- Official section
- Illinois II.G: Licensed and Unlicensed Assistants
- Broker weight
- Part of 40% of the Illinois state portion
- Expected scored items
- The current PSI broker outline assigns 16 of 40 state items to this area
Illinois License Act topic guide
Licensed and unlicensed assistants
Illinois tests the task, not the job title. An assistant can support the file, move approved information, and perform controlled clerical work. The moment the assistant solicits, shows, interprets, negotiates, or otherwise exercises brokerage judgment, licensure and sponsorship rules take over.
Last updated: August 1, 2026
What does current Illinois authority require?
Short answer: An Illinois unlicensed assistant may perform supervised administrative, clerical, or personal tasks that do not require a license, and the assistant's compensation cannot be transaction based. The assistant cannot host a public open house, show property, interpret transaction information, explain a real estate document, or negotiate compensation. The supervising licensee is responsible for the assistant's acts or omissions. A licensed assistant may perform work within that license and sponsorship, but cannot freelance as an assistant outside the same sponsoring brokerage.
The Illinois outline effective June 24, 2026 tests licensed and unlicensed assistants within the Real Estate License Act area. This guide applies the Act and Part 1450 as of August 1, 2026, especially Rule 1450.740 as amended effective July 7, 2025. The rule's permitted list does not expand licensed activity, and office policy can be more restrictive than the regulatory maximum.
Where is this tested on the Illinois outline?
- Topic
- Task-based classification
- What to know
- Assistant, transaction coordinator, marketing coordinator, administrator, concierge, employee, independent contractor, administrative task, clerical task, personal activity, licensed activity, broker definition, judgment, solicitation, negotiation, explanation, and title
- Best exam move
- Ignore the person's job title and ask whether the exact conduct falls within licensed brokerage activity or a permitted supervised clerical task.
- Topic
- Calls, inquiries, and appointments
- What to know
- Answer telephone, receive inquiry, forward message, forward inquiry, schedule appointment, licensee calendar, inbound caller, published information, quote directly, follow-up question, opinion, telemarketing, cold call, prospecting, solicitation, and lead conversion
- Best exam move
- Permit routing and scheduling, but stop the unlicensed assistant before solicitation, recommendation, or interpreted response.
- Topic
- Listing and marketing support
- What to know
- Submit listing data, submit change, MLS, draft advertising copy, promotional material, licensee approval, designated-managing-broker approval, place advertising, distribute approved material, place sign, factual content, public claim, misleading ad, and supervision
- Best exam move
- The assistant may prepare or place approved material; the responsible licensee supplies and approves the brokerage judgment and content.
- Topic
- Transaction and closing administration
- What to know
- Signed contract, administrative follow-up, deadline reminder, assemble closing documents, checklist, public record, courthouse, sewer district, water district, factual data, document delivery, contingency, amendment, interpretation, and negotiation
- Best exam move
- Allow file movement and reminders after signing, but transfer any term, right, duty, or contingency discussion to a licensee or attorney.
- Topic
- Forms and documents
- What to know
- Complete form, business information, factual information, direction, approval, licensed broker, new broker, 45 post-license hours, designated managing broker, blank field, choice of clause, explanation, legal effect, listing, lease, contract, and closing document
- Best exam move
- Filling directed facts is clerical; choosing, drafting, negotiating, or explaining substantive terms is not.
- Topic
- Money and bookkeeping
- What to know
- Record funds, deposit earnest money, security deposit, rent, direction, designated-managing-broker approval, special account, receipt, commission-check computation, bookkeeping, ledger, release, disbursement, dispute, and transaction-based compensation
- Best exam move
- Keep the assistant's role mechanical and directed; decisions about entitlement, release, or special-account control stay with responsible licensees.
- Topic
- Keys and property access
- What to know
- Have keys made, secure entry code, store key, access credential, authorization, showing, open house, kiosk, home-show booth, fair, broker tour, not open to public, prospect entry, property access, and safeguard
- Best exam move
- Possessing or arranging credentials for administration does not authorize showing property or admitting the public.
