 "Not every contractor payment automatically requires the same client disclosure. Disclosure is more likely required when a REALTOR® recommends a contractor and receives a financial benefit from that recommendation. Pure advertising, referrals outside a client relationship, and other arrangements can be different. State law, brokerage rules, and the exact referral structure still matter."

Do Realtors Always Have to Disclose Contractor Referral Fees?

No, not every payment involving a contractor and a real estate professional should automatically be treated the same way.

“Did the contractor pay the realtor?”

Was the realtor actually recommending the contractor?

Was the person receiving the recommendation a client or customer?

Was the payment tied to the recommendation?

Was it a genuine referral commission or simply payment for advertising?

Was the contractor involved in the real estate settlement?

Is the agent a REALTOR® subject to the NAR Code of Ethics?

Does state law or brokerage policy impose additional requirements?

For example, the National Association of REALTORS® has addressed situations where a real estate professional was paid for advertising on a website. NAR's ethics guidance concluded that simply displaying paid advertisements did not necessarily amount to recommending those businesses.

 the analysis changed because a reasonable consumer could interpret that wording as an endorsement.

“Every contractor payment must always be disclosed.”

The more closely the payment is connected to a recommendation made to your client, the stronger the disclosure obligation becomes.

That distinction is especially useful for agents building a 

. The catalog can organize trusted businesses without every vendor relationship necessarily being structured the same way.

Disclosure becomes particularly important when three things happen together:

You may financially benefit if the client uses that business.

The client could reasonably interpret your recommendation as professional guidance.

That is the situation Article 6 of the REALTOR® Code of Ethics is designed to address.

Article 6 says REALTORS® should not accept a commission, rebate, or profit on expenditures made for their client without the client's knowledge and consent.

It also requires disclosure of certain financial benefits received from recommending real estate-related products or services.

“Yes, call ABC Roofing. They are the company I recommend.”

ABC Roofing then pays you 5% if the homeowner hires them.

That is very different from a contractor simply purchasing generic advertising space on your website.

The customer acted based partly on your relationship and judgment.

You may financially benefit from that decision.

That is the type of situation where disclosure deserves serious attention.

There are situations where the payment may not create the same disclosure obligation.

This is where the previous article was missing important nuance.

The contractor is simply buying advertising

Advertising and recommendations are not automatically the same thing.

NAR has considered a case involving businesses purchasing website advertising where the REALTOR® received money when visitors clicked those ads.

The ethics panel concluded that simply displaying the advertisements did not amount to recommending or endorsing the businesses.

That meant the advertising fee itself was not treated the same way as a financial benefit earned from a recommendation.

The distinction changed when similar businesses were presented as 

“I think this business is a good choice.”

The realtor is not recommending the business to a client or customer

Article 6 is focused on recommendations and expenditures involving clients or customers.

Suppose a realtor tells a personal friend:

“My neighbor owns a landscaping company. Here is his number.”

That situation is not necessarily identical to giving a paid professional recommendation to a buyer or seller you represent.

That does not mean no law or agreement could ever apply.

It simply means the Article 6 client-disclosure analysis may not fit every casual or non-client introduction in exactly the same way.

There is no financial benefit from the recommendation

If you recommend a contractor and receive nothing from that recommendation, there is no referral compensation to disclose.

That sounds obvious, but it matters when building a vendor catalog.

Not every contractor in your catalog needs to pay you.

You may have 20 professionals you recommend because they have taken good care of previous clients.

The payment is for a real service rather than the referral

A contractor could pay a brokerage for legitimate advertising, sponsorship, event participation, or another actual service.

“$250 every time you send us a client.”

The underlying purpose of the payment matters more than what the parties call it.

A genuine advertising agreement should actually provide advertising value.

Simply renaming a referral commission as a “marketing fee” does not automatically change what it is.

Does Calling Someone a “Preferred Vendor” Change Anything?

This is one of the most important lessons from NAR's ethics guidance.

