Worth office

The gap

Your license goes inactive the moment you leave

“When the relationship of a sales agent with the sales agent’s sponsoring broker terminates, the terminating party shall immediately notify in writing both the other party and the commission. On receiving the written notice, the commission shall place the sales agent license on inactive status.”
Texas Occupations Code §1101.367

And §1101.352(b) adds: a person may not act as a sales agent unless the person is sponsored by a licensed broker. So between leaving one broker and being sponsored by the next, you hold a license but can’t work. No form warns you about this. You control how long it lasts.

And it is controllable, because a sponsorship change is two-sided. You request it and your new broker accepts it, both in TREC’s REALM Portal — which replaced the old license-management system on December 15, 2025. Get your new broker’s acceptance first and there is no gap. Resign first and the gap starts that day.

Which order do you do it in?

I resign first I line the sponsor up first

As long as it takes

Day 0You resign

The other endNew broker accepts

You resign, then start looking for the acceptance. No rule says how long a broker takes to accept, so the gap lasts until your new broker does.

Your new broker accepts first; you resign second. The license never sits unsponsored, and TREC gives a few hours for the portal to catch up.

Once the change shows in the portal you are done, whatever the public search says: “As long as the sponsorship appears correctly in the REALM Portal, it is considered effective—even if it has not yet updated in the License Holder Search on the website.” TREC gives a few hours for it to appear there, and publishes no timetable at all for how long a broker takes to accept — another reason to get the acceptance done first.

Update their IABS.
List the new sponsoring broker in contracts.
Advertise under the new broker.

Verified September 2026 against TREC’s sponsorship guidance (04-21-2026) and the statute.

What moves, what stays

What comes with you when you switch, and what stays

TREC settles most of this in a sentence each. The one that matters most — whether money you have already earned comes with you — has a clear answer in TREC’s rules, and it is below.

Stays with the brokerage

Your listings

The listing agreement is a contract between the owner and the brokerage. Moving one is a request, not a right.
The brokerage’s leads

Anything generated by the firm belongs to the firm unless your agreement says otherwise in writing.
Marketing with their brand on it

Signs, riders, branded collateral, the listing photography they paid for.
Your listing pipeline’s MLS records

Moved only by the MLS Listings Transfer Request, and only with the releasing broker’s signature.

Comes with you

Commission you had already earned

Rule 535.3 lets the broker who sponsored you at the time pay you directly.
Your license

The change itself costs $0. It has since January 2, 2020.
Your relationships

Your clients can call whoever they like. What you may say to them, and when, is set by your agreement.

$10 $0 to change sponsors, since January 2, 2020

Greater Fort Worth Association of REALTORS®

MLS Listings Transfer Request

“The Listing Transfer will not take place until a Transfer Form signed by the Receiving Broker listed below is submitted for new sponsorship of the agent.”

“You must provide the MLS # for each listing you want transferred.”

“Listings will not be transferred without signature and date from releasing broker”

Submitted to MLS@gfwar.org. Read the form itself.

“No. Listing agreements are private contracts between the property owner and the real estate broker, not the sales agent.”
TREC, on taking your listings with you

The usual answer to “do I lose my pipeline” is check your independent contractor agreement. TREC’s own answer is more useful: “Yes, Commission Rule 535.3 permits you to receive any compensation through your current sponsoring broker or the broker who sponsored you at the time you earned the right to the compensation.”

Listings · Commission after a move · The eliminated fee · Fee schedule

New this year

You’ll give your clients a new IABS form

Senate Bill 1968 took effect this year, and the Information About Brokerage Services form changed with it — so a move you make now re-issues a form that is itself only months old.

IABS 1-2 required since January 1, 2026

It adds a non-representation status, and written-agreement requirements, to the Real Estate License Act.
It removes subagency from Texas license law entirely — every reference is gone from the form.

subagency is gone from Texas license law. If a page you are reading still explains it, that page is out of date.

