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Minnesota: what an unlicensed TC can do

What Minnesota law says about unlicensed transaction coordinators, what needs a license, and why your broker answers for every document you prepare.

Last reviewed October 2026 from Minnesota Statutes. Minnesota contract deadlines →

Yes, you can work as a TC in Minnesota 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

Minnesota law requires a broker to adequately supervise the broker's salespersons and employees, including ongoing monitoring of purchase agreements and other documents they prepare or draft. The broker is responsible for the accuracy of all real estate contracts, documents and records, even when someone else is assigned the work (Minn. Stat. 82.73, subd. 3).

You can do (no license needed)

Share factual information about the broker's listings, if the broker authorizes you and gives you the information in writing (Minn. Stat. 82.73, subd. 3(d)).
Work on documents and records the broker assigns to you. The broker stays responsible for their preparation, custody, safety and accuracy (82.73, subd. 3(b)).
Keep custody of documents and records as the broker assigns.

Needs a license

List, sell, exchange, buy, rent or manage real estate for others for a fee.
Negotiate, or offer or attempt to negotiate, a sale, option, exchange, purchase or rental.
Advertise or present yourself as a real estate broker or salesperson.
Be paid by a licensee for help or information in getting a listing or a buyer.
Provide closing services, including drawing papers for a sale, unless you hold a closing agent license or are exempt.

Minnesota has no list for assistantsMinnesota's statute and the Department of Commerce don't publish a list of tasks an unlicensed assistant may do. Anyone who, for a fee, "lists, sells, exchanges, buys or rents ... or offers or attempts to negotiate" a sale or purchase is acting as a broker and needs a license (Minn. Stat. 82.55, subd. 19). Ask your broker what you may handle, and send anything about terms to your agent.

A practical example

You can:: Send the buyer's agent the written property facts your broker gave you to share.
Refer to the agent:: The seller asks whether they should accept the buyer's offer. Send it to your agent.

Staying on the right side of the rules

Closing services

A "closing agent" provides closing services for residential sales, "including drawing or assisting in drawing papers incident to the sale" (Minn. Stat. 82.55, subd. 4), and needs a closing agent license (82.641). A direct employee of a licensed broker is exempt if the broker keeps all funds received for the closing in the broker's trust account (82.641, subd. 6). A TC who isn't the broker's direct employee isn't covered by that exemption.

Licensees can't pay you for leads

A licensee may not "pay or give money or goods of value to an unlicensed person for any assistance or information relating to the procurement by a licensee of a listing of a property or of a prospective buyer" (Minn. Stat. 82.81, subd. 12(a)(14)).

Penalties

No person may act as a real estate broker or salesperson without a license (Minn. Stat. 82.81, subd. 1), and no licensee may authorize an unlicensed person to act as one on their behalf (subd. 4). Violating chapter 82 is a gross misdemeanor (82.83).

How Closima handles it

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

Minnesota's first license is a real estate salesperson license. You must be at least 18, complete three 30-hour prelicense courses (Course I, II and III), and pass the PSI salesperson exam; Course I comes before the exam. You must be associated with a licensed broker, and the broker submits your license application. Apply within one year of passing the exam. How to apply.

Quick answers

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

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

Minnesota has no official list for assistants, and the broker is responsible for every contract, so leave completing purchase agreements to the licensee.

What can an unlicensed TC do in Minnesota?

Share factual information about the broker's listings, if the broker authorizes you and gives you the information in writing (Minn. Stat. 82.73, subd. 3(d)); work on documents and records the broker assigns to you. The broker stays responsible for their preparation, custody, safety and accuracy (82.73, subd. 3(b)); keep custody of documents and records as the broker assigns.

What needs a real estate license in Minnesota?

List, sell, exchange, buy, rent or manage real estate for others for a fee; negotiate, or offer or attempt to negotiate, a sale, option, exchange, purchase or rental; advertise or present yourself as a real estate broker or salesperson; be paid by a licensee for help or information in getting a listing or a buyer; provide closing services, including drawing papers for a sale, unless you hold a closing agent license or are exempt.

How do you get a real estate license in Minnesota?

Resources

Real Estate Licensing (Commerce)Commerce's real estate licensing page: applications, renewals, education, fees and contact details.
Guide to Real Estate LicensingCommerce's step-by-step guide to the salesperson license: courses, exam, broker association and renewal.
PULSE licensing portalWhere Commerce handles real estate applications and renewals, and where you look up approved courses.
PSI exam schedulingSchedule the Minnesota salesperson exam, which Commerce names PSI to run.
Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 82The real estate licensing law, including broker supervision (82.73) and the license requirement (82.81).
Continuing educationSalespersons need 30 hours per two-year period, 15 of them by each June 30, including a yearly module.

Questions about what's allowed? Ask the regulator: Minnesota Department of Commerce (Real Estate Licensing), 651-539-1599, [email protected].

Source: Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 82, Real Estate Brokers and Salespersons (Office of the Revisor of Statutes); administered by the Minnesota Department of Commerce (2025 Minnesota Statutes).

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.

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