A person must get the required real estate license before doing or advertising real estate broker, affiliate broker, time-share salesperson, or acquisition agent work in the state, unless exempt.
It is unlawful for any person, directly or indirectly, to engage in or conduct, to advertise or claim to be engaging in or conducting the business, or acting in the capacity of a real estate broker, affiliate broker, time-share salesperson or acquisition agent, as defined in § 62-13-102 , within this state, without first obtaining a license as broker, affiliate broker, time-share salesperson or acquisition agent, as provided in this chapter, unless exempted from obtaining a license under § 62-13-104 . No person shall be permitted to hold, at the same time, an active time-share salesperson license and an active acquisition agent license. Acts 1973, ch. 181, § 2; 1981, ch. 473, § 2; T.C.A., § 62-1303; Acts 1989, ch. 89, § 7; 2002, ch. 812, § 2; 2004, ch. 456, § 1. Cross-References. Discriminatory housing practices, title 4, ch. 21, part 6. License required for certain persons at auctions acting as brokers or affiliate brokers, § 62-19-102 . Real estate appraiser, title 62, ch. 39. Textbooks. Tennessee Jurisprudence, 5 Tenn. Juris., Brokers, § 4; 20 Tenn. Juris., Pleading, § 15; 25 Tenn. Juris., Waiver, § 5. Law Reviews. An Overview of Time-Sharing and the Tennessee Time-Share Act: Are Purchasers Now Protected?, 53 Tenn. L. Rev. 779 (1986). NOTES TO DECISIONS 1. Purpose. 2. Prosecutions for Failure to Obtain License. 3. License Required. 1. Purpose. The Tennessee Real Estate Broker License Act of 1973, compiled in title 62, chapter 13, is designed to protect the public from irresponsible or unscrupulous persons dealing in real estate. Business Brokerage Centre v. Dixon, 874 S.W.2d 1, 1994 Tenn. LEXIS 95 (Tenn. 1994). 2. Prosecutions for Failure to Obtain License. Indictment, which charged that defendant engaged in the business of a real estate salesman without first obtaining a license to do so, which did not allege how he engaged in such business or what he did in connection therewith, or for whom he worked, to whom or what he sold or the date or dates upon which he did one or more of such things was void for indefiniteness. McLemore v. State, 215 Tenn. 332, 385 S.W.2d 756, 1965 Tenn. LEXIS 621 (1965). 3. License Required. Salaried employees used to sell real estate for corporation engaged in the business of acquiring and selling real estate for its own account, were required to possess a real estate broker's license, despite that the employees were not paid on a commission basis in relation to the value of the corporate real estate sold by the representative. Bowden Bldg. Corp. v. Tennessee Real Estate Comm'n, 15 S.W.3d 434, 1999 Tenn. App. LEXIS 487 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1999). Where evidence showed that the sale of a billboard advertising business was not performed by licensed real estate brokers, and the sale of real estate associated with the business was not merely incidental, the sellers were unable to recover commissions in a breach of contract action; moreover, they were ordered to return the commissions already paid, and the parties' contract was unenforceable since it was illegal. Burks v. Elevation Outdoor Adver., LLC, 220 S.W.3d 478, 2006 Tenn. App. LEXIS 486 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2006), appeal denied, — S.W.3d —, 2006 Tenn. LEXIS 1176 (Tenn. Dec. 18, 2006).