- Topic
- Published facts vs. interpretation
- What to know
- Quote directly, listing sheet, public record, published information, bedroom count, tax figure, association fee, title, financing, contract, closing, comparison, meaning, suitability, opinion, recommendation, and advice
- Best exam move
- The assistant may repeat the exact source; any explanation, synthesis, or application crosses into judgment and must be escalated.
- Topic
- Feedback and tenant amenities
- What to know
- Gather showing feedback, record response, transmit comment, follow-up survey, existing tenant, concierge service, amenity, maintenance request, new prospect, lease solicitation, rent negotiation, and property management
- Best exam move
- Permit collection and concierge support, but not persuasive follow-up, tenant procurement, or negotiation.
- Topic
- Licensed assistant boundaries
- What to know
- Active license, sponsorship, same sponsoring broker, same-firm licensee, other brokerage, prohibited freelance work, broker scope, residential leasing agent scope, inactive license, employee role, licensed task, and compensation channel
- Best exam move
- A license expands what the assistant may do only within the license's scope and valid sponsorship chain.
- Topic
- Supervision and responsibility
- What to know
- Supervising licensee, designated managing broker, sponsoring broker, written policy, training, acts, omissions, office, advertising, special accounts, licensed activity, permit, aid, assist, allow, knowledge, discipline, and unprofessional conduct
- Best exam move
- Assign direct responsibility to the supervising licensee while preserving the office and sponsoring-broker supervision structure.
The ASSIST method for Illinois assistant questions
- Ask what the person actually does. Ignore coordinator, concierge, assistant, or manager labels.
- Separate clerical action from brokerage judgment. Look for solicitation, showing, interpretation, explanation, negotiation, recommendation, or agreement.
- Select the required supervisor. Identify the directing licensee, designated managing broker, sponsoring broker, and new-broker 45-hour status.
- Inspect approval and access. Confirm content approval, direction for forms or deposits, property authorization, and limits on public contact.
- Study compensation and sponsorship. Reject transaction-based assistant pay and cross-firm licensed-assistant work.
- Transfer the question. When a consumer asks for meaning, advice, negotiation, or a decision, send it to the responsible licensee or appropriate professional.
- Task
- Answer and forward inquiry
- Unlicensed assistant?
- Yes
- Control
- Do not interpret or solicit
- Task
- Submit approved MLS data
- Unlicensed assistant?
- Yes
- Control
- Licensee selects and approves content
- Task
- Fill factual form fields
- Unlicensed assistant?
- Yes
- Control
- Direction and approval required
- Task
- Record and deposit funds
- Unlicensed assistant?
- Yes
- Control
- DMB direction and approval
- Task
- Schedule requested appointment
- Unlicensed assistant?
- Yes
- Control
- No prospecting or telemarketing
- Task
- Quote published listing fact
- Unlicensed assistant?
- Yes
- Control
- Exact quote only
- Task
- Host public open house
- Unlicensed assistant?
- No
- Control
- Licensed activity
- Task
- Show property
- Unlicensed assistant?
- No
- Control
- Licensed activity
- Task
- Explain contract or financing
- Unlicensed assistant?
- No
- Control
- Interpretation prohibited
- Task
- Negotiate fee or split
- Unlicensed assistant?
- No
- Control
- Licensee responsibility
Which Illinois distinctions matter most?
- Terms
- Administrative follow-up vs. negotiation
- Difference
- An assistant may confirm that a document was received or remind parties of a recorded date. Changing the deadline or persuading a party about performance is negotiation.
- Question cue
- Track an existing term versus alter or advocate about the term.
- Terms
- Enter data vs. select content
- Difference
- Submitting approved listing facts is clerical. Deciding what representation to make, how to characterize property, or whether a fact is material requires licensee judgment.
- Question cue
- Transmit approved fact versus create brokerage claim.
- Terms
- Complete factual fields vs. explain a form
- Difference
- An assistant may enter directed business and factual information. Explaining rights, recommending a clause, or interpreting consequences is prohibited.
- Question cue
- Mechanical entry versus meaning and advice.
