Kentucky: what an unlicensed TC can do
What Kentucky law says about unlicensed transaction coordinators, what needs a license, and why your principal broker answers for the work you do.
Last reviewed October 2026 from Kentucky Revised Statutes 324.010. Kentucky contract deadlines →
What you can do without a license
A principal broker "shall ensure any employee or unlicensed personal assistant, salaried or independently contracted, employed by, retained by, or under the direction of the principal broker or any affiliated licensee, are in compliance with the applicable provisions of KRS Chapter 324 and 201 KAR Chapter 11" (201 KAR 11:121, Section 10(9)).
You can do (no license needed)
- Contact the public to set an appointment for a licensed broker to meet with them about buying or selling property, under the broker's supervision.
- Give out general public information that the broker has specifically authorized.
Needs a license
- Negotiate the purchase, sale or exchange of real estate for others for a fee.
- Sell, buy, lease, rent or manage property for others for a fee, or offer to.
- Refer or offer to refer prospects for a fee.
- Hold yourself out as a real estate broker or sales associate, or use any title that suggests you are licensed.
A practical example
- You can:
- Your broker authorizes you to call a seller lead and book a listing appointment for the broker.
- Refer to the agent:
- The buyer asks whether they should raise their earnest money. Send it to your agent.
Staying on the right side of the rules
Working both sides in one office
In a designated agency deal, the principal broker must "Prohibit an employee from assisting more than one (1) designated agent in the same transaction if the designated agents represent different clients in that transaction" (201 KAR 11:121, Section 10(10)(a)4). If two agents in your brokerage are on opposite sides, you may help only one of them.
Confidential information
The principal broker must have policies that "Prohibit the disclosure of confidential information by licensees, management, employees, office personnel and clerical staff" (201 KAR 11:121, Section 10(10)(a)2).
How brokers may pay you
"No broker shall split fees with or compensate any person who is not licensed to perform any of the acts regulated by this chapter," with narrow exceptions for out-of-state brokers and auctioneers (KRS 324.020(4)). Ask your broker how your pay is set up.
Penalties
Engaging in real estate brokerage without a license is a Class A misdemeanor for a first offense and a Class D felony for later offenses. A court may add a fine of $100 to $1,000 plus any commission received (KRS 324.990).
How Closima handles it
Closima asks whether you hold a Kentucky 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 Kentucky. A license lets you also do the work in the "Needs a license" column, under a broker. Here's what's involved:
Kentucky's first license is the sales associate license. You must be at least 18 and have a high school diploma or GED. Complete the 96-hour Kentucky pre-license course (or six academic credit hours in real estate at a college or university), pass a national criminal history check before the exam, and pass the sales associate exam through PSI. Sales associates licensed after January 1, 2016 must also complete 48 hours of post-license education within two years. How to apply.
Quick answers
Do you need a license to be a transaction coordinator in Kentucky?
No. You can work as a TC in Kentucky 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 Kentucky?
Kentucky has no official list for assistants, and every offer must name the licensee who completed or directed it, so leave completing purchase contracts to the licensee.
What can an unlicensed TC do in Kentucky?
Contact the public to set an appointment for a licensed broker to meet with them about buying or selling property, under the broker's supervision; give out general public information that the broker has specifically authorized.
What needs a real estate license in Kentucky?
Negotiate the purchase, sale or exchange of real estate for others for a fee; sell, buy, lease, rent or manage property for others for a fee, or offer to; refer or offer to refer prospects for a fee; hold yourself out as a real estate broker or sales associate, or use any title that suggests you are licensed.
How do you get a real estate license in Kentucky?
Kentucky's first license is the sales associate license. You must be at least 18 and have a high school diploma or GED. Complete the 96-hour Kentucky pre-license course (or six academic credit hours in real estate at a college or university), pass a national criminal history check before the exam, and pass the sales associate exam through PSI. Sales associates licensed after January 1, 2016 must also complete 48 hours of post-license education within two years.
Resources
- Licensing (KREC)KREC's requirements for the sales associate and broker licenses.
- Education (KREC)Pre-license, post-license and continuing education rules, including the Kentucky Core Course.
- KY Real Estate Regulations (KREC)Links to KRS Chapter 324 and the commission's regulations in 201 KAR Chapter 11.
- 201 KAR 11:121, Standards of professional conductIncludes the principal broker's duty to supervise employees and unlicensed personal assistants.
Questions about what's allowed? Ask the regulator: Kentucky Real Estate Commission (KREC), (502) 564-7760, [email protected].
Source: Kentucky Revised Statutes 324.010, 324.020 and 324.030(6), and 201 KAR 11:121 (Kentucky Real Estate Commission), on the Legislative Research Commission website (201 KAR 11:121 effective 5-2-2023; KRS 324.010 and 324.020 effective June 29, 2023; KRS 324.030 effective July 14, 2000).
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: Kentucky contract deadlines · TC duties, licensed and unlicensed · How to become a transaction coordinator
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