ARTICLE XIII | Code of Ethics
§13.1 The Code of Ethics of the National Association of REALTORS® is adopted as the Code of Ethics of the association and shall be considered a part of its Rules and Regulations, and the Code of Ethics and the Rules and Regulations of the association shall, in the future, be deemed to be amended and changed whenever said Code of Ethics is amended or changed by the National Association.
§13.2 Enforcement of the Code: The responsibility of the association and of association members relating to the enforcement of the Code of Ethics, the disciplining of members, the arbitration of disputes, and the organization and procedures incident thereto shall be governed by the Code of Ethics and Arbitration Manual of the National Association of REALTORS®, as from time-to-time amended, which by this reference is made a part of this Code of Regulations.
§13.3 If a REALTOR® member (as defined in Article I, Section 1.1, of these Code of Regulations) resigns from the association or otherwise causes membership to terminate with an ethics complaint pending, the Executive Committee may condition the right of the resigning member to reapply for membership upon the applicant's certification that they will submit to the pending ethics proceeding and will abide by the decision of the hearing panel.
If a REALTOR® member (as defined in Article I, Section 1.1, of these bylaws) resigns or otherwise causes membership to terminate, the duty to submit to arbitration (or to mediation if required by the association) continues in effect even after membership lapses or is terminated, provided that the dispute arose while the former member was a REALTOR®.
§13.4 New Member Code of Ethics Orientation. Applicants for REALTOR® membership and provisional REALTOR® members (where applicable) shall complete an orientation program on the Code of Ethics of not less than two (2) hours and thirty (30) minutes of instructional time. This requirement does not apply to applicants for REALTOR® membership or provisional members who have completed comparable orientation in another association, provided that REALTOR® membership has been continuous, or that any break in membership is for one year or less.
Failure to satisfy this requirement within 180 days of the date of application will result in denial of the membership application.
§13.5 Continuing REALTOR® Code of Ethics Training. Effective January 1, 2025, through December 31, 2027 and for successive three-year periods thereafter, each REALTOR® member of the association (with the exception of REALTOR® members granted REALTOR® emeritus status by the National Association) shall be required to complete fair housing training of not less than two (2) hours of instructional time. This requirement will be satisfied upon presentation of documentation that the member has completed a course of instruction conducted by this or another REALTOR® association, the state association of REALTORS®, the National Association of REALTORS®, or the institutes, societies, and councils, which meets the learning objectives and minimum criteria established by the National Association of REALTORS® from time to time. Fair housing training approved by a state licensing authority for an existing fair housing requirement to maintain licensure shall also fulfill this requirement, provided it also meets the learning objectives and minimum criteria established by the National Association of REALTORS® from time to time. REALTOR® members who have completed fair housing training as a requirement of membership in another association shall not be required to complete additional fair housing training until a new three-year cycle commences.
Failure to satisfy the required periodic fair housing training shall be considered a violation of a membership duty. Failure to meet the requirement in any three-year cycle will result in suspension of membership for the first two months (January and February) of the year following the end of any three-year cycle or until the requirement is met, whichever occurs sooner. On March 1 of that year, the membership of a member who is still suspended as of that date will be automatically terminated.
§13.6 Continuing Fair Housing Training. Applicants for REALTOR® membership and provisional REALTOR® members (where applicable) shall complete fair housing training of not less than two (2) hours of instructional time. This requirement will be satisfied upon presentation of documentation that the member has completed a course of instruction conducted by this or another REALTOR® association, the state association of REALTORS®, the National Association of REALTORS®, or the institutes, societies, and councils, which meets the learning objectives and minimum criteria established by the National Association of REALTORS® from time to time. Fair housing training approved by a state licensing authority for an existing fair housing requirement to gain or maintain licensure shall also fulfill this requirement, provided it also meets the learning objectives and minimum criteria established by the National Association of REALTORS® from time-to-time. This requirement does not apply to applicants for REALTOR® membership or provisional members who have completed comparable orientation in another association, provided that REALTOR® membership has been continuous, or that any break in membership is for one (1) year or less.
Failure to satisfy this requirement within 30 days of the date of application (or, alternatively, the date that provisional membership was granted), will result in denial of the membership application or termination of provisional membership.
§13.7 New Member Fair Housing Orientation. Applicants for REALTOR® membership and provisional REALTOR® members (where applicable) shall complete Fair Housing training of not less than two (2) hours of instructional time. This requirement will be satisfied upon presentation of documentation that the member has completed a course of instruction conducted by this or another REALTOR® association, the State Association of REALTORS® or the National Association of REALTORS®, which meets the learning objectives and minimum criteria established by the National Association of REALTORS® from time to time. Fair Housing training approved by a state licensing authority for an existing Fair Housing requirement to gain or maintain licensure shall also fulfill this requirement, provided it also meets the learning objectives and minimum criteria established by the National Association of REALTORS® from time to time. This requirement does not apply to applicants for REALTOR® membership or provisional members who have completed comparable orientation in another association, provided that REALTOR® membership has been continuous, or that any break in membership is for one (1) year or less.
§13.8 Public Announcements. The release or annunciation of any statement for public information, by an officer or Director of the Association that is contrary to established policy of the Association, without prior consent of the Chief Executive Officer of the Association shall constitute a breach of conduct and may result in expulsion from membership, as provided in Article VII.
This in no way shall be construed to deny an individual the right to express their personal views, so long as they do not imply that they are speaking for the Association.