Switching Brokerages in Indiana or Illinois: License Transfer, Listings, Pending Deals and MLS

Realest, for agents, Indiana and Illinois

Switching brokerages in Indiana is an online license transfer. You file a Reassignment in MyLicense One, your new managing broker approves it, and the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency says the license typically moves within one business day after approval. Your listings stay with your old brokerage unless a written contract says otherwise. Your pending deals follow your independent contractor agreement, and your MLS access has to be set up under the new office. If you also hold an Illinois license, you change sponsoring brokers through the IDFPR online portal.

Prepared by Sash Joveski, managing broker at Realest. Checked November 11, 2026, against the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency, the Indiana Administrative Code (876 IAC 8), the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, the Northwest Indiana REALTORS Association and Midwest Real Estate Data. This is general information, not legal advice. Your own contractor agreement controls your situation.

Call Sash at (219) 808-1520

Start with the agreement you already signed

Before you tell anyone, read your independent contractor agreement with your current brokerage. The state rules decide who owns listings and how a transfer is filed. Your agreement decides most of the money questions.

Look for these five things:

• Notice. How much written notice you owe, and how it has to be delivered.
• Pending files. Who works them after you leave and what you're paid on deals that close later.
• Listings. Whether anything in writing changes the default rule that listings stay with the brokerage.
• Referral or post-departure terms. Anything that applies to business that comes in after you go.
• Your records. What you may take with you, such as your own contacts, and what stays.

If something is unclear, ask about it in writing. Know this early. Indiana does not let a broker be associated with more than one Indiana broker company at the same time (876 IAC 8-1-5). You can't park your license at the old office to finish files while you start at the new one.

What happens to your listings

In Indiana, your listings belong to the brokerage, not to you. Under 876 IAC 8-1-6, a broker who leaves a broker company has to turn over the listings obtained while associated with it, and those listings stay the property of the broker company unless a written contract says otherwise. The original listing agreement and its files stay in the office of the listing broker, too (876 IAC 8-2-1).

Can a seller follow you? Only if the seller starts it. Indiana's incompetent-practice rule (876 IAC 8-2-7, items 7 and 10) covers soliciting or negotiating directly with a client who has an exclusive agreement with another broker, unless the client starts that conversation in writing before the agreement expires. It also covers inducing anyone to break an agency agreement so a new one can be signed. If a seller asks to move with you, take it to both managing brokers and get any release in writing.

The MLS works the same way on the Chicago side. MRED's support center says that when an agent switches offices, the listings they had stay under the original office.

Pending deals and earnest money

Your pending deals keep moving toward closing. What changes is who handles them and how you're paid, and your contractor agreement sets that. A listing that's under contract is still a listing, so the rule above applies to it. For buyer-side files, read the agreement.

Earnest money stays where it was deposited. Indiana's rule says money held in a broker's escrow or trust account stays in that account until disbursement is properly authorized, and the Commission holds the broker it was deposited with responsible for it (876 IAC 8-2-2). It doesn't follow you to the new office.

Next, list every active client, listing and pending file with its key dates, such as inspection, appraisal and closing. Then sit down with both managing brokers and put the plan for each file in writing before your transfer goes in. Clients should hear from you what both brokers agreed, not a guess.

How the Indiana license transfer works

Indiana broker transfers are done online in MyLicense One, which replaced INBiz and mail-in forms. These steps come from the PLA's Real Estate Transfers guide and Real Estate Licensing Information page:

1. Check your license first. It has to be unexpired and in Active, Referral, Inactive or Unassigned status. If it has expired, you have to renew or reinstate it before you can transfer.
2. Log in to MyLicense One with your Access Indiana account. If your license isn't on your dashboard, link it with any two of your license number, Social Security number and date of birth.
3. Start a Reassignment. Choose the three dots next to your Real Estate Broker license, pick Reassignment, then Transfer to New Company/Managing Broker as an Associate Broker. Add your new employer, sign the affirmation and pay. The PLA fee schedule lists the Broker Reassignment Transfer Fee at $10, and online processing fees apply.
4. Your new managing broker approves it through Manage Transfer Requests. The PLA says a new request can take 1 to 2 hours to show up in the employer's queue.
5. Watch for the move. Once approved, the PLA says the license typically moves to the new brokerage within one business day if all requirements are met. Active and Unassigned licenses transfer as Active. Referral and Inactive licenses transfer as Referral, and activation then goes to Commission staff for review, so upload your continuing education certificates with the request.

