Check the License Before Signing: How to Vet a Long Island Real Estate Agent With State Records

A 56-minute PBS episode that aired on February 17, 2026, put a three-year Newsday investigation back in front of Long Island viewers. Newsday Investigates: Long Island Divided, presented by THIRTEEN PBS and WLIW PBS, revisits reporting first published in 2019, when journalists sent paired testers to real estate agents across the region and compared how each was treated.

Watch: Newsday Investigates: Long Island Divided (PBS)

The reporting is a useful starting point for a practical question. Most advice on hiring an agent focuses on interview questions, which the blog already covers in How to Choose the Right Real Estate Agent on Long Island. A second layer sits underneath the interview: public records and state-required paperwork that anyone can check before a single document is signed. This guide walks through that layer in order.

What the 2019 Investigation Changed on Paper

As summarized by 27east, Newsday ran 86 paired tests across Long Island over roughly three years. In 40 percent of them, the evidence suggested minority testers were treated differently. The same coverage reported that only one of six real estate licensing classes the reporters attended spent a full three hours on fair housing.

New York responded with rules and enforcement. According to amNY, a 2020 law gave the Department of State authority to suspend or revoke the license of an agent or broker found to have violated the state Human Rights Law, and new disclosure rules for real estate professionals had been approved the previous December. Governor Andrew Cuomo, quoted in that report, said, “We have zero tolerance for discrimination of any kind in New York.”

Two state forms came out of that period, and both remain in use. The Department of State’s Housing and Anti-Discrimination Disclosure Form (DOS-2156) carries a current revision dated 11-25. The agency relationship form, the New York State Disclosure Form for Buyer and Seller (DOS-1736-f), carries a 09/21 revision. Each one is a checkpoint a buyer or seller can ask for.

Step 1: Confirm the License Exists and Is Current

Real estate brokers and salespersons in New York are licensed by the Department of State. Brokers hold a license with a two-year term. Salespersons also hold a two-year license, and the department states that a salesperson must be associated with a broker and works under that broker’s supervision. In practice, the name on the business card and the name of the supervising brokerage should both check out.

The Department’s consumer guide directs people to its eAccessNY name search and cautions against relying on a business card or an advertisement alone. The eAccessNY Search by Name page accepts an individual’s last and first name (two characters minimum each) or an organization’s name (four characters minimum). Two points to keep in mind:

• The page describes the search mechanics but not which fields the results display, so what appears for a given licensee can vary. Confirm the licensee’s name, firm, and active status against what the agent has provided.
• The Department’s separate Licensee Search page lists 22 license types, and real estate brokers and salespersons are not among them. If a name does not appear in eAccessNY, the Division of Licensing Services can be reached at (518) 474-4429 or through its licensing contact form.

A name that cannot be found is not proof of anything by itself, since spelling, nicknames, and name changes all cause misses. It is a reason to ask the agent directly and to call the Department before going further.

Step 2: Ask for the Two Required Forms

The agency disclosure explains whom an agent works for, and the housing disclosure explains consumer rights under fair housing law. The agency form states outright that it is not a contract. Both are short documents that can be read at the kitchen table.

The agency form (DOS-1736-f). According to the form itself, the agent checks a box for the relationship that applies and the buyer or seller signs to acknowledge receipt. A person can receive more than one copy during a transaction, because each agent who assists may need to present it. The form describes five relationships:

Relationship	Who the agent works for	Key point from the form
Seller’s agent	The seller	Owes the seller loyalty, confidentiality, and full disclosure; does not represent the buyer
Buyer’s agent	The buyer	The mirror image of the seller’s agent; does not represent the seller
Broker’s agent	Neither party directly	Assists a listing or buyer’s agent, usually from another firm; takes direction from that agent
Dual agent	Both buyer and seller	Requires informed written consent from both; cannot offer undivided loyalty to either side
Dual agent with designated sales agents	Buyer and seller, through two different salespersons	Requires written consent; the broker assigns one salesperson to each side under supervision

The form contains no compensation language, so fees are not settled by this document. That belongs to the written agreement covered in Step 4. Readers weighing dual agency in particular can find the longer treatment in The Dual Agency Disclosure You Signed Does Not Mean What You Think It Means.

The housing form (DOS-2156). The housing and anti-discrimination form is provided by licensed brokers and salespersons to buyers, tenants, sellers, and landlords, with a line for the recipient to sign and date. It lists protected characteristics, describes prohibited conduct (including misrepresenting availability, steering, and discriminatory advertising), and states that retaliation for filing a complaint is unlawful. Filing a complaint is free. The form names two places to file: the NYS Division of Human Rights at (844) 697-3471 or dhr.ny.gov, and the Department of State’s Division of Licensing Services at (518) 474-4429.

An agent with no form to hand over, or one who hesitates, has supplied information too.

