New Jersey: what an unlicensed TC can do
What an unlicensed transaction coordinator may do in New Jersey, what needs a license, and why only a licensee explains a contract you type.
Last reviewed October 2026 from New Jersey Real Estate Commission. New Jersey contract deadlines →
What you can do without a license
The Real Estate Commission's list is addressed to licensees as "reasonable guidelines for licensees to follow." Many allowed tasks are done at a licensee's direction or for a licensee's approval, and the licensee stays responsible for delivering contracts and closing materials.
You can do (no license needed)
- Answer phones and forward calls.
- Process and submit listings and changes to an MLS.
- Set up file procedures, and track and secure documents.
- Type contract forms for approval of a licensee.
- Monitor files and report findings to a licensee.
- Follow up on loan applications after contracts have been fully executed.
- Order items or inspections as directed by a licensee.
- Schedule appointments with the seller or seller's agent so a licensee can show listed property.
- Keep records of, and deposit, payments of earnest money, security deposits and rent.
- Act as a courier to deliver documents or pick up keys. The licensee is responsible for delivering contracts and closing materials.
Needs a license
- Discuss or explain a contract, listing, lease agreement or other real estate document with anyone outside the firm.
- Answer any questions on listings, title, financing or closings, from the public or from other licensees.
- Show property.
- Be at a property inspection without a licensee present, unless a licensee asks you to come along for security or safety.
- Make cold calls by phone or in person to potential listers, purchasers, tenants or landlords.
- Host open houses, home show, mall or fair booths, or hand out promotional literature there, without a licensee present.
- Prepare promotional material or ads without a licensee's review and approval.
- Negotiate or agree to any commission, commission split, management fee or referral fee for a licensee.
A practical example
- You can:
- Your agent gives you the price, deposit and dates. You type them into the contract and your agent approves it before it goes out.
- Refer to the agent:
- The buyer's attorney asks what a contract term means during attorney review. Your agent answers.
Staying on the right side of the rules
Attorney review
New Jersey brokers may prepare sale contracts because of a settlement the state Supreme Court approved in New Jersey State Bar Ass'n v. New Jersey Ass'n of Realtor Boards: brokers "were allowed to prepare real estate contracts, provided they include an attorney-review clause" that gives each party's attorney three days to review the contract. The Real Estate Commission's rule N.J.A.C. 11:5-6.2(g) requires licensees to comply (as described in Conley v. Guerrero, N.J. Supreme Court, 2017). That permission is given to brokers and licensees. The Commission's list lets an unlicensed assistant type contract forms for a licensee's approval.
Closings without attorneys (Opinion 26)
In In re Opinion No. 26 (1995), the Supreme Court allowed residential sales in which buyers and sellers have no attorney, on condition that they are "informed in writing by the real estate broker" about the benefits of counsel, the risks of going without, and the conflicting interests of brokers and title companies (as summarized in Zaman v. Felton, 2014). That notice is the broker's duty.
How you're paid
The Commission says an assistant's pay "should not be based on the success of their activity, i.e. a percentage of commission, but should be directly related to the duties the non-licensee is performing."
What the license law covers
No one may engage in the business of a real estate broker, broker-salesperson or salesperson, or in any activity described in N.J.S.A. 45:15-3, without a license (N.J.S.A. 45:15-1). Section 45:15-3 covers, among other things, a person who for a fee "assists or directs in the procuring of prospects or the negotiation or closing of any transaction." The Commission can investigate unlicensed persons who engage in those activities, and each transaction counts as a separate offense (N.J.S.A. 45:15-17).
General guidance
The Commission says its lists "do not define every permitted or prohibited activity but are intended to offer reasonable guidelines for licensees to follow." For anything not on them, ask your broker.
How Closima handles it
You can fill out contract forms in Closima. Before you send one for signature, Send to agent for approval gives your agent a link to check the filled form and approve it or ask for changes, and the file records who approved it and when. If your agent signs off another way, you can still send it, and the file notes that.
Thinking about a license?
You don't need one to work as a TC in New Jersey. A license lets you also do the work in the "Needs a license" column, under a broker. Here's what's involved:
New Jersey requires a 75-hour prelicensure course at a licensed school and a passing score on the license exam. You then apply for the license through a sponsoring real estate broker, and the Commission must be satisfied as to your honesty, trustworthiness, character and integrity. New Jersey has no reciprocity with any state. Licensees complete at least 12 continuing education credit hours to renew. How to apply.
Quick answers
Do you need a license to be a transaction coordinator in New Jersey?
No. You can work as a TC in New Jersey 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 New Jersey?
Yes, for approval. New Jersey lets an unlicensed assistant "type contract forms for approval of a licensee", but not discuss or explain them outside the firm.
What can an unlicensed TC do in New Jersey?
Answer phones and forward calls; process and submit listings and changes to an MLS; set up file procedures, and track and secure documents; type contract forms for approval of a licensee; monitor files and report findings to a licensee.
What needs a real estate license in New Jersey?
Discuss or explain a contract, listing, lease agreement or other real estate document with anyone outside the firm; answer any questions on listings, title, financing or closings, from the public or from other licensees; show property; be at a property inspection without a licensee present, unless a licensee asks you to come along for security or safety; make cold calls by phone or in person to potential listers, purchasers, tenants or landlords.
How do you get a real estate license in New Jersey?
New Jersey requires a 75-hour prelicensure course at a licensed school and a passing score on the license exam. You then apply for the license through a sponsoring real estate broker, and the Commission must be satisfied as to your honesty, trustworthiness, character and integrity. New Jersey has no reciprocity with any state. Licensees complete at least 12 continuing education credit hours to renew.
Resources
- Requirements for licensureThe REC's summary of what a salesperson or broker license takes.
- Licensing and educationApplications, online licensing services, continuing education and licensing FAQs.
- Licensee searchCheck an agent's or broker's New Jersey license.
- Permissible and Prohibited Actions of Unlicensed Assistants and Support StaffThe REC's one-page list of what unlicensed assistants can and cannot do.
- Breakdown of required CE credit hoursThe 12 CE credit hours licensees need to renew, including fair housing, agency and ethics.
Questions about what's allowed? Ask the regulator: New Jersey Real Estate Commission (NJ REC), 609-292-7272, [email protected].
Source: New Jersey Real Estate Commission, "Permissible and Prohibited Actions of Unlicensed Assistants and Support Staff" (Updated Jan 2015).
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: New Jersey contract deadlines · How to become a transaction coordinator
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