What is the exam-ready distinction?
| Official syllabus topic | Agency: Duties Owed to Clients, Customers, and Transaction Parties |
|---|---|
| Official PSI area | Agency |
| Published weight | 13% of the 100-question national portion |
| Source edition | PSI Georgia Candidate Information Bulletin dated July 1, 2026 |
The Rule
PSI publishes a weight for the complete official area, not a guaranteed count for this individual comparison. Use the source, document, actor, event, and timing stated in the question before applying a memorized definition.
Side-by-side comparison
Read across each row. The terms are deliberately compared on identical dimensions so the difference remains clear when the exam hides the vocabulary inside a scenario.
| Decision dimension | Client duties | Customer duties |
|---|---|---|
| Relationship | Written brokerage engagement with the broker | No brokerage engagement with that broker |
| Service level | Role-specific BRRETA duties plus signed additional duties | Ministerial assistance and applicable statutory transaction duties |
| Advice and advocacy | Within lawful authority and the engagement | No representation or discretionary advocacy for the customer |
| Duties that still matter | Honesty, accounting, confidentiality, care, and role-specific disclosure as applicable | Honesty, accounting, offer presentation, and specified adverse-fact disclosure as applicable |
Decision rule
Georgia-specific distinction
Worked example
Scenario. A listing broker gives an unrepresented buyer a blank form, published tax data, and access for an inspection, but no buyer engagement exists.
Reason it through. The buyer may receive ministerial assistance while remaining a customer. The listing broker must not turn that help into undisclosed buyer advocacy.
Answer. The buyer is a customer, not the listing broker's client.
Common exam traps
- Calling customers clients because they receive help
- Saying a broker owes customers nothing
- Importing automatic fiduciary terminology into BRRETA
- Giving a customer discretionary advice that implies representation
Original practice questions with detailed explanations
These are original instructional questions mapped to the July 1, 2026 PSI outline. They are not copied from PSI or any live examination. Choose an answer before opening the explanation.
Question 1A listing broker gives an unrepresented buyer a blank purchase form, published tax records, and access for an inspection. No buyer brokerage engagement exists. What is the buyer's status with that broker?
- A. Client, because the broker provided inspection access
- B. Customer, receiving ministerial help without representation
- C. Client, because the broker gave the buyer a contract form
- D. Neither, so the broker owes the buyer no duties at all
Show answer and explanation →
Answer: B. Customer, receiving ministerial help without representation
In Georgia a client has a written brokerage engagement, while a customer has none but may receive ministerial help. Forms, public data and access are ministerial acts, so the buyer stays a customer. Treating help as representation is the trap, and the broker must not slide into advocating for the buyer.
Question 2Under BRRETA, where do the duties a Georgia broker owes a client come from?
- A. Common-law fiduciary duties that attach to every client
- B. The duties set out in the local MLS rules the broker joined
- C. The duties in the statute plus any agreed to in writing
- D. Whatever duties the firm's policy manual chooses to adopt
Show answer and explanation →
Answer: C. The duties in the statute plus any agreed to in writing
BRRETA says a broker is not a fiduciary to any party. The broker's duties come from the statute and any additional duties the parties agree to in writing. Reaching for the traditional fiduciary list is the mistake, because many national textbooks teach it.
Question 3A listing broker is working with an unrepresented buyer who is a customer. Which statement about the broker's obligations to that buyer is correct?
- A. The broker must deal honestly and present the buyer's offers
- B. The broker owes the buyer nothing because no engagement exists
- C. The broker must advise the buyer on the best price to offer
- D. The broker may withhold required adverse facts from a customer
Show answer and explanation →
Answer: A. The broker must deal honestly and present the buyer's offers
Customer status limits representation, not honesty: a broker must still deal truthfully, account for money, present offers, and disclose the adverse facts the law requires. Saying a customer is owed nothing is the error, and advising on price would drift into advocacy the buyer never engaged.
Ready to move on?
You have this distinction down when all of these are true.
- Define every compared term without using the other term as the definition.
- Rebuild the comparison table from memory.
- State the decision rule and Georgia distinction without notes.
- Solve the worked example after changing one key fact.
- Explain the rule or fact that makes each distractor wrong.
- Answer all three original questions correctly in mixed practice on a later day.
Recommended next lesson
Continue with Listing Agreement Versus Buyer Brokerage Agreement. Client status starts with a written engagement, and the next page compares the two main ones: a listing agreement with a seller or landlord and a buyer brokerage agreement with a buyer or tenant, including scope, duration and compensation.
Return to the complete exam-concept library or the Agency hub.