A real estate broker's email signature accompanies client communications governed by the OACIQ. This guide summarizes the mentions worth carrying over for consistency with your representations and advertising, and the role of the agency's name. To standardize these signatures across a whole team, see ATOM Signatures.
Mentions governed by the OACIQ
The Regulation respecting brokerage requirements, professional conduct of brokers and advertising (CQLR c. C-73.2, r. 1) governs a broker's mandatory mentions:
- Name as registered on the licence (art. 114).
- Licence designation — “real estate broker”, “residential real estate broker” or “commercial real estate broker” (art. 115).
These requirements target the broker's representations and advertising. A professional email signature, which accompanies your communications with clients, benefits from carrying the same mentions for consistency, even outside advertising in the strict sense.
Agency name
The same regulation requires an agency to state, in its representations and advertising, the name registered on its licence along with its own designation (“real estate agency”, “residential real estate agency” or “commercial real estate agency”, art. 116-117). If you practise within an agency, include its exact name in your signature, alongside your own.
Sample signature
This model groups the mentions described above, with fictitious data:
Sophie Bernier, residential real estate broker
Bernier & Partners Residential Real Estate Agency
OACIQ licence No. 19345678
438 555-0193 · sophie.bernier@example.com
Frequently asked questions
Should I specify “residential real estate broker” or “commercial real estate broker”?
The Regulation respecting brokerage requirements, professional conduct and advertising (CQLR c. C-73.2, r. 1, art. 114-115) requires this designation in your representations and advertising, not specifically in an email signature. For consistency with that requirement, it is recommended to use the same designation in your signature.
Should I include my agency's name in my signature?
This is not specifically required for an email signature. The agency itself must state its name and licence designation in its representations and advertising (art. 116-117); for consistency, it is recommended to include the same mentions in your signature if you practise within an agency.
Do I need to display my exact OACIQ licence number?
The regulation requires stating the licence designation (the type: residential or commercial) in your representations and advertising, not necessarily the numeric licence ID nor a mandatory mention in the email signature itself. Displaying that number is still an optional good practice that makes it easier for a client to verify.
How do you standardize the email signature across a team of brokers within an agency?
When each broker repastes their own signature on every device, there is a real risk of forgetting a licence designation or the agency's exact name. A signature deployed directly in Outlook from the Microsoft 365 directory keeps those mentions consistent across the whole team, with no manual work.
Deploy this signature to the whole agency. Instead of asking every broker to repaste their signature, ATOM Signatures deploys it directly in Outlook from your Microsoft 365 directory — desktop, web, Mac and mobile — keeping the licence designation and agency name consistent across the whole team.
To go further: professional email signature templates.
Sources
- Regulation respecting brokerage requirements, professional conduct of brokers and advertising (CQLR c. C-73.2, r. 1), art. 114 to 117 — LégisQuébec
This article is provided for information purposes only and is not ethics advice. For questions specific to your practice, consult the OACIQ.