If you leave before you've picked a new office, the clock still runs. Under 876 IAC 8-1-4, a broker has five business days after the end of an association to file a reassignment, and an unassigned broker can't practice real estate until assigned again.

If you're licensed in Illinois too

Illinois uses sponsorship, and you change sponsors through the IDFPR Online Services Portal. It's a separate filing from your Indiana transfer.

• Stay active while you move. IDFPR's online transfer instructions walk you through Licensure Options and Transfer Active License to New Brokerage Firm, which is the process for changing firms while staying active. The new sponsoring broker has to approve within 7 calendar days, or the request expires and the transfer fee is forfeited.
• If the sponsorship ends first, the license goes inactive until a new sponsorship is registered. Whoever ends it, broker or licensee, has to notify IDFPR within 24 hours (68 Ill. Adm. Code 1450.115 and IDFPR's summary of the Real Estate License Act updates).
• No paper sponsor card. IDFPR says physical sponsor cards are no longer required. A valid sponsorship registered with the Department replaces them.

Realest is licensed in Indiana and Illinois. If you hold both licenses, our Fearless Agents page on working both sides of the state line explains how that looks here, and Sash can walk you through the Illinois side.

MLS and board membership

MLS access runs through the brokerage, so it has to be set up again under your new office. Your board membership is a separate step.

Northwest Indiana. The local association is the Northwest Indiana REALTORS Association (NIRA) in Merrillville. It was known as GNIAR until it rebranded as NIRA in 2023. NIRA's membership page lists primary and secondary REALTOR membership and MLS-only subscriptions. For primary membership, your designated REALTOR (the managing broker) has to be a NIRA member. Under its MLS-only road map, when a managing broker participates in the NIRA MLS, all active Indiana licensees in that office have to subscribe unless an approved MLS of Choice waiver is on file. Expect to send a letter of good standing from a REALTOR board, and NIRA says to allow up to 72 business hours for the welcome email with your MLS login.

Chicagoland. MRED's Systems Access Policy says a subscriber has to hold a current license and be affiliated with and authorized by a participant in the service. Your access follows the office.

Ask Sash before you file which MLS and board setup applies to your business, so your access is ready the day your license moves.

Timing tips

The filing is quick. The risk is your files, so plan around them.

• File on a weekday morning when your new managing broker can approve it the same day.
• Avoid a closing week if you can, so a closing isn't caught mid-handoff.
• Don't take any new client action under the new brokerage until the new assignment shows on your MyLicense One dashboard.
• Update your marketing the day you move. Indiana requires signs, business cards and internet ads with a broker's name to show the broker company's name too (876 IAC 8-1-8). That includes your email signature and social profiles.
• Leave well. Your clients and your future referrals are watching how you go.

Want the week-by-week version, with scripts for telling your broker and your clients? Our Fearless Agents free lesson Making the Move lays it out.

Switching checklist

• Contractor agreement read, and questions asked in writing
• License current and MyLicense One login working (and IDFPR portal login, if you're dual-licensed)
• Every listing and pending file listed with its key dates
• Written plan for each file, agreed with both managing brokers
• Current managing broker told first, then in writing
• Reassignment filed in MyLicense One, or Illinois transfer filed with IDFPR
• New assignment confirmed on your dashboard
• MLS access and board membership set up under the new office
• Signs, cards, email signature and social profiles updated

What working with Sash looks like after you arrive

Sash is the managing broker at Realest, so he approves your transfer request and supervises the brokerage's work from there. Realest is based at 112 S. Main St., Suite B, in Crown Point and works across Northwest Indiana and Chicagoland. Realest, the brokerage, is licensed and insured.