- Terms
- Quote published information vs. interpret it
- Difference
- A direct quotation repeats the source without analysis. Interpretation tells the consumer what the information means for value, financing, title, contract rights, or a decision.
- Question cue
- Exact sourced statement versus applied conclusion.
- Terms
- Broker tour vs. public open house
- Difference
- An unlicensed assistant may sit at a property for a broker tour not open to the public. Hosting a public open house, kiosk, booth, or fair is prohibited.
- Question cue
- Licensee-only event versus public marketing contact.
- Terms
- Schedule appointment vs. solicit business
- Difference
- Placing an appointment on a licensee's calendar is permitted. Calling prospects, telemarketing, persuading them to meet, or otherwise seeking business is not included.
- Question cue
- Arrange requested time versus create the lead.
- Terms
- Record or deposit funds vs. control funds
- Difference
- The assistant may mechanically record and deposit specified funds under designated-managing-broker direction and approval. The assistant cannot decide release, distribution, entitlement, or dispute resolution.
- Question cue
- Directed processing versus fiduciary decision.
- Terms
- Non-transaction pay vs. transaction-based pay
- Difference
- Hourly or salary compensation is based on work time or role. A per-closing amount, commission percentage, or success-triggered bonus is based on a transaction and prohibited for an unlicensed assistant.
- Question cue
- Pay for administrative work versus pay contingent on a deal.
How does the Illinois rule apply?
A factual form entry becomes advice
Scenario: A broker tells an unlicensed assistant to type the buyer's legal name and offered price into a selected form. The buyer then asks the assistant whether to waive inspection and which deadline would be safest.
- Entering directed factual information is within the permitted clerical task.
- Recommending a contingency choice or deadline requires interpretation and brokerage judgment.
Answer: The assistant may complete the directed facts but must refer the inspection and deadline questions to the responsible licensee.
The per-closing bonus
Scenario: An unlicensed transaction coordinator receives an hourly wage plus $150 for every file that reaches closing. The coordinator never shows property or negotiates terms.
- The tasks may be clerical, but Rule 1450.740 separately controls compensation.
- The $150 payment depends on a transaction closing and is therefore transaction based.
Answer: The closing bonus is prohibited for the unlicensed assistant even if the underlying work stayed administrative.
Keys do not create showing authority
Scenario: An unlicensed assistant has a key copied at a broker's direction. When a prospective tenant arrives early, the assistant unlocks the unit, walks through it, and answers questions from the listing sheet.
- Having keys made or securing entry codes is a permitted administrative task.
- Opening the unit for a prospect and conducting the walk-through is showing property, which is prohibited.
Answer: The assistant crossed the line when the administrative access task became a public showing. A licensee must conduct the showing.
A direct quote turns into interpretation
Scenario: A caller asks an unlicensed assistant for the published association fee. The assistant quotes the exact listing figure, then adds that the association is financially strong and the fee will never increase.
- Quoting the published fee directly is permitted.
- The financial-strength and future-fee claims interpret incomplete information and add unsupported advice.
Answer: Only the direct quotation fits the assistant rule. The assistant should transfer the rest of the inquiry to a licensee and avoid unsupported claims.
Where do candidates misread the Illinois rule?
- Trap
- An assistant may do any task if a broker is nearby.
- Correction
- Supervision does not convert a licensed activity into an unlicensed one.
- Trap
- Entering facts permits selecting contract terms.
- Correction
- The assistant may enter directed business and factual information but cannot choose, explain, or negotiate substantive provisions.
- Trap
- Having a key permits showing the property.
- Correction
- Key administration is allowed; property showing is expressly prohibited.
- Trap
- A broker tour and public open house are the same.
- Correction
- The assistant may sit at a broker tour not open to the public but cannot host a public open house or booth.
- Trap
- Scheduling appointments includes cold calling prospects.
- Correction
- The rule excludes phone solicitation, telemarketing, and other business solicitation from the scheduling permission.
- Trap
- The assistant may answer if the information appears online.
- Correction
- The assistant may quote published information directly but cannot interpret or apply it.
