# Agency & Brokerage > Intermediary status, sponsoring broker supervision, and how Texas structures agency differently from the general national rules. **Source:** https://www.texasreprep.com/learn/texas-real-estate/texas-agency-brokerage **Published:** 2026-08-24 **Updated:** 2026-09-02 Texas RE PREP™ — independent practice for the Texas real estate license exam, National (Uniform) and Texas State portions. Not affiliated with, endorsed by or operated by the Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) or Pearson VUE, who administer the actual exam. --- Texas has its own specific structure for handling one brokerage representing both sides of a deal — and it's tested separately from the general agency concepts on the national portion. ## The intermediary relationship When one Texas brokerage represents both the buyer and the seller in the same transaction, the broker generally becomes an **intermediary** — a distinct status under Texas law, with its own written-consent and conduct requirements, rather than simply "representing both sides" the way dual agency might be described more generally elsewhere. Appointed license holders As an intermediary, a broker may appoint one license holder to work with the buyer and a different one to work with the seller — each appointed license holder can advocate more directly for their own party's side, while the broker itself stays neutral between them. ## Sponsoring broker supervision Every active Texas sales agent works under a **sponsoring broker**, who carries legal responsibility for supervising the agent's real estate activities. An agent can't operate independently, and a license that goes inactive can't be used to practice real estate at all until it's reactivated. ## How and when intermediary consent is obtained Intermediary status isn't automatic just because a brokerage happens to represent both sides — it generally requires each party's written consent, and that consent is typically built into the representation agreements themselves (the listing agreement and the buyer representation agreement) rather than requested as an afterthought once a conflict has already arisen. A broker acting as intermediary generally must treat both parties fairly, may not disclose confidential information to the other side, and — separately — generally may not disclose that a party is willing to accept a price or terms less favorable than what's currently on the table, unless that party specifically authorizes it. ## What an unlicensed assistant can and can't do Brokerages regularly employ unlicensed administrative staff, and Texas law draws a real line around what they're permitted to do. Generally permitted: scheduling appointments, submitting listings to the MLS on a licensed agent's instruction, distributing already-prepared marketing materials, and other purely clerical tasks. Generally prohibited without a license: negotiating on behalf of a party, discussing contract terms, showing property while answering substantive questions about it, or anything else that amounts to actually practicing real estate. An unlicensed assistant handing over a lockbox code and leaving is very different from one who stays and starts answering questions about the seller's flexibility on price — the second crosses into activity requiring a license. ## Client vs. customer, Texas-style The underlying distinction is the same as the national concept — a client gets full representation and fiduciary duties, a customer gets honesty and fair dealing without full representation — but Texas requires specific written disclosures at specific points in the relationship to make clear which one a party actually is. Common trap An agent doesn't personally set the intermediary status on a deal by deciding to be "extra helpful" to the other side. Intermediary status is triggered by the brokerage's representation on both sides of the same transaction, and it comes with its own required disclosures — it isn't just a description of an agent's attitude. Quick Check A Texas brokerage represents both the buyer and the seller in the same transaction. What does the broker generally become? An intermediary, with the option to appoint separate license holders to each party A subagent of the seller's original listing broker A customer-facing agent with no fiduciary duties to either party A dual agent, using the exact same term and process as most other states Texas structures this specific situation through the intermediary relationship — a distinct legal status with its own written-consent requirements, distinguishable from how “dual agency” is sometimes described more generally under other states' law, and it permits appointing separate license holders to each side.