Q: I am a broker, and some of my agents want their commission checks made payable to their business entities rather than made payable to them as individuals. Is this allowed?

A: The short answer is, “it depends.”

Under DPOR’s regulations, all commissions must be paid to a real estate licensee, and salespersons and associate brokers can only accept commissions from their principal or supervising broker at the time of the transaction. (18VAC 135-20-280.) Therefore, you may pay a commission to an agent’s business entity if the business entity is a licensed real estate entity AND that licensed entity is associated with the broker paying the commission. Brokers may also implement their own stricter policies limiting commission payments to individuals only.

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