What a Texas License Holder May Not Do to a Contract Form
Rule 537.11 separates adding information from practicing law. A license holder may supply informational items, but may not draft or recommend language that defines or changes legal rights, obligations, or remedies.
The same rule controls written instructions, conspicuous edits, and faithful reproduction. Rule 531.20 supplies separate mechanics for the Information About Brokerage Services notice.
Updated · Facts cited to TREC's rendered rules page — sources at the end of this page.
The short answer
A license holder may not draft or recommend language defining rights, obligations, or remedies. Informational items are allowed. Other additions or strikes require a principal's specific written instruction and must be conspicuous.
Do not draft or recommend legal language
Rule 537.11 bars a license holder from drafting or recommending language intended to define or affect the rights, obligations, or remedies of the principals. The rule specifically names escalation, appraisal, and contingency clauses as examples.
Naming the clause does not make drafting it safe
A request for an escalation, appraisal, or contingency clause still concerns rights, obligations, or remedies. The rule's examples make that boundary explicit.
Two permitted acts have different conditions
- Add informational items
Not the practice of law under Rule 537.11
The item must be informational; this permission is not a license to draft legal rights or remedies.
- Add or strike language
Only on a principal's specific written instruction
An oral instruction does not satisfy the rule.
- Show the change
Make it conspicuous
The rule gives underlining additions and striking through deletions as examples, while allowing another method that clearly indicates the change.
A reproduced Commission form must remain the same form
- Text and format
Identical to the Commission's published version
The rule expressly includes sizing, spacing, and pagination.
- Business name or logo
Permitted outside the form's border
- Small-screen viewing
Scaling is permitted
The final executed copy must otherwise comply with the reproduction subsection.
IABS labels and delivery methods are exact
The mechanics below come from the Rule 531.20 text captured on TREC's rendered rules page. This guide does not connect the statute's 2026 notice-content list to a particular form number or claim which form version implements it.
- Personal delivery by the license holder.
- First-class mail or overnight common-carrier delivery.
- In the body of an email.
- As an email attachment, or as a link in the email body, with a specific reference to the IABS notice in the body.
| Permitted label | Minimum size |
|---|---|
| Texas Real Estate Commission Information About Brokerage Services | 10 point |
| TREC Information About Brokerage Services | 12 point |
A footnote or signature block is not permitted
Rule 531.20 says the link to a completed IABS notice may not be placed in an email footnote or signature block.
Check the distinction
Form-handling rule check
The explanations stay inside Rules 537.11 and 531.20. No answer is stored or sent to the adaptive engine.
Question 1 of 4
A principal asks a license holder to recommend wording for a new contingency clause. What does Rule 537.11 say?
Frequently asked questions
May a Texas license holder add information to a contract form?
Rule 537.11 says adding informational items to a form authorized by the section is not the practice of law. That does not authorize drafting or recommending language defining rights, obligations, or remedies.
Is an oral instruction enough to strike contract language?
No. Rule 537.11 requires a principal's specific written instruction, and the resulting addition or deletion must be conspicuous.
Can an IABS link be placed in an email signature?
No. Rule 531.20 says the link to the completed notice may not be in an email footnote or signature block.
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Sources
The facts above were verified against these sources using source text read . Rules change — always confirm current requirements with TREC's rendered rules page before acting.
Keep reading: Texas Contract Forms · Texas Intermediary & Agency · Reading Your Score Report · Texas exam prep
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