- Official section
- Illinois IV.C: Compensation Sources
- Broker weight
- Part of 25% of the Illinois state portion
- Expected scored items
- The current PSI broker outline assigns 10 of 40 state items to Disclosures
Illinois disclosures topic guide
Compensation source disclosure
A compensation question is not solved by asking only whether money changed hands. The exam wants to know whose money or benefit it is, why it is being received, whether a referral or financial interest is involved, which client must be told, and whether disclosure merely informs or actually permits the payment.
Last updated: August 1, 2026
What does current Illinois authority require?
Short answer: Illinois uses four compensation disclosures. The client learns the sponsoring broker's compensation policy, including cooperating-broker amounts. The licensee discloses every transaction-related third-party compensation source received by the licensee. A covered interest in a referred transaction-service provider is disclosed at referral time. If one sponsoring broker receives compensation from both sides, that fact is disclosed to a client in writing. Compensation does not determine agency, and disclosure does not legalize an otherwise prohibited payment.
The PSI Illinois broker outline effective June 24, 2026 separately lists compensation sources within Disclosures. This guide reflects Sections 10-5, 10-10, 10-15, 15-35, and 15-40, current Part 1450 rules, and federal Regulation X through August 1, 2026. The federal discussion is an exam safeguard, not settlement-service legal advice.
Where is this tested on the Illinois outline?
- Topic
- Sponsoring-broker compensation policy
- What to know
- Client, licensee, sponsoring broker, compensation policy, compensation terms, brokerage fee, cooperating broker, other-party representative, amount offered, discussion, written brokerage agreement, choice, negotiation, and transparency
- Best exam move
- Treat policy and cooperating-broker amounts as client-facing information, not a private matter between brokerages.
- Topic
- Transaction-related third-party sources
- What to know
- Licensee, client, transaction, third party, all sources, received compensation, expected benefit, referral fee, marketing fee, bonus, rebate, gift, thing of value, service provider, and source identity
- Best exam move
- If the licensee receives transaction-related value from someone outside the ordinary client agreement, test Section 10-10(b) disclosure.
- Topic
- Affiliated-provider referral trigger
- What to know
- Client referral, transaction service, third party, greater than 1% ownership, dividends, profit-sharing distributions, may receive, privately held company, public-company exception, financial institution, insurance broker, mortgage broker, home inspector, and other provider
- Best exam move
- Check ownership and profit participation separately because either statutory path can require disclosure.
- Topic
- Referral timing and form
- What to know
- At time of referral, written disclosure, physical form, electronic form, party agreement, electronic signature, expected compensation, sponsoring-broker interest, client decision, before service selection, copy, retention, and proof
- Best exam move
- Choose disclosure at the referral, while the client can still evaluate the recommendation and financial connection.
- Topic
- Greater-than-1% test
- What to know
- Exactly 1%, more than 1%, percentage ownership, licensee interest, sponsoring-broker interest, entity interest, direct interest, indirect interest, no majority requirement, no 10% threshold, and calculation
- Best exam move
- Greater than means above 1.00%, not equal to it, and it does not mean a controlling interest is required.
- Topic
- Dividend and profit-sharing path
- What to know
- Receives, may receive, dividend, other profit-sharing distribution, no per-referral check, annual distribution, ownership percentage, economic benefit, publicly held company, publicly traded company, provider recommendation, and disclosure
- Best exam move
- Do not stop after the ownership percentage. A distribution right can independently trigger Section 10-10(c).
- Topic
- Compensation from both sides
- What to know
- One sponsoring broker, buyer and seller, lessee and lessor, same transaction, compensation, written disclosure, client, both payers, buyer agreement, listing agreement, property management, and lease
- Best exam move
- Identify two opposing-side payers to one sponsor and require written disclosure of that fact to a client.
- Topic
- Compensation does not determine agency
- What to know
- Payment, promise of payment, designated agent, represented client, customer, seller-funded buyer-side amount, cooperating broker, agency relationship, written agreement, loyalty, no agency change, and no automatic dual agency
- Best exam move
- Follow the agency documents for loyalty and the compensation documents for money; never merge the two tests.
- Topic
- Sponsor payment channel
- What to know
- Sponsored licensee, own sponsoring broker, other sponsoring broker, firm-to-firm payment, direct payment, current licensed activity, former sponsor, prior employment agreement, and lawful recipient
- Best exam move
- A transparent source must still use a legally permitted payment route.
