Real estate License - wikipedia Real estate License The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. You may improve this article, discuss the issue on the talk page, or create a new article, as appropriate. ( December 2014 ) Real estate licenses, authorizations issued by state governments, give agents and brokers the legal ability to represent a home seller or buyer in the process of buying or selling real estate. Real estate agents and real estate brokers are required to be licensed when conducting real estate transactions in the United States and many other countries. Through a complicated arrangement, the National Association of Realtors ( NAR ), a trade and lobbying group for agents and brokers, sets policies for most of the multiple listing services. As the Internet gained widespread use in the late 1990s, NAR created regulations allowing Information Data Exchanges ( or Internet Data Exchanges ) ( IDX ) whereby brokers would allow a portion of their data, such as listings of homes for sale, to be seen online via brokers ' or agents ' websites. The association attempted to limit online access to some or all of that data, particularly by brokers operating solely on the Internet. In 2005, the Department of Justice brought an antitrust lawsuit against the NAR trade group. The complaint accused the association of unfairly limiting access to the multiple listing service ( MLS ), which effectively prevented online brokerages from competing with traditional brick - and - mortar offices. The Justice Department accused the NAR of conspiring to restrain trade. Contents 1 License reciprocity agreements 2 See also 3 References 4 External links License reciprocity agreements Some U.S. states have reciprocity agreements in place allowing licensees from other states to become licensed in that state. Details of each reciprocal agreement vary from state to state. Some states have education requirements that must be met by the agent while others require only that the agent fill out a reciprocal license application with the State. See also Housing bubble List of real estate topics Real estate appraisal Real estate economics Real estate industry trade groups Real estate pricing Real property Real estate trends References Jump up ^ `` Internet Data Exchange ( IDX ) Background and FAQ ''. National Association of Realtors. Retrieved 14 July 2015. Jump up ^ `` Field Guide to License Reciprocity / License Recognition ''. National Association of Realtors. Retrieved 14 July 2015. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Real Estate License. National Association of Realtors Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Real_estate_license&oldid=833081033 '' Categories : Real estate Hidden categories : Articles with limited geographic scope from December 2014 All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from May 2017 Commons category without a link on Wikidata Talk Contents About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 29 March 2018, at 15 : 25 ( UTC ). Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: who holds the real estate license of an agent
Answer: state governments