Key Takeaway: When you switch brokerages, each client and deal is handled on its own. A deal may stay with your old brokerage, transfer to the new one, or follow another agreement between the two. Client agreements are usually with the brokerage, so review your contracts, team agreement, and payout terms before you give notice.
TL;DR About Switching Brokerages With Active Clients
- Each client and deal is handled separately.
- Client agreements usually belong to the brokerage.
- Deals can stay, transfer, or be shared.
- Transfers may cost fees at both brokerages.
- Team agreements can change what you receive.
- A client’s wish does not move contracts.
- Settle every deal before you give notice.
What happens to clients when switching brokerages depends on the agreements behind each client and deal. Every listing, buyer, and pending sale is handled on its own terms.
Many agents assume their whole pipeline either stays behind or follows them. In practice, some deals stay, some move, and some are shared between the two brokerages.
This article explains how active clients and pending deals fit into the broader Smart Agent Alliance brokerage comparison resources agents use to research and compare brokerages.
This guide explains who holds the client agreement, how deals and listings are handled, how a team agreement affects the move, and what to settle first:
Table of Contents
Who Owns the Client When You Switch Brokerages?
A client agreement is usually between the client and the brokerage, not the agent. A seller’s listing agreement and a buyer’s representation agreement are signed with the brokerage you work under. NAR’s Handbook on Multiple Listing Policy treats the listing broker as the party that holds the listing.
This applies to any licensed agent who changes brokerages, with or without a team. Your independent contractor agreement may also state what happens to clients, deals, and pay when you leave, so review the agreements that control your clients before you plan a move. A move does not remove the client’s right to choose an agent once the current agreement ends.
Brokerage and team agreements often include clauses on who controls clients and leads. This article covers only how those clauses affect a move.
What Happens to Your Deals When You Switch Brokerages?
Each deal, listing, and buyer agreement ends in one of three outcomes:
- It stays with your current brokerage, which supervises it through closing and pays you what your agreement says you earned.
- It transfers to your new brokerage once your old brokerage releases it. The old brokerage may take part of the commission, and the new brokerage’s split and fees also apply, so you may pay both.
- The brokerages agree to another arrangement, such as a referral, a co-broker deal where allowed, or another way to divide the commission.
These are common outcomes, not fixed procedures. Your state, your contracts, and your MLS decide which ones are possible.
Joining eXp with active deals is one example of a receiving brokerage with its own rules.
How Are Pending Deals and Active Listings Handled?
Timing decides most pending deals. A deal closing next week is often easiest to leave with your current brokerage, as long as you can still collect what you earned. A deal early in the process may be a better fit to transfer.
Active listings need more steps. Your current brokerage must agree to release or transfer it, and it may set conditions. REALTORS® must follow Standard of Practice 16-20 of the NAR Code of Ethics, which bars inducing clients of their current firm to cancel exclusive agreements with that firm. Do not tell a seller to cancel a listing so they can follow you.
If a listing is released or transferred, check what your MLS requires for the listing record, days on market, showing instructions, and existing offers. Confirm you have the right to keep using the photos, video, and other marketing.
How Does a Team Agreement Affect Your Move?
A team agreement is a separate contract between you and the team. It sits next to your brokerage agreement and can change what moves and what you are paid. A team may claim leads it generated, a share of your commission, or a set amount if a client follows you. Some team agreements also require certain deals to stay with the team.
Leaving a team and leaving a brokerage are two separate events. If you leave both, both agreements apply. When you add up what you will receive, include the team’s share along with what both brokerages require.
A team agreement controls money and duties between you and the team. It does not change the brokerage’s role as the party that holds the client agreement.
When a Client Wants to Follow You
A common belief is that a client who wants to follow you can simply move with you. The client’s wish matters, but it does not move an existing agreement. Your current brokerage still decides whether to release it, transfer it, or work out another arrangement.
Consider a buyer who has toured homes with you for two months and wants to keep working with you. Before you promise anything, find out what your brokerage and team agreements allow. Then ask your broker what a release would require.
Tell the buyer only what you know will happen. A promise you cannot keep can damage the relationship and create a dispute with your old brokerage.
What to Settle Before Giving Notice
Agents who move smoothly usually answer three questions for every significant client or deal before giving notice:
- Will it stay, transfer, or need another arrangement?
- What will your former brokerage or team receive?
- What will you receive?
Problems tend to start when an agent gives notice first and asks these questions later. You do not need an empty pipeline to move. You need a known outcome for each deal.
Notice periods and exit terms come from your agreements.
License timing is a separate step. For a full explanation of license transfer timing, see: How Long Does It Take to Transfer Your License to eXp
What Agents Also Ask
Can my old brokerage keep my commission if I leave?
Your old brokerage pays you based on your agreement with it. Many agreements pay agents for deals that close after they leave, but some reduce or remove that pay. Read the compensation and termination sections and confirm the payout process in writing before you give notice.
Do I have to tell my clients I am switching brokerages?
Rules vary by state and contract, but clients with active agreements need to know who will handle their deal. Coordinate the message with your broker first. Avoid asking clients to cancel their agreements and describe only the outcomes your brokerages have approved.
Can I take my listing photos to a new brokerage?
Rights to photos and video depend on who paid for them, the photographer’s license terms, and your agreements. Listing content in the MLS is usually controlled by the listing broker. Confirm in writing that you may keep using the marketing before you reuse it.
Why This Matters
A brokerage move with active clients runs on contracts the agent did not write, which makes the choice of the next brokerage part of protecting the business already in progress. At eXp Realty, all agents receive the same core brokerage platform, including compliance, compensation, and access to company divisions. What differs is the sponsor ecosystem an agent aligns with.
The sponsor an agent selects shapes which tools, training, and attraction systems they have access to, including support for planning a brokerage move while clients and deals are still active. Agents weighing that choice should map every open deal first and then compare the Smart Agent Alliance team value a sponsor brings.