Here's what every Realest agent gets:

• Lofty CRM for your contacts and follow-up
• SkySlope for transaction files
• Marketing support, including listing flyers and promotion
• Brokerage lead opportunities
• Realest University

Newer agents also get mentorship for their first 3 transactions. Our training community lives at FearlessAgents.com. We don't post splits or fees in blog posts. We go over them in person, so you can compare every number side by side.

Still comparing offices? Start with our realest.net posts on questions to ask before joining a brokerage and training and mentorship at Realest, then see Join Realest.

Book 30 minutes with Sash

Switching brokerages: questions agents ask

How do I transfer my real estate license to a new brokerage in Indiana?

File a Reassignment in MyLicense One, choose Transfer to New Company/Managing Broker as an Associate Broker, and pay the $10 Broker Reassignment Transfer Fee plus any online processing fee. Your new managing broker then approves the request. The Indiana Professional Licensing Agency says the license typically moves to the new brokerage within one business day after approval.

Do my listings go with me when I leave an Indiana brokerage?

Usually not. Under 876 IAC 8-1-6, listings you obtained while associated with a broker company stay the property of that company unless a written contract says otherwise. A seller who wants to follow you has to start that conversation, in writing.

What happens to my pending deals when I switch brokerages?

They keep moving toward closing, but how they are handled and how you are paid is set by your independent contractor agreement, not by a blanket state rule. Earnest money stays in the escrow account where it was deposited until disbursement is properly authorized. List every pending file and agree on a written plan with both managing brokers.

Can I keep my license at my old brokerage until my deals close?

No. An Indiana broker may be associated with only one Indiana broker company at a time, so plan the handoff of every pending file before you transfer.

How do I change sponsoring brokers in Illinois?

Log in to the IDFPR Online Services Portal and choose Transfer Active License to New Brokerage Firm. The new sponsoring broker must approve within 7 calendar days or the request expires. If a sponsorship is terminated instead, the license goes inactive until a new sponsorship is registered.

Do I need a new MLS account when I change brokerages?

Your MLS access runs through your brokerage, so it has to be set up under the new office. In the NIRA MLS, active Indiana licensees in a participating office must subscribe unless an MLS of Choice waiver is on file. MRED requires each subscriber to be affiliated with and authorized by a participating broker.

What do agents get when they join Realest?

Every Realest agent gets Lofty CRM, SkySlope, marketing support like listing flyers and promotion, brokerage lead opportunities and Realest University. New agents get mentorship for their first 3 transactions. Call Sash at (219) 808-1520 to talk it through.

Sources we checked

All checked November 11, 2026.

• Indiana Professional Licensing Agency, Real Estate Transfers (MyLicense One reassignment steps, Manage Transfer Requests, 1 to 2 hour queue note)
• Indiana Professional Licensing Agency, Real Estate Licensing Information (one business day after approval, status on transfer, $10 Broker Reassignment Transfer Fee)
• Indiana Real Estate Commission rules, 876 IAC 8, Operation of Broker Companies (8-1-4, 8-1-5, 8-1-6, 8-1-8, 8-2-1, 8-2-2, 8-2-7), plus a readable copy of 876 IAC 8-1-6 at Cornell LII
• Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, How to Transfer Your Active License to a New Sponsor, Updates to the Real Estate License Act and the Division of Real Estate
• 68 Ill. Adm. Code 1450.115, Termination of Sponsorship (Cornell LII)
• Northwest Indiana REALTORS Association, The NIRA Vision, Join NIRA and Become an MLS Only Subscriber
• Midwest Real Estate Data, Systems Access Policy and support article on listings after an agent leaves

Thinking about moving your license? Talk to Realest

We'll go through your files, your timing and your questions before anything gets filed.

Call Sash at (219) 808-1520, email saso@realest.com or Contact Realest. You can also call Pam Joveski at (219) 801-0432.

Love Thy Neighbor.

General information checked November 11, 2026. Licensing steps, fees and MLS rules can change, so confirm with the PLA, IDFPR or your MLS before you file. This isn't legal advice. Your independent contractor agreement controls your own situation.