Guide · 6 min read · Updated October 2026
Switching Brokerages: What Moves With You, What Stays, and What to Export First
When agents switch brokerages, their license, reputation, sphere and anything built in their own name usually move with them. Active listings, pending deals, leads the brokerage paid for, and any CRM seat or AI tool it provides usually stay. Your contractor agreement decides the details, so read it and export first.
What usually moves and what usually stays
Most of what stays behind is anything the brokerage paid for or owns the contract on.
This is the general pattern, and rules vary by state. Your own agreement can change any line of it, so treat this as a list of questions to check, not a rule.
| What | Usually | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Your license | Moves with you | Your state's transfer steps, since you can't practice in the gap |
| Your sphere and past clients | Moves with you | Whether your agreement says anything about the database |
| Your own website and social accounts | Moves with you | That the accounts are in your name, not the brokerage's |
| Active listings | Stays with the brokerage | Whether they'll release them, and on what terms |
| Pending deals | Close under the old brokerage | How commissions after you leave get paid |
| Leads the brokerage bought for you | Stay with the brokerage | Whether you can keep working ones you already met |
| A CRM seat the brokerage pays for | Stays, so export first | Whether the account is yours or the brokerage's |
| Your brokerage pages and email | Stay with the brokerage | Where your old email will forward, and for how long |
| Brokerage AI tools (Leo Pro, Compass's AI Assistant) | Stay with the brokerage | What notes or history you can download before you go |
Brokerage AI tools don't come with you
An assistant built into a brokerage's own platform only works while you're at that brokerage.
Real's Leo Pro runs inside reZEN, Real's own operating system, and the Compass AI Assistant lives inside the Compass Home Platform. Both are useful while you're there, and both stay behind when you leave.
If a tool like that is a big part of how you work, plan for what replaces it on day one at the new place.
Export these before you give notice
Export everything while you still have access, because getting it back later can take a release from your old broker.
Some systems make this simple, and some need sign-off. RealScout, for example, asks for written approval from your broker before an account owned by the brokerage can move, per Century 21 Redwood's export guide.
- 01Follow Up Boss: People, select all, then More and Export People.
- 02kvCORE or BoldTrail: Smart CRM, then Contacts, select all, then Bulk Actions and Export to CSV.
- 03MoxiEngage: Contacts, select all, then Export Contacts.
- 04Your email contacts from Gmail or Outlook, if the account is in your name.
- 05Notes on every active buyer and seller, including what was agreed over text.
- 06Your transaction files, if your agreement lets you keep copies.
The notes that only live in your texts
The details most agents lose in a move are the ones that never made it out of their text threads.
A buyer's must-haves, the price a seller said they'd take, the inspection item everyone agreed to over text. Your phone keeps the messages, but nothing turns them into notes you can search, so starting over at a new brokerage often means scrolling back through months of threads.
Getting those details into notes you own, before you switch, is the step most checklists skip.
A simple switch checklist
Do these in order and you'll lose the least.
- 01Read your independent contractor agreement, especially notice, pending deals and data.
- 02Export your contacts and notes while you still have access.
- 03List every tool you use and mark which ones the brokerage pays for.
- 04Line up replacements for anything that stays behind before your last day.
- 05Tell your sphere where you're going from an email or number that's yours.
- 06Ask an attorney about anything in your agreement that looks contested.
Where Sifta fits
Sifta works for you, not your brokerage, so it comes with you when you move.
Sifta is a personal AI assistant for realtors. It runs the busywork of your business, so you can spend your time with clients.
It takes notes on the deals you do over text, keeps the follow-ups going with leads and past clients, and drafts messages for you to approve. It works at any brokerage, with the tools you already use.
Sources
5 sources
Every source was checked on October 22, 2026. This page is a plain-English summary, not legal advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I keep my contacts when I switch brokerages?
Usually, yes, for the sphere you built yourself. Leads the brokerage bought and data in a CRM account the brokerage owns may stay behind, so check your independent contractor agreement and export before you give notice.
Do my listings come with me to a new brokerage?
Usually not. Listing agreements are with the brokerage, so active listings normally stay unless the old brokerage agrees to release them, often with the seller signing again.
What happens to my pending deals when I leave?
They typically close under the old brokerage, with your commission paid the way your old agreement says.
Can I keep using my brokerage's AI tools after I leave?
No. Tools built into a brokerage's own platform, like Real's Leo Pro or the Compass AI Assistant, only work while you're with that brokerage.
What should I export before switching brokerages?
Your contacts from your CRM, your email contacts if the account is yours, notes on every active client, and copies of transaction files if your agreement allows it.
Is there an assistant that stays with me if I switch brokerages?
Yes. Tools you sign up for yourself stay with you. Sifta is one of them: it works at any brokerage, with the tools you already use, and takes notes on the deals you do over text.
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