Real estate listing agreement template
A listing agreement is the contract that hires a brokerage to sell a home. It sets the price, how long the listing runs, what the seller pays and when, and whether the seller will offer anything to a buyer's agent. This template is an exclusive right-to-sell agreement, the most common kind, written in plain English and updated for how commissions are handled now.
Updated November 5, 2026 · 4 min read
The contract
Gray blanks are yours to fill in before you send. Each signer fills in the blanks in their color.
- You, before sending
- Seller
- Listing broker
Exclusive Right-to-Sell Listing Agreement
This Listing Agreement (the "Agreement") is made on Agreement date between Seller name (the "Seller") and Brokerage name, license number Brokerage license number, acting through its agent Listing agent name (together, the "Broker").
1. The property and the listing
The Seller gives the Broker the exclusive right to market and sell the property at Property address, including these fixtures and items: Included items, and excluding: Excluded items (the "Property"). The listing price is Listing price, or another price the Seller later approves in writing.
2. Term
This Agreement starts on Listing start date and ends at 11:59 p.m. on Listing end date, unless the Property is sold or this Agreement is ended earlier under section 9.
3. Broker's compensation
Broker commissions and fees are not set by law and are fully negotiable. The Seller will pay the Broker Listing compensation (a rate or a flat fee) if, during the term, the Broker, the Seller or anyone else produces a buyer who is ready, willing and able to buy on the terms of this Agreement or on other terms the Seller accepts. It is payable at closing from the Seller's proceeds. If the Seller refuses to close a sale it has agreed to without legal excuse, the compensation is still owed.
4. Payment to a buyer's broker
The Seller chooses one:
- The Seller authorizes the Broker to offer compensation to a broker representing a buyer, of up to Buyer broker pay offered.
- The Seller does not authorize an offer of compensation to a buyer's broker, but may consider a buyer's request for concessions in an offer.
Any offer of compensation to a buyer's broker is made only as the Seller authorizes here or later in writing, and never through a multiple listing service whose rules forbid it.
5. Protection period
If, within Protection period in days days after this Agreement ends, the Seller agrees to sell the Property to anyone who was shown it or made an offer on it during the term, and whose name the Broker gave the Seller in writing within 10 days after the term ended, the Seller will pay the compensation in section 3. This doesn't apply if the Seller has signed a new exclusive listing with another broker.
6. Marketing and access
- The Broker may submit the Property to the multiple listing services it belongs to, advertise it online and in print, place a sign on the Property, and take photographs and video for marketing.
- The Seller authorizes a lockbox on the Property.
- Showings will be arranged following the Seller's instructions: Showing instructions.
- The Seller will keep valuables, prescription medicines and weapons secured during showings, and is responsible for insuring the Property and its contents.
7. The Seller's promises
The Seller confirms that they own the Property or have authority to sell it, that everyone whose signature is needed to sell will sign, and that there are no liens or claims except: Known liens or loans. The Seller will complete every property disclosure the law requires, truthfully and on time, including the lead-based paint disclosure for a home built before 1978, and will tell the Broker about any known material defect.
8. Agency
The Broker represents the Seller. If a buyer working with the same brokerage wants to buy the Property, the Broker will act only as the law and the Seller's separate written consent allow, after giving any agency disclosure the state requires. The Broker will present all offers it receives unless the Seller directs otherwise in writing.
9. Ending early
The Seller may end this Agreement before the end date by written notice and payment of the Broker's documented marketing costs, up to Marketing cost cap. Either party may end it if the other breaches it and doesn't fix the breach within 10 days of written notice.
10. Fair housing and general terms
The Property will be offered without regard to any characteristic protected by federal, state or local fair housing law. Earnest money is handled under the purchase contract and the law. This Agreement is governed by the laws of the state of State, is the whole agreement between the parties about the listing, and can be changed only in writing signed by both. Electronic signatures count as original signatures.
Seller contact details
Phone: Seller phone Email: Seller email Mailing address after closing: Seller forwarding address
I understand that broker compensation is negotiable and not set by law, and I have read sections 3 to 5.
Seller
Broker, by its listing agent
Opens it in SignMaster as a template you can edit and send.
