Alabama: what an unlicensed TC can do

What an unlicensed transaction coordinator may do in Alabama, what needs a license, and why typing a form is not the same as preparing an offer.

Last reviewed October 2026 from Alabama Real Estate Commission. Alabama contract deadlines →

What you can do without a license

Alabama's license law does not apply to people doing general clerical or administrative duties for a broker, as long as they don't physically show listed property (Ala. Code 34-27-2(b)(6)). The Alabama Real Estate Commission says every qualifying broker is responsible for the actions of unlicensed personnel and may set office policy on what they do.

A practical example

You can:

Deliver the signed contract and the buyer's paperwork to the lender and the closing attorney.

Refer to the agent:

The buyer calls you and asks you to write up an offer on a house. Send it to your agent.

Staying on the right side of the rules

The clerical exemption

The license law does not apply to "Persons performing general clerical or administrative duties for a broker so long as the person does not physically show listed property" (Ala. Code 34-27-2(b)(6)). Commission Rule 790-X-1-.04 adds that clerical or office employees' duties "shall be limited to the duties normally attributed to such positions." The exemption is written for work done for a broker, so check with the broker you work under.

What needs a license

For a fee, or expecting one, a license is needed to sell, buy, rent or lease real estate for others, to "Negotiate or attempt to negotiate" a sale or lease, to list property, and to "Procure or assist in procuring of prospects" (Ala. Code 34-27-30).

Penalties

The Commission can order an unlicensed person to cease and desist and fine them per violation, in the same range as licensees ($100 to $5,000), plus any gain from the violation and the Commission's costs (Ala. Code 34-27-36(a)(2) and (d)). A licensee may be disciplined for "Establishing an association, by employment or otherwise, with an unlicensed person who is expected or required to act as a licensee" (34-27-36(b)(16)).

How Closima handles it

Closima asks whether you hold an Alabama license. If you don't, purchase agreements and addenda go to your agent with a link: they check every value and complete the form, and Closima records that a licensee completed it. If you do, you fill them in yourself and send them to your agent for approval before they go out. Everything else (deadlines, documents, emails, other forms) works as usual.

Thinking about a license?

You don't need one to work as a TC in Alabama. A license lets you also do the work in the "Needs a license" column, under a broker. Here's what's involved:

Alabama's first license is the salesperson license. You must be at least 19, a U.S. citizen or legally present, a high school graduate or equivalent, and complete a 60-hour prelicense course before the state exam, which you have 6 months to pass after the course. You must finish a 30-hour post-license course within your first year to get the original (permanent) license; finish it within six months to keep the license active. How to apply.

Quick answers

Resources

• Become a Licensed Real Estate Professional (AREC)AREC's requirements for the salesperson and broker licenses.
• Briefly Legal: Unlicensed Assistants (AREC)AREC's list of what unlicensed assistants may and may not do.
• Alabama Administrative Code, Chapter 790-X-1Commission rules, including Rule 790-X-1-.04 on clerical and office employees.
• AREC License SearchCheck whether an agent or broker holds an Alabama license.

Questions about what's allowed? Ask the regulator: Alabama Real Estate Commission (AREC), (334) 242-5544, [email protected].