What Is A “Non-Member Licensee”?
The Managing Broker: The State of Illinois issues real estate licenses. There must be at least one managing broker in the office that is the sponsoring broker. It is that broker who decides if he/she and that firm are going to join an association of REALTORS®. A broker does not have to belong to a local association of REALTORS®. However, to join the regional MLS, which is known as MRED, they must belong to a local association of REALTORS®.
REALTOR® is a federally registered trademark owned by the National Association of REALTORS®. Only those who belong to a local Board of REALTORS®, like the North Shore – Barrington Association of REALTORS®, may use the term “REALTOR®”. There can be groups of people in real estate that are not part of the National Association of REALTORS®, such as the former North Side Real Estate Board. Those who belonged to North Side only could not use the term “REALTOR®” because North Side was not chartered by the National Association of REALTORS®.
The Broker: The managing broker who elects to belong to the local association of REALTORS® decides to hire brokers. The broker need to make a decision – to join the local association or not. If the broker joins the North Shore – Barrington Association of REALTORS® then they must:
- Fill out an application form
- Pay the initial fee of $250
- Pay membership dues with the application fee and continue to pay dues each year of membership
- Attend the North Shore – Barrington new member orientation class.
Or, the broker can decide not to join the Board. If they do not join:
- They are not members of the Board,
- They receive no services from the Board,
- They can not use any services,
- They must pay non-member fees for all functions and services,
- They cannot have the North Shore – Barrington staff answer any of their questions,
- They cannot have a Sentrilock card to access Sentrilock Electronic lockboxes,
- They must pay higher fees to take North Shore – Barrington continuing education classes,
- They can not use the term “REALTOR®”,
- The managing broker must pay a fee based on each broker that is not a member each year. This is called the Designated REALTOR® dues formula or DR Dues Formula. The managing broker must pay this each year for each non-member licensee until the brokers license is signed off and sent back to the State of Illinois.
Fees: DR dues/assessments paid by the head of the office (Designated REALTOR®) are based on a formula where X = # of licensees not joining the association, then the dues/assessment = $484 * X .
DR dues/assessments paid by the Designated REALTOR® do not constitute dues paid for the non-member licensee. Under no circumstances must a association attempt to exercise jurisdiction or control over non-member licensees. Any complaints concerning the conduct of non-member licensees must be directed to and answered by their Designated REALTOR®. The Designated REALTOR® has the power to impose sanctions against their non-member licensees and the Designated REALTOR® alone is responsible to NSBAR for actions of their non-member licensees and the Designated REALTOR alone is responsible to the Board for actions of their on-member licensees.
If you are currently a member and wish your charges to be stopped:
If you are sponsored by a managing broker who is a member of a local real estate association then either you pay the dues or your managing broker pays the dues. If you want to keep your license active but do not want to pay dues and MLS fees then you must move your license to a sponsoring managing broker who is not a member of a local real estate association.
"Inoperative" means a status of licensure where the licensee holds a current license under this Act, but the licensee is prohibited from engaging in licensed activities because the licensee is unsponsored or the license of the sponsoring broker with whom the licensee is associated or by whom he or she is employed is currently expired, revoked, suspended, or otherwise rendered invalid under this Act."
Putting your License on Hold:
First, one must find a holding company. Many of the larger offices have their own, so if you’re already affiliated with one, NSBAR recommends you contact them. There is no shortage of independent holding companies, however, so if you’re with a smaller office, give one of them a call.
You must terminate your membership with your current managing broker and with NSBAR. Your current managing broker must sign off on your license. A copy goes to the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulations and a copy comes to NSBAR.
Once in a holding company you will not be charged national, state or local dues or MLS fees. However, while in holding, you will not be a REALTOR® and cannot refer to yourself as one. You won’t have access to the MRED or Realtor.org or any NSBAR services. You will also need to keep up with your C.E. and renew your license with the state when it expires.
*amount does include member assessment for IAR and NAR