TREC requires the IABS form at the first substantive communication about specific property. How to deliver it on exclusive real-estate leads, and why a signature link doesn't count.
When you work an exclusive real-estate lead in Texas, the first real conversation about a specific property triggers a TREC requirement: you must give the consumer the Information About Brokerage Services (IABS) form. TREC says it's due at the time of the first substantive communication about a proposed transaction involving specific real property. Build it into your lead follow-up so it goes out every time, in a way TREC accepts. A link in your email signature doesn't count.
This is general information from TREC's published materials, not legal advice. Check with your broker on how your brokerage handles it.
TREC's FAQ page on posting and providing the IABS and Consumer Protection Notice answers the timing question directly: at the time of first substantive communication with a party about a proposed transaction regarding specific real property, a license holder must provide the written IABS notice (citing TRELA §1101.558(b-1)).
For lead follow-up, that usually means the moment a quick "is this still available?" turns into a real discussion about a listing, a seller's home, a price, or a showing. The IABS belongs in that conversation, not three emails later.
According to the same TREC page (Rule 531.20(d)), you can provide the IABS by:
And the one that trips people up: TREC says a link to the IABS in a footnote or email signature block is insufficient.
TREC also says each broker and sales agent must have a link on their website homepage labeled "Texas Real Estate Commission Information About Brokerage Services" (at least 10-point font), or "TREC Information About Brokerage Services" (at least 12-point font), in a readily noticeable place. The homepage link is a separate duty. It doesn't replace sending the form in the conversation.
TREC's IABS form page links the current version, IABS 1-2, dated 11-03-2025. TREC's FAQ says license holders may prefill the broker contact section, but the text must be copied verbatim and the layout must look identical to the promulgated form.
The current form also summarizes two rules that matter for buyer-side leads:
Here's a practical sequence for teams working exclusive real-estate leads. Adjust to your broker's policies.
Speed-to-lead contact (minutes): Confirm who they are and what they want. Keep it light. If it's already turning into a discussion about a specific property, you're in first-substantive-communication territory.
The first real conversation: Send the IABS the same day, by an approved method. The simplest version is a short email whose body says something like, "As required by the Texas Real Estate Commission, here's the Information About Brokerage Services form," with the form attached or linked in the body.
Before any showing (buyer leads): Get the written buyer agreement signed, including the 14-day non-exclusive version for unrepresented buyers if that's how you're starting.
Seller leads: The IABS still goes out at the first substantive conversation about their property, before you're deep into pricing talk.
Log it: Note in your CRM when and how the IABS was sent. If a lead ever questions the relationship, a timestamp beats a memory.
With an exclusive lead, you aren't racing other agents for the same person. That makes the first conversation more valuable, and compliance is part of that conversation. A clean, consistent first touch that includes the IABS is easier to train, easier to audit, and easier for the consumer to trust.
It's the same idea we covered for roofers in exclusive roofing leads and Texas insurance law: the lead gives you the conversation, and state rules shape what belongs in it.
TX Lead Forge provides exclusive real-estate and roofing leads, and competing auto seller leads (never exclusive to one dealer). Invalid-lead questions are handled case by case. If you want to talk about exclusive real-estate leads for your team, contact TX Lead Forge.
Takeaway: On an exclusive real-estate lead, send the IABS at the first substantive conversation, by an approved method, and log it. A signature link doesn't count.