Division Updates

Newsletters

In our recent newsletter, the Utah Division of Real Estate stated licensees should submit, among other documents, “[a]ll communications with relevant parties, including email and text messages” to brokers for record-keeping.

We’d like to address any misunderstandings that may have arisen with the publication of this article and subsequent commentary by industry participants on social media.

Utah Code § 61-2f-401(9) indicates:

“The following acts are unlawful and grounds for disciplinary action for a person licensed or required to be licensed under this chapter:

(9) failing to keep and make available for inspection by the division a record of each transaction, including:

(a) the names of buyers and sellers or lessees and lessors;

(b) the identification of real estate;

(c) the sale or rental price;

(d) money received in trust;

(e) agreements or instructions from buyers and sellers or lessees and lessors; and

(f) any other information required by rule;”

This statutory provision makes clear that “a record of each transaction” is what must be kept and made available for the division’s inspection by licensees or persons who should be licensed. Please note that this requirement applies to all licensees and not only brokers. Subsection 401(9) provides examples of what is included in this “record,” none of which reference format. For instance, items that are material to the transaction, in other words, that have importance, relevance, or consequence to a person making a decision regarding the purchase, sale, or lease of real estate, may come in the form of an email, text message, or other form of electronic communication. If any of these items are material and in the form of email, text message, or any other form of electronic communications, licensees should consider those communications parts of this “record.”

Subsection 401(9)(f) includes “any other information required by rule” in its list of examples of what is included in a “record of each transaction.” Utah Administrative Code R162-2f-401k speaks to recordkeeping requirements of principal brokers:

“A principal broker shall:

(1) maintain and safeguard the following records to the extent they relate to the business of a principal broker:

(a) trust account records, including the monthly reconciliation of the trust account;

(b) any document submitted by a licensee affiliated with the principal broker to a lender or underwriter as part of a real estate transaction;

(c) any document signed by a seller or buyer with whom the principal broker or an affiliated licensee is required to have an agency agreement; and

(d) any document created or executed by a licensee over whom the principal broker has supervisory responsibility pursuant to Subsection R162-2f-401c(1)(c);

(2) maintain the records identified in Subsection R162-2f-401k(1):

(a)(i) physically:

(A) at the principal business location designated by the principal broker on division records; or

(B) where applicable, at a branch office as designated by the principal broker on division records; or

(ii) electronically, in a storage system that complies with Title 46 Chapter 04, Utah Uniform Electronic Transactions Act; and

(b) for at least three calendar years following the year in which:

(i) an offer is rejected;

(ii) the transaction either closes or fails; or

(iii) in a lease transaction, the termination of the lease agreement;

(3) upon request of the division, make any record identified in Subsection (1) available for inspection and copying by the division;

(4) notify the division in writing within ten business days after terminating business operations as to where business records will be maintained; and

(5) upon filing for brokerage bankruptcy, notify the division in writing of:(a) the filing; and(b) the current location of brokerage records.”

Please understand that the division may request, among other things, documents beyond your transaction file in an investigation. This is entirely lawful and appropriate, and any suggestion to the contrary is false. Please see Utah Code § 61-2f-402 for further information about investigations conducted by the division and our authority to request information during an investigation.

Our intention in the newsletter was to encourage licensees to protect themselves by mindfully retaining documents that could show that a licensee's action was authorized, in addition to any documents required by law to be retained. We appreciate your concerns and encourage you to reach out if you have questions moving forward.

Commission and Board Meetings

Commission and Board Meetings can now be attended in person or virtually. To join our virtual Commission and Board meetings, please email Leigh Veillette at lveillette@utah.gov for the meeting information. To attend in person, most meetings are held in Room 250 in the Heber M. Wells Building, 160 East 300 South in Salt Lake City.

RapBack Enrollment

New Licensees

All Real Estate & Appraisal licensing applicants are REQUIRED to provide their Digital Fingerprinting Receipt OR two (2) fingerprint cards (blue FD-258) at the time of application, OR THE APPLICATION WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED FOR PROCESSING.

Rap Back FAQ

In an effort to help all licensees avoid any delays in license renewal, these are the most common questions we receive about RAP Back and license renewal:

The Division of Real Estate has tried to make it as convenient as possible for licensees to be fingerprinted. During the process detailed in number 7 below, licensees will be given a list of fingerprinting locations. Please select one of the locations to have your fingerprints taken. If you select the Division, please keep in mind that while the Division does offer fingerprinting services, we do so by appointment only and require licensees to wear a mask. Please schedule your appointment on the Division’s website before arriving at the Division. Remember that there are numerous other locations that offer fingerprinting services including most police stations.

To renew their license, each Real Estate and Appraisal licensee must go here to review and sign a Consent to Background Check Form. This will all be done electronically and licensees will have the ability to print a copy of the completed form for their own records.
After, and only after the licensee reviews and signs the consent form, will they have access to the Authorization for Live Scan Fingerprinting Form that licensees are required to take with them to be fingerprinted. The form requires you to enter specific information that must be presented to your fingerprint vendor. Only forms with electronically entered licensee information should be provided to your fingerprint vendor (hand written information on the form is prohibited). Please do not make copies of this authorization form for other licensees; the FBI requires that each licensee sign the consent form. Failure to review and sign the consent form on the Division’s website would likely prevent you from being able to be fingerprinted and renew your license.
The Consent to Background Check form and the Authorization for Live Scan Fingerprinting Form can be found on the main page of the Division website. When you are authorized to be fingerprinted (based on information found in Question 4 above), go to the RAP Back Service page.

A copy of your license, or at least your license number, as you must submit your license number with your fingerprints;
Valid driver’s license or passport; and,
The Authorization for Live Scan Fingerprinting Form that you can print on our website once you have completed the Consent to Background Check Form. Print the completed authorization form and bring the form with you when you are fingerprinted. If you do not have all the requested information on the authorization form, you may not be fingerprinted, or your background check may not properly link to your license, which could delay your license renewal.

If you are fingerprinted using Direct Electronic Submission the processing time is typically up to 5 days. If you are fingerprinted using paper fingerprint cards (Two Original FD-258 Fingerprint Cards) it can take 15-30 days to process. Keep this in mind when deciding when and where to be fingerprinted. If you know you will be using a location that only does paper fingerprint cards, plan accordingly.

You will be prevented from renewing your license until the RELMS system receives an electronic acknowledgement from the Utah Bureau of Criminal Identification (BCI) that you have submitted your fingerprints to the FBI for processing, you have no criminal history, or the Division has reviewed your criminal history.

Most Direct Electronic Submission locations will still print off a fingerprint card for your records. The only time you need to send the fingerprint cards to the Division is if your fingerprints were not electronically submitted to BCI. If you are unsure, please ask the third-party provider if your fingerprints have been direct electronically submitted to BCI. If they have been electronically submitted to BCI, you may retain the cards for your own records. If they have not been submitted electronically to BCI, you may send the printed fingerprint cards (Two Original FD-258 Cards) to the Division and we will submit the cards electronically to BCI.