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Iowa: what an unlicensed TC can do

What an unlicensed transaction coordinator may do in Iowa, what needs a license, and why Iowa law treats preparing a purchase agreement as broker work.

Last reviewed October 2026 from Iowa Administrative Code 481. Iowa contract deadlines →

Yes, you can work as a TC in Iowa without a real estate license.Stick to administrative work under a licensed agent and their broker, and leave anything that needs a license to them. Here's where the line is.

What you can do without a license

Iowa calls you "support personnel." The agent you assist has the primary duty to supervise you, and the firm or designated broker shares it. A brokerage that allows support personnel must have a written company policy listing the duties you may perform, and you and the agent must get a copy (481 IAC 2007.13).

You can do (no license needed)

  • Answer the phone, give listing information to licensees, and forward calls from the public to a licensee.
  • Submit listing data to the MLS.
  • Check on the status of loan commitments after a contract has been negotiated.
  • Assemble documents for closings.
  • Get public documents from the courthouse and other public sources.
  • Type contract forms as directed by the licensee or the designated broker.
  • Arrange dates and times for inspections, the mortgage application, the preclosing walk-through and the closing.
  • Schedule showing appointments with the seller or the seller's agent for a licensee.
  • Deliver documents and pick up keys. The licensee stays responsible for delivering every executed document the law requires.
  • Record and deposit earnest money and other bookkeeping, and compute compensation checks.
  • Write ads and promotional materials for the licensee and designated broker to approve.

Needs a license

  • Do any activity of a licensee under Iowa Code 543B.3 and 543B.6, or anything beyond ministerial duties that don't need discretion or judgment.
  • Discuss or explain a contract, listing, agreement or other real estate document with anyone outside the firm.
  • Answer questions on title, financing or closings, other than the time and place.
  • Give owners or buyers advice, recommendations or suggestions about buying, selling or exchanging property.
  • Discuss the terms and conditions of a sale or lease with the property owner.
  • Negotiate or agree to any compensation, management fee or referral fee for a licensee, seller or buyer.
  • Show property for sale on your own, or host open houses, kiosks or booths attended by the public on your own.
  • Collect or hold deposit money or anything of value from an owner or a prospective buyer.
  • Make cold calls or contact the public to find prospects for listings or sales.
Preparing a purchase agreement is broker workIowa law says a real estate broker includes a person who, for pay, "Prepares offers to purchase or purchase agreements, listing contracts, buyer's representation agreements, agency disclosures ... including any modifications, amendments, or addendums" (Iowa Code 543B.3(9)). The commission's rule lets support personnel only "Type contract forms as directed by the licensee or the designated broker" (481 IAC 2007.13(4)(a)(10)). The terms come from your agent.

A practical example

You can:
Your agent tells you the price, earnest money and closing date for an offer, and you type them into the purchase agreement form exactly as given.
Refer to the agent:
The seller asks you whether the inspection contingency gives the buyer a way out. Send it to your agent.

Staying on the right side of the rules

Ministerial work only

Unless you hold a license, you "may perform only ministerial duties that do not need discretion or the exercise of the licensee's own judgment" (481 IAC 2007.13). The commission's list is not complete: it gives tasks "without defining every permitted activity."

Who you may share information with

Support personnel may give information about a sale or purchase "only to another licensee," and only information the agent gave you verbally or in writing (481 IAC 2007.14).

Licensees as assistants

Someone actively licensed with one firm can't work as support personnel for a licensee at another firm. A person with an inactive license may work as support personnel but can't do anything that needs a license (481 IAC 2007.13(1)).

Penalties

If an unlicensed person acts as a broker or salesperson, the commission "shall issue a cease and desist order, and shall impose a civil penalty of up to the greater of ten thousand dollars or ten percent of the real estate sale price" (Iowa Code 543B.34(3)). A first criminal offense is a simple misdemeanor (543B.43).

How Closima handles it

Closima asks whether you hold an Iowa 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 Iowa. A license lets you also do the work in the "Needs a license" column, under a broker. Here's what's involved:

Iowa's first license is the salesperson license. You must be 18 when you apply and pass an FBI criminal history check. Complete a 60-hour pre-license course plus three 12-hour live courses (Buying Practices, Listing Practices, and Developing Professionalism and Ethical Practices), all less than a year old when the commission receives your application. Pass the state and national portions of the PSI exam, get errors and omissions insurance, and apply online through your My Iowa PLB account. How to apply.

Quick answers

Do you need a license to be a transaction coordinator in Iowa?

No. You can work as a TC in Iowa without a real estate license. Stick to administrative work under a licensed agent and their broker, and leave anything that needs a license to them.

Can an unlicensed TC fill out a purchase agreement in Iowa?

Only as typing. Iowa lets support personnel "Type contract forms as directed by the licensee," and Iowa law counts preparing offers and purchase agreements as broker activity.

What can an unlicensed TC do in Iowa?

Answer the phone, give listing information to licensees, and forward calls from the public to a licensee; submit listing data to the MLS; check on the status of loan commitments after a contract has been negotiated; assemble documents for closings; get public documents from the courthouse and other public sources.

What needs a real estate license in Iowa?

Do any activity of a licensee under Iowa Code 543B.3 and 543B.6, or anything beyond ministerial duties that don't need discretion or judgment; discuss or explain a contract, listing, agreement or other real estate document with anyone outside the firm; answer questions on title, financing or closings, other than the time and place; give owners or buyers advice, recommendations or suggestions about buying, selling or exchanging property; discuss the terms and conditions of a sale or lease with the property owner.

How do you get a real estate license in Iowa?

Iowa's first license is the salesperson license. You must be 18 when you apply and pass an FBI criminal history check. Complete a 60-hour pre-license course plus three 12-hour live courses (Buying Practices, Listing Practices, and Developing Professionalism and Ethical Practices), all less than a year old when the commission receives your application. Pass the state and national portions of the PSI exam, get errors and omissions insurance, and apply online through your My Iowa PLB account.

Resources

Questions about what's allowed? Ask the regulator: Iowa Real Estate Commission (Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing), (515) 725-9022 x 7, [email protected].

Source: Iowa Administrative Code 481, rule 2007.13, Support personnel for licensees; permitted and barred activities (Iowa Real Estate Commission, Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing) (IAC 9/30/26 (rule last amended by ARC 9247C, effective 6/18/25; moved from 193E-7.13 on 6/10/26)).

Buying or selling a home yourself? These pages are for people who work in real estate. Work with a licensed agent or a real estate attorney.

General information, not legal advice. Rules change, and your broker's policies may be stricter: confirm your duties with your supervising broker and your state's real estate regulator.

See also: Iowa contract deadlines · TC duties, licensed and unlicensed · How to become a transaction coordinator

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