How does BRRETA treat this arrangement?
- AAs designated agency, so the broker and firm are not deemed dual agents
- BAs dual agency, so both clients must sign a dual agency consent
- CAs a prohibited conflict of interest in Georgia
- DAs transaction brokerage, because the firm represents neither side
Pick an answer before you read on.
Answer: A
As designated agency, so the broker and firm are not deemed dual agents. Section 10-6A-13 lets a broker, directly or through company policy, assign different affiliated licensees as designated agents for different clients in the same transaction. When the assignment meets the statute, neither the broker, the firm, nor the affiliated licensees are deemed dual agents. Each designated agent owes their own client the full duties for that client's role.
Why each choice is right or wrong
A. As designated agency, so the broker and firm are not deemed dual agentsCorrect answer
Different affiliated licensees have been assigned to the two clients under the firm's policy. Section 10-6A-13 treats that arrangement as designated agency.
B. As dual agency, so both clients must sign a dual agency consent
The same firm is involved, but the statutory designations prevent the firm and its designated agents from being deemed dual agents in this arrangement.
C. As a prohibited conflict of interest in Georgia
Georgia expressly permits designated agency. Separate assignments, the duties to each client, and confidentiality are what make it work.
D. As transaction brokerage, because the firm represents neither side
Each designated agent represents a client. A transaction broker, by contrast, has no client relationship with either party.
The trap
"One firm, both sides" sounds like dual agency. In Georgia it is dual agency only when the same broker or licensee represents both clients without a designation.
The Rule
Designated agency lets one firm represent both sides through separate agents without becoming a dual agent.
What would change the answer
- If the broker personally represents both sides with no designation, that is dual agency, and it needs written consent from every client under § 10-6A-12.
- If one licensee is assigned to both clients, there is no designated agency, because a designated agent represents one client to the exclusion of all others in the transaction.
Where the rule comes from
- O.C.G.A. § 10-6A-13, Designated agency, actual knowledge, and confidentiality. A broker may designate different affiliated licensees for different clients; a compliant designation does not make the broker, firm, or affiliated licensees dual agents, and the statute controls actual knowledge and confidentiality.
- O.C.G.A. § 10-6A-3, BRRETA definitions. Defines client, customer, brokerage engagement and ministerial acts. A customer is someone the broker is not representing in an agency capacity but may perform ministerial acts for.
- O.C.G.A. § 10-6A-12, Broker acting as dual agent. A broker may act as a dual agent only with written consent from all clients that contains the disclosures specified by the statute.
This is an original teaching question written from the statute. It is not a PSI exam item, and it is not copied or reconstructed from one. On the exam, BRRETA sits inside the Georgia agency and listing content. The BRRETA guide covers the client and customer table and the dual and designated agency rules in one place.