Washington state brokerage law: services agreements and dual agency

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In Washington state, the relationship between a home buyer and a real estate broker is not left to custom or to a handshake. It is set out in chapter 18.86 of the Revised Code of Washington, the state's law on real estate brokerage relationships, as published by the Washington State Legislature. The chapter was rewritten by chapter 318 of the 2023 session laws, and the Legislature's notes to the chapter record that the act took effect on 1 January 2024. Since then the law has asked for something it calls a brokerage services agreement: a written agreement that appoints a broker to represent a buyer or a seller and that carries a set list of terms.

This guide follows the chapter section by section from the buyer's side of the table. It covers who the law treats as a buyer's agent, when the written agreement has to be in place, the terms it must carry, the pamphlet that comes before it, the duties a broker owes to everyone and those owed only to the party represented, how consent to limited dual agency is given, how compensation is written down, and how the relationship ends. Everything here is Washington law only. Other states have their own statutes and forms, and nothing below carries over to them.

Revised Code of Washington, sections 18.86.010, 18.86.020 and 18.86.120, as published by the Washington State Legislature. Statute wording in this guide is paraphrased, not quoted.

The words the chapter uses

The chapter opens with definitions, in section 18.86.010, and they shape everything after them. An agency relationship is the relationship the chapter creates between a real estate firm and a principal. A principal is a buyer or a seller who has an agency relationship with a broker. The agreement is therefore made with the firm, while the person the buyer deals with day to day is the broker the firm appoints. The definition of agent reflects that structure: an agent is a broker in an agency relationship with a principal, and the term takes in the firm's designated broker and any managing broker who supervises that broker.

"Buyer" is wider than the everyday word. The section defines it as an actual or prospective purchaser, and it includes a tenant in a lease or rental transaction. "Seller" likewise includes a landlord. A reader looking for a home to rent with a broker's help is, for this chapter, a buyer.

Three roles follow. A buyer's agent is a broker who has an agency relationship with only the buyer in a transaction. A limited dual agent has an agency relationship with both the buyer and the seller in the same transaction.

The section also fixes a point in time that matters later. In the definition of a real estate transaction, the text adds that a prospective transaction does not exist until at least one party has signed a written offer. Looking at homes with a broker is brokerage service; it is not yet a transaction in the chapter's sense.

Finally, the chapter defines the document at its centre. A brokerage services agreement, or services agreement, is a written agreement appointing a broker to represent a principal and containing the terms required by two sections: 18.86.020, which deals with the relationship, and 18.86.080, which deals with compensation.

Who the broker represents by default

Section 18.86.020 starts from a presumption. A broker who performs real estate brokerage services for a buyer is the buyer's agent. The section then lists the cases in which that is not so.

The last subsection of the same section adds that a broker may work with the same person in separate transactions under different relationships, provided the broker follows the chapter each time a relationship is set up. The role is settled transaction by transaction.

When the written agreement must be in place

The timing rule is in section 18.86.020(2)(a). The firm must enter into a services agreement with the principal before its broker begins, or as soon as reasonably practical after its broker begins, to provide real estate brokerage services to that principal or on the principal's behalf.

Two things stand out. First, the duty is placed on the firm. Second, the wording allows for the agreement to come shortly after services begin, where signing beforehand was not reasonably practical. The section does not define what is reasonably practical, so where the line falls in a given case depends on its facts.

There is one stated exception. Under subsection (3), a services agreement is not required when a broker acts as a buyer's agent solely for commercial real estate. Section 18.86.080 pairs that exception with a different safeguard for commercial buyers, described below under compensation.

What the section does not say is also worth noting. Section 18.86.020 sets no consequence of its own for a missing agreement. The consequence the chapter does spell out sits in the compensation section: a firm must have a written services agreement in order to receive compensation from any party or firm.

The terms the agreement must carry

Section 18.86.020(2)(b) lists what the agreement must include. Each item is a decision the buyer makes in writing.

The term. The agreement states how long it runs. For a buyer, the section provides a default term of 60 days, with the option of a longer one. The published text does not go further into how the longer term is chosen, so the form in front of the buyer is where that choice appears.

The broker. The agreement names the broker appointed to act as the principal's agent. Since the agreement is with the firm, this is the line that tells the buyer which individual carries the duties of a buyer's agent.

Exclusive or not. The agreement says whether the agency relationship is exclusive or nonexclusive. For buyers the section is specific about layout: the agreement must have checkboxes that let the buyer pick one or the other. The requirement for checkboxes applies to buyer agreements only.

Consent to limited dual agency. The agreement records whether the principal consents to the broker acting as a limited dual agent. This consent cannot be buried in the general signature: it must be separately initialled. In giving it, the principal acknowledges that a limited dual agent may not argue for terms that favour one principal at the other's expense, and that the role is further limited as set out in section 18.86.060.

Consent at firm level. The agreement also says whether the principal consents to the firm's designated broker and any supervising managing broker acting as limited dual agents in a transaction where different brokers affiliated with the same firm represent different parties.

