The REALTOR® Code of Ethics and Its Importance

Every leading organization or group of professionals has a foundation that represents what they stand for. Without these foundations the legacy, integrity, advantage, competitive difference, and drive toward continued improvement is nearly impossible to have. For professional real estate agents, specifically REALTORS®, this foundation is the REALTOR’S® Code of Ethics. But what exactly is the REALTOR’S® Code of Ethics, and why is it so important?



The REALTOR’S® Code of Ethics provides the highest safety measures for protecting both buyers and sellers of real estate. Being bound by this code as a REALTOR® offers you a distinct competitive advantage. 

The REALTOR’S® Code of Ethics features 17 articles containing detailed rules and standards of conduct. It is designed to ensure that REALTORS® will act accordingly in a number of scenarios and situations; protecting their clients with competency and integrity, and also protecting the esteemed reputation of the National Association of REALTORS®. 

The core of this code of ethics is to act in a way that protects all of the interests of who a REALTOR® represents. The expectation is to use all available knowledge and experience and apply it to every transaction. Achieving the best possible results for a client is the focus of the REALTOR’S® Code of Ethics.

Beyond that guiding principle, the rest of the articles included in the code are constructed to help you get to that goal. Overarching themes of honesty, cooperation, communication, and fairness are interwoven into the following 16 articles. The REALTOR’S® Code of Ethics is vitally important to you as a real estate professional, and especially to home buyers and home sellers of real estate as it provides the peace of mind that their best interests are at the root of you actions.