The New Year marks fresh beginnings and changes, and that includes changes to some of Virginia REALTORS^® Standard Forms. One form in particular that got an overhaul for 2025 is the Residential Listing Agreement – Independent Contractor form (VR Form 420). In this post, we are going to cover some of the major changes to the form.  

To review the purpose of this form, real estate licensees can enter into different types of relationships with clients. These include standard agency, limited agency, and independent contractor (non-agency) relationships. Standard agency when working on behalf of a seller means the agent will perform all the duties described in Virginia Code section 54.1-2131 (licensees engaged by sellers). A limited service agent would remove one or more of the standard agency duties in the written brokerage agreement. On the other hand, an independent contractor is not acting as an agent and agrees to perform only the services included in the written brokerage agreement. VR Form 420 is provided for use in independent contractor agreements with sellers.  

Now, let’s review some of the major changes. The first major change is in Paragraph 3. PROFESSIONAL SERVICES FEE. The older version of the form provided a breakdown of different fee structures based on the purchaser’s agency relationship; for example, whether the purchaser was unrepresented or there was a dual agency relationship. This paragraph now leaves a blank box for the parties to write in whatever fee arrangement they negotiate. 

The next major change is within Paragraph 4. AGENCY  RELATIONSHIP. This entire paragraph was removed. In the older version of the form, there was a detailed description of possible agency relationships that could arise over the course of the agreement, including dual agency and designated agency. This entire paragraph was removed because when creating a non-agency agreement it was confusing to describe various agency relationships.  

The last major change is in Paragraph 5. BROKER DUTIES. In the older version of the form there was a list of checkboxes for the services the licensee would perform under the agreement. These checkboxes have all been removed. The new form provides a blank box for the parties to write in whatever services the parties agree the licensee will perform.  

This new version of the form should provide a bit more of a blank slate for licensees and sellers to create independent contractor agreements. The changes identified in this post are the major changes to this form, but there are some other minor changes not discussed in this post. To see all the changes to VR Form 420, you can access a redlined version of the form here. If you have questions about these changes or any other Virginia REALTORS^® forms, please contact us on the Legal Hotline.