- Topic
- Referral fee eligibility
- What to know
- Licensed recipient, Illinois broker, managing broker, residential leasing agent, equivalent out-of-state license, country of domicile, unlicensed nonprincipal, actual introduction, contractual referral relationship, reasonable cause, interference, exclusive relationship, and transaction party
- Best exam move
- Separate disclosure of a referral interest from whether the referral fee may lawfully be paid at all.
- Topic
- RESPA overlay
- What to know
- Federally related mortgage loan, settlement service, referral, agreement, understanding, thing of value, fee, kickback, unearned split, actual service, affiliated business arrangement, required disclosure, required use, and federal prohibition
- Best exam move
- Pass both gates: Illinois disclosure and federal payment legality.
- Topic
- Records and proof
- What to know
- Physical disclosure, electronic disclosure, consent to electronic format, signature, referral date, client copy, compensation agreement, transaction file, sponsoring-broker retention, audit, source record, and discipline
- Best exam move
- Document what was disclosed, to whom, in what form, and when, rather than relying on an oral memory after closing.
The SOURCE method for Illinois compensation disclosures
- Spot the value. Identify cash, fee, commission, rebate, bonus, gift, service, dividend, distribution, or other economic benefit.
- Outline the payers and recipients. Name the client, licensee, sponsoring broker, opposing party, cooperating broker, referrer, and service provider.
- Use the correct trigger. Choose policy, third-party source, affiliated-provider referral, or both-side compensation.
- Read the interest. Test greater-than-1% ownership separately from dividends or other profit sharing and apply the nonpublic-company limitation.
- Check recipient, form, and timing. Direct the disclosure to the client, use writing where required by statute or rule, and make an affiliated-provider disclosure at referral time.
- Exclude false inferences. Compensation does not determine agency, and disclosure does not establish permission.
- Test payment legality. Confirm sponsor routing, referrer licensure, reasonable cause, and the federal RESPA gate when settlement services are involved.
- Trigger
- Broker compensation policy
- What client learns
- Terms and cooperating-broker amounts
- Form or timing
- Discuss with represented consumer or client
- Trigger
- Third-party compensation
- What client learns
- Every transaction-related source received by licensee
- Form or timing
- Disclose to client
- Trigger
- Provider ownership
- What client learns
- More-than-1% interest in nonpublic provider
- Form or timing
- At referral time; written under rule
- Trigger
- Provider distributions
- What client learns
- Dividend or profit-sharing connection
- Form or timing
- At referral time
- Trigger
- Sponsor interest and referral pay
- What client learns
- Expected referral compensation to licensee or sponsor
- Form or timing
- Written physical or electronic disclosure
- Trigger
- Both sale sides pay
- What client learns
- Buyer and seller both compensate sponsor
- Form or timing
- Written disclosure to a client
- Trigger
- Both lease sides pay
- What client learns
- Lessee and lessor both compensate sponsor
- Form or timing
- Written disclosure to a client
- Trigger
- Seller funds buyer-side amount
- What client learns
- Money source only
- Form or timing
- Agency remains controlled by relationship
- Trigger
- Settlement-service referral value
- What client learns
- Disclosure may not be enough
- Form or timing
- Apply Regulation X prohibition
Which Illinois distinctions matter most?
- Terms
- Compensation policy vs. compensation source
- Difference
- Policy explains the sponsoring broker's terms and amounts offered to cooperating brokers. Source identifies a third party from whom transaction-related compensation is received.
- Question cue
- How the brokerage pays and cooperates versus who supplies outside value.
- Terms
- Third-party source vs. affiliated-provider interest
- Difference
- Section 10-10(b) covers all third-party sources of transaction-related compensation received by the licensee. Subsection (c) separately covers referrals involving specified ownership or profit interests.
- Question cue
- Outside payment source versus financial connection to the recommended provider.
- Terms
- Greater than 1% vs. at least 1%
- Difference
- Greater than 1% excludes exactly 1% under that ownership test. At least 1% would include exactly 1%, but that is not the statutory wording.
- Question cue
- Strictly above the threshold.
- Terms
- Ownership trigger vs. distribution trigger
- Difference
- More-than-1% ownership is one path. Receiving or possibly receiving dividends or profit-sharing from a nonpublic provider is another path.
- Question cue
- Equity percentage or economic participation.
- Terms
- Both-side compensation vs. dual agency
- Difference
- Both-side compensation concerns who pays the sponsoring broker. Dual agency concerns one licensee representing both clients and requires separate informed consent and confirmation.