One thing you do not have to do: “You are not required to (although you may) add your license suffix to the IABS form, in your advertising, or on contracts.”

TREC on the current IABS form

A 6th Avenue Homes agent walking two clients through printed paperwork at a table

Association and MLS fees

Your association bills by the quarter and doesn’t refund

In Fort Worth your MLS access runs through the Greater Fort Worth Association of REALTORS® — part of NTREIS, roughly 40,000 MLS subscribers across 48,000 square miles — and it bills by the quarter. So when in the quarter you move changes what you pay.

Month 1

Month 2

Month 3

Quarterly billing

The later in a quarter you join, the less of it you pay. The earlier you leave one, the more of it you lose.

“No MLS refunds will be made to members leaving the Association or the real estate business after a billing quarter has begun.”

“All new user fees are pro-rated, based on which month of the quarter a user joins the MLS.” So joining late in a quarter costs less and leaving early in one costs more.

Membership does not simply follow you

It is a category you select, and it depends on your broker, not on you: “GFWAR is required to offer REALTOR® membership only to those … whose sponsoring broker is a REALTOR® member at GFWAR or another REALTOR® Association.”

Primary

You move your primary REALTOR® membership to this association. This is the ordinary case for an agent whose new brokerage is here.
Secondary

You keep primary membership at another association and add this one — the case for an agent working two markets.
MLS only

Access to the MLS without REALTOR® membership at this association.

Published MLS fees, no period stated

REALTOR® Agent: $153
Designated REALTOR® / Broker: $203

“All newly joined members of GFWAR must complete New Member Orientation and fulfill the requirement for Code of Ethics and Fair Housing training.”

GFWAR publishes no agent transfer fee. That is not the same as there being none — call them at 817.336.5165 and ask, rather than trusting anyone’s page, including this one.

GFWAR MLS · Membership types

The decision

Should you switch at all?

We recruit agents, so read the next part knowing that. A move made for the wrong reason often leads to a second move, so here are honest reasons on both sides.

Reasons that hold up

The thing you need does not exist there

No training, no one to call at 7pm on a Sunday, no transaction help at any price.
You have outgrown the model

You are subsidizing a service you stopped using two years ago, or paying for leads you now generate yourself.
You cannot get a straight answer about money

What matters is whether you get a clear answer, whatever the number is.
The brokerage has changed since you joined

The people you joined for have left, and so has the reason you joined.

Reasons to stay where you are

You are having a bad quarter

A new brokerage does not fix a pipeline. It resets your systems, your paperwork and your referral habits in the same quarter you needed them most.
You have not asked

Sometimes the fix is just asking your current broker. Ask for what you need first. You learn something either way.
You are chasing a number

A better split on fewer closings is less money. Do the arithmetic on your own last twelve months, not on their example agent.
You are three weeks from closing four deals

Wait until they close, or line up your new broker first so there is no gap.
Somebody is recruiting you hard

Urgency is a sales tool. It is a sales tool when we use it too. A brokerage that is right for you in October will still be there in January.

See what 6th Ave offers agents Not licensed yet? Start here → Doing it part-time? What it costs to keep → Switching in Mansfield? Which association → Switching inside Fort Worth? Agents vs. homes sold →

Before you say yes to anyone

Five questions, and what a straight answer sounds like

Each question comes with what a straight answer sounds like, so you can tell a clear answer from a dodge.

01Who owns the leads I generate here?

A straight answer A written answer, the same one twice, and a copy of the agreement that says it.

A dodge “We’re all family here.” Warmth is not a policy. Ask again.
02What happens to my listings if I leave?

A straight answer They stay — followed immediately by how the release is handled in practice, because they know you will ask and they have done it before.

A dodge Surprise that you asked. Everybody leaves somewhere eventually; a brokerage that has never thought about it has told you something.
03What is everything I will pay in a year?

A straight answer Every line, including the ones that are not a split: dues, tech, E&O, desk, marketing, anything per-transaction. Then you do the arithmetic against your own last twelve months, not their example agent.

