State-law buyer agreements under AB 2992 and the DRE's implementing regulations, C.A.R. forms in force, CRMLS cooperation rules, DRE licensing and CE, and California's advertising and transaction statutes. Every entry is primary-sourced and carries its last-checked date: Nov 8, 2026 (Tracker v1).
This page is the California slice of the full Tracker.
In force nowCalifornia rules, verified
CaliforniaJan 1, 2025
CA-01 Buyer-broker representation agreements required by state law (AB 2992, Civil Code § 1670.50)
Compensation & buyer agreements / state law · Applies to: All CA buyers' agents and buyers (corporations, LLCs and partnerships exempt from the cap)
A buyer-broker representation agreement must be signed as soon as practicable and no later than when the buyer signs an offer to purchase. It must cover broker compensation, services, when compensation is due, and termination; the § 2079.14 agency disclosure must be given before signing. The term may not exceed three months, may not auto-renew (renewals must be written, dated and signed, also capped at three months), and a noncompliant agreement is void and unenforceable. California is a state-law state: this requirement is not only an MLS rule.
Effective: January 1, 2025 (in force)
Source: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displayText.xhtml?article=&chapter=&division=3.&lawCode=CIV&part=2.&title=4.1. (bill text: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB2992) · Last checked: Nov 8, 2026 · Change log: CL-06
CaliforniaDec 2025 release
CA-02 C.A.R. BRBC, current version 12/25
Forms in force · Applies to: CA buyers' agents using C.A.R. forms
The current Buyer Representation and Broker Compensation Agreement is the 12/25 version. Its recorded changes clarify that compensation is earned if the buyer assigns the purchase agreement, and cap the stated term at the earlier of the parties' end date or 90 days, guarding against exceeding the AB 2992 three-month limit. (C.A.R.'s December 2026 release is not yet primary-verified.)
Effective: December 2025 release (in force)
Source: https://mcusercontent.com/cae294746a92f792b110a52de/files/fef8b516-f9d4-b779-54f5-c049d22d8002/Quick_Summary_6_2026_v2.pdf (C.A.R. June 2026 Forms Release Quick Summary) · Last checked: Nov 8, 2026 · Change log: CL-07
CaliforniaDec 2025 release
CA-03 C.A.R. RPA, current version 12/25
Forms in force · Applies to: CA residential purchase transactions using C.A.R. forms
The current California Residential Purchase Agreement and Joint Escrow Instructions is the 12/25 version. Its recorded changes modify "Other Seller Credits/Payments" so they are used for items other than closing costs or buyer broker compensation, and modify the appraisal contingency.
Effective: December 2025 release (in force)
Source: https://mcusercontent.com/cae294746a92f792b110a52de/files/fef8b516-f9d4-b779-54f5-c049d22d8002/Quick_Summary_6_2026_v2.pdf (C.A.R. June 2026 Forms Release Quick Summary) · Last checked: Nov 8, 2026 · Change log: CL-08
CaliforniaRules in force
CA-04 CRMLS rejects Compass demands; cooperation rules stand
MLS policy (contested — rule unchanged) · Applies to: CRMLS participants, CA
On September 8, 2026 Compass demanded CRMLS create "Office Exclusives" withheld from the MLS. CRMLS rejected the demand and is defending its cooperation rules (including Rule 7.9) in litigation it filed. Sellers keep existing options: non-exclusive agreements, No Cooperation Listings, Coming Soon up to 21 days, Coming Soon – Limited Exposure, and Internet = No. Agent instruction: the existing rules still apply.
Effective: Rules in force; CRMLS response September 2026; no change announced
Source: https://go.crmls.org/protecting-cooperation/ · Last checked: Nov 8, 2026 · Change log: CL-09
CaliforniaCurrent cycle
CA-05 DRE licensing and CE: 45 hours per 4-year renewal
Licensing & CE · Applies to: All CA salesperson and broker licensees
Licenses renew every four years and every licensee must complete 45 hours of DRE-approved continuing education in that period. First renewals require separate 3-hour courses (ethics, agency, trust fund handling, risk management, and fair housing including interactive role-play and implicit bias) plus at least 18 hours of consumer protection; subsequent renewals may use one 9-hour survey course or the individual courses.
Effective: Current cycle (DRE update published September 4, 2026); no 2026–27 change announced
Source: https://dre.ca.gov/Newsroom/DRE_Updates/2026_09_04_Licensee_Continuing_Education.html · Last checked: Nov 8, 2026 · Change log: CL-10
CaliforniaJan 1, 2026
CA-06 Digitally altered image disclosure for sale advertising (AB 723, Bus. & Prof. Code § 10140.8)
State law affecting transactions — disclosure / advertising · Applies to: CA brokers, salespersons and persons acting for them, in sale advertising
If an ad or promotional material for the sale of real property includes a digitally altered image — altered with photo software or AI to add, remove or change elements such as furniture, fixtures, flooring, paint, landscaping, facade or views — the ad must carry a statement disclosing the alteration plus a link, URL or QR code to a publicly accessible page identifying the original, unaltered image. Routine lighting, sharpening, white balance, color correction, cropping and exposure edits are excluded.
