Last checked October 18, 2026. This is a plain-language summary, not legal advice. Your broker has the final word.
What counts as advertising
Ohio defines advertising broadly. It covers social media, websites, blogs, email, business cards, and listing sites. So an agent's Reel or TikTok about the market is advertising, and the rules below apply to it.
Private messages that a client or prospect starts are not advertising. A reply to a DM is fine; the post that brought the DM is not exempt.
The name rules
The agent has to be identified by name, and the ad has to show the brokerage the agent works with. The brokerage name must be shown at least in equal prominence with the agent's name. That comes from both Ohio law and the Real Estate Commission's rules.
Online, the brokerage name has to appear on every viewable page. For short formats with little room, the post has to link directly to a page that does show the required information.
The rules don't spell out what equal prominence means inside a video. Our approach: put the brokerage name on screen in text at least as large as the agent's name, for at least as long, and in the caption too.
If the agent is on a team
Team ads must show the brokerage name in equal or greater prominence than both the team name and the agent's name. The team name has to include "team" or "group," and it can't use "realty" or "associates." Getting this wrong is treated as evidence of a violation on its own.
Showing someone else's listing
An agent can't advertise a listing held by another brokerage without the owner's written permission. When they have it, the listing brokerage's name has to appear in type at least as large as the property description.
Fair housing
Federal law bans ads that show a preference for or against buyers or renters based on a protected class, and Ohio law protects more classes than federal law does. In video, the safe habit is simple: describe the home and the place, never who should live there. Say "three bedrooms and a fenced yard," not "perfect for a young family."
Checklist for every agent video
Run through this before anything gets posted.
The agent's name is on screen
The brokerage name is on screen, at least as big as the agent's name
The brokerage name is in the caption too
The profile or bio links to a page with the full brokerage details
Team videos show the brokerage name at least as big as the team name
Another brokerage's listing? Written OK from the owner, and their brokerage named
Describes the home and the place, not who should live there
Every number has a source, and nothing is promised
We build this into every video.
Local Take puts the agent's name and your brokerage name on every video by default, and flags any edit that would remove it. A person checks every video before it goes out.
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