The compensation terms come from section 18.86.080(7) and complete the list. The pamphlet that brokers hand out, whose text is fixed by section 18.86.120, gathers everything into seven items: the term; the name of the broker or brokers appointed; whether the relationship is exclusive or nonexclusive; whether the principal consents to limited dual agency; the terms of compensation; in an agreement with a buyer, whether the broker agrees to show a property when no party or firm has agreed or offered to pay the broker's firm; and any other agreements between the parties.

As a worked example of the default term, assume a buyer signs on 10 October 2026, leaves the default of 60 days in place and that the days are counted from the day after signing. Twenty-one days remain in October and November has 30, which makes 51; the sixtieth day is 9 December 2026. This is an illustration of the arithmetic only: the chapter does not set out a counting method, and the agreement itself governs its dates.

The pamphlet comes first

Before a buyer signs a services agreement, the broker has to hand over a pamphlet. Section 18.86.030(1)(f) makes this one of the duties owed to every party: the broker must provide the pamphlet in the form set out in section 18.86.120 and obtain the party's signed acknowledgment of receipt.

The timing differs with the person. For a party to whom the broker renders brokerage services, the pamphlet is due as soon as reasonably practical, but before that party signs a services agreement. For a party who is not represented by a broker in the transaction, it is due before that party signs an offer, or as soon as reasonably practical.

Section 18.86.120 prescribes the pamphlet itself. It is titled "Real Estate Brokerage in Washington", and it must be in a legible font. Among the sections the Legislature's text gives it are:

• licensing and supervision, explaining that brokers are licensed under chapter 18.85 of the Revised Code of Washington, are affiliated with a licensed firm that has a designated broker, and that the Department of Licensing enforces the rules;
• the four ways an agency relationship ends;
• the contents of a written services agreement; and
• a section on short sales.

The history line of section 18.86.120 shows the pamphlet text was last amended by chapter 57 of the 2026 session laws. The Department of Licensing, on its page of laws and rules for real estate, lists chapter 18.86 among the laws related to its licensing statute, chapter 18.85.

Duties owed to every party

Section 18.86.030 sets a floor that applies whoever the broker represents. A broker owes these duties to the principal and to all other parties in the transaction, and the section says they may not be waived:

1. to exercise reasonable skill and care;
2. to deal honestly and in good faith;
3. to present all written offers, written notices and other written communications to and from either party in a timely manner, even when a contract is already in place;
4. to disclose all existing material facts known to the broker and not apparent or readily ascertainable to a party;
5. to account in a timely manner for all money and property received from or on behalf of either party;
6. to provide the pamphlet and obtain the signed acknowledgment; and
7. to disclose in writing whom the broker represents and what compensation has been offered across the transaction.

The fourth duty depends on the definition of material fact. Section 18.86.010 defines it as information that substantially adversely affects the value of the property or a party's ability to perform, or that materially impairs or defeats the purpose of the transaction. The definition excludes certain facts, such as a past death, crime or drug activity at the property, unless they affect its physical condition or title. The duty covers what the broker knows: the section states that it does not oblige the broker to investigate matters the broker has not agreed to investigate.

The seventh duty has two parts and its own clock. Before the broker's principal signs an offer, or as soon as reasonably practical but before the parties reach mutual agreement, the broker must state in writing whether the broker is the buyer's agent, the seller's agent or a limited dual agent. That statement goes in a separate paragraph titled "Agency Disclosure" in the agreement between buyer and seller, or in a separate writing with the same title. At the same stage the broker must disclose any terms of compensation offered by a party or a firm to a firm representing another party.

Subsection (2) marks the limits. Unless otherwise agreed, a broker owes no duty to inspect the property independently, to investigate either party's financial position, or to verify the accuracy or completeness of statements made by either party or by a source the broker reasonably believes to be reliable.

Duties owed to the buyer as principal

On top of that floor, section 18.86.050 gives the buyer's agent five duties toward the buyer:

• Loyalty. The agent takes no action that is adverse or detrimental to the buyer's interest in the transaction.
• Conflicts. The agent discloses any conflict of interest to the buyer in a timely manner.
• Expert advice. The agent advises the buyer to seek expert advice on matters relating to the transaction that are beyond the agent's expertise.
• Confidentiality. The agent does not disclose the buyer's confidential information, except under subpoena or court order. The duty continues after the agency relationship has ended.
• The search. The agent makes a good faith and continuous effort to find a property for the buyer.

The first four cannot be waived. The fifth can be changed by written agreement, and the section itself adds that the agent need not look for further properties while the buyer is already party to an existing contract to purchase.

Confidential information has its own definition in section 18.86.010. It is information from or about a principal, acquired by the broker during the agency relationship, which the principal reasonably expects to be kept confidential, has not disclosed or authorised to be disclosed, which would operate to the principal's detriment if disclosed, and which the principal personally would not be obliged to disclose to the other party. The last element matters: a known material fact that the principal would have to disclose does not become confidential because the principal would prefer silence.