- Question cue
- Two money sources do not prove two represented parties.
- Terms
- Disclosure vs. permission
- Difference
- Disclosure gives the client material compensation information. It does not validate payment to an unlicensed referrer or a kickback prohibited by other law.
- Question cue
- Transparency is necessary but may not be sufficient.
- Terms
- Client vs. customer recipient
- Difference
- Section 10-10's compensation provisions identify the client. A no-agency customer has a different relationship and disclosure framework.
- Question cue
- Read the statutory recipient rather than choosing every consumer automatically.
- Terms
- Firm-to-firm pay vs. cross-firm individual pay
- Difference
- One sponsoring broker may pay another sponsoring broker. The other firm's sponsored licensee ordinarily receives licensed-activity compensation through that licensee's own sponsor.
- Question cue
- Brokerage channel versus bypassed agent payment.
- Terms
- State-law disclosure vs. RESPA legality
- Difference
- Illinois governs licensee transparency and payment conduct. Regulation X can independently prohibit settlement-service referral value or an unearned fee split.
- Question cue
- State licensing gate and federal settlement gate.
How does the Illinois rule apply?
A home-inspection company interest
Scenario: Buyer agent Lila refers her client to ClearView Inspections. Lila owns 2.5% of the privately held company and receives a small annual distribution, but ClearView pays no fee for this specific referral.
- The ownership exceeds 1%, the provider is not publicly traded, and the inspection is a transaction-related service.
- The annual distribution supplies an additional profit-sharing fact. A per-referral check is not required for the statutory interest disclosure to apply.
Answer: Lila must disclose the financial connection to her client at the time of referral, using the written form required by Rule 1450.760 for the covered compensation setting.
Exactly 1% but possible distributions
Scenario: Broker Mateo owns exactly 1% of a private insurance agency and may receive profit distributions. He refers a seller client to that agency for transaction-related coverage.
- Exactly 1% is not greater than 1%, so the ownership percentage alone misses that threshold.
- Section 10-10(c) also reaches a provider from which the licensee receives or may receive dividends or other profit-sharing distributions.
Answer: Mateo must disclose the financial connection at referral time because the possible distribution is an independent trigger.
Buyer and seller both pay
Scenario: A seller's listing agreement and a buyer's brokerage agreement both require payments to the same sponsoring broker at closing. Separate designated agents within the firm represent the two clients.
- The same sponsor receives compensation from both buyer and seller in one transaction.
- The compensation fact requires written disclosure. Separate designated agents mean the payment fact alone does not turn either agent into a dual agent.
Answer: The sponsoring broker must disclose in writing to a client that both buyer and seller are paying. Agency remains determined by the designated relationships.
A disclosed but prohibited settlement kickback
Scenario: A mortgage broker offers a buyer's agent $150 for every federally related mortgage-loan client referred. The agent plans to tell each buyer about the payment in writing.
- Illinois disclosure rules require transparency about a transaction-related third-party compensation source.
- Regulation X generally prohibits giving or accepting a thing of value under an agreement that settlement-service business will be referred. Disclosure alone is not a safe harbor.
Answer: The agent should not assume written disclosure makes the payment lawful. The federal prohibition must be applied independently.
Seller money does not redirect loyalty
Scenario: A buyer has a written agreement with a named designated buyer agent. The seller agrees that closing funds will cover an amount paid to the buyer agent's sponsoring broker.
- The compensation policy and payment terms must be handled under the applicable writings and disclosures.
- Section 15-40 says payment or promised payment does not determine agency.
Answer: The licensee remains the buyer's designated agent. The seller-funded amount does not make the agent a seller's agent or a dual agent.
Where do candidates misread the Illinois rule?
- Trap
- Only the commission amount matters.
- Correction
- Illinois tests policy, cooperating-broker amounts, third-party sources, provider interests, and both-side payment facts.
- Trap
- Third-party compensation can stay private if the client pays nothing extra.
- Correction
- Section 10-10(b) requires disclosure of all transaction-related third-party compensation sources received by the licensee.
- Trap
- A provider interest is disclosed at closing.
- Correction
- Section 10-10(c) places disclosure at the time of referral, when the client chooses services.
- Trap
- Exactly 1% is greater than 1%.
- Correction
- It is not. Still test dividends and profit-sharing as a separate trigger.
- Trap
- No per-referral check means no disclosure.