- Trap
- Clerical work makes a per-closing bonus lawful.
- Correction
- An unlicensed assistant's compensation cannot be transaction based regardless of how clerical the work was.
- Trap
- The supervising licensee is not responsible for an assistant's mistake.
- Correction
- Rule 1450.740 makes the supervising licensee responsible for the assistant's acts or omissions.
- Trap
- A licensed assistant may freelance for any Illinois brokerage.
- Correction
- A licensee may assist only the licensee's sponsor or another licensee under the same sponsoring broker.
- Trap
- Approval after publication always cures an unapproved ad.
- Correction
- Advertising copy and promotional materials require the applicable licensee or designated-managing-broker approval before use.
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. Which task may an Illinois unlicensed assistant perform under supervision?
- Show a home to a buyer
- Explain a lease clause
- Submit approved listing data to an MLS
- Negotiate a referral fee
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C
Rule 1450.740 permits submitting listing data and changes. Showing, document explanation, and fee negotiation are prohibited.
2. An unlicensed assistant sits at which event without violating the specific assistant rule?
- A public open house
- A public home-show booth
- A broker tour not open to the public
- A public leasing kiosk
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C
The rule permits sitting at a nonpublic broker tour but expressly bars hosting open houses, kiosks, booths, and fairs.
3. How may an Illinois unlicensed assistant be compensated?
- A percentage of every commission
- A bonus for each closing
- A non-transaction-based hourly wage
- A fee for each buyer referral
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C
Unlicensed-assistant compensation cannot be transaction based. Hourly or salary pay can fit when it does not depend on a deal.
4. A caller asks what a published financing term means for the caller's eligibility. What should an unlicensed assistant do?
- Interpret the financing term
- Guarantee loan approval
- Refer the interpretation question to a licensee or appropriate professional
- Select a loan program for the caller
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C
The assistant may quote published information but cannot interpret financing or apply it to the consumer's circumstances.
5. A licensed Illinois broker acts as an assistant. For whom may the broker perform that assistant role under Rule 1450.740(e)?
- Any brokerage willing to pay
- Only the broker's sponsor or a licensee sponsored by that same sponsor
- Only an unlicensed consumer
- Any out-of-state firm without sponsorship
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B
A licensee cannot use an assistant label to work across sponsorship lines. The work stays within the same sponsoring brokerage.
How should you review this Illinois topic?
- Session
- 1. Learn the clerical boundary
- Focus
- Administrative, clerical, personal, licensed activity, solicitation, showing, interpretation, explanation, negotiation, and judgment
- Proof you are ready
- Classify thirty tasks as permitted clerical work or licensed activity.
- Session
- 2. Memorize calls, marketing, and access
- Focus
- Answer and forward, scheduling, no telemarketing, MLS entry, ad drafting, approval, sign placement, keys, codes, broker tour, and public open house
- Proof you are ready
- Explain every pair that looks similar but produces a different result.
- Session
- 3. Audit forms and information
- Focus
- Factual fields, direction, approval, 45 post-license hours, direct quotation, public records, document assembly, interpretation, and legal advice
- Proof you are ready
- Correct fifteen assistant responses to contract and listing questions.
- Session
- 4. Handle money and compensation
- Focus
- Record, deposit, earnest money, security deposit, rent, DMB direction, release, dispute, bookkeeping, hourly wage, salary, per closing, commission percentage, and referral fee
- Proof you are ready
- Separate allowed processing from prohibited control and pay arrangements.
- Session
- 5. Map supervision and sponsorship
- Focus
- Supervising licensee, designated managing broker, sponsoring broker, policy, training, acts, omissions, permit, aid, same sponsor, other firm, active license, and leasing-agent scope
- Proof you are ready
- Assign responsibility in twenty office scenarios.
- Session
- 6. Apply ASSIST
- Focus
- Task, clerical boundary, supervisor, approval, access, compensation, sponsorship, escalation, and discipline
- Proof you are ready
- Score at least 90% on fresh Illinois assistant questions.
