How to Fill Out the California Buyer Representation Agreement (BRBC)

To fill out the California Buyer Representation and Broker Compensation Agreement, you work through the CAR Form BRBC field by field: identify the buyers and the brokerage with correct DRE license numbers, choose exclusive or non-exclusive representation, define the property type and search area, write in your agent’s compensation in dollars or percentage, set a start and end date within the three-month cap, initial the dispute resolution provisions you accept, and have both you and an authorized representative of the brokerage sign before you tour a home privately or submit an offer.

Before You Sign

Two timing rules frame the form. California Civil Code Section 1670.50 requires the agreement to be signed as soon as practicable and no later than the moment you execute an offer to purchase.¹ The National Association of Realtors settlement, effective August 17, 2024, is stricter: you must sign before you tour any home with an agent, including live virtual walkthroughs.²

One boundary worth naming: walking into an open house on your own doesn’t require a signed BRBC, because the listing agent hosting the open house works for the seller.² Bring your own agent, or ask one for a private showing, and the form has to be in place first.

Parties, Brokerage, and License Numbers

The top of the form identifies who is contracting with whom. Enter the full legal name of every buyer, the brokerage’s official name, the individual agent’s name, and both DRE license numbers. California DRE license numbers are eight digits and include any leading zeros. You can confirm your agent’s number through the Department of Real Estate’s online license lookup before you sign.³ The brokerage carries its own separate license number, which goes on the form in its own field.

Your agent must also hand you the agency disclosure required by Civil Code Section 2079.14 before you sign the BRBC.¹ It explains whether the agent represents only you, only the seller, or both parties as a dual agent. The BRBC contains a dual agency section that references this disclosure, so read the disclosure carefully before initialing anything in that part of the form.

Choosing Exclusive or Non-Exclusive Representation

The form gives you two representation choices, and this is one of the first substantive decisions to mark.

Non-exclusive means you can work with more than one agent at a time, and you owe a commission only to the agent who actually helps you close. Exclusive ties you to a single brokerage for the full term of the agreement; no other agent can represent you during that period. Selecting exclusive representation requires your initials in a separate section of the form to take effect.⁴ If you’re still evaluating agents, the non-exclusive box preserves your flexibility. If you’ve settled on someone, exclusive representation formalizes that commitment.

Defining the Property and Search Area

The property section sets the scope of what your agent is authorized to help you buy. You can narrow by geography, by property type, or by specific address. Geographic fields let you list one or more counties or cities. Property-type checkboxes cover single-family homes, multi-family properties (split into two-to-four units and five-plus units), condos, vacant land, commercial, and industrial properties.⁴

There’s also a field to exclude specific properties. Use it if you’re already under a separate agreement with another agent for a particular listing, or if you found a home on your own before signing and don’t want it swept into this contract. Be specific. A vague scope creates room for disputes later about whether a commission was earned on a property you turned up independently.

Filling In the Compensation Section

This is the section that changed most under the NAR settlement. Buyer’s agent compensation is no longer published through the MLS by the seller; you negotiate it directly with your agent.⁵ The form itself states that commission rates are not fixed by law and are set by each broker individually.⁴

You can express the fee three ways on the form:

A percentage of the purchase price. This is the most common approach; in California the rate is often somewhere around 2% to 3%, but there is no standard and the number depends on what you negotiate.
A flat dollar amount, fixed regardless of the home’s price. This can suit high-cost markets where a percentage would be disproportionate.
A compensation schedule — a tiered or customized fee structure attached to the agreement.

Whichever you choose, write the number into the correct field. Leaving it blank or ambiguous defeats the purpose of the form.

The compensation section also addresses seller contributions. If the seller offers to pay less toward your agent’s fee than what you and your agent agreed to, the form requires the two of you to discuss how to cover the gap.⁴ A seller contribution reduces what you owe rather than adding to your agent’s total. If the seller covers it all, you pay nothing extra. If no seller credit comes through, the full amount you wrote on the form is still your obligation.

Setting the Term and Protection Period

Enter a specific start date and end date, including the 11:59 p.m. cutoff, in the representation period fields.⁴ For individual buyers, California law caps the total term at three months, and any agreement exceeding that ceiling is void and unenforceable.¹ Corporations, LLCs, and partnerships are exempt from the three-month limit.

The agreement cannot auto-renew. If you want to keep working with the same agent after the end date, both parties have to sign a written renewal, and the renewal is also capped at three months.¹

The protection period, sometimes called the tail, is a separate number-of-days field. It extends your agent’s right to compensation past the end date on properties they introduced you to during the term. The BRBC also obligates the agent to deliver a written list of broker-involved properties within five calendar days of cancellation or expiration, so both sides have a clear record of which addresses are covered.⁴ Choose the number of days carefully. A long tail can collide with a new agent relationship and create competing commission claims.

Mediation and Arbitration Sections

The BRBC includes a mediation clause that requires you and your agent to attempt mediation before filing a lawsuit or demanding arbitration. Costs are split equally. If either side skips mediation and files anyway, the losing party in that action pays the other side’s attorney fees.⁴

Certain disputes are carved out from the mediation requirement: foreclosure actions, unlawful detainer (eviction) cases, mechanic’s lien enforcement, and matters within probate, small claims, or bankruptcy court.⁴

The form may also contain an optional arbitration clause with its own initial line. Initialing it means you agree to resolve disputes through a private arbitrator instead of a judge, and arbitration decisions are generally binding with very limited appeal rights. You are not required to initial it. Leaving that section blank does not affect the rest of the agreement.

Signatures and Delivery

Most brokerages send the BRBC through electronic signature platforms such as DocuSign or zipForms, which comply with California’s electronic signature laws. The agreement isn’t complete until both you and an authorized representative of the brokerage — the broker of record or an office manager — have signed. Your individual agent’s signature alone is not enough, because the brokerage itself is the contracting party.

Once all signatures are in place, make sure you receive a fully executed copy and keep it. That document is your record of what services the agent owes you, what you agreed to pay, and when the relationship ends. With the signed BRBC on file, your agent can begin scheduling private showings, contacting listing brokers, running comparable-sales analyses, and preparing offers on your behalf.

Cancellation Language on the Form

The cancellation provisions depend on which representation type you picked. Non-exclusive agreements cancel upon receipt of your written notice, or after a specified number of days if the form’s notice field is filled in. Exclusive representation carries a default 30-day written notice requirement before cancellation takes effect.⁴ Direct any cancellation notice in writing to the broker of record or office manager rather than only to your individual agent, and ask for a signed mutual release confirming the termination. The protection period you set earlier still applies to properties the agent introduced you to during the term.

1
California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 1670.50
2
National Association of Realtors. Consumer Guide to Open Houses and Written Agreements
3
Department of Real Estate. Verify a License
4
California Association of REALTORS. Buyer Representation and Broker Compensation Agreement
5
Department of Real Estate. What Licensees Need to Know Changes to Buyer Representation and Compensation