To fill out C.A.R. Form SPBB, enter the buyer’s total broker compensation from the Buyer Representation and Broker Compensation Agreement (BRBC) in Paragraph 1, record any amount the listing broker is already paying in Paragraph 2, and put the seller’s share (which cannot exceed Paragraph 1 minus Paragraph 2) in Paragraph 3. Both buyer and seller sign, and the form travels with the Residential Purchase Agreement to escrow. Everything else on the one-page form is header information, escrow authorization, and a dual-agency clause.
What Form SPBB Does
Form SPBB (Seller Payment to Buyer’s Broker) is the California Association of Realtors form a buyer attaches to a purchase offer when asking the seller to cover some or all of the buyer’s broker compensation. It became a standard attachment after the August 2024 NAR settlement changes barred MLSs from publishing offers of buyer-agent compensation.1MLSListings. 2024 NAR Settlement FAQs Because that compensation can no longer be communicated through the MLS, SPBB gives the parties a written vehicle to negotiate and memorialize who pays the buyer’s agent.
SPBB is not a standalone contract. It rides along with the purchase offer, and it only becomes binding when the seller accepts an offer (or a counter) that includes it. On the RPA, the buyer checks box 3G(3) and attaches the SPBB.2San Diego | MLS – Support. CAR Forms Questions NEW FORMS
What You Need Before You Start
You need a signed BRBC between the buyer and the buyer’s broker. That agreement sets the total compensation the buyer owes their own agent, and it sets the ceiling for the SPBB: the amount the buyer requests from the seller cannot exceed what the buyer already agreed to pay their broker.2San Diego | MLS – Support. CAR Forms Questions NEW FORMS The seller’s payment offsets an existing obligation; it does not create new money for the buyer.
You also need the final offer figures in front of you: the property address, the date of the RPA the form is attached to, the purchase price, and whatever the listing broker has already agreed to pay the buyer’s broker, if anything.
Filling In the Header
The top of the form asks for the property address and the date of the Residential Purchase Agreement the SPBB is attached to. Use the same date that appears on the RPA so the two documents line up in escrow’s file.
Paragraph 1: The Buyer’s Obligation Under the BRBC
Enter the compensation the buyer agreed to pay their broker in the BRBC. Check the box for either a percentage of the purchase price or a flat dollar amount, and enter the figure exactly as it appears in the BRBC. This number is the ceiling for everything that follows: the seller’s payment plus any amount coming from the listing broker cannot exceed it.3Media News Group. SELLER PAYMENT TO BUYER’S BROKER (PDF)
Paragraph 2: What the Listing Broker Is Already Paying
Enter any amount the seller’s broker has already agreed to pay the buyer’s broker, whether through the MLS or another written arrangement. The form lets you specify the source by checking the appropriate option. If no such arrangement exists, leave the fields blank or at zero.3Media News Group. SELLER PAYMENT TO BUYER’S BROKER (PDF)
Confirm this figure with the buyer’s broker before you write it in. A cooperative compensation offer that existed before the MLS rule change may still be in place as a separate written agreement, or it may not. Guessing here throws off Paragraph 3.
Paragraph 3: The Seller’s Payment
This is the core of the form, and the paragraph where errors most often appear. Enter the amount the seller will pay the buyer’s broker as either a percentage of the purchase price or a flat dollar amount. The form instructs that this number be “no greater than the applicable percentage or amount in paragraph 1 less the applicable percentage or amount in paragraph 2.”3Media News Group. SELLER PAYMENT TO BUYER’S BROKER (PDF)
In plain terms: Paragraph 3 cannot exceed Paragraph 1 minus Paragraph 2. If the BRBC calls for 2.5% and the listing broker is already covering 1%, the most you can put in Paragraph 3 is 1.5%. You can ask for less. You cannot ask for more. Escrow will catch the math at closing, so get it right now.
Pick the same unit in Paragraph 3 that you used in Paragraph 1 wherever possible. Mixing a percentage in Paragraph 1 with a dollar amount in Paragraph 3 is allowed, but it forces anyone reviewing the form to do the conversion against the purchase price to confirm you stayed under the ceiling.
Paragraph 4: Escrow Authorization
Paragraph 4 is already drafted. By signing, the buyer authorizes the escrow holder to share with the seller the relevant portion of the BRBC showing how much the buyer agreed to pay their broker.3Media News Group. SELLER PAYMENT TO BUYER’S BROKER (PDF) This lets the seller verify they are not paying more than the buyer owes. Nothing to fill in; just know what you are signing.
Paragraph 5: Dual Agency
Paragraph 5 applies only when the buyer’s broker and the seller’s broker are the same person or firm. It provides that the MLS-specified amount still applies under Paragraphs 2 and 3, even if the listing agreement calls for reduced compensation in a dual agency scenario.3Media News Group. SELLER PAYMENT TO BUYER’S BROKER (PDF) If dual agency applies, read this paragraph against the listing agreement and confirm the numbers reconcile before signing. If dual agency does not apply, Paragraph 5 has no effect.
Signatures and Delivery
Both buyer and seller sign. The signature block states that each party has read, understands, and accepts the terms, and that each has received a copy.3Media News Group. SELLER PAYMENT TO BUYER’S BROKER (PDF) Electronic signatures through platforms like DocuSign are standard in California real estate and satisfy this requirement.
Once fully executed, the SPBB goes to the escrow holder with the rest of the purchase agreement package. The California Department of Real Estate has clarified that escrow agents disburse trust funds only according to written instructions from the principals, not from brokers.4California Department of Real Estate. Licensee Advisory – RE Commission Disbursements The SPBB, signed by both buyer and seller, is the written authorization escrow needs to pay the buyer’s broker from the seller’s proceeds at closing. Keep a copy in your own transaction file.
If the Price or Terms Change
If Paragraph 3 is written as a percentage, the dollar amount escrow pays moves with the final purchase price. A price reduction during negotiations shrinks a percentage-based fee; verify the calculation on the settlement statement before signing closing documents. Escrow is prohibited from filling in blanks on signed instructions or altering them without all parties initialing the change.4California Department of Real Estate. Licensee Advisory – RE Commission Disbursements If the SPBB itself needs to change because the parties renegotiated the compensation, prepare a new or corrected form and have both sides sign it. Do not pen-edit the original.
What a Seller May Do With Your SPBB
A seller is free to accept the SPBB, counter it, or reject the compensation request entirely.2San Diego | MLS – Support. CAR Forms Questions NEW FORMS The form itself notes that commission rates are not fixed by law and are individually set by each broker.3Media News Group. SELLER PAYMENT TO BUYER’S BROKER (PDF) If the seller counters the amount, there is no dedicated C.A.R. counter form for the SPBB; a standard counter-offer with language specifying the revised SPBB figure does the job. Fill out the form knowing the number is an opening position, not a final figure.
Where to Get the Form
Form SPBB is a proprietary C.A.R. document available to C.A.R. members through Transactions (zipForm Edition), the association’s online forms platform. It is not a publicly downloadable PDF. In a typical transaction, the buyer’s agent prepares the form and attaches it to the offer. If you are a seller looking at an SPBB for the first time, ask your listing agent to walk you through the five paragraphs and confirm the Paragraph 3 math before you sign.