The Information About Brokerage Services notice — universally called the IABS — is usually the first TREC-mandated document a Texas consumer sees, and it's not part of the contract at all. It's a standalone disclosure required by Texas Occupations Code §1101.558 (TRELA), and the current promulgated version is TREC No. IABS 1-2, mandatory for use as of January 1, 2026, replacing IABS 1-1. TREC adopts the notice by reference in its own rule, 22 TAC §531.20. The 1-2 revision exists because of SB 1968 (89th Legislature), which removed subagency from TRELA and added new non-representation-status and written-buyer-agreement requirements — the same bill behind Dossie's separate SB 1968 guide. If you're still handing out IABS 1-1 after December 31, 2025, you're using an outdated form.
When you have to give it
Section 1101.558(b-1) sets the trigger: at the time of a license holder's first substantive communication with a party relating to a proposed transaction regarding specific real property, the license holder must provide that party a written notice, in at least 10-point font, that describes (1) the ways a broker can represent a party — including as an intermediary, (2) the broker's basic duties to a represented party, (3) the broker's obligations to a party the broker does not represent, and (4) contact information for the license holder, the license holder's supervisor, and the broker. That's separate from — and comes on top of — the lighter-weight disclosure in §1101.558(b): a license holder who already represents a party must disclose that representation, orally or in writing, at first contact with another party or another license holder representing another party.
The three exceptions
Section 1101.558(c) carves out exactly three situations where the written IABS notice is not required:
- A residential lease of less than one year where a sale is not being considered.
- A meeting with a party already known to be represented by another license holder.
- Communication at an open house, if it concerns that same property.
Outside those three, if you're talking to someone about a specific property with a transaction in mind, the clock on "first substantive communication" is already running.
How it can be delivered
22 TAC §531.20 lists the acceptable delivery methods: personal delivery, first-class mail, overnight common carrier delivery, in the body of an email, as an email attachment, or as a link within an email body — provided the email makes specific reference to the IABS Notice. One hard restriction: the link to a completed IABS Notice may not sit in a footnote or a signature block. It has to be called out affirmatively in the message itself, not buried where a consumer could reasonably miss it.
Website and social media posting
Separate from handing it to an individual party, 22 TAC §531.20 also requires a link to the license holder's completed IABS Notice on the homepage of any business website, in a readily noticeable place — labeled either "Texas Real Estate Commission Information About Brokerage Services" in at least 10-point font, or "TREC Information About Brokerage Services" in at least 12-point font. If a social media profile qualifies as a business website, the same link requirement applies there, either on the profile itself or via a direct link to a page carrying it.
Can you customize it?
Reproduction has to be verbatim — same text, same spacing, same borders as the promulgated form. The only field license holders may prefill is the broker contact information section. You are not required to add your license number suffix to the form, your advertising, or your contracts, though you may.
What happens if you skip it
Failing to provide the IABS notice when it's required is a violation of TRELA Subchapter L (§1101.558). Under §1101.652, TREC can suspend or revoke a license, or take other disciplinary action, against a license holder who violates the chapter or a Commission rule adopted under it — and TREC's own published guidance on the related intermediary provisions (§§1101.558–.561) states noncompliance "may subject them to disciplinary sanctions by the Commission, including but not limited to, revocation, suspension, reprimand and/or an administrative penalty," with penalty amounts set under the schedule at 22 TAC §535.191. Beyond the license-discipline exposure, skipping the notice also removes your paper trail that a party was told, in writing, how representation works and who you actually work for — exactly the kind of gap that turns an "I thought you were representing me" dispute into a TREC complaint.