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Kansas: what an unlicensed TC can do

What an unlicensed transaction coordinator may do in Kansas, what needs a license, and why typing a contract from your agent's draft is not the same as writing it.

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

Yes, you can work as a TC in Kansas 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

The Kansas Real Estate Commission's guidelines are written for unlicensed personnel employed in a real estate office. Several tasks are done at the direction or under the supervision of a licensee, and on open houses the commission says that if you go beyond what is permissible, "the broker remains responsible."

You can do (no license needed)

  • Answer the phone and forward calls to a licensee.
  • Submit listings and changes to the MLS, if a licensee compiled and provided the data.
  • Follow up on loan commitments after a contract has been negotiated.
  • Help a broker or salesperson assemble documents for closings.
  • Get public documents from the courthouse, sewer district, water district and similar offices.
  • Type offers, contracts and leases from drafts prepared by a broker or salesperson with the firm.
  • Schedule appointments for a licensee to show listed property.
  • Order routine repairs as a licensee with the firm directs.
  • Deliver or pick up documents and keys.
  • Keep trust account records under the broker's supervision.
  • Write ads and flyers for approval by the licensee and supervising broker, then place them.
  • Give out publicly available information about your brokerage's listings when someone asks about a particular property, without explaining or interpreting it.

Needs a license

  • Do anything that needs a license under K.S.A. 58-3035(f), including negotiating contracts and leases for a licensee.
  • Show property.
  • Discuss or explain a contract, listing, lease agreement or other real estate document with anyone outside the firm.
  • Explain or interpret information about the firm's listings, or discuss anything about a property or its purchase beyond confirming it is listed, naming the listing agent and giving out public listing information.
  • Negotiate or agree to any commission, commission split or referral fee for a licensee.
  • Do licensed work for another firm's agent while you hold a license with a different firm.
Typing a contract is not drafting itThe Kansas Real Estate Commission lets unlicensed personnel "Type offers, contracts and leases from drafts prepared by a broker or salesperson with the firm." The licensee decides the terms. You may not "Discuss or explain a contract, listing, lease agreement or other real estate document with anyone outside the firm."

A practical example

You can:
Your agent gives you a marked-up draft of the offer, and you type it into the contract form exactly as written.
Refer to the agent:
The buyer's agent asks you what the seller will accept on repairs. Send it to your agent.

Staying on the right side of the rules

Open houses

The commission allows an unlicensed person to host an open house only "as a monitoring host": greet visitors and hand out printed material, and refer "ALL questions" to the owner or a licensee. It adds: "The commission does not recommend that unlicensed individuals host open houses."

Guidelines, not a full list

The commission says its guidelines "are not intended to apply universally in all circumstances. Brokers are advised to consult their attorneys when in doubt." They were first published in the August 1992 KREC newsletter and last revised 11/10/11.

Licensees can't pay you for licensed work

No licensee may "Pay a commission or compensation to any person, not licensed under this act, for performing any activity for which a license is required under this act" (K.S.A. 58-3062(a)(10)).

Penalties

No one may perform any act in K.S.A. 58-3035(f) without a license (K.S.A. 58-3036). A willful violation is a misdemeanor: up to 12 months in jail, a fine of $100 to $1,000, or both, for a first offense, and more for later offenses. The commission may also issue a cease and desist order (K.S.A. 58-3065).

How Closima handles it

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

Kansas's first license is the salesperson license. You must be at least 18 and have a high school diploma or the equivalent. You apply for pre-licensure and get fingerprinted, complete 60 hours of KREC-approved courses (30-hour Principles of Real Estate and 30-hour Kansas Practice), and pass both the national and state salesperson exams. You then apply for the license and affiliate with a licensed Kansas supervising broker; an original license can't be issued on inactive status. How to apply.

Quick answers

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

No. You can work as a TC in Kansas 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 Kansas?

Only as typing. Kansas lets unlicensed staff type offers and contracts "from drafts prepared by a broker or salesperson with the firm," and they may not explain them to anyone outside the firm.

What can an unlicensed TC do in Kansas?

Answer the phone and forward calls to a licensee; submit listings and changes to the MLS, if a licensee compiled and provided the data; follow up on loan commitments after a contract has been negotiated; help a broker or salesperson assemble documents for closings; get public documents from the courthouse, sewer district, water district and similar offices.

What needs a real estate license in Kansas?

Do anything that needs a license under K.S.A. 58-3035(f), including negotiating contracts and leases for a licensee; show property; discuss or explain a contract, listing, lease agreement or other real estate document with anyone outside the firm; explain or interpret information about the firm's listings, or discuss anything about a property or its purchase beyond confirming it is listed, naming the listing agent and giving out public listing information; negotiate or agree to any commission, commission split or referral fee for a licensee.

How do you get a real estate license in Kansas?

Kansas's first license is the salesperson license. You must be at least 18 and have a high school diploma or the equivalent. You apply for pre-licensure and get fingerprinted, complete 60 hours of KREC-approved courses (30-hour Principles of Real Estate and 30-hour Kansas Practice), and pass both the national and state salesperson exams. You then apply for the license and affiliate with a licensed Kansas supervising broker; an original license can't be issued on inactive status.

Resources

Questions about what's allowed? Ask the regulator: Kansas Real Estate Commission (KREC), (785) 296-3411, [email protected].

Source: Kansas Real Estate Commission, "Guidelines on Activities by Unlicensed Personnel" (rev. 11/10/11 (originally published in the August 1992 KREC Newsletter)).

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

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