Illinois advertising practice
Illinois advertising questions: names, disclosures and the facts that change the answer
Start with who is advertising, what the consumer receives and whether the overall impression is truthful. Then check the brokerage identity, permission to use the listing and any special ownership disclosure. Try the six questions below before opening the explanations.
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Which name belongs in an Illinois real estate ad?
225 ILCS 454/10-30 requires truthful advertising under brokerage supervision. For ordinary sponsored advertising, use the sponsoring broker's business name; a franchise name also includes the individual firm. An individual or team brand does not replace that identity. Read the whole ad as an ordinary consumer would, including anything its layout or omissions imply.
The broker's business name must be at least as large as an advertised team or individual broker name. 1450.715(b) supplies three alternative ways to meet its size requirement. A symbol counts as the broker's name only if it actually contains that name.
| Alternative | What to compare | Common mistake |
|---|---|---|
| Letter size | Broker-name letters at least as large as team or individual-name letters | Comparing an unrelated headline instead of the names |
| Name area | Height and width of the area containing the broker name versus the team or individual name | Comparing the whole page instead of the areas containing the names |
| Identification containing the name | Broker-name logo, emblem or similar identification at least as large as the team or individual name | Using a large nameless icon to justify a tiny broker name |
Under 1450.715(a)(2), misleading team terms such as realty, real estate, properties, property, company, agency, associates and brokers require the word team to follow the term. For example, using Properties as the misleading team term requires Team to follow it under that rule. The broker identification and overall impression must still comply.
A designated managing broker identifies that status when advertising includes their name, except on For Sale or similar property signs. A managing broker who is not designated cannot claim that designation. The rule also says a sponsoring broker need not add a sponsored individual's name to the firm's own advertising. Keep that firm advertisement separate from an individual licensee's advertisement.
What changes for a post, website or initial message?
The Act's blind-ad definition includes property advertising, licensed services and recruiting licensees. It addresses the complete broker business name or, for electronic ads, a direct link to a display with all required disclosures. The specific disclosure duties still depend on the format. Apply the specific requirements in 1450.720 as well.
| Format | Required information | Team-name distinction |
|---|---|---|
| Property advertisement, 720(d) | Licensed or registered name; property city or area and state or country; sponsor name; registered physical-office city and state or qualifying virtual-office link; licensing jurisdictions if not licensed where the property is located | The rule permits a team name to substitute for the individual name |
| Marketing licensed services, 720(e) | Licensed or registered name; sponsor name; registered physical-office city and state or qualifying virtual-office link | The rule permits a team name to substitute for the individual name |
| Initial electronic or digital communication while doing licensed activities, 720(g) | Individual licensed or registered name; sponsor name; registered physical-office city and state or qualifying virtual-office link | Team name may be added; it does not replace the individual name |
Sections 720(b), (c) and (f) separately address the sponsoring broker's property ads, service ads and initial communications. Do not automatically apply an individual's name requirement to a firm-only ad. Section 720(j) requires direct links to broker disclosures and relevant business information, plus all terms and conditions of covered offers or inducements. Check the post or message as the recipient sees it, then open each required link and read the destination. A phone number alone is not a disclosure link. Do not substitute an assumed two-click allowance for the rule's direct-link wording.
A link and a copied listing are different
Under 720(h), linking to another electronic location's listing information is allowed without approval unless that location's owner specifically requires consent. The link cannot mislead people about who owns the information. Copying another brokerage's exclusive listing into your own ad instead requires the listing broker's permission and identification under 715(a)(1) and 720(b)(2). Public access does not automatically grant permission to republish.
Periodically check and update website and platform advertising under 720(i). Gated listing information requiring a password, registration or similar security clearance has a specific exclusion under 715(c); an open public post does not gain that exclusion simply by saying members only.
10-35 also requires timely, readily apparent disclosure of an intention to sell or share electronically gathered consumer information. Deceptive domains, unauthorized or deceptive framing, phishing and deceptive traffic-diversion methods are prohibited. This narrow disclosure rule does not settle every separate privacy obligation.
Does broker-owned property always need the same ad disclosure?
No. Keep the two routes in 10-30(c) separate:
- Broker yard sign or broker advertisement, (c)(1): ownership need not appear on that sign or ad itself, but must appear on any consumer-accessible property data form and be disclosed to respondents. The section's written status and interest disclosure requirements still matter.
- Qualifying By Owner advertising, (c)(2): a sponsored or inactive licensee selling or leasing solely owned property without using brokerage services of the sponsor or another licensee must put broker owned or agent owned on By Owner signs and advertisements in any medium. Do not use an uninvolved sponsoring firm's name or create confusion about brokerage involvement.
For this provision, solely owned includes 100% individual ownership, ownership as a joint tenant or tenant by the entirety, or a 100% beneficial land-trust interest. It is not simply any small interest in an LLC. The subsection also requires license-status disclosure in a sponsored or inactive licensee's advertisement seeking to buy or lease property. Ownership disclosure is not a general exemption from advertising or fair housing rules.
What else can make an otherwise accurate ad misleading?
Under 715(a), do not imply a prohibited property use or advertise an absolute auction when a minimum or opening bid is required. Remove stale listing ads within a reasonable time after the first of closing, expiration or termination. An accurate price does not cure a false impression of availability or permission.
Housing language and distribution need a separate check. 775 ILCS 5/3-102(F) prohibits advertising that indicates a protected preference or limitation. Its subsection (H) separately addresses discriminatory criteria or methods with its stated necessity and less-discriminatory-alternative tests. For an ordinary nonexempt rental, a no-children preference is not cured by a correct brokerage logo.
