DREB&P Code 10140.6Read at the source
Real estate advertising rules in California
Solicitation material meant to be a first point of contact with consumers must show the DRE licence number, and that number may not be printed smaller than the smallest text in the piece.
What has to be on the post
- your own name, as it appears on your licence
- the licensed name of your brokerage
- your licence number
B&P Code 10140.6 sets a floor on the licence number: it may not be printed smaller than the smallest text in the piece. That is measurable, and most templates fail it by accident.
The part that is easy to get wrong
A market-update post that invites a consumer to contact you is first-point-of-contact material.
The numbers, in one place
| 3 | requirements DRE puts on the ad itself |
|---|---|
| 51 | US jurisdictions LOKAL carries, read at the source |
| 15 | of them set a text SIZE rule, not just a mention |
| 2 | require the licence number on the advertisement |
| 100 % | the floor on your licence number against the smallest text |
| 2026 | the year this rule was last read at the source |
| 29 % | of US jurisdictions turn this into a measurable size rule |
| 14,853 | US markets LOKAL can pre-fill, down to the ZIP code |
| $29 | a month for the tool that checks this before you post |
A worked example, and why one template cannot do it
Two states contradict each other outright, and it is the clearest case study of why this matters. Texas asks for the broker name at 50 % of the largest agent contact text; Illinois asks for 100 %. A layout built for Texas is therefore non-compliant in Illinois, and the difference is not a missing word but a font size. That result is only visible if something measures the pixels after drawing them, which is what LOKAL does before you post.
Where this comes from
DRE, B&P Code 10140.6. Read the rule at the source
Your state regulator is not the only one with a say. These federal sources apply on top of B&P Code 10140.6, and no state commission will remind you of them:
- HUD, fair housing advertising and marketing
- FTC endorsement guides, for posts that carry a claim
- CFPB, when a post mentions rates or financing
LOKAL reproduces published regulator guidance and checks what it draws against it. It is not legal advice, and it does not replace your broker's review.
LOKAL checks this on the image, not on a form.
Pick your market, set your signature once, and LOKAL measures what it actually drew against B&P Code 10140.6 before you post. It carries all 51 US jurisdictions.
Open the generator for CaliforniaOther jurisdictions
Questions
- What must appear on a real estate ad in California?
- Under B&P Code 10140.6, DRE requires your own name, as it appears on your licence; the licensed name of your brokerage; your licence number. Solicitation material meant to be a first point of contact with consumers must show the DRE licence number, and that number may not be printed smaller than the smallest text in the piece.
- Does a social media post count as advertising in California?
- DRE writes its rule for advertising in any medium, and a market-update post that invites contact is advertising. The safest place for the disclosures is inside the image itself, because a caption can be truncated and a bio can be missed.
- Is there a size requirement in California?
- B&P Code 10140.6 sets a floor on the licence number: it may not be printed smaller than the smallest text in the piece. That is measurable, and most templates fail it by accident.
- Anything easy to get wrong in California?
- A market-update post that invites a consumer to contact you is first-point-of-contact material.
How this page is written and checked
Written by the engineering team at INEYA Studio, the software studio that builds LOKAL. The California rule on this page was read at DRE's own published text in 2026, not summarised from a third party.
It is checked automatically on every build against the compliance table the product itself applies: B&P Code 10140.6 appears on this page only because LOKAL enforces exactly that rule when it draws your image. A page that claimed a requirement the product does not check would fail the build.
Reviewed by the engineering team at INEYA Studio on 2026-09-17, and re-checked automatically on every deployment. Found something out of date? Tell us and we will correct it.