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Buyer-Agent Agreements in Illinois

Illinois is NOT a pure "rely on the national NAR settlement / MLS rule only" state like New York. Illinois REALTORS worked with IDFPR and state legislators to pass Senate Bill 3740, which Governor JB Pritzker signed into law as Public Act 103-1039, amending the Real Estate License Act of 2000 (225 ILCS 454). This codifies into actual Illinois state statute (not just MLS/NAR contractual rules) the requirement that brokerage agreements—including buyer representation agreements—be in writing, effective January 1, 2025. This sits on top of, and reinforces, the August 17, 2024 national NAR settlement MLS Participant Rule (which already required MLS participants to have a signed written buyer agreement before touring homes). So Illinois now has both the national MLS rule (since Aug. 17, 2024) AND its own state statute (since Jan. 1, 2025) mandating written buyer/brokerage agreements — placing it in the same category as Texas (SB 1968) and California (AB 2992) rather than New York.

Senate Bill 3740, enacted as Public Act 103-1039, amending the Real Estate License Act of 2000 (225 ILCS 454) — effective January 1, 2025 (state-law amendments under Public Act 103-1039); note the separate, earlier national NAR settlement MLS Participant Rule took effect August 17, 2024 and already required written buyer agreements before touring homes for any MLS participant operating in Illinois

Requirements

All exclusive brokerage agreements, including exclusive buyer representation agreements, must be in writing (non-exclusive agreements are also increasingly required to be written per IDFPR guidance under the amended Act).
Licensees must disclose the sponsoring broker's compensation policy, including the terms of compensation and any amount offered to cooperating brokers representing other parties in the transaction.
Written buyer agreements must be signed before the agent performs 'meaningful work' such as showing/touring a property (in person or via live virtual tour), consistent with the national MLS Participant Rule effective August 17, 2024.
Agreements must state a definite expiration/termination date, or, if the term exceeds one year, must give the buyer an annual right to cancel on no more than 30 days' prior written notice.
A licensee acting as a designated agent must advise the consumer in writing, no later than when they begin acting as the consumer's agent, of the designated agency relationship and related disclosures.
Compensation terms (amount/basis and timing of payment) must be stated in the written agreement, and any amendment to commission amount or payment timing must also be in writing and signed by the parties.

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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