Published September 4, 2026

Oregon's 2026 Real Estate Law Changes: What to Know

Written by Jeannette Johnson

A handcrafted basswood architectural scale model of a Craftsman-style house on a drafting table in soft natural light, with model fir trees, framing pieces, and rolled blank drafting paper

What changed in Oregon real estate law in 2026?

House Bill 3137 and HB 2373 took effect January 1, 2026, and together they're the largest change to Oregon real estate license law in seven years. Three things matter if you're buying or selling: every brokerage now has one managing principal broker who is ultimately accountable for all of its agents, any real estate team must give you a written disclosure before you sign a listing or buyer representation agreement, and every renewing licensee must complete a standalone state and federal fair housing course. A fourth change — the ban on the words "realty" and "real estate" in team names — was delayed by Senate Bill 1513 and now takes effect July 1, 2027.

By Rick Sadle | September 4, 2026

Most of what changed this year is invisible to you. It's supervision structure, trust account responsibility, written agreements filed away at the brokerage.

But two pieces show up directly in your transaction, and one of them lands on the table in front of you before you sign anything (at least it should). Here's the good stuff.

One person is now accountable for the whole brokerage

Oregon created a new license designation called the managing principal broker. Each registered business name — the brokerage itself — has exactly one, and every licensee in that business is associated with them.

That person is responsible for maintaining the business and its branch offices, holding the clients' trust accounts, and establishing written policies covering how agents are supervised, how disclosure forms and contracts get reviewed, how documents are stored, and how client funds are handled. If another principal broker supervises agents, it now has to be under a written supervisory agreement — and that agreement has to include a succession plan for what happens if the managing principal broker dies, becomes incapacitated, or leaves.

The statute is explicit that the managing principal broker stays ultimately responsible for every licensee under the business, regardless of what any supervisory agreement says.

Why this matters to you: before 2026, "who is actually answerable if something goes wrong here" could be confusing. Supervision could be spread across several principal brokers; now it runs to one named person. Now there's a single name, on file with the state, and a documented chain of supervision behind it. If you ever need to escalate a problem past your agent, you have somewhere defined to go.

If you're working with a team, you get a disclosure first

This is the change you'll actually see.

Oregon now formally defines a real estate team as a subdivision of a brokerage that does real estate work under a name different from the brokerage's own registered name. Under HB 3137, a team has to provide you with a disclosure before you enter into a buyer representation agreement or a listing agreement — not at closing, not buried in the packet afterward. Before. The Oregon Real Estate Agency published a sample disclosure form for this.

The point is to make the relationship legible. A team is not an independent company. It's a group operating under a licensed, regulated brokerage, and the advertising rules require the brokerage's registered name to be immediately noticeable in the team's marketing.

So when you sit down to sign a buyer agreement in Portland or Vancouver, you should now be handed something that tells you plainly which brokerage stands behind the team, and who supervises the person across the table.

Three questions worth asking at that meeting:

Which brokerage am I actually contracting with? The team name on the sign is a marketing name. The brokerage is the regulated business.
Who supervises my agent? There is now a documented answer to this.
If my agent leaves mid-transaction, what happens? The supervision structure is written down now, which makes this a much more answerable question than it used to be.

The team-name rule almost everyone gets wrong

Here's where you'll find a lot of outdated information, including from sources that were accurate when they were written.

HB 3137 prohibited real estate teams from using "realty" or "real estate" in their team names, effective January 1, 2026. That got widely reported last fall, and it's still repeated as current fact.

What happened next: during the public comment period on the implementing rules, the Oregon Real Estate Agency got enough pushback that it declined to put the prohibition into its administrative rules — though the restriction stayed in statute. The Agency held off on acting on team-name complaints, sent the concerns back to the bill's sponsors, and in the 2026 session the legislature passed Senate Bill 1513, which delayed the prohibition to July 1, 2027.

