Illinois § 10-30

§ 10-30.

Advertising. (a) No advertising, whether in print, via the Internet, or through social media, digital forums, or any other media, shall be fraudulent, deceptive, inherently misleading, or proven to be misleading in practice. Advertising shall be considered misleading or untruthful if, when taken as a whole, there is a distinct and reasonable possibility that it will be misunderstood or will deceive the ordinary consumer. Advertising shall contain all information necessary to communicate the information contained therein to the public in an accurate, direct, and readily comprehensible manner. Team names may not contain inherently misleading terms, such as "company", "realty", "real estate", "agency", "associates", "brokers", "properties", or "property". (b) No blind advertisements may be used by any licensee, in any media, except as provided for in this Section. (c) A licensee shall disclose, in writing, to all parties in a transaction the licensee's status as a licensee and any and all interest the licensee has or may have in the real estate constituting the subject matter thereof, directly or indirectly, according to the following guidelines: (1) On broker yard signs or in broker advertisements, no disclosure of ownership is necessary. However, the ownership shall be indicated on any property data form accessible to the consumer and disclosed to persons responding to any advertisement or any sign. The term "broker owned" or "agent owned" is sufficient disclosure. (2) A sponsored or inactive licensee selling or leasing property, owned solely by the sponsored or inactive licensee, without utilizing brokerage services of their sponsoring broker or any other licensee, may advertise "By Owner". For purposes of this Section, property is "solely owned" by a sponsored or inactive licensee if the licensee (i) has a 100% ownership interest alone, (ii) has ownership as a joint tenant or tenant by the entirety, or (iii) holds a 100% beneficial interest in a land trust. Sponsored or inactive licensees selling or leasing "By Owner" shall comply with the following if advertising by owner: (A) On "By Owner" yard signs, the sponsored or inactive licensee shall indicate "broker owned" or "agent owned." "By Owner" advertisements used in any medium of advertising shall include the term "broker owned" or "agent owned." (B) If a sponsored or inactive licensee runs advertisements, for the purpose of purchasing or leasing real estate, the licensee shall disclose in the advertisements the licensee's status as a licensee. (C) A sponsored or inactive licensee shall not use the sponsoring broker's name or the sponsoring broker's company name in connection with the sale, lease, or advertisement of the property nor utilize the sponsoring broker's or company's name in connection with the sale, lease, or advertising of the property in a manner likely to create confusion among the public as to whether or not the services of a real estate company are being utilized or whether or not a real estate company has an ownership interest in the property. (d) A sponsored licensee may not advertise under the licensee's own name. Advertising in any media shall be under the direct supervision of the sponsoring or designated managing broker and in the sponsoring broker's business name, which in the case of a franchise shall include the franchise affiliation as well as the name of the individual firm. This provision does not apply under the following circumstances: (1) When a licensee enters into a brokerage agreement relating to real estate owned by the licensee, or real estate in which the licensee has an ownership interest, with another licensed broker; or (2) When a licensee is selling or leasing real estate owned by the licensee or buying or leasing real estate for their own use, after providing the appropriate written disclosure of ownership interest as required in paragraph (2) of subsection (c) of this Section. (e) No licensee shall list the licensee's name or otherwise advertise in the licensee's own name to the general public through any medium of advertising as being in the real estate business without listing the sponsoring broker's business name. (f) The sponsoring broker's business name and the name of the licensee must appear in all advertisements, including business cards. In advertising that includes the sponsoring broker's name and a team name or individual broker's name, the sponsoring broker's business name shall be at least equal in size or larger than the team name or that of the individual. (g) Those individuals licensed as a managing broker and designated with the Department as a designated managing broker by their sponsoring broker shall identify themselves to the public in advertising, except on "For Sale" or similar signs, as a designated managing broker. No other individuals holding a managing broker's license may hold themselves out to the public or other licensees as a designated managing broker, but they may hold themselves out to be a managing broker. (Source: P.A. 103-236, eff. 1-1-24.)