Last Updated: by Devon Woods
South Carolina Form Guide
Disclosure of Real Estate Brokerage Relationships Explained
A plain-language guide to the South Carolina disclosure that explains the difference between being a customer and becoming a client of a real estate brokerage firm.
Why You Receive This Form
The disclosure explains your relationship options before representation begins.
South Carolina license law requires a real estate licensee to provide a meaningful explanation of the brokerage relationships offered by the firm at the first practical opportunity after substantive contact.
You Are a Customer of the Brokerage Firm
Until you enter into a written agency agreement, you are generally treated as a customer. A customer receives basic statutory services, including timely presentation of offers, accounting for money or property, an explanation of services, honesty, limited confidentiality, and disclosure of known material adverse facts.
A customer should not expect the brokerage firm or its licensees to advocate for the customer’s best interests, advise on price or terms as an agent, or provide the full duties owed to a client.
Transaction Brokerage
A brokerage firm may offer transaction brokerage to a buyer, seller, or both. A transaction broker facilitates the transaction and provides customer-level services without necessarily representing either party as an agent.
The exact scope of transaction-broker services should be documented separately when that relationship is used.
You Can Become a Client of the Brokerage Firm
Client status begins through a written agency agreement. For a buyer, that is a buyer-agency agreement. For a seller, it is a listing agreement.
Client-level duties include obedience, loyalty, disclosure, confidentiality, accounting, reasonable skill and care, advice, counsel, and negotiation assistance. Those duties are owed by the brokerage firm and its associated licensees within the limits of the written agreement and applicable law.
Agency Structures
Single, dual, and designated agency have different effects on advocacy.
Single Agency
The brokerage firm represents only one client in the transaction—either the buyer or the seller. The firm advocates for that client, subject to law and the written agreement.
Disclosed Dual Agency
The brokerage firm represents both buyer and seller clients in the same transaction. Because the clients’ interests may conflict, advocacy is limited and confidential information about price, terms, and motivation cannot be disclosed without permission. Separate written consent is required.
Designated Agency
The broker-in-charge designates different associated licensees to represent each client. Each designated agent advocates for that assigned client, while the broker-in-charge remains a disclosed dual agent overseeing both sides. Separate written consent is required.
It Is Your Choice
The consumer chooses the level and type of service.
- Remain a customer and represent yourself, with or without an applicable transaction-broker agreement.
- Hire the brokerage firm for representation through a written agency agreement.
- If represented, decide whether to consider dual agency, designated agency, or remain in single agency when the circumstances arise.
Acknowledgment of Receipt
Your signature acknowledges delivery and explanation—not an agency agreement.
The acknowledgment confirms that the disclosure was provided. It does not, by itself, make you a client, authorize dual agency, or establish compensation.