If a business appears on your website simply as an advertisement, the consumer may understand that the business purchased placement.

But when you put the same business under a heading such as:

you are communicating more than placement.

That means the financial relationship becomes more relevant to the consumer.

This does not mean you cannot have a preferred vendor catalog.

The point is that your preferred list should genuinely represent businesses you are comfortable recommending.

Payment should not be the only thing that makes someone “preferred.”

Can Realtors Recommend Contractors and Get Paid?

A referral commission involving an ordinary home service is not automatically the same thing as a prohibited mortgage, title, or settlement-service kickback.

Do Realtors Have to Disclose Contractor Referral Fees to Clients?

 "A realtor may be able to charge a contractor for legitimate advertising or marketing, but charging simply for placement on a preferred vendor list can create legal and ethical issues. The answer depends on the vendor, what the payment actually buys, state rules, brokerage policies, disclosure requirements, and whether referrals are tied to the payment."

Top Questions About Paid Preferred Vendor Lists

Can a contractor pay a realtor to be on a preferred vendor list?

Sometimes, but the arrangement needs to be structured carefully. A legitimate marketing payment is different from paying a realtor in exchange for referrals. The vendor type, services provided, state law, brokerage policy, and whether the payment influences client recommendations all matter.

Is paying to be on a realtor vendor list a RESPA violation?

Not automatically. RESPA Section 8 focuses on payments or things of value given in exchange for referrals of settlement-service business involving federally related mortgage loans. A genuine advertising arrangement is not automatically prohibited, but disguising a referral payment as an advertising or listing fee can create a RESPA problem.

Do realtors have to disclose that a vendor paid them?

REALTORS® should disclose financial benefits they may receive as a direct result of recommending products or services to clients. State laws and brokerage policies may impose additional requirements, so agents should confirm the rules that apply to them.

Can a realtor charge a plumber or roofer to appear in a vendor catalog?

The analysis can be different from a lender, title company, or other settlement-service provider because ordinary post-closing home services may fall outside RESPA's settlement-service restrictions. That does not eliminate state law, ethics, disclosure, or brokerage-policy considerations.

Should the highest-paying contractor become the realtor's preferred vendor?

No. Payment should never replace judgment. A vendor catalog is most valuable when the agent includes businesses they genuinely trust and would feel comfortable recommending to a client regardless of compensation.

Why Is Charging for a Preferred Vendor List Complicated?

Because the phrase "pay to be on the list" can describe several very different arrangements.

In the first, a local roofer pays a brokerage for a clearly defined advertising package. The roofer receives a banner placement, event sponsorship, and promotional exposure. The price reflects the value of those advertising services.

In the second, a contractor gives an agent $500 every month with an understanding that the agent will recommend that contractor whenever clients need the service.

In the third, a mortgage lender pays a brokerage for "preferred partner" placement, and that payment increases when agents send more borrowers to the lender.

Those may all be casually described as vendor-list arrangements.

Legally and ethically, however, they are not necessarily the same thing.

Is the amount reasonable for the advertising or marketing being provided?

Does paying more result in more referrals?

Is the vendor being recommended to clients?

What do state law and brokerage policies say?

That is why realtors should be cautious about turning a preferred vendor list into a simple pay-to-play directory.

A vendor catalog should start with trust.

. Agents can add professionals they already trust, keep other businesses in their vendor network, and choose which businesses they actually want clients to see.

Payment does not need to determine who earns a place in front of your clients.

What Does RESPA Say About Vendor Payments?

RESPA matters when the arrangement involves settlement services connected with a federally related mortgage loan.

Section 8 of RESPA prohibits giving or accepting a fee, kickback, or other thing of value pursuant to an agreement or understanding that settlement-service business will be referred.

That includes more than obvious cash kickbacks.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau explains that a "thing of value" can include money, commissions, discounts, free services, unusual pricing, trips, payments of expenses, and other benefits.

The key issue is not simply whether money changed hands.