Section 18.86.050 also answers a question buyers ask about competition. Showing a property in which one buyer is interested to other prospective buyers does not by itself breach the duty of loyalty or create a conflict of interest. Nor does the fact that different brokers affiliated with the same firm represent different buyers competing for the same property. Other facts may change the answer in a particular case.

How limited dual agency consent works

A broker cannot slide into representing both sides. Section 18.86.060(1) allows a broker to act as a limited dual agent only with the written consent of both parties to the transaction, and that consent is set out in the services agreement: the separately initialled term described above.

Once in that role, the broker owes the duties of section 18.86.030 to everyone and, to both principals, a set that mirrors the buyer's agent's and the seller's agent's: to take no action adverse or detrimental to either party's interest; to disclose conflicts of interest to both parties in a timely manner; to advise both to seek expert advice beyond the agent's expertise; to keep the confidential information of each; and to make a good faith and continuous effort both to find a buyer for the property and to find a property for the buyer. Only the last two, the efforts to find a buyer and a property, can be varied by written agreement.

The limit that gives the role its name is the one the buyer acknowledges when initialling under section 18.86.020: a limited dual agent may not argue for terms that favour one principal at the other's expense. A buyer who consents is therefore agreeing to representation that stops short of taking the buyer's side against the seller on terms.

The firm-level version arises more quietly. Under section 18.86.060(5), when different brokers affiliated with the same firm represent different parties in a transaction, the firm's designated broker and any managing broker responsible for supervising those brokers are limited dual agents. Each appointed broker goes on representing solely the party with whom that broker has an agency relationship. This is why the services agreement carries a second consent line, for the designated and supervising brokers.

Compensation: what must be written down

Section 18.86.080 deals with compensation in two steps: what is permitted, then what must be written.

On what is permitted, a firm's compensation may be paid by the seller, the buyer, a third party, or by sharing between firms. A seller may agree that the seller's agent's firm shares its compensation with another firm, and a buyer may agree the same for the buyer's agent's firm. A firm may be compensated by more than one party in the same transaction, and compensation may be based on the purchase price without breaching a duty to either side. The section also separates money from loyalty: agreeing to pay compensation, or paying it, does not create an agency relationship between the payer and the broker. A seller who funds the buyer's broker's fee does not become that broker's principal.

On what must be written, subsection (7) requires a written services agreement before a firm can receive compensation from any party or firm, and requires it to cover:

• the amount the principal agrees to pay the firm;
• the principal's consent, if any, and its terms, to compensation being shared between firms and parties;
• the principal's consent, if any, and its terms, to the firm being paid by more than one party;
• in an agreement with a buyer, whether the broker agrees to show a property when no party or firm has agreed or offered to pay the buyer's firm; and
• any other agreements between the parties.

A worked example shows how these lines interact. The assumptions are illustrative and are not market figures: a purchase price of US$600,000; a services agreement in which the buyer agrees to pay the firm 2.5% of the price; and a seller who has offered US$9,000 toward the buyer's firm. The amount under the agreement is 2.5% of US$600,000, which is US$15,000. If the agreement records the buyer's consent to payment from more than one party, the seller's US$9,000 counts toward it and US$6,000 remains under the agreement. Who pays that balance, and whether it falls away, is a matter for the agreement's own terms; the chapter requires that the terms be written, not what they should be. The seller's offer in this example is also the kind of term the broker discloses in writing before the buyer signs an offer.

Two carve-outs complete the section. For a buyer's agent acting solely in commercial real estate, where no services agreement is required, the broker may instead disclose compensation in writing before the buyer signs an offer, listing the sources and amounts of compensation, in a separate paragraph or writing titled "Compensation Disclosure". And a firm may be paid without a services agreement for a broker's price opinion, or for referring a client to another firm when the referring firm has provided no brokerage services in the transaction.

How the relationship ends, and what remains

Section 18.86.070 lists four endings, and the relationship continues until the earliest of them: the broker completes performance; the term agreed by the parties expires; the parties agree to terminate; or either party gives the other notice of termination. On the last, the section adds that a termination by notice does not otherwise affect the contractual rights of either party. Ending the agency and settling what is owed under the agreement are two separate questions.

After the end, the broker owes two things only: to account for all money and property received during the relationship, and not to disclose confidential information.

One further section ties the chapter to licensing. Under section 18.86.031, a violation of the duties in section 18.86.030 is a violation of section 18.85.361 of the licensing statute, which is how the pamphlet and disclosure duties connect to the regime the Department of Licensing enforces.

The chapter has kept moving. Chapter 57 of the 2026 session laws added section 18.86.130, under which a broker may not market residential real estate for sale or lease to a limited or exclusive group of buyers or brokers unless it is marketed at the same time to the general public and all other brokers, with an exception on grounds of health or safety. The Legislature's page for the chapter does not show an effective date for that act.

In Washington the buyer's choices are made on paper before the search is far along: the term, exclusivity, dual agency and the fee each have their own line.

Kooky, from Shaka

Kooky edits Agents Estate and builds Shaka, the payment router he made for real estate professionals. One payment comes in, and every agent, agency and party in the deal receives their signed share on closing date.

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