Since April 1, 2024, Connecticut's real estate law treats your website as advertising and spells out what it must show: every page of a broker's site must prominently display the name exactly as licensed, a phone number or email address, and the date property information was last revised, unless it updates automatically from the MLS. Agents' and team sites must also show the supervising broker's name and contact details in at least the same font size as the agent's own.
This guide turns the Department of Consumer Protection's summary and the statute into a checklist you can hand to whoever manages your site, then adds New York's requirements for Greenwich-area agents who also sell in Westchester. It's practical guidance, not legal advice; your broker or counsel has the final word.
What changed in Connecticut real estate advertising in 2024?
Public Act 23-84, effective April 1, 2024, rewrote the definitions in Chapter 392 of the General Statutes. The new definition of "advertising" in C.G.S. § 20-311(1) covers print media, including outdoor signage and periodicals; audio or video broadcast and streaming; and written or photographic material posted online, sent by text or email, or distributed by other electronic means. Websites, social posts, listing emails and texts are all in.
The law also now distinguishes supervising licensees (brokers) from supervised licensees (associate brokers, salespeople and team members), with different advertising duties for each. And it tightens naming: advertising can't imply a group is a licensed business entity unless it is one, a group can't imply it's a team unless it's registered as one, and a team still can't imply it's a business entity.
What must every page of a broker's website show?
Per the Department of Consumer Protection (DCP), a supervising licensee's internet site must prominently display, on each webpage:
Name as it appears on the license
Exactly as licensed, not a shortened brand, a logo-only mark or a tagline.
Phone number or email address
At least one direct way to reach the brokerage.
Last date property information was revised
Required unless the information updates automatically as changes are made in the MLS.
Joint advertising details
If you advertise on behalf of or together with another licensee, show both licensees' names and both phone numbers and email addresses on the applicable pages.
How to implement it without thinking about it again
Put the licensed name and contact details in the global header or footer so every page, including blog posts and landing pages, inherits them. For listings, a live IDX feed covers the date rule; add a visible note that listings update automatically from the MLS. Anything posted by hand, such as an exclusive listing page or a market report, should print a "last updated" date generated from the content system, so it can't be forgotten.
Agent websites: your broker's name at least as big as yours
Supervised licensees (associate brokers and salespeople) have their own list. On each webpage of an agent site, DCP's summary requires the agent's name as it appears on the license (or an approved nickname), a phone number or email address, the last date property information was revised (again, unless automatic from the MLS), and the supervising licensee's name and phone number or email address in at least the same font size as the agent's.
Associate brokers must also follow every advertising standard that applies to brokers and include the supervising licensee's name at a prominent location in all of their advertisements (C.G.S. § 20-312c(d)).
The font-size rule is where designs go wrong. A large agent name in the hero and a small brokerage logo in the corner fails. So does a brokerage name that exists only inside a logo image. Set the brokerage name as live text with a size at least equal to the agent's name, and check it on phones, where headers are often restyled.
Teams and group names
Under § 20-311, a team is two or more licensees affiliated with the same supervising licensee who advertise as a group using a team name. Teams must register with DCP; § 20-312(e) sets a $565 initial registration fee and a $375 annual renewal, and the team must report changes within twelve days.
The team name itself is regulated. It must include the full name of at least one licensed member, or be immediately followed by "at" or "of" and the supervising licensee's full name. It can't include anyone who isn't licensed, and, apart from the word "team," it can't use terms that imply a business entity, such as "associates," "company," "group," "LLC," "real estate" or "realty." Teams must also follow brokers' advertising standards and include their supervising licensee's name (§ 20-312(g)).
Before you launch or redesign, review your logo, domain, social handles and email signatures against those rules, not just the words in your page copy. A site called "The Smith Group" is the kind of branding the statute is aimed at.