A dodge One headline number and a change of subject. The headline is rarely the whole cost anywhere.
04Who do I call on a Sunday when a deal is coming apart?

A straight answer A name. Possibly a phone number.

A dodge “Support is great.” Ask for the name.
05What does the first ninety days actually look like?

A straight answer Specifics with dates on them — what happens in week one, who you sit with, what is expected of you by day ninety.

A dodge A description of the culture. Culture is real, but it is not an onboarding plan.

Four people meeting around a table in the 6th Avenue Homes Fort Worth office — Ask us all five. An hour talking with us tells you more than any page will, including this one.

Have the conversation

4 years running

Best Home Builder & Remodeler

Fort Worth MagazineFort Worth Chamber Small Business of the Year4.7 stars from 91 Google reviews as of September 2026

Questions about switching brokerages in Texas

Does my license go inactive when I leave my brokerage in Texas?: Yes. Texas Occupations Code §1101.367 says that when the relationship with your sponsoring broker terminates, the terminating party must immediately notify the Commission in writing, and on receiving that notice the Commission places the sales agent license on inactive status. Under §1101.352(b) a person may not act as a sales agent unless the person is sponsored by a licensed broker. So there can be a gap when you can’t work, and how long it lasts depends on the order you do things in. A sponsorship change is two-sided: you request it and your new broker accepts it, both in TREC’s REALM Portal.
How much does it cost to change brokers in Texas?: Nothing, at TREC. The $10 sponsorship invitation or request fee was eliminated on January 2, 2020, and there is no sponsorship-change line item anywhere on the current fee schedule (effective December 15, 2025). Eliminating the fee did not remove your responsibility to notify TREC of the change. Association and MLS dues are separate and are not TREC’s.
Do I keep my listings if I switch brokerages?: No. TREC answers this directly: “No. Listing agreements are private contracts between the property owner and the real estate broker, not the sales agent.” In Fort Worth the listings themselves are moved with the Greater Fort Worth Association of REALTORS®’s MLS Listings Transfer Request, which requires the releasing broker’s signature and the MLS number of every listing being transferred.
Can my old broker still pay me a commission after I leave?: Yes. TREC: “Yes, Commission Rule 535.3 permits you to receive any compensation through your current sponsoring broker or the broker who sponsored you at the time you earned the right to the compensation.” In plain terms, a commission you had already earned the right to can still be paid through the broker who sponsored you when you earned it. Your independent contractor agreement governs what you are owed; Rule 535.3 governs who may pay it.
What paperwork changed for Texas agents in 2026?: The Information About Brokerage Services form. IABS 1-2 has been required since January 1, 2026 because of Senate Bill 1968, which added a non-representation status and written agreement requirements to the Real Estate License Act and removed subagency from Texas license law entirely. If you change brokers you re-issue the form under your new broker’s information. Adding your license suffix is optional: “You are not required to (although you may) add your license suffix to the IABS form, in your advertising, or on contracts.”
Does my REALTOR® and MLS membership move with me automatically?: No — it is a choice you make, and it depends on your broker, not on you. Greater Fort Worth Association of REALTORS® offers REALTOR® membership only where your sponsoring broker is a REALTOR® member at GFWAR or another association, and you select primary, secondary or MLS-only access. Timing matters: “No MLS refunds will be made to members leaving the Association or the real estate business after a billing quarter has begun.” GFWAR publishes no agent transfer fee; call them at 817.336.5165 before you assume there is or is not one.

Every figure and quotation on this page was read on TREC, the Texas Occupations Code or Greater Fort Worth Association of REALTORS® in September 2026, and each is linked above. This is not legal advice and it is not a solicitation of any agent under a written agreement with another broker — check your own agreement, and TREC, before you act.

Five 6th Avenue Homes agents in a finished Fort Worth renovation

If you move, line up your new broker before you resign

And if you want to know what this brokerage is like before you decide anything, talk to us. We will answer the five questions above whether or not you join.

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