Interactive Illinois agency map

Name the client before you name the agency relationship

One brokerage can be involved on both sides without every licensee becoming a dual agent. Change the facts below and watch the legal lane change.

Last updated: August 1, 2026

The resource first

Direct answer: Illinois agency questions turn on who the client is, which individual licensee was designated, whether the same licensee represents adverse clients, and when written disclosure or consent occurs. A licensee designated for one client may provide limited assistance to an unrepresented customer without creating agency. Different designated licensees in the same brokerage may represent adverse clients while the sponsoring broker protects confidential information. The same licensee may represent adverse clients only through the informed written dual-agency process. Dual agency is prohibited when the licensee, or an entity in which the licensee has or will have an ownership interest, is a party to the transaction. This tool applies those branches to an exam-style fact pattern and cites the controlling Illinois sections.

First question

Who is the client?

Designated agency

Named individual licensee or licensees

Dual agency

Informed written consent of all clients

Customer notice

Before confidential information, no later than offer preparation

Build the agency path

1. Who is already the client?

Buyer or tenant is the clientSeller or landlord is the clientNo brokerage relationship yetThe relationship is unclear

2. What is happening on the other side?3. Ownership conflict presentThe licensee, or an entity in which the licensee has or will have an ownership interest, is a party.

Resulting lane

Single-client designated agency

Why: The licensee represents the buyer or tenant. The adverse party has separate representation from another brokerage, so the facts do not create dual agency for this licensee.
Required move: Follow the written brokerage agreement, designated-agent disclosure, client duties, and confidentiality rules. Communicate with the other party through the proper representation channel.
Timing checkpoint: The designated relationship and agent name are disclosed in writing no later than the beginning of work as designated agent.
Exam trap: Do not infer agency from compensation or cooperation between brokerages.

Study aid only. A live transaction requires the sponsoring broker's current forms and transaction-specific legal guidance.

Start with client, customer, and designated agent

A client has a brokerage relationship. A customer does not. Section 15-35 requires written notice of the designated relationship and the designated agent's name no later than the licensee begins working as that consumer's designated agent. A licensee who is not acting as a customer's agent must give written notice early enough to prevent the customer from disclosing confidential information and no later than preparation of an offer to purchase or lease.

Compensation does not decide agency. A commission path, MLS offer, or shared brokerage name cannot replace the relationship and designation analysis. On the exam, cross out any answer that declares agency solely because one party pays a fee.

Separate designated agency from dual agency

A written brokerage agreement identifies the affiliated licensee or licensees acting as the client's legal agents to the exclusion of the firm's other affiliated licensees. The sponsoring broker is not treated as acting for both parties merely because separate licensees are properly designated for adverse clients and neither individual represents both sides.

Dual agency begins when the same individual licensee would represent adverse clients in the same transaction. Illinois requires informed written consent from all clients, presentation of the statutory disclosure when dual representation is offered, consent before acting as a dual agent, and transaction-specific written confirmation when the clients execute the offer or contract.

Different designated agents can represent adverse clients in one brokerage.
The sponsoring broker must take ordinary and necessary care to protect client confidences.
A dual agent cannot disclose a client's confidential price or terms without permission.
A client may decline dual agency, so the representation structure must change before dual activity occurs.

Treat ownership as a stop sign in the dual branch

Section 15-45 does not allow the licensee to act as a dual agent when that licensee, or an entity in which the licensee has or will have an ownership interest, is a party to the transaction. Written dual-agency consent does not cure that prohibition.

Other ownership and personal-interest facts can trigger separate disclosure or conflict rules. For a live transaction, use the sponsoring broker's current forms and legal guidance. This study tree teaches the tested relationship logic and is not a substitute for transaction-specific advice.

Quick questions

Is every same-company transaction dual agency?

No. Different properly designated licensees may represent adverse clients within the same sponsoring brokerage without either individual representing both parties.

Can a licensee help an unrepresented customer?

A licensee representing a client may perform permitted ministerial assistance for a customer without creating agency, while preserving the client relationship and giving the required no-agency notice.

When is a customer told the licensee is not the customer's agent?

The written notice must be timed to prevent disclosure of confidential information and given no later than preparation of an offer to purchase or lease.

What does dual agency require?

It requires the informed written consent of all clients before the licensee acts as a dual agent, plus transaction-specific written confirmation at the offer or contract stage described by Illinois law.

Can consent allow dual agency when the licensee owns the property?

No. Illinois prohibits dual agency when the licensee, or an entity in which the licensee has or will have an ownership interest, is a party to the transaction.

Primary sources and review status

Checked through August 1, 2026. The downloadable resource also displays its source and review date. The current official source controls if a rule, outline, or procedure changes.