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
From concept to decision
Drill this topic, then review the explanation
Pass Illinois gives you original national and Illinois questions, topic-by-topic study, clear explanations, timed practice, flashcards, progress tracking, and Math Coach. Start free, find the weak distinction, and focus the next session there.
Questions students ask about Licensed and Unlicensed Assistants
What can an unlicensed real estate assistant do in Illinois?
An unlicensed assistant may perform supervised administrative, clerical, or personal work that does not require a real estate license. Current Rule 1450.740 includes answering and forwarding calls, entering approved listing data, administrative follow-up after contract, assembling closing documents, obtaining public records, placing approved ads and signs, scheduling appointments without soliciting, bookkeeping, gathering showing feedback, and other specifically controlled tasks.
Can an unlicensed assistant show property in Illinois?
No. Showing property is expressly listed as a prohibited licensed activity for an unlicensed assistant. The assistant may have keys made or secure entry codes as an administrative task, but that does not authorize the assistant to use access credentials to conduct a showing or give a prospect access.
Can an unlicensed assistant host an Illinois open house?
No. An unlicensed assistant may not host an open house, kiosk, home-show booth, or fair. The rule separately permits the assistant to sit at a property for a broker tour that is not open to the public. The public-access fact changes the answer.
Can an unlicensed assistant fill in an Illinois real estate contract form?
The assistant may complete business and factual information on contract forms at a licensee's direction and with that licensee's approval. If the directing broker has not completed 45 post-license hours, designated-managing-broker approval is required. The assistant cannot select or negotiate terms, interpret the form, explain its effect, or give legal advice.
Can an unlicensed assistant answer questions about a listing?
The assistant may quote directly from published information. The assistant may not interpret listing, title, financing, contract, closing, or other transaction information. A safe response gives the exact published fact and transfers any follow-up, comparison, opinion, or explanation to a licensee.
May an unlicensed assistant handle earnest money in Illinois?
Rule 1450.740 permits an unlicensed assistant to record and deposit earnest money, security deposits, and rents at the direction of and with approval by the designated managing broker. That narrow clerical permission does not authorize deciding where funds belong, negotiating a dispute, releasing funds, signing as the responsible licensee, or disregarding special-account controls.
How may an Illinois unlicensed assistant be paid?
Compensation cannot be transaction based. A salary, hourly wage, or other non-transaction-based arrangement can fit the rule. A payment per closing, a percentage of commission, or a bonus triggered by a transaction would create a problem even if the assistant performed only clerical tasks.
Who is responsible for an Illinois unlicensed assistant's conduct?
The licensee who supervises the unlicensed assistant is responsible for the assistant's acts or omissions. The designated managing broker supervises licensees and unlicensed assistants in the managed office, and the sponsoring broker must maintain the required policy and supervision structure. A licensee who permits or assists unlicensed licensed activity violates the Act.
Can a licensed Illinois assistant work for a broker at another firm?
Rule 1450.740(e) prohibits a licensee from acting as an assistant for a licensee other than the licensee's sponsoring broker or a licensee sponsored by that same sponsoring broker. A license credential does not allow freelance brokerage assistance across sponsoring-broker lines.
Are these official Illinois broker exam questions?
No. They are original study questions aligned to licensed and unlicensed assistants in the Illinois outline effective June 24, 2026. Rule 1450.740 and the related supervision rules were checked through August 1, 2026, including amendments effective July 7, 2025.
Primary sources
- PSI Illinois Candidate Information Booklet dated June 24, 2026
- 225 ILCS 454/1-10, broker and licensed-activity definitions
- 225 ILCS 454/5-15 and 5-20, licensing requirement and exemptions
- 225 ILCS 454/10-15, compensation for licensed activity
- 68 Ill. Adm. Code 1450.700, sponsoring-broker responsibility
- 68 Ill. Adm. Code 1450.705, office supervision
- 68 Ill. Adm. Code 1450.740, unlicensed assistants, amended July 7, 2025
- 68 Ill. Adm. Code 1450.900, unprofessional conduct
- IDFPR 12-hour broker management continuing-education curriculum
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.