A starting point, not legal advice. Have a lawyer review it for your state and situation.
On this page
Types of listing agreement
- Exclusive right to sell: the listing brokerage is paid whoever finds the buyer, even the seller. This template is this kind.
- Exclusive agency: the brokerage is paid unless the seller finds the buyer on their own.
- Open listing: any brokerage that brings the buyer is paid; nobody has exclusive rights. Rare for homes.
Many states require listing agreements to be in writing and to carry a definite end date, and many brokerages must use their state association's form. If yours does, use this page to explain the terms to sellers, and use the form your broker requires for the signature.
What the template covers
- Parties: the seller, the brokerage and its license number, and the listing agent.
- Property and price: the address, items included and excluded, and the listing price.
- Term: start and end dates, ending at a set time on the last day.
- Compensation: a statement that commissions are negotiable and not set by law, the rate or flat fee, and when it's earned and paid.
- Buyer's broker: a tick-box choice whether the seller authorizes an offer to a buyer's broker, and up to what amount.
- Protection period: compensation if a buyer the brokerage introduced buys soon after the listing ends, unless the seller has relisted elsewhere.
- Marketing and access: MLS, signs, photos, the lockbox choice and showing instructions.
- Seller's promises and agency: ownership, liens, required disclosures, and how a same-brokerage buyer is handled.
- Ending early and fair housing: cancellation with capped marketing costs, and non-discrimination.
Mistakes that cause commission disputes
- Leaving the compensation vague. "Standard commission" means nothing; write the rate or the flat fee, and when it's earned.
- Not documenting the buyer's broker decision. Since the 2024 changes to industry rules, the seller decides whether to offer anything to a buyer's broker, and that offer can't go through the MLS. Get the seller's choice in writing.
- An open-ended protection clause. Limit it to buyers the brokerage introduced and named in writing, and end it if the seller relists with another brokerage.
- Only one owner signs. If the home is jointly owned, or a spouse has rights under state law, everyone whose signature is needed to sell should sign the listing.
- Skipping disclosures. The listing is the moment to start the seller's property disclosure and, for homes built before 1978, the lead paint disclosure.
How to send a listing agreement with SignMaster
- 1
Set up your brokerage's version
Choose Use this template. Fill in your brokerage name and license number once and save. To change a clause, cover it with White-out and type your broker's wording in a Text box, using the editor's Markup tools.
- 2
Fill in the listing
For each listing, complete the gray blanks: address, items included or excluded, price, dates, your compensation and protection period.
- 3
Add every owner
Enter the seller's name and email. For co-owners, add a second seller role in the template editor, so each owner makes the buyer's broker choice, signs and gets their own record.
- 4
Sign at the listing appointment
Walk through it at the kitchen table and let the seller sign on your tablet with Sign in person, or email it and let them read it overnight.
- 5
Start disclosures in the same envelope
Attach the seller's disclosure forms to the same envelope so they're signed together. Everyone gets the signed PDF with a certificate of completion for your transaction file.
Listing a builder's inventory or a portfolio
Teams that list a builder's new homes or an investor's portfolio sign many agreements with the same seller and different properties. Bulk send makes one envelope per property from a spreadsheet: the seller's name and email in each row, and columns named after the gray blanks, like Property address, Listing price, Listing start date and Listing end date. Save it as CSV UTF-8 from Excel.
Questions? Answers.
Can a listing agreement be signed electronically?
Yes. Listing agreements are ordinary contracts, and e-signatures are valid for them. The deed at closing is a different matter, often needing notarization; see can you e-sign a real estate purchase contract.
Who pays the buyer's agent now?
It's negotiated. A seller may offer to pay a buyer's broker, consider a buyer's request for concessions, or do neither, and buyers sign their own agreement with their broker. Section 4 records the seller's choice.
Can a seller cancel a listing agreement?
Under section 9, the seller can end it early by written notice and pay the brokerage's documented marketing costs up to a cap you set. Either side can also end it if the other doesn't fix a breach within 10 days.
What is a protection period?
A window after the listing ends during which the brokerage is still paid if a buyer it introduced buys the home. It stops the seller and that buyer from waiting out the listing to skip the commission.