- Correction
- Ownership above the threshold or possible dividends or profit sharing can require disclosure without transaction-specific pay.
- Trap
- Both-side compensation automatically creates dual agency.
- Correction
- Money sources do not determine representation. Dual agency requires one licensee to represent both clients and has separate consent rules.
- Trap
- Compensation disclosure may be kept in the brokerage's internal file only.
- Correction
- The statute requires client-facing disclosure, and the writing must be delivered and retained where the rule requires it.
- Trap
- Disclosure lets an unlicensed nonparty receive a referral fee.
- Correction
- The recipient must still satisfy licensure and payment rules. Disclosure does not create eligibility.
- Trap
- Any company stock triggers the provider-referral rule.
- Correction
- Section 10-10(c) contains a publicly held or traded company exception and specific ownership or distribution triggers.
- Trap
- Illinois disclosure defeats RESPA.
- Correction
- Federal settlement-service restrictions remain a separate legal gate.
Can you apply the rule to a fresh scenario?
These questions are original study items aligned to the published outline. They are not copied, recalled, or predicted PSI questions.
1. What must an Illinois licensee tell a client about the sponsoring broker's compensation policy?
- Only the office payroll date
- The terms and any amounts offered to cooperating brokers representing other parties
- Only the licensee's tax bracket
- Nothing unless the client asks after closing
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B
Sections 10-10(a) and 15-35(b) require discussion of the policy, its terms, and any amounts offered to cooperating brokers who represent other parties.
2. A licensee owns exactly 1% of a private home-inspection company and has no dividend or profit-sharing right. Does the ownership fact alone exceed the statutory threshold?
- Yes, because exactly 1% is greater than 1%
- No, because the statute says greater than 1%
- Yes, because every shareholding exceeds 1%
- No, because inspectors are never covered
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B
Exactly 1% is not greater than 1%. Different compensation facts or laws could change the overall answer, but the ownership threshold alone is not met.
3. When must a covered financial interest in a referred transaction-service provider be disclosed?
- At the time of referral
- Only after the provider is paid
- At license renewal
- Five years after closing
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A
Section 10-10(c) sets referral time as the disclosure point.
4. One sponsoring broker receives compensation from both buyer and seller in the same sale. What is required?
- Written disclosure to a client that both sides are paying
- Automatic dual-agency conversion
- A secret internal ledger entry only
- Cancellation of both brokerage agreements
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A
Section 10-10(d) requires written disclosure of the both-side payment fact to a client. Agency remains a separate analysis.
5. A settlement provider pays for referrals and the licensee discloses every payment in writing. Which statement is best?
- Disclosure automatically makes every payment legal
- The payment must still satisfy Illinois recipient rules and federal RESPA restrictions
- RESPA never applies to real estate settlements
- Only the settlement provider faces restrictions
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B
Disclosure does not legalize an otherwise prohibited referral payment. State and federal payment rules still apply.
How should you review this Illinois topic?
- Session
- 1. Learn the four disclosures
- Focus
- Compensation policy, cooperating-broker amount, third-party source, provider financial interest, referral timing, both-side payment, client, and written form
- Proof you are ready
- State each trigger, recipient, timing, and form without notes.
- Session
- 2. Master referral interests
- Focus
- Greater than 1%, exactly 1%, dividend, profit sharing, may receive, private provider, publicly traded exception, financial institution, mortgage broker, insurer, inspector, and other service
- Proof you are ready
- Classify twenty ownership and distribution variations accurately.
- Session
- 3. Separate money from agency
- Focus
- Payment source, promise of payment, client, customer, designated agent, seller-funded buyer amount, both-side compensation, dual agency, consent, and confirmation
- Proof you are ready
- Explain the money path and loyalty path separately in fifteen scenarios.
- Session
- 4. Test payment eligibility
- Focus
- Sponsoring broker, sponsored licensee, firm-to-firm payment, licensed referrer, unlicensed nonparty, actual introduction, contractual relationship, reasonable cause, and interference
- Proof you are ready
- Mark each of twenty proposed referral payments allowed, prohibited, or dependent on more facts.
- Session
- 5. Add federal safeguards
- Focus
- Federally related mortgage loan, settlement service, thing of value, referral agreement, kickback, unearned split, actual work, affiliated business arrangement, disclosure, and required use
- Proof you are ready
- Identify why transparency and payment legality are separate gates.