If a settlement-service provider pays because it expects referrals in return, calling that payment a "marketing fee," "sponsorship," or "preferred vendor fee" does not automatically make it compliant.

The CFPB also makes an important distinction regarding marketing service agreements.

Marketing agreements are not automatically illegal. A business can pay for genuine services that are actually performed.

But if an arrangement is really an agreement to pay for referrals, RESPA can still apply.

For realtors, that means the label on the invoice is less important than the actual arrangement.

Settlement-service providers require particular care because they may fall directly within RESPA's scope when connected to a covered real estate transaction.

Other businesses providing settlement services

An agent should not assume that charging one of these providers for "preferred vendor" status is safe simply because the payment is described as advertising.

If the payment is connected to referrals, referral volume, or the vendor's access to clients, the arrangement deserves careful review.

This is one reason a realtor vendor catalog should distinguish between 

What About Contractors, Plumbers, Painters, and Other Home Service Businesses?

Ordinary home service providers can present a different situation.

A roofer replacing a roof months after closing is not the same thing as a title company handling the closing.

A plumber repairing a leak is not the same thing as a mortgage lender originating the client's loan.

A landscaper maintaining a yard is not the same thing as an appraiser performing work connected to the transaction.

That distinction matters because RESPA is specifically concerned with settlement-service referrals.

However, "RESPA does not apply" should never be treated as the same thing as "anything goes."

A contractor doing ordinary work after closing may be treated differently from a contractor performing a service that has become part of an active transaction.

If you are specifically considering getting paid when a contractor referral turns into a job, our guide on 

whether realtors can legally accept referral fees from contractors

Is an Advertising Fee Different From a Referral Fee?

This is one of the most important distinctions in the entire discussion.

 pays for actual marketing exposure or another legitimate service.

Those can look similar from the outside, but the underlying purpose is different.

Suppose a contractor pays $300 for a month of advertising that includes a clearly defined placement, newsletter exposure, event sponsorship, and other measurable marketing services.

"Pay me $300 and I'll make sure my clients use you."

"You pay $100 every time I send you a homeowner."

The first is structured as payment for marketing.

The others are tied directly to referrals.

For settlement-service providers, that difference can be legally significant.

The CFPB specifically states that marketing service agreements themselves are not automatically prohibited. What matters is whether the payment reflects legitimate services or is really compensation for referrals.

Agents should be especially skeptical of arrangements where:

The fee increases when referrals increase

A vendor loses placement if referrals slow down

Higher-paying vendors receive more recommendations

The payment has little relationship to the marketing being provided

Can Realtors Charge Contractors to Be on Their Preferred Vendor List?

 "The best way for realtors to share a vendor list is through a branded digital catalog with one shareable link. Unlike PDFs or spreadsheets, a live catalog stays current, lets agents share one vendor or their complete list, works without a client app, and can make the introduction itself easier to track."

Top Questions About Sharing a Realtor Vendor List

Should realtors send clients a PDF vendor list?

A PDF can work, but it becomes outdated quickly and usually has to be resent whenever a vendor changes. A live digital vendor catalog is easier to maintain because the realtor can update recommendations while clients continue using the same link.

Should a realtor share one vendor or the entire vendor list?

Both options are useful. If a client asks for a specific service, sharing one trusted vendor can make the answer simple. When clients want broader homeowner resources, sharing the complete catalog gives them access to all of the realtor's recommendations in one place.

Do clients need an app to use a digital vendor catalog?

They should not have to. A client-friendly vendor catalog should open directly from a link so the client can browse recommendations without downloading an app, creating another account, or learning a new system.

Can a realtor text a vendor list to a client?

Yes. A shareable digital catalog link can be sent by text, email, or anywhere else the realtor normally communicates with clients. The same link can continue working as the realtor updates the catalog.

How can a realtor know if a client contacted a recommended vendor?

This is one of the advantages of using a referral platform instead of a static list. A platform can make the handoff trackable, so the agent can see whether a referral was sent, whether the client contacted the business, and how the introduction progressed.