Effective: January 1, 2026 (in force)
Source: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB723 · Last checked: Nov 8, 2026 · Change log: CL-11
CaliforniaJan 1, 2026
CA-07 DRE Regulations §§ 2906.1–2906.3 implement AB 2992 (90-day rule, showing presumption)
Compensation & buyer agreements — regulation · Applies to: CA buyers' agents and brokers under Bus. & Prof. Code § 10131(a) activity (implements CA-01)
The Department of Real Estate's adopted regulations give AB 2992 its working detail. § 2906.1: "three months" means 90 calendar days, starting the day after the last party signs (or on an agreed delayed effective date); the cap does not apply to corporations, LLCs or partnerships; there is no automatic renewal, and a renewal must be written, dated and signed before the agreement expires, effective the day the last party signs. § 2906.2: there is a rebuttable presumption that it is practicable to obtain the signed agreement before an in-person or virtual showing (the regulation defines "virtual showing"); a seller's agent acting solely for the seller is not a buyer's agent under the rule. § 2906.3: agreements are required only where a license is required under § 10131(a). verified on the DRE's own adopted-text PDF.
Effective: January 1, 2026 (in force)
Source: http://www.dre.ca.gov/files/pdf/relaw/2026/Title10_CalCodeofRegsSecs_2906.1thru2906.3implementing_AB_2992.pdf · Last checked: Nov 8, 2026 · Change log: CL-59 ---
Pipeline — announced, not yet in forceComing January 1, 2027 in California
Primary-verified as announced; these move into the main list once they take effect and are re-verified.
CaliforniaJan 1, 2027
CLU-02 CA / Jan 1 (by default): AB 2025 rental digitally altered image disclosure (new Civil Code § 1940.11)
· Applies to: Any person advertising CA rentals, including PM agents and landlords; a licensee violation is a Real Estate Law violation
AB 2025 extends the AB 723 model (CA-06) to rentals: a rental ad using a digitally altered image must include a reasonably conspicuous disclosure on or adjacent to the image and access to the unaltered original (link, URL or QR code), except where the image was not originally created with a capture device (for example, a fully AI-generated image). It also amends § 10140.8 so the sale rule does not apply to leaseholds over one year.
Effective: Chaptered September 27, 2026 (Ch. 572, Stats. 2026). Caveat: the chaptered text states no operative date, so January 1, 2027 is the California constitutional default for 2026 statutes, not a date printed in the bill — re-verify before publication.
Source: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB2025 · Last checked: Nov 8, 2026 · Change log: CL-47
CaliforniaJan 1, 2027
CLU-06 CA / Jan 1: SB 1365 expands Penal Code § 396 price-gouging "housing" to all rental housing (Ch. 1028, Stats. 2026)
· Applies to: CA landlords and PM agents renting any housing during a declared emergency
SB 1365 amends Penal Code § 396 so "housing" means any rental housing without regard to the initial lease term — the previous limitation to leases of one year or less is removed, so the emergency price-gouging cap reaches longer-term rentals. The repair-cost exemption is recast as an affirmative defense under § 396(e)(2) conditions, and a daily rental rate is defined as 1/30 of the amount built on 160% of fair market rent (+5% if furnished). Added in the second pass from the chaptered text.
Effective: January 1, 2027 (chaptered September 30, 2026; no operative date stated, so the California default applies)
Source: https://ctweb.capitoltrack.com/Bills/25Bills/sen/sb_1351-1400/sb_1365_93_C_bill.pdf (chaptered text, Ch. 1028, Stats. 2026) · Last checked: Nov 8, 2026 · Change log: CL-60
CaliforniaOperative Jan 1, 2027
CLU-07 CA / Jan 1 (operative): AB 747 SPARE Act — photo-documented service of process (2025 statute, Ch. 563)
· Applies to: Anyone serving process in CA, including in unlawful-detainer actions agents and PMs initiate
Proof of service must include timestamped / GPS-stamped photographs of each service attempt (new Code Civ. Proc. § 417.10) for service under CCP §§ 415.10 / 415.20 / 415.45 (unlawful-detainer posting). "Reasonable diligence" before substituted service now means at least 3 good-faith attempts on 3 different days at different times (new § 415.20(b)(2)). Counties must maintain a public register of process servers (Bus. & Prof. Code § 22355). Agent relevance: eviction and unlawful-detainer service papers served from January 1, 2027 must meet the photo standard. Added in the second pass from the chaptered text.
Effective: Signed October 10, 2025 (Ch. 563, Stats. 2025); provisions operative January 1, 2027
Source: https://ctweb.capitoltrack.com/Bills/25Bills\asm\ab_0701-0750\ab_747_93_C_bill.pdf (chaptered text, Ch. 563, Stats. 2025) · Last checked: Nov 8, 2026 · Change log: CL-61
The Rules Ledger is independent early warning, not legal or brokerage advice —
confirm with your broker. Confirm the current text in the primary source before acting. Not affiliated
with NAR, any MLS or any state association.