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Buyer-Agent Agreements in Delaware

Delaware has NOT enacted its own state statute codifying buyer-representation-agreement requirements in response to the August 2024 NAR settlement, unlike Texas (SB 1968, effective 2026), California (AB 2992, effective Jan. 1, 2025), Alabama, or Oregon (HB 4058). Delaware is not among the states that passed new post-settlement legislation. Instead, Delaware buyer's agents became subject to the national NAR settlement's MLS Participant Rule, which took effect August 17, 2024 nationwide and was implemented locally through Bright MLS (the regional MLS covering Delaware, Maryland, DC, Northern Virginia, and parts of PA/WV/NJ) via its own rule changes (e.g., Bright MLS Rule 1.12.1) rather than through Delaware legislation. Separately, Delaware does have a pre-existing (pre-settlement) state regulation — 24 Del. Admin. Code § 2900-8.0, alongside 24 Del. Code §§ 2930 (Compensation) and 2938 (Consumer Information Statement) — that already required exclusive buyer agency agreements, or any buyer agency agreement obligating the buyer to pay the broker, to be in writing and signed by the buyer. This regulatory language dates to a 2011-era recodification (78 Del. Laws c. 166) and was not created or amended because of the NAR settlement. No Delaware General Assembly bill specific to NAR-settlement-driven buyer representation requirements was found in the 2024-2025 or 2025-2026 (153rd General Assembly) legislative sessions; the only recent Title 24 real estate bill located (SB201, passed Senate March 2026) addresses real estate wholesaling, unrelated to buyer agency agreements. Net conclusion: Delaware functions like New York — relying on the national NAR settlement and regional MLS (Bright MLS) participation rules rather than a distinct state statute — though it also has an older, narrower state regulatory requirement (written agreement only for exclusive or buyer-pays arrangements) that predates and is independent of the settlement.

Requirements

No new Delaware statute was passed; Delaware relies on the national NAR settlement's MLS Participant Rule, effective August 17, 2024 nationwide, as implemented through Bright MLS (the regional MLS serving Delaware) rather than through state legislation.
Under the NAR settlement/Bright MLS rules, a written buyer-representation agreement must be signed before an MLS-participant agent tours a home with a buyer.
The written agreement must include a specific, conspicuous disclosure of the amount or rate of the buyer-agent's compensation, stated as a specific dollar amount, percentage, or range (not open-ended), and compensation the agent receives may not exceed that agreed amount.
MLS compensation fields were removed from Bright MLS; offers of buyer-agent compensation may no longer be published in MLS listing fields, remarks, or related MLS materials (compensation is negotiated directly/off-MLS).
Separately and pre-dating the settlement, Delaware's own regulation (24 Del. Admin. Code § 2900-8.0; 24 Del. Code §§ 2930, 2938) requires that EXCLUSIVE buyer agency agreements, or any buyer agency agreement that obligates the buyer to pay the broker, be in writing and signed by the buyer, with a Consumer Information Statement (CIS) also required at first substantive contact/before signing any brokerage agreement.
Agreements/disclosures must state that broker fees and commissions are fully negotiable and not set by law or any association/MLS.

Facts on this page reflect research current as of 2026-07-05. Programs, rates, and laws change — confirm current figures with the relevant state agency before relying on them.

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