What Is the Best Way to Share a Vendor List With Clients?

The best approach is to give clients one simple, branded place to access the professionals you trust.

A vendor list is supposed to save your client time. If they have to search through old emails, download a six-page PDF, find the right category, copy a phone number, and then explain to the contractor who sent them, the list has only solved part of the problem.

Your client asks, "Do you know a good roofer?"

Or they ask, "Do you have a list of people you recommend for the house?"

You send one link to your entire vendor catalog.

They open it, browse the businesses you trust, and choose who they want to contact.

. Agents can keep their trusted professionals organized, share recommendations in seconds, and manage what happens after the introduction without relying on scattered texts and manual follow-ups.

Why Are PDFs and Spreadsheets Hard to Maintain?

PDFs and spreadsheets are useful for storing information, but they were not designed around the way clients actually ask realtors for recommendations.

The biggest problem is that they are static.

A painter you used to recommend becomes difficult to reach.

A moving company expands into another county.

You can update the file, but every client who saved the previous version still has the old information.

Spreadsheets create a different problem. They may be easy for you to edit, but they rarely feel like a polished client resource. A buyer asking for a locksmith does not necessarily want access to a spreadsheet with dozens of rows.

The client still has to find the right business, copy the contact information, reach out, explain what they need, and potentially tell the vendor who referred them.

A digital catalog solves those problems by turning the list into a living resource rather than a file.

What Should the Client Experience Look Like?

A good vendor catalog should make finding help easier, not introduce another task.

The client experience should be straightforward:

See that the catalog belongs to their realtor

Contact the business or send a service request

Return to the same catalog the next time they need help

There should not be a long setup process.

Clients should not have to download another app just to find the plumber their agent recommended.

They should not need a new login just to see the list.

They should not need to keep asking the agent to resend an updated file.

The easier the catalog is to use, the more likely clients are to actually use it.

That matters because the goal is not simply to create a vendor list.

The goal is to make your recommendations useful at the moment a client needs them.

Should Realtors Share One Vendor or the Whole Catalog?

Sometimes the client has a very specific problem.

"Do you know someone who can paint the bedrooms?"

In those situations, sending one relevant vendor is usually the cleanest answer.

There is no reason to make the client browse 30 businesses when they asked for one plumber.

Other times, sharing the full catalog makes more sense.

A buyer who just closed may soon need a locksmith, painter, mover, cleaner, landscaper, electrician, handyman, and several other professionals. Giving that client your complete catalog turns it into an ongoing homeowner resource.

ReferToday is designed around both situations. An agent can share one trusted professional when the request is specific or send the complete catalog when the client wants access to the broader network.

That flexibility is important because not every referral starts the same way.

Where Should Realtors Share Their Vendor Catalog?

A digital vendor catalog should work wherever you already communicate with clients.

You should not need to change your workflow just to share it.

Text is probably the most natural option when a client asks for a recommendation in the middle of a conversation.

Because the catalog is live, you do not need to search for the latest attachment before sending it.

A complete vendor catalog can be useful in buyer, seller, and post-closing emails.

Instead of attaching a document, add the catalog link and let clients return to it whenever they need something.

Closing is one of the best times to introduce the complete resource.

"If you ever need someone for the house, I've put the people I recommend here."

That gives the client another reason to keep your information long after the transaction is over.

If you have a personal website, the vendor catalog can also become a client resource linked from your site.

A realtor should be able to create a catalog and start sharing it without asking a web developer to build another page.

Practical resources for better referrals

Do Realtors Have to Disclose Contractor Referral Fees to Clients?

Can Realtors Charge Contractors to Be on Their Preferred Vendor List?

What Is the Best Way for Realtors to Share a Vendor List With Clients?

What Should a Realtor Put on Their Preferred Vendor List?

Can a realtor refer a contractor and get paid?

How to Get Realtors to Refer Your Business

How to Get More Referrals for Your Business

How to Get Painting Leads for Free Near You

Which app gives the most money on referrals?