- Session
- 6. Apply SOURCE
- Focus
- Value, payer, recipient, trigger, interest, percentage, client, form, timing, agency, payment route, RESPA, and retained proof
- Proof you are ready
- Score at least 90% on a fresh compensation-source set and explain every answer in SOURCE order.
Do not count recognition as mastery. Close the notes and explain the rule, apply it to a new fact pattern, and identify why each distractor fails.
Practice the Illinois rule in context
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Questions students ask about Compensation Source Disclosure
What compensation must an Illinois real estate licensee disclose?
Section 10-10 requires disclosure of the sponsoring broker's compensation policy, including terms and amounts offered to cooperating brokers who represent other parties; all transaction-related compensation sources the licensee receives from a third party; covered financial interests in providers to whom a client is referred; and written notice when a sponsoring broker receives compensation from both sides of one transaction.
Who receives an Illinois compensation-source disclosure?
The statute repeatedly identifies the client. The licensee discloses the compensation policy and third-party sources to the client, discloses a covered provider interest to the referred client, and the sponsoring broker gives a client written notice when both sides are paying. Do not substitute office-only disclosure for client-facing transparency.
Must an Illinois broker disclose cooperating-broker compensation?
Yes. The licensee must discuss the sponsoring broker's compensation policy, including the terms of compensation and any amounts offered to cooperating brokers who represent other parties. Current Section 15-35 repeats that policy-discussion duty for the licensee representing the consumer.
When is an affiliated-provider interest disclosed in Illinois?
At the time the referral is made. The statutory trigger applies when a client is referred for transaction-related services to a nonpublic third party in which the licensee has more than a 1% ownership interest or from which the licensee receives or may receive dividends or other profit-sharing distributions.
Does a 1% ownership interest trigger the Illinois referral rule?
The ownership threshold is greater than 1%, so exactly 1% does not satisfy that ownership test by itself. However, the separate dividend or profit-sharing test can still trigger disclosure, and other laws or facts may require disclosure. Read every trigger before choosing an exam answer.
Is a per-referral fee required before a provider interest must be disclosed?
No. More-than-1% ownership or an existing or possible dividend or profit-sharing distribution can trigger disclosure even if no check is tied to that particular referral. Rule 1450.760 separately focuses on expected referral-related compensation received by the licensee or sponsoring broker from a person or entity in which either has an interest greater than 1%.
What happens when both buyer and seller pay one sponsoring broker?
The sponsoring broker must disclose in writing to a client that compensation is being paid by both buyer and seller. The same rule applies when both lessee and lessor pay in a lease. This money disclosure does not by itself create or prove dual agency.
Does compensation determine agency in Illinois?
No. Section 15-40 states that payment or a promise of payment is not determinative of agency. A seller may help fund buyer-broker compensation without turning the buyer's designated agent into the seller's agent. Use the written relationship to identify representation.
Does Illinois disclosure make every referral payment legal?
No. Disclosure answers a transparency requirement. Licensure rules, the prohibition on paying an unlicensed nonparty for a real estate-service referral, and federal RESPA restrictions may independently prohibit a payment. A disclosed kickback can still be illegal.
Are these official PSI Illinois broker exam questions?
No. They are original study questions aligned to the Illinois Disclosures outline effective June 24, 2026. The legal content was checked against Illinois and federal primary sources current through August 1, 2026.
Primary sources
- PSI Illinois Candidate Information Booklet dated June 24, 2026
- 225 ILCS 454/10-10, current compensation disclosures
- 225 ILCS 454/10-5, lawful compensation channels
- 225 ILCS 454/10-15, unlicensed-person payment limits
- 225 ILCS 454/15-35, compensation-policy discussion
- 225 ILCS 454/15-40, compensation does not determine agency
- 68 Ill. Adm. Code 1450.760, written referral compensation disclosure
- 68 Ill. Adm. Code 1450.780, referral fees and relationships
- 68 Ill. Adm. Code 1450.755, physical or electronic disclosure records
- 68 Ill. Adm. Code Part 1450, current Illinois real estate rules
- IDFPR 6-hour real estate core curriculum
- CFPB Regulation X, 12 CFR 1024.14, kickbacks and unearned fees
The current official outline controls the tested scope. Statutes, regulations, and official agency materials control when a general study rule and a jurisdiction-specific rule differ.
Editorial status
Checked against primary sources
The Pass Illinois editorial team last checked this guide on August 1, 2026. Every practice question is an original study item, and the source links above let you verify the rules that support the lesson.