Designated Broker Information
DB Responsibilities
Deadline to Return Agent License to MREC
Remember...dues must be paid for anyone licensed in a REALTOR® office as of January 1. If an agent plans to make their license status inactive or his/her license expires any time on/after January 1 and they do not plan to renew, you must inform the Maine Real Estate Commission in writing that the agent’s license is no longer affiliated with your company by December 31 or you, as DB, will be responsible for that agent's payment.
Template email to MREC to Unaffiliate an Agent
Fees for Missing Dues Payment Deadline and
Rejoining After Inactivating License
Membership Dues and Late Fee Policy
Membership dues are due on or before the first Tuesday in December each year. To allow adequate time for payment, dues invoices are distributed during the first week of September.
Pursuant to the Board of Directors’ vote on August 8, 2019, a late fee of $150 will be assessed to all REALTOR® member and Sales Assessment invoices, if payment is not submitted by the deadline. This fee reflects the additional work and staff time required to collect dues after the due date. The late fee will continue to apply through January 1. On January 2nd, the Designated Broker will be invoiced for the payment due and given thirty days to make payment. If payment has not been received within thirty days, the member’s office will be deactivated. If the agent whose dues is not paid by January 2nd is the Designated Broker, the DB is inactivated, causing the office to be inactivated.
The Finance Committee may recommend changes to the late fee amount. Any such changes must be approved by the Board of Directors as part of the annual budget process and will thereafter become part of this policy.
Failure to receive an invoice will not be considered valid grounds for waiving the late fee, provided that the payment deadline has been properly communicated through Association channels, including newsletters, emails, and other official notices.
Examples of Dues Scenarios and Corresponding Policy
Any REALTOR® who inactivates their license with the Real Estate Commission and reactivates it within the same calendar year will be required to pay a $175 reactivation fee.
If the agent paid for 2024 and goes inactive in 2024, but does not become active again until 2026, dues will be prorated and the agent will be given a new start date. Agent must be inactive for the full 2025 calendar year.
If an agent goes inactive July 2025, and 2025 dues are paid but agent returns in May 2026, this is a reinstatement and the agent must pay full year’s dues for 2026.
All active agents as of January 1 who have not paid the current year dues automatically get invoiced to the DB as a non-member. If an agent’s license is returned November 2026, and we are copied on the email, but status is not updated in MREC until January, the DB is responsible for following up, if they haven’t received a response from the MREC. We can write off the dues because we were copied.
All REALTORS® and/or Affiliates must be inactivated if dues are not received within 30 days of the due date. If not paid on/before the 30th day, the REALTOR® and/or Affiliate are inactivated. For any REALTORS® who are still unpaid, the DB will be contacted and invoiced and immediate payment will be requested for the Sales Assessment. The
DB may choose to pay dues or the sales assessment, leaving the agent as a non-member. If the DB doesn’t pay within 30 days, we will give a final warning by telephone that, if not paid, the entire office will be inactivated.
Any agent who is active as of January 1st is either expected to pay the dues or the DB is responsible for paying the dues or sales assessment, unless the MREC will accept an effective date of December 31.
The DB is responsible for making sure all agents in their office(s) are paid on/before January 1. The DB should have an office policy that states when their agents must provide proof that their dues for the coming year are paid in full or license is returned on December 31.