Apply for a corporate real estate agent licence

A real estate company must have a corporate licence to operate.

A corporate real estate licence will allow your company to:

• buy, sell, lease or exchange property (or an interest in a property)
• manage a rental property, including collecting rent
• negotiate and facilitate a property transaction
• show a property to potential buyers or renters
• inspect property for sale or rent
• advertise, place signs and open a property for inspection
• operate trust accounts.

For this licence, property can be residential, business, rural, units in a building complex or empty land.

You can operate under your corporation's name or a registered business name.

If you partner with another company, the other company must also have a corporation licence.

Eligibility

Your company must have someone with an individual property licence in charge of the principal place of business to be eligible to apply.

A registered salesperson can only be in charge of another place of business, but they can't be the person in charge if:

• the place of business operates as a resident letting agency
• their registration is subject to conditions.

A director of the company who carries out a real estate agent's work must also have an individual licence.

You must register all of your business addresses when you apply for your licence.

Find out more about places of business.

How to apply

To apply, lodge an application for a corporation's licence:

• in person at an OFT contact centre
• by post to
  • Industry Licensing Unit
  • Office of Fair Trading
  • GPO Box 3111
  • BRISBANE  QLD  4001

Make sure you include the required fees and any supporting documents.

We can't accept applications over the phone or by email as debit and credit card payments aren't secure using these methods. If we get an email containing these details, we'll have to immediately delete it and your application and payment won't be processed.

Disclose receivership or liquidation

You must tell us if any director or executive officer was a director or executive officer of a corporation that was previously licensed and went into receivership or liquidation.

You must tell us:

• the circumstances that caused it to happen
• whether they took all reasonable steps to avoid the receivership or liquidation
• the assets they had available to distribute
• how much money (if any) they paid in dividends
• whether they broke any laws relating to these circumstances
• whether they are now disqualified from being a company director or other officer.

You must also include a report from the receiver or liquidator that includes:

• a detailed list of the director or executive officer's creditors
• the amount of money they still owe to each creditor.

Attach formal identification

You need to attach formal identification for anyone named on your form, including your director, executive officer and all business partners or associates.

The identification must be a certified copy of 1 of the following documents:

• birth certificate or extract
• driver licence
• passport
• citizenship certificate.

Criminal history check

Your application will be subject to a criminal history check. This will be thorough and can be time consuming. Each person named in your application will be checked.

New Zealand citizens

If you were born in New Zealand or have a New Zealand passport, you'll need to provide a copy of your criminal history or a letter showing you have no criminal history in New Zealand.

A New Zealand criminal history check is free. It can take 20 working days to process.

We can only accept original documents dated within 1 month of the date you send them to us.

For more information visit the New Zealand Ministry of Justice website.

Processing time

The application processing time is 4 to 6 weeks. It can take longer if your application isn't complete because of missing information or unpaid fees.

We'll contact you if you've submitted an incomplete application. If you don't lodge the outstanding information we might withdraw your application and you'll need to reapply.

Who can't apply

Your company isn't suitable to hold this licence if you or any of your directors or executive officers:

• are currently disqualified from holding a licence
• have been convicted of a serious offence within the past 5 years
• are an insolvent under administration (applies to directors or executive officers only)
• have an unsuitable director or executive officer.

We consider if your directors or executive officers:

• have a criminal history
• were an executive officer of a previously licensed corporation that is insolvent
• were the subject of a successful claim fund action
• had their licence or registration cancelled
• are suspended or were previously disqualified from holding a licence or registration
• are disqualified from being a company director
• were an insolvent under administration
• are unsuitable because of their (or their business associates') character.

Refunds

Depending on your circumstances you might be entitled to a partial refund if you withdraw your application or we refuse it.

You might also get a refund on the fee for a criminal history check if it hasn’t been started.

Training

You don't need any training for this licence.

More information

Find out how to renew or restore your property licence.