DC advertising must be supervised by the principal or supervising broker and run in the firm's name, with the firm's licensed name displayed clearly and legibly on all advertising. A web page that a firm or licensee owns or controls must carry an on-line disclosure or a link to one, and the regulations define that disclosure to include the firm's licensed name, the city and state of its main office, and the jurisdiction where it is licensed.
What the website needs
- Under 17 DCMR §2615.3, all advertising must be under the direct supervision of the principal broker or supervising broker and in the name of the firm, and the firm's licensed name must be displayed clearly and legibly on all advertising.
- Under 17 DCMR §2615.4, online advertising, including email, web pages, message board postings, instant messages and chat, is subject to the same requirements as other advertising.
- Under the online disclosure provision of 17 DCMR §2615, if a firm or licensee owns a web page or controls its content, the viewable page must include an on-line disclosure or a link to one.
- Under 17 DCMR §2699, an on-line disclosure is a notice containing the firm's licensed name, the city and state of the firm's main office and the jurisdiction where the firm is licensed, or, for a licensee's advertising, the licensee's name, the affiliated firm's name, the city and state of the licensee's office and the jurisdiction where the licensee is licensed.
- Under the same provision, email, newsgroup, discussion list and bulletin board messages must include the on-line disclosure at the beginning or end of each message, except correspondence in the ordinary course with people who already have a brokerage relationship with the licensee.
