Before you read
Test yourself first: 5 questions
Question 1 of 5
Who is primarily responsible for maintaining the firm's trust account and ensuring transaction and advertising records are kept and supervised in a Wisconsin brokerage?
Answer: A. Wisconsin places supervisory responsibility on the firm's broker. The supervising broker must maintain the trust account, ensure proper handling of funds, and oversee the firm's records and the conduct/advertising of associated licensees.
Question 2 of 5
Wisconsin trust-account record-keeping requires a firm to maintain, for each trust account, all of the following EXCEPT:
Answer: A. Wisconsin firms must keep trust-account records showing all receipts and disbursements, identifying each transaction and beneficiary, retained for the required period and available for DSPS inspection. Clients' personal tax returns are not part of required trust-account records.
Question 3 of 5
A Wisconsin salesperson wants to run a Facebook ad for a listing. To avoid a 'blind ad' violation, the advertisement must:
Answer: A. Wisconsin prohibits blind advertising. Any advertising of a listed property by a licensee must include the name of the firm/broker. A salesperson advertises in the name of and under the supervision of the licensed firm, never as if independently acting.
Question 4 of 5
A group of agents within a Wisconsin firm operates as 'The Lakeside Team.' Under Wisconsin advertising/operations rules, the team name in advertising must:
Answer: A. A team is not a separately licensed brokerage. In Wisconsin, a team name may be used in advertising only together with the name of the licensed firm under which the team operates, so consumers are not misled into thinking the team is an independent brokerage.
Question 5 of 5
Which advertising practice by a Wisconsin salesperson is permitted under state rules?
Answer: B. Wisconsin prohibits blind advertising; a salesperson's advertisement of listed property must disclose the name of the supervising firm or broker so the public knows who is responsible.
Keep the streak going with more questions like these, each with a full rationale.
What you need to know
Ads must avoid creating a false impression about the property, the price, or who is offering it, and any material adverse facts known to the licensee must be disclosed. Brokerage firms must keep complete transaction and trust-account records, with client funds held in designated trust accounts separate from firm operating funds. These records must be retained for the period set by DSPS rules and made available to the Real Estate Examining Board on request.
Wisconsin Advertising & Record-Keeping Rules: FAQs
Is Wisconsin Advertising & Record-Keeping Rules on the real estate exam?
Yes. State License Law is a scored domain on the Wisconsin real estate licensing exam, and this topic appears in the state license-law portion.
Is this cheat sheet free?
Yes — every page on Cinna RE's resource library is free to read, print and share. The app adds practice questions, mock exams and a readiness score.
Does Wisconsin test this differently?
Wisconsin applies its own license law on top of the national portion. This page covers the Wisconsin rules specifically, which is what the state section of your exam tests.
