225 ILCS 454/10-30
2021 Illinois Compiled Statutes|Chapter 225 - PROFESSIONS, OCCUPATIONS, AND BUSINESS OPERATIONS|225 ILCS 454/ - Real Estate License Act of 2000.|Article 10 - Compensation And Business Practices

(Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2030)Sec. 10-30. Advertising.(a) No advertising, whether in print, via the Internet, or through social media, digital forums, or any other media, shall be fraudulent, deceptive, inherently misleading, or  proven to be  misleading in practice. Advertising shall be considered misleading or untruthful if,  when taken as a whole,  there is a distinct and reasonable possibility that it will be misunderstood or  will deceive the  ordinary consumer.  Advertising shall  contain all information  necessary to communicate the information contained therein to the public in an accurate,  direct, and readily  comprehensible manner. Team names may not contain inherently misleading terms, such as "company", "realty", "real estate", "agency", "associates", "brokers", "properties", or "property".(b) No blind advertisements may be used  by any licensee, in any media, except as provided for in this Section.(c) A licensee shall disclose, in writing, to all parties in a transaction  his or her status as a  licensee and any and all interest the licensee has or may have in the real  estate constituting the  subject matter thereof, directly or indirectly, according to the following  guidelines:(1) On broker yard signs or in broker advertisements,     no disclosure of ownership is necessary.  However, the ownership shall be indicated on any property data form accessible to the consumer and disclosed to persons responding to any advertisement or any sign.  The term "broker owned" or "agent owned" is sufficient disclosure.(2) A sponsored or inactive licensee selling or     leasing property, owned solely by the sponsored or inactive licensee, without utilizing brokerage services of their sponsoring broker or any other licensee, may advertise "By Owner".  For purposes of this Section, property is "solely owned" by a sponsored or inactive licensee if he or she (i) has a 100% ownership interest alone, (ii) has ownership as a joint tenant or tenant by the entirety, or (iii) holds a 100% beneficial interest in a land trust.  Sponsored or inactive licensees selling or leasing "By Owner" shall comply with the following if advertising by owner:(A) On "By Owner" yard signs, the sponsored or         inactive licensee shall indicate "broker owned" or "agent owned."  "By Owner" advertisements used in any medium of advertising shall include the term "broker owned" or "agent owned."(B) If a sponsored or inactive licensee runs         advertisements, for the purpose of purchasing or leasing real estate, he or she shall disclose in the advertisements his or her status as a licensee.(C) A sponsored or inactive licensee shall not         use the sponsoring broker's name or the sponsoring broker's company name in connection with the sale, lease, or advertisement of the property nor utilize the sponsoring broker's or company's name in connection with the sale, lease, or advertising of the property in a manner likely to create confusion among the public as to whether or not the services of a real estate company are being utilized or whether or not a real estate company has an ownership interest in the property.(d) A sponsored licensee may not advertise under his or her own name.  Advertising in any media shall be  under the direct supervision of the sponsoring or designated managing broker and in the  sponsoring broker's  business name, which in the case of a franchise shall include the franchise  affiliation as well as the  name of the individual firm.   This provision does not apply under the following circumstances:(1) When a licensee enters into a brokerage agreement     relating to his or her own real estate, or real estate in which he or she has an ownership interest, with another licensed broker; or(2) When a licensee is selling or leasing his or her     own real estate or buying or leasing real estate for himself or herself, after providing the appropriate written disclosure of his or her ownership interest as required in paragraph (2) of subsection (c) of this Section.(e) No licensee shall list his or her name or otherwise advertise in his or her own name to the  general public through any  medium of advertising as being in the real estate business without listing his  or her sponsoring  broker's business name.(f) The sponsoring broker's business name and the name of the licensee must  appear in all  advertisements, including business cards. In advertising that includes the sponsoring broker's name and a team name or individual broker's name, the sponsoring broker's business name shall be at least equal in size or larger than the team name or that of the individual.(g) Those individuals licensed as a managing broker and designated with the Department as a designated managing broker by their sponsoring broker shall identify themselves to the public in advertising, except on "For Sale" or similar signs, as a designated managing broker.  No other individuals holding a managing broker's license may hold themselves out to the public or other licensees as a designated managing broker, but they may hold themselves out to be a managing broker. (Source: P.A. 101-357, eff. 8-9-19.)