So teams have until the middle of next year. If you've noticed a local team quietly renaming itself, that's why — and if you've noticed one that hasn't, it isn't out of compliance yet.

One clarification, since it confuses people: the restriction applies to team names, not brokerage names. A brokerage's registered business name can still contain "realty" or "real estate." Our team operates under Keller Williams Realty Professionals, and "The Sadle Home Selling Team" contains neither restricted word, so nothing changes on our end.

What didn't change — including across the river

A few things worth being clear about.

Your contracts didn't change. HB 3137 is license law — it governs how brokerages are structured and supervised. It didn't rewrite the purchase and sale agreement, and it didn't alter what Oregon sellers have to disclose.

Commission structure didn't change here either. What did change is narrower: a licensee can only accept compensation from the managing principal broker they're associated with, and licensees are now permitted to give part of their compensation to a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.

And this is Oregon law only. If you're selling in Vancouver, Camas, or anywhere else in Clark County, your transaction runs under Washington's licensing statutes, and none of this applies. In a metro where a lot of people own on one side of the Columbia and are moving to the other, that distinction matters — the same agent may hold licenses in both states, but the rules governing each transaction are separate, right down to how escrow and closing work in each state.

There's also a new timeshare sales agent license under HB 2373. Anyone selling timeshares in Oregon now needs a broker, principal broker, or timeshare sales agent license, and timeshare agents are supervised by a managing principal broker like everyone else. Not relevant to most home sales, but it closed a real gap.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to do anything differently as a buyer or seller in Oregon in 2026?

No action is required of you. The obligations fall on licensees and brokerages. The one practical difference is that if you work with a team, you should receive a written disclosure before you sign a representation agreement — read it, and ask which brokerage you're contracting with if it isn't obvious.

Can Oregon real estate teams still use "realty" or "real estate" in their names?

Yes, until July 1, 2027. HB 3137 originally banned it as of January 1, 2026, but SB 1513 delayed the compliance deadline. The restriction applies only to team names, not to brokerage registered business names.

What is a managing principal broker?

A principal broker who has registered a business name with the Oregon Real Estate Agency, or assumed responsibility for one. Each brokerage has exactly one. They hold the clients' trust accounts, set the written supervision policies, and remain ultimately responsible for the professional activity of every licensee in the business.

Does any of this apply to my sale in Vancouver, WA?

No. HB 3137 and HB 2373 amend Oregon license law. A Clark County transaction is governed by Washington's licensing statutes and rules, which these bills don't touch.

Did these changes affect commissions?

Not in the way people usually mean. Commission is still negotiable and still set between you and the brokerage. HB 3137 changed who a licensee may accept compensation from — their managing principal broker — and newly allows licensees to direct part of their compensation to a 501(c)(3) charity.

What to take from this

The through-line in all of it is accountability. Oregon decided consumers should be able to tell, without effort, which regulated business they're dealing with and who is responsible for the people working on their transaction.

That's a good change, and it costs you nothing but a minute of reading before you sign.

If you're getting ready to buy or sell on either side of the river and want to talk through how any of this affects your situation — or just want a straight answer about who you'd be working with and how we're structured — reach out anytime.

Sources

This article is general information about license law, not legal advice. I'm a real estate broker, not an attorney. Rules and effective dates change — confirm anything you plan to rely on with the Oregon Real Estate Agency or your own counsel.

About Rick Sadle
Rick Sadle is the Principal Broker and CEO of The Sadle Home Selling Team at Keller Williams Realty Professionals, serving the Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington real estate markets. With more than 20 years of real estate experience, over 3,500 homes sold and more than $1 billion in team sales volume, Rick is one of the Portland area's most experienced real estate professionals. He is also a weekly real estate expert on KXL 101 FM, where he discusses the Portland and Vancouver housing markets, mortgage rates, housing trends and the economy. Rick is an Oregon-licensed Principal Broker and Washington-licensed Broker.