Indiana's referral fee disclosure requirement effective 7/1/2026 

July Forms Changes: Written Referral Fee Disclosure

Indiana’s referral fee disclosure requirement takes effect July 1^st, 2026 

Effective July 1st, Indiana law requires written disclosure of real estate referral fees between brokerage companies to customers and prospective clients.

To help members comply with the new law, IAR is issuing a new Referral Fee Disclosure Form (Form #76) and adding referral fee disclosure language to residential and commercial listing and buyer agency contracts – new and updated forms will be available July 1st and will carry a July 2026 copyright.

In this video update, General Counsel Richelle Cohen Mossler provides an overview of the new state law and July changes to IAR legal forms; keep scrolling after watching for more details.

Referral Fee Disclosure Background & Basics:

• This year, the General Assembly passed and Governor Braun signed into law HEA1252; the new law (effective July 1) requires written disclosure of real estate referral fees between brokerage companies to customers/prospective clients to promote transparency, making consumers aware of compensation being exchanged before formalizing an agency relationship with a brokerage.
• If your brokerage company refers a prospective client or customer to another brokerage company (a broker who works under a different Managing Broker), you must disclose any compensation the company may receive to that customer/prospective client in writing.
• The disclosure must be in writing at the time the referral is made; this will be done via IAR Form #76 (Referral Fee Disclosure) – a new form available July 1 (see below).
• If referrals are made between brokers working under the same Managing Broker, Indiana law doesn’t require disclosure (brokerages may have disclosure rules for referrals within companies/offices).
• This law only applies to referrals made between brokerage companies and licensed real estate brokers (other laws and regulations – like RESPA – may apply to referrals to or from other service providers).
• Referral Fee Disclosure language is also included in listing and buyer agency contracts for a brokerage company to disclose their obligation to pay a referral fee from any compensation to another brokerage company to provide full transparency on compensation to customers/clients.

Summary of Forms Changes:

RESIDENTIAL LISTING CONTRACT (IMPROVED PROPERTY) (FORM #1):

New Paragraph E:

E: REFERRAL FEE DISCLOSURE. Listing Broker Company □ is □ is not obligated to pay a portion of the Listing Broker compensation to a Referring Broker Company for having referred client to Broker.

The same change is also made to the following:

• Residential Listing Contract (Exclusive Right to Sell) Unimproved Property (Form #50) New Paragraph E
• Residential Listing Contract (Exclusive Right to Lease)(Form #35) New Paragraph C
• Commercial Listing Contract Exclusive Right to Lease (Form #04LSE) New Paragraph C
• Commercial Listing Contract Exclusive Right to Sell (Form #F04SELL) New Paragraph C
• Commercial Listing Contract Exclusive Right to Sell or Lease (Form #F04) New Paragraph C

RESIDENTIAL BUYER/TENANT EXCLUSIVE AGENCY CONTRACT (FORM #15):

New Paragraph E:

REFERRAL FEE DISCLOSURE. Buyer Broker Company □ is □ is not obligated to pay a portion of the Buyer Broker compensation to a Referring Broker Company for having referred client to Broker.

The same change was made to the Commercial Buyer/Tenant Exclusive Agency Contract (Form #F43), also in a new Paragraph E.

NEW FORM: REFERRAL FEE DISCLOSURE (FORM #76)

Provides the customer/prospective client with the required disclosure; the customer/prospective client signs along with the referring Managing Broker to acknowledge disclosure.