The hotline gets regular questions from brokers about filing and registering business names. Brokers oftentimes say or imply “Hey, ORS 696.290(4) allows me to create an LLC, corporation, LLP, or other company for compensation. So my plan was to register [my name] Realty, LLC with OREA.” Unfortunate answer: don’t do that unless you’re in some very specific circumstances. We have to break it down because the law is somewhat poorly written in this instance and uses repetitive terms.
OREA business registration – ORS 696.026 grants OREA the right to establish rules “for the registration and renewal of business names.” In this instance though, “registered business name” is a defined term under ORS 696.010(23), as “a name registered with the Real Estate Agency under which the individual registering the name engages in professional real estate activity.” This means, OREA handles the ability to do professional real estate activities under a specific name. ORS 696.026(2)(b)(A) requires that any name registered with OREA equally be registered with the Secretary of State and ORS 696.026(2)(b)(B) gives a small space to register a business name that is “the name under which the principal real estate broker or licensed real estate property manager license was issued” [e.g. “John Smith” can be registered to OREA’s systems allowing the individual to run a business under their exact licensed name, but something like “John Smith Realty” is not the name Mr. Smith registered with OREA], so unless you’re registering exactly your OREA name, you can’t have an OREA name registration that is otherwise not registered with the Secretary of State. OAR 863-015-0095(7) notes that no broker is allowed to engage in professional real estate activities under more than one registered business name [OREA registered business name], but there is a special carveout for working under registered businesses that are affiliated or subsidiary organizations under OAR 863-015-0061 [i.e. the two companies have the same owner who has 51%+ ownership in both businesses, basically just saying “you work for the same company in either case”].