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Washington · RCW 18.86.080Washington buyer services agreement: required to be paid

In Washington a real estate firm must have a services agreement to receive compensation for brokerage services from any party (RCW 18.86.080(7), as amended in 2023). With a buyer, the agreement states how much the buyer agrees to pay the firm, whether the buyer consents to sharing compensation between firms and to the firm being paid by more than one party, and whether the broker will show homes when no one offers to pay the firm. Commercial-only buyers may use a written compensation disclosure instead.

What the agreement must contain (RCW 18.86.080(7))

  1. Compensation

    The amount the principal agrees to pay the firm.

  2. Sharing and other payers

    The principal's consent, if any, to sharing compensation between firms and to payment by more than one party.

  3. Showing without offered pay

    Whether the broker agrees to show the buyer properties when no party or firm agrees or offers to pay the firm.

  4. Anything else agreed

    Any other agreements between the parties.

Good to know

  • Compensation may come from the seller, the buyer, a third party or shared between firms; paying does not create agency (RCW 18.86.080(1)–(2)).
  • Commercial-only buyers: a written “Compensation Disclosure” before the buyer signs an offer can replace the services agreement (subsection 8).
  • No services agreement is needed for a broker's price opinion or a referral fee where the referring firm provided no brokerage services (subsection 9).

What the TC tracks

  • Signed buyer services agreement in the file before the offer.
  • The state pamphlet acknowledgment (RCW 18.86.030) with it.
  • Compensation terms carried into the purchase and sale agreement and closing statement.

Questions about the Washington buyer services agreement

Is a buyer agreement required in Washington?

A firm must have a services agreement to receive compensation for brokerage services from any party (RCW 18.86.080(7)).

What must a Washington buyer services agreement say?

The compensation amount, consent to sharing and to payment by more than one party, whether the broker shows homes without offered compensation, and any other terms.

Does paying the agent create agency in Washington?

No. An agreement to pay or a payment of compensation does not establish an agency relationship (RCW 18.86.080(2)).

Related guides

Keep the buyer services agreement and pamphlet acknowledgment with the deal in ClosingCode, tracked as tasks before the offer.

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Source: Revised Code of Washington 18.86.080, as amended by 2023 c 318 (app.leg.wa.gov, read October 25, 2026).

General information, not legal advice. ClosingCode is software; it is not a law firm or brokerage.