Check actual exemptions rather than assuming them. For example, the owner-occupied small-building and private-room provisions in 3-106(B) and (C) expressly preserve 3-102(F). This does not decide every shared-home arrangement or every federal or local exception. Use the fair housing violation comparison for the separate discrimination analysis.
Try six original Illinois advertising questions
Assume the stated facts and ordinary sponsored advertising unless an exception is specified. These examples were written for this guide and are not official PSI questions.
1. A large logo contains no name
An ad has a large brokerage icon with no words. Every displayed measure of the actual broker name is smaller than the team name. The team claims the icon alone meets 715(b). Which answer fits?
- Any large icon satisfies the rule
- The team name replaces the broker name
- The nameless icon does not count as the broker name
- All three size tests must always be met together
Show answer 1
C is correct. A ignores the name requirement. B removes the required sponsor identity. C applies the rule to the stated icon. D turns alternatives into cumulative conditions.
Change the fact: the compliant broker-name identification is at least as large as the team name. That can satisfy the corresponding alternative; the rest of the ad must still comply.
2. The first text uses only a team name
A sponsored broker first texts a prospective client while offering licensed services. The text includes the sponsor and required office information, but only a team name identifies the sender. Under 720(g), what is missing?
- The team's sales ranking
- The sender's individual licensed or registered name
- A promise that every property is available
- The recipient's written consent to dual agency in every case
Show answer 2
B is correct. A and C are not the required identity. B supplies the individual name; the team may be added. D invents a universal dual-agency trigger from a first text.
Change the fact: the question instead concerns a property ad under 720(d). That provision permits the stated team substitution. Keep the format distinction.
3. A licensee advertises By Owner
A sponsored licensee alone owns 100% of a house and sells without any licensee's brokerage services. The By Owner sign has the owner's phone number but no ownership-status wording. What must the qualifying By Owner sign include?
- Only an uninvolved sponsor's logo
- A statement that the seller is unlicensed
- No further disclosure because it is private property
- Broker owned or agent owned
Show answer 3
D is correct. A risks confusing brokerage involvement. B is false. C disregards 10-30(c)(2). D gives the specified sign disclosure.
Change the fact: it is a broker advertisement under (c)(1). That paragraph does not require ownership wording on the ad itself, but does require disclosure on consumer-accessible property data forms and to respondents, alongside applicable written disclosures.
4. A broker links to another listing
A broker wants to link directly to another electronic location's listing information. The owner has not required consent. The link identifies the source honestly and does not copy the listing into a new ad. Which statement matches 720(h)?
- The link may be used without approval under those stated conditions
- Public access also authorizes copying every photo into a separate ad
- Any listing link always needs written approval
- The linking broker may imply ownership of the information
Show answer 4
A is correct. A preserves both conditions. B changes linking into republication. C ignores the rule's consent distinction. D violates its anti-deception limit.
Change the fact: the location's owner specifically requires consent. Obtain that consent before relying on the linking provision.
5. A listing expires before the sale closes
A listing expires while an old public ad still offers the property as a current listing. The broker controls the ad and knows it remains online. Which event starts the 715(a)(3) removal analysis?
- Only a later closing
- Exactly 30 days after the next complaint
- The earlier listing expiration
- Only the buyer's first inquiry
Show answer 5
C is correct. A overlooks the earlier event. B invents a fixed deadline. C applies expiration, termination or closing, whichever occurs first. D adds a condition the rule does not impose. Reasonable time still depends on the listed factors.
Change the fact: closing occurs before the scheduled expiration. Closing is now the earlier event.
6. The logo is correct but the housing preference is not
An ordinary nonexempt Illinois rental ad correctly identifies the brokerage but says children are not welcome. Which answer best addresses that separate problem?
- Correct broker identity cures the preference
- The stated familial-status preference violates the advertising restriction
- A larger logo would cure it
- Housing discrimination rules apply only after signing a lease
Show answer 6
B is correct. A and C confuse identity with nondiscrimination. B applies 3-102(F) to the assumed nonexempt facts. D incorrectly postpones the duty until a lease exists.
Change the fact: the ad neutrally describes the property's room dimensions instead. That description alone does not state the same family preference; examine the rest of the advertisement and conduct.
Illinois advertising questions answered
How many Illinois advertising questions are on the broker exam?
Advertising is II.B within the Illinois Real Estate License Act area of the June 24, 2026 PSI outline. The whole area accounts for 40%, or 16 of the 40 scored state broker questions. PSI does not assign all 16 questions to advertising or promise a separate advertising count. These six original examples are not released or recalled PSI items.
Does a social media handle count as an advertisement?
Section 1450.720(k) says a domain name, URL, username or social media handle does not itself constitute advertising. That does not exempt a post offering licensed services or listing a property. Nor does it permit a deceptive handle: 10-35 and 1450.715 separately prohibit misleading ways of diverting traffic.
Does the broker have to remove an old listing ad immediately?
Section 1450.715(a)(3) requires removal within a reasonable time after closing or listing expiration or termination, whichever occurs first. It considers the medium, control over removal, ease of removal, knowledge that the ad continues and other pertinent facts. The rule does not give every ad the same fixed number of days.
Use the missed fact to choose your next review
The June 24, 2026 PSI state outline, II.B, places Advertising within the broader License Act area. Explain the format, required identity, authority and exception before judging your answer. Repeating these six letters is not evidence of exam readiness.
Review the Illinois License Act guide for the wider area and assistant approval rules if someone else prepares the ad. If short phone sessions fit your routine, you can download Pass Illinois for additional broker-exam preparation.