For the first time in history, nearly all of the nation’s 1.1 million Realtors have taken a refresher training course and passed an examination on the Realtor Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice. Realtors must now take the ethics training at least once every four-year cycle to retain their membership.

The Code, which addresses relationships between Realtors and their customers, clients, colleagues and the public, is constantly reviewed and amended to ensure it addresses changing business conditions.

To complete the required quadrennial ethics training takes at least two hours and thirty minutes of instructional time. Failure to complete the required periodic ethics training is considered a violation of a membership duty for which Realtor membership is suspended until the required training is completed. Compliance with the quadrennial requirement is nearly universal, according to reports from the nation’s 1,600 Realtor boards and associations. Few, if any, other professional organizations in the nation have put in place such rigorous ethics training requirements for their members.

“All Realtors must know and comply with the Code. It sets Realtors apart from other real estate licensees and assures clients and customers that we will go beyond what’s required by law to win their trust. We are committed to making the Code as effective as possible,” said Al Mansell, NAR president and CEO of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Salt Lake City.

NAR adopted a strict Code of Ethics in 1913 with the “Golden Rule” as its theme. NAR became the second business group in the nation to follow the professions of medicine, law and engineering in the formation and enforcement of a code for its members.

All Realtors must subscribe to the Code when they join NAR, and Realtors are subject to disciplinary action and sanctions if they violate the duties imposed by the Code.