Maryland: buyer-agreement requirements.

This page lists what Maryland requires, at the state level, before a licensee represents a buyer: who regulates real-estate licensees, whether a written buyer agreement is required by state law or rule, the statute or rule that says so, and whether the state mandates an agency-disclosure form or publishes an approved agreement form.

It is built for broker-owners and transaction coordinators who need the state rule in one place before setting office policy. Read it alongside your brokerage's own forms and your broker of record's guidance — the written-agreement question became a national practice issue in 2024, but the rule that binds you is your state's, and it is the state rule this page cites.

Maryland, field by field.

Regulating authority

Maryland Real Estate Commission (MREC) — Maryland Dept. of Labor, Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing

Written agreement required by state law

Yes

Statute or rule

Md. Code, Bus. Occ. & Prof. § 17-528(e) (definition of 'buyer's agent'); Commission forms mandated by Bus. Occ. & Prof. § 17-530 and COMAR 09.11.08.01. Statute read at mgaleg.maryland.gov; regulation and forms at regs.maryland.gov and labor.maryland.gov.

Agency disclosure form

Yes — mandatory. Under Bus. Occ. & Prof. § 17-530 and COMAR 09.11.08.01, the model Agency Disclosure and Dual Agency Consent forms provided by the Maryland Real Estate Commission 'shall be used in all applicable real property transactions.' MREC's disclosure form is 'Understanding Whom Real Estate Agents Represent' (labor.maryland.gov/forms/mrecrearep.pdf). Disclosure is due not later than the first scheduled face-to-face contact with the buyer; if first contact is not face-to-face, the licensee must disclose through the medium in which contact occurs.

State-approved form available

Yes — mandatory use

Notes. Read the 'Yes' precisely, because it is definitional rather than a standalone command. § 17-528(e) defines a buyer's agent as a licensee who, 'in accordance with a written brokerage agreement, represents a prospective buyer or lessee in the acquisition of real estate for sale or for lease.' So in Maryland you cannot be a buyer's agent without a written brokerage agreement — the requirement is built into the role. We did NOT verify a separate provision fixing the deadline by which that agreement must be signed, so do not assume the answer is 'before touring' or 'before an offer'.