Selling in Westchester too? New York's website add-ons
Greenwich agents licensed in New York have more to add. Under 19 NYCRR 175.29(c), every website created and maintained by a broker, associate broker, salesperson or real estate team must prominently and conspicuously display, on its homepage, a link to the Department of State's fair housing notice.
New York brokers must also post Standardized Operating Procedures under Real Property Law § 442-h, in effect since April 20, 2022. According to the Department of State, the procedures must appear on each publicly available website and mobile app the broker maintains; agents' sites must show the broker's procedures or a direct link to them; the procedures must address whether prospective clients must show identification, whether an exclusive broker agreement is required and whether mortgage pre-approval is required; and updates must be posted within 30 days, with each version date-stamped, notarized and archived. The Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors' legal column also flags a tenant reasonable-accommodation notice that brokerages should make available on their websites.
Compliance checklist for your real estate website
Header or footer on every page
Licensed name, phone or email; for agents and teams, the supervising broker's name and contact details at equal or larger font size.
Listing dates
"Updated automatically from the MLS" note on IDX pages; a generated "last updated" date on anything posted manually.
Team registration
Registered with DCP, with a name that includes a licensed member's full name or "at/of" the broker, and no entity-style words.
Social and email
Licensed name plus a link to the compliant site in every bio, signature and electronic post.
New York pages
Homepage link to the fair housing notice and a posted or linked copy of the broker's Standardized Operating Procedures.
Annual review
Re-check after every redesign, brokerage change or team change, since each can break the rules above.
Build compliance into the template, not the listing
The cheapest way to stay compliant is to make the rules part of the site's components, so editors can't publish a page without them. Our real estate website service builds sites for Greenwich, Fairfield County and Westchester agents and brokerages, and business websites start at $2,500 (see our web design service). If you're also sorting out listing feeds, read our guide to Greenwich MLS, SmartMLS and OneKey IDX.
Frequently asked questions
Do Connecticut real estate websites need a "last updated" date?
Yes, unless property information updates automatically from the MLS. Connecticut's 2024 rules require broker and agent websites to prominently display, on each webpage, the last date property information on the site was revised. A live IDX feed satisfies the exception for listings; manually posted property information needs a visible date.
How big must my broker's name be on my agent website?
At least the same font size as your own name. Connecticut requires supervised licensees to show the supervising licensee's name and phone number or email address on each webpage, in the same size font or larger than the agent's.
Can a Connecticut real estate team call itself "The Smith Group"?
No. A team name can't include words that imply a business entity, such as associates, company, group, LLC, real estate or realty; only the word team is allowed. The name must include the full name of at least one licensed team member or be followed by at or of and the supervising licensee's name, and the team must be registered with the Department of Consumer Protection.
Do Instagram and Facebook posts count as advertising in Connecticut?
Yes. Connecticut's definition of advertising covers material posted online and sent by electronic means. Posts on social media, apps, texts and email must prominently include your name as it appears on your license and a link to a website that meets the state's website requirements.
What does a New York real estate website need?
Under 19 NYCRR 175.29, a homepage link to the Department of State's fair housing notice, displayed prominently and conspicuously. Brokers must also post their Standardized Operating Procedures on each public website and app under Real Property Law § 442-h, and agents' sites must show them or link to them.
Make the rules part of the website itself
Connecticut's 2024 changes are specific enough to build into a template: licensed names and contact details on every page, equal-size broker attribution for agents and teams, listing dates, compliant team names and a link rule for social media. Add New York's homepage notice and operating procedures if you work Westchester, and review everything whenever your brokerage or team changes.
Social media, email and texts: the link rule
When a broker or agent publishes on electronic media, which DCP describes as social media sites, computer or mobile apps, text messages or similar messaging services and email, the post must prominently include the name as it appears on the license and a link to an internet site that complies with the website requirements above.
In practice that means a compliant link in every Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn bio, an email signature template with your licensed name and site link, and a link in listing texts and newsletters. The link should land on a page that carries all the required disclosures, not on a third-party page you don't control.