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Maine: what an unlicensed TC can do

What an unlicensed transaction coordinator may do in Maine, what needs a license, and why typing a contract your agent dictates is not the same as explaining it.

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

Yes, you can work as a TC in Maine 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

Your agency's designated broker must supervise agency employees and "shall not permit or authorize any person to engage in any activity for which they are not properly licensed" (32 M.R.S. §13179). The Commission says questions about what an assistant may do go to the designated broker.

You can do (no license needed)

  • Do general clerical work, such as typing letters and filing.
  • Answer phone calls and arrange appointments and showings.
  • Type a contract form as dictated by the licensee.
  • Assemble documents for closing.
  • Order surveys, home inspections, septic (waste water) inspections and similar tasks, and have keys made for agency listings.
  • Get public records for the property file, such as documents from a courthouse, town office or utility district.
  • Gather public information for a comparative market analysis that the broker prepares.
  • Answer questions about listed properties with facts from approved printed information, such as the MLS synopsis.
  • Hand out objective written information on a listing, such as the property disclosure, the deed and the tax map.
  • Enter information into the MLS, and place signs or lock boxes, as the licensee directs.
  • Write ads and flyers for approval by the licensee (ads also need the designated broker's approval), and place them.
  • Do company bookkeeping, and receive, record and deposit earnest money if the designated broker allows it.

Needs a license

  • Prepare a listing agreement or buyer representation agreement for a client, except as directed by the licensee.
  • Explain or discuss listings, offers, contracts or other transaction documents.
  • Give opinions, advice or interpretations, or negotiate.
  • Give advice in answer to questions on title, financing or closings, other than the time and place.
  • Show property or host an open house.
  • Make cold calls, by phone or in person, to potential sellers or buyers.
  • Do a walk-through inspection.
  • Sign real estate transaction documents.
  • Be paid a commission on transactions the licensee closes.
Typing a contract is not explaining itThe Commission lists "Type contract form as dictated by licensee" as a permissible task. On the other side of the line, an assistant may not "Explain or discuss listings, offers, contracts, or other transaction documents" or "Offer opinions, advice, interpretations, or engage in negotiations." Type what your agent tells you, and send every question about terms to them.

A practical example

You can:
Your agent dictates the price, deposit and closing date, and you type them into the contract form exactly as given.
Refer to the agent:
The buyer asks you what the financing contingency means for them. Send it to your agent.

Staying on the right side of the rules

One act can be brokerage

Maine defines real estate brokerage as "a single instance of offering, attempting to conduct or conducting services on behalf of another for compensation, or with the expectation of receiving compensation, calculated to result in the transfer of an interest in real estate" (32 M.R.S. §13001). It is unlawful to do it without a license (§13003).

Penalties

Violating the licensing law is a civil violation with a forfeiture of up to $2,000 for each violation, "plus the amount of compensation received in the subject transaction" (32 M.R.S. §13005).

The list is examples

The Commission's article gives examples, not a complete list. It ends: "Additional questions about tasks that unlicensed assistants may perform should be addressed with the company's designated broker."

How Closima handles it

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

Maine's entry-level license is the sales agent license. You must be at least 18 with a high school diploma or equivalent, complete the Sales Agent course with a final grade of at least 75%, and pass the Pearson VUE sales agent exam with at least 75% within one year of the course. Apply within one year of passing the exam; there is a criminal records check fee. A sales agent works for a licensed agency under its designated broker, and the license lasts 2 years and cannot be renewed. How to apply.

Quick answers

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

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

Only as typing. Maine's Real Estate Commission lets an unlicensed assistant "Type contract form as dictated by licensee," but not explain or discuss contracts.

What can an unlicensed TC do in Maine?

Do general clerical work, such as typing letters and filing; answer phone calls and arrange appointments and showings; type a contract form as dictated by the licensee; assemble documents for closing; order surveys, home inspections, septic (waste water) inspections and similar tasks, and have keys made for agency listings.

What needs a real estate license in Maine?

Prepare a listing agreement or buyer representation agreement for a client, except as directed by the licensee; explain or discuss listings, offers, contracts or other transaction documents; give opinions, advice or interpretations, or negotiate; give advice in answer to questions on title, financing or closings, other than the time and place; show property or host an open house.

How do you get a real estate license in Maine?

Maine's entry-level license is the sales agent license. You must be at least 18 with a high school diploma or equivalent, complete the Sales Agent course with a final grade of at least 75%, and pass the Pearson VUE sales agent exam with at least 75% within one year of the course. Apply within one year of passing the exam; there is a criminal records check fee. A sales agent works for a licensed agency under its designated broker, and the license lasts 2 years and cannot be renewed.

Resources

Questions about what's allowed? Ask the regulator: Maine Real Estate Commission (Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation), (207) 624-8521.

Source: Maine Real Estate Commission, "Commission Corner: Unlicensed Assistants" (Bruce D. Osborne, Field Investigator) (No date printed (file named 2019; still listed on the Commission's News & Publications page)).

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

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