Step 3: Look for a Disciplinary Record

The Department’s Division of Licensing Services brings disciplinary proceedings against licensees, and the resulting decisions are issued by the Department’s Office of Administrative Hearings. Outcomes in decisions of this kind can include restitution orders, fines, suspension, and revocation, depending on the violations found. Published decisions are posted on the Department’s docs.dos.ny.gov site, and a web search for an agent’s exact name combined with that domain is a reasonable way to check.

The Department’s consumer guide, last revised in 2021 and possibly updated since, says the agency investigates hundreds of complaints each year. It lists common violations as mishandling or overcharging fees or deposits, making false claims, and failing to complete required continuing education.

A search that returns nothing does not endorse an agent. It means no published decision turned up in that search, which is one data point among several.

Step 4: Read What Is Being Signed

The agency form identifies the relationship. The agreement that follows sets the terms, including how and how much the agent is paid. For buyers, that agreement is the subject of The New Buyer’s Agent Agreement: What Long Island Buyers Must Sign Before Their First Showing. Current fee practice in Nassau and Suffolk is tracked in The Buyer Agent Fee Floor Is Shifting Again.

Questions worth putting in writing before signing:

1. What is the length of the agreement, and how can it be ended early?
2. How is compensation calculated, and what happens if a seller or builder offers a different amount?
3. Which supervising broker is responsible for the file, and how can that person be reached?
4. Is dual agency possible, and under what consent language?

For sellers weighing structure and accountability, The Accountability Delta and Full-Service at 1% vs. Full-Service at 6% lay out how listings are handled under different models.

Step 5: Keep a Paper Trail

Every form above generates paper: two disclosure forms per agent interviewed, any agreements, and the license details noted in Step 1. Keeping that material in one place, with scanned copies, makes it easy to compare agents side by side and to produce records later if a question arises. A few ordinary supplies cover it:

• Mead 2 Pack 13 Pocket Expanding Accordion Folders: Thirteen pockets give each agent’s forms, agreements, and correspondence a separate slot. See it on Amazon (affiliate link)
• Epson Workforce ES-50 Portable Sheet-Fed Document Scanner: A compact scanner turns each signed page into a digital copy that can be stored and searched. See it on Amazon (affiliate link)
• Home Buying Kit For Dummies (Eric Tyson and Ray Brown): A general reference on the home-buying process for questions that come up between meetings. See it on Amazon (affiliate link)

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. A commission may be earned if you buy through this link, at no extra cost to you.

Where to Take a Concern

Different problems go to different offices:

• A licensing concern (fees, deposits, false claims, unlicensed activity): the Department of State’s licensing complaint form, or (518) 474-4429.
• A discrimination concern: the NYS Division of Human Rights at (844) 697-3471, or the Department of State at the number above.
• A general consumer complaint: the Division of Consumer Protection at (800) 697-1220, weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., or its online complaint page. That page does not address real estate licensees specifically, so licensing questions are best routed through the licensing form.

Keeping dates, names, and copies of documents together makes any complaint easier to file and easier to follow up.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a real estate agent the same as a broker?
No. In New York, a salesperson must be associated with a licensed broker and works under that broker’s supervision, while a broker may operate a firm. Both hold two-year licenses.

Does signing the agency disclosure form commit a buyer or seller to an agent?
The form states it is not a contract. Signing acknowledges receipt of the disclosure. Obligations come from the separate written agreement.

Can a buyer or seller get the same disclosure form more than once?
Yes. The agency form notes that more than one copy may be provided during a transaction, since each agent assisting may need to present it.

Does an agent’s license status show everything about their record?
Not necessarily. The state search described above is for confirming licensure. Disciplinary decisions are a separate record, and neither replaces direct questions and references.

This is for informational purposes only. Consult a licensed attorney or financial advisor for your specific situation. Agency, licensing, and form requirements can change, so confirm current versions with the New York Department of State.

You Might Also Like

• The Buyer Agent Fee Floor Is Shifting Again
• The New Buyer’s Agent Agreement: What Long Island Buyers Must Sign Before Their First Showing
• The Dual Agency Disclosure You Signed Does Not Mean What You Think It Means

Sources

• Newsday Investigates: Long Island Divided, PBS (THIRTEEN and WLIW), aired February 17, 2026
• 27east, Newsday investigation finds some Long Island real estate agents engaged in discriminatory practices
• amNY, New York realtors at risk to lose license if they violate the Human Rights Law (August 3, 2020)
• NY Department of State, Real Estate Broker
• NY Department of State, Real Estate Salesperson
• NY Department of State, Licensee Search
• NY Department of State, eAccessNY Search by Name
• NY Department of State, Disclosure Form for Buyer and Seller (DOS-1736-f, Rev. 09/21)
• NY Department of State, Housing and Anti-Discrimination Disclosure Form (DOS-2156, 11-25)
• NY Department of State, Real Estate consumer guide (August 2021)
• NY Department of State, File a Consumer Complaint