New Agent Onboarding Checklist

Capture the agent's situation up front so downstream steps fire correctly. Newly licensed agents need bootcamp; transferring agents need a state-commission transfer form filed (and the prior brokerage's release); reactivating agents need to confirm CE hours are current before the commission will reactivate.

File the state-required transfer form (e.g., DRE Salesperson Change Application in CA, TREC license-status change in TX) and confirm the prior brokerage has signed the release. The agent cannot legally hold themselves out under your brokerage until the commission reflects the new affiliation — block any showings or listings until confirmed in the state license lookup.

Confirm the agent is added to the brokerage E&O policy or has acceptable independent coverage. Save the declarations page in the agent file — a coverage gap during a transaction is the kind of thing that surfaces only after a claim.

Cover arrival time, parking, dress for the office tour, what to bring (license, ID, voided check for commission ACH), and the schedule for orientation day. Include the office WiFi and the broker's cell number for day-of issues.

Walk the agent through the office floor, conference rooms (and how to book them for client meetings), the lockbox/Supra cabinet, the printer for scanning signed docs, and the listing wall or active-pipeline board. Introduce the office manager and TC by name — the agent will lean on both heavily in the first 30 days.

Cover commission split, cap (if applicable), post-cap split, transaction fees, franchise/royalty fees, mentor split for the first N deals, and termination/lead-ownership clauses. Be explicit about lead ownership — leads generated through brokerage sources stay with the brokerage on departure.

Get signatures on the brokerage policy manual, antitrust/price-fixing acknowledgment, social media policy, and the post-NAR-settlement buyer-representation policy. File in the agent's permanent record — these surface in any state commission audit.

Create the firstname@brokerage.com address and seat the agent in the brokerage CRM (Follow Up Boss, kvCORE/BoldTrail, Sierra, etc.). Mandate brokerage email for all client communication — personal Gmail leads to lost lead history when an agent departs and is a recurring source of disputes.

Submit the new-member application to the local MLS (Bright, Stellar, MetroList, etc.) and pair the Supra eKEY app to the agent's phone. The agent cannot show MLS listings without a working eKEY — verify it opens a test lockbox before sending them on a showing.

Add the agent to Dotloop, SkySlope, Brokermint, or whichever transaction platform the brokerage uses for compliance. Load the brokerage's required-document checklist into their template library so files default to a compliance-ready structure.

Share the brokerage's standard envelope templates — listing agreement, buyer rep agreement, agency disclosures, lead-based-paint disclosure for pre-1978 homes, seller's property disclosure. Pre-loaded templates prevent agents from going rogue with their own forms (a common source of audit findings).

Cover the state-specific agency disclosure timing (most states require disclosure at first substantive contact, before discussing buying/selling preferences) and the brokerage's policy on dual agency. In states where dual agency is prohibited (FL, CO, KS, OK, VT, AK), the policy is a hard no — designated agency only.

Walk through protected classes (federal plus state additions like sexual orientation, source of income, marital status) and the language traps in listing descriptions — no "perfect for families," no "safe neighborhood," no unsolicited "good area / bad area" framing on showings. Use scripted neighborhood-discussion language for school-district questions.

Cover the state-required deposit window (commonly 3 business days from contract acceptance) and the absolute prohibition on commingling — even briefly parking an EMD check in personal or operating accounts is a license violation. Walk through how to hand off a check to the TC and the receipt the agent gets back for the file.

Drill the rule: wire instructions are verified by phone to a known number from a prior call, never to a number in the email itself. Train agents to send the brokerage's standard wire-fraud warning to every buyer at contract acceptance — not the day before closing when it's too late.

Assign a mentor and confirm the mentor split (commonly 50/50 or 70/30 on the first three closings). Schedule a kickoff call to set expectations: the mentor co-signs offers, attends the first listing presentation, and reviews the file before each contingency deadline.

Newly licensed agents get the brokerage's structured bootcamp — typically 4-6 weeks covering buyer consultations, listing presentations, contract walkthroughs, and CMA construction. Skipping bootcamp is the strongest predictor of an agent washing out in the first 12 months.

Import contacts from the agent's phone, email, and prior career into the brokerage CRM and tag by relationship type. Set up the brokerage's standard sphere drip campaign so the announce-the-license email and monthly market update go out on schedule.

Have the agent ride along with the mentor or another producing agent for one buyer consultation (signing a buyer rep agreement, now required in most states post-NAR settlement) and one listing presentation (CMA walkthrough, commission discussion, signing the listing agreement). Reading about it is not the same as watching it.

Review pipeline activity (sphere outreach, buyer consults set, listings under contract), tool adoption (CRM use, transaction platform compliance), and any surprises from the first month. Surface friction now — agents who hit 30 days without a single appointment set need an intervention, not a 60-day wait.

Walk through the agent's first ratified contract file with the compliance officer or TC: agency disclosure signed at first substantive contact, EMD deposited within the state-required window, all required disclosures (lead-based paint if pre-1978, seller's property disclosure, HOA docs) present and signed, contingency dates calendared. Catch errors on deal one, not deal ten.

Review GCI, units closed, units pending, lead-conversion rate, and CRM hygiene against the brokerage's 90-day benchmarks. Set goals for the next 90 days — listings taken, buyer reps signed, sphere events held — and capture sign-off in the agent file.