How Do You Verify a Florida Real Estate Agent's License, Discipline History and Track Record?

To verify a Florida real estate agent, look them up on the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) license search at myfloridalicense.com. It shows the license type, number, status and expiration date, and clicking the agent's name opens more detail, including complaints or discipline on record. Then check the track record yourself: ask for addresses of recent closed sales, confirm a few of them in the county property appraiser's sales records, and read reviews for repeated, specific comments.

I tell every buyer and seller the same thing: do not take my word for it, check. It takes about fifteen minutes, and it is the best fifteen minutes you can spend before you hand someone the biggest financial decision of your year. Here is exactly how I would do it.

How do you look up an agent's license on myfloridalicense.com?

• Go to myfloridalicense.com and choose "Verify a Licensee."
• Pick how you want to search: by name, by license number, by city or county, or by license type. A license number is the most precise, since common names return many results.
• In the results, read the License Type (sales associate or broker), the License Number, and the Status / Expires column.
• Click the agent's name to see the detail page, including addresses on file and any complaints or discipline information the state shows.

Florida sales associate licenses start with SL and broker licenses start with BK. Ask the agent for their number. A professional will give it to you without hesitation. Mine is SL484511, and you are welcome to look it up.

What do the license statuses mean?

DBPR shows a primary status and a secondary status. The one you want to see is Current, Active, which means the licensee is up to date and allowed to practice. Here is what the others mean, based on DBPR's own glossary:

• Current, Inactive: up to date, but not allowed to work under the license right now.
• Delinquent or Lic Expired: the agent did not renew on time.
• Involuntary Inactive: also a missed renewal.
• Null and Void: the license lapsed and the person would have to reapply.
• Probation: placed on probation by the department, as discipline or a licensing condition.
• Suspended: privileges suspended for a set period.
• Revoked: the person no longer meets the requirements to hold the license.

If anything other than Current, Active shows up, ask the agent about it directly before you sign anything.

How do you check an agent's discipline history?

Start on the agent's DBPR detail page, which shows complaint and discipline information the state has made public. Keep in mind that Florida keeps the early investigation stage of a complaint confidential, so a clean page means no public action, not that no one ever filed a complaint. A single old issue that was resolved years ago may be minor. A pattern, a recent action, or a probation status deserves a direct question.

It is also fair to ask the agent: "Have you ever had a complaint or discipline with DBPR or the Florida Real Estate Commission?" How they answer tells you a lot.

How do you verify an agent's track record?

Licensing tells you the agent is legal. It does not tell you whether they are good at the kind of sale you need. For that:

• Ask for addresses. Request a list of closed sales from the last 12 months in your target city and price range, and note which side they represented, buyer or seller.
• Spot-check public records. The Palm Beach County Property Appraiser site (pbcpao.gov) offers a property search by address and sales searches, so you can confirm a sale happened and when. Martin County and Broward County have their own property appraiser sites.
• Match the property type. Waterfront in Jupiter, a condo in a building going through milestone inspections, and new construction at Avenir each take different knowledge. Ask for examples of the type you are buying or selling.
• Ask for references. Two or three recent clients with a situation like yours are more useful than a stack of five-star ratings.

What should you look for in reviews?

Read reviews on more than one site, and look for specifics repeated by different people: how fast the agent responded, how they handled an inspection problem, whether the closing stayed on schedule. Vague praise is pleasant, but it does not tell you much. My page on how to read agent reviews and rankings in Palm Beach County goes into Google, Zillow, Realtor.com and RealTrends in detail.

What else should you confirm before you sign?

• The brokerage. Every sales associate works under a licensed broker. Ask who the broker is and confirm the brokerage name on the agreement matches.
• Realtor membership. "Realtor" means the agent belongs to the National Association of REALTORS and follows its Code of Ethics. Many agents are, and it is worth asking.
• Who you will really work with. If you hire a team, verify the license of the person who will show you homes or negotiate for you, not only the person on the sign.
• The agreement itself. Buyers now sign a written agreement before touring. See what the written buyer agreement means. Sellers should read the questions to ask a listing agent in the interview.

What are the warning signs?

• The agent will not give you a license number, or the name on the license does not match.
• The status is anything other than Current, Active.
• They cannot name recent sales in your area, or the addresses do not check out.
• Every review is generic, posted in a short burst, or only on one site.

Once you have two or three agents who pass these checks, compare them side by side on local experience and process.

If you have questions about anything you find while checking an agent, including me, I am happy to talk it through. Call 561-352-3056 or reach us through our contact page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where do I check a Florida real estate license?

Use the Florida DBPR license search at myfloridalicense.com and choose Verify a Licensee. You can search by name, license number, city or county, or license type.

What license status should a Florida agent have?

Current, Active. That means the license is up to date and the agent may practice. Inactive, delinquent, suspended, probation or revoked statuses deserve a direct question.

Does the DBPR lookup show complaints?

Clicking the agent's name opens a detail page that includes complaint or discipline information the state has made public. Early investigations are confidential, so a clean record means no public action.

How can I confirm an agent's past sales?

Ask for addresses of recent closed sales and spot-check them on the county property appraiser's site, such as pbcpao.gov for Palm Beach County.

What do SL and BK mean on a Florida license?

SL is a sales associate license and BK is a broker license. Sales associates work under a licensed broker.

Published: July 24, 2026 | Updated: October 16, 2026