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Ohio: what an unlicensed TC can do

What an unlicensed transaction coordinator may do in Ohio, what needs a license, and why the Division of Real Estate keeps unlicensed assistants to clerical work.

Last reviewed October 2026 from Ohio Division of Real Estate & Professional Licensing. Ohio contract deadlines →

Yes, you can work as a TC in Ohio 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.
Ohio infographic for unlicensed transaction coordinators. Administrative tasks from the Division of Real Estate's guidance: filing, taking messages, scheduling appointments, delivering documents without discussing them, greeting visitors and handing out pre-printed materials at an open house. Not permitted: giving property details or property-related services, answering buyers' property questions, discussing or interpreting documents, signing documents for the licensee or client, and negotiating, listing or procuring prospects.

What you can do without a license

The Division of Real Estate's guidance limits an unlicensed assistant to clerical support. If a salesperson pays you directly, the Division says you must be their regular employee on a W-2, paid only for work that needs no license.

You can do (no license needed)

  • Provide clerical support services.
  • File, take messages and schedule appointments.
  • Deliver documents, without discussing or interpreting them.
  • Greet people at an open house you are staffing.
  • Hand out pre-printed materials at an open house.

Needs a license

  • Provide property-related information or services, such as details about a listed property.
  • Answer property-related questions at an open house. Give the buyer the licensee's card and contact information instead.
  • Discuss or interpret the documents you deliver.
  • Sign documents on the licensee's behalf or on behalf of the client.
  • Negotiate a sale, purchase or lease, list property, or help procure prospects or negotiate a transaction.
  • Advertise or hold yourself out as being in the business of selling or leasing real estate.
How you're paid mattersThe Division's guidance says: "A salesperson can only pay an assistant directly if that assistant is a regular employee of the salesperson, receives a W-2, and is paid for services that do not require a real estate license." Talk to your agent and broker about how your pay is set up before you take on files.

A practical example

You can:
Your agent asks you to drop the signed purchase agreement at the title company. You deliver it without discussing it.
Refer to the agent:
The buyer asks what the inspection clause means. Send them to your agent.

Staying on the right side of the rules

Don't sign or explain documents

The Division says an unlicensed assistant "may also deliver documents, but they should not attempt to discuss or interpret them," and "should not sign documents on the licensee's behalf or on behalf of the client."

Penalties for unlicensed activity

Acting as a real estate broker or salesperson without a license violates R.C. 4735.02 and is a first-degree misdemeanor (R.C. 4735.99). The Ohio Real Estate Commission can also impose a civil penalty of up to $1,000 per violation, and each day a violation continues counts separately (R.C. 4735.052).

Older guidance

The Division's guidance on assistants comes from its Fall 2012 newsletter. For anything it doesn't cover, the newsletter says to contact the Division's Enforcement Section at 614-466-4100.

How Closima handles it

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

Ohio's first license is the real estate salesperson license. You must be at least 18, complete four pre-licensure courses at an institution of higher education (Real Estate Principles and Practices, 40 hours; Ohio Real Estate Law, 40 hours; Real Estate Appraisal, 10 hours; Real Estate Finance, 10 hours), and be sponsored by an Ohio broker. You apply for the exam in eLicense LPI, complete a state and FBI background check, and take the exam with PSI. In your first year you must finish a 20-hour post-licensure course. How to apply.

Quick answers

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

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

Ohio's guidance limits assistants to clerical support and doesn't address contracts, so leave completing them to the licensee.

What can an unlicensed TC do in Ohio?

Provide clerical support services; file, take messages and schedule appointments; deliver documents, without discussing or interpreting them; greet people at an open house you are staffing; hand out pre-printed materials at an open house.

What needs a real estate license in Ohio?

Provide property-related information or services, such as details about a listed property; answer property-related questions at an open house. Give the buyer the licensee's card and contact information instead; discuss or interpret the documents you deliver; sign documents on the licensee's behalf or on behalf of the client; negotiate a sale, purchase or lease, list property, or help procure prospects or negotiate a transaction.

How do you get a real estate license in Ohio?

Ohio's first license is the real estate salesperson license. You must be at least 18, complete four pre-licensure courses at an institution of higher education (Real Estate Principles and Practices, 40 hours; Ohio Real Estate Law, 40 hours; Real Estate Appraisal, 10 hours; Real Estate Finance, 10 hours), and be sponsored by an Ohio broker. You apply for the exam in eLicense LPI, complete a state and FBI background check, and take the exam with PSI. In your first year you must finish a 20-hour post-licensure course.

Resources

Questions about what's allowed? Ask the regulator: Ohio Department of Commerce, Division of Real Estate & Professional Licensing, 614-466-4100, [email protected].

Source: Ohio Division of Real Estate & Professional Licensing, Newsletter: "What Services May My Personal Assistant Provide?" (Fall 2012 Issue).

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: Ohio contract deadlines · How to become a transaction coordinator

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