Commission Disbursement Authorization (CDA) — Alabama Edition Template

The Commission Disbursement Authorization is the short document that makes agents' money move. Signed by the broker (or an authorized manager), the CDA instructs the closing agent — title company, escrow officer, or closing attorney — how to disburse the brokerage's commission at closing: how much to the brokerage, and how much directly to the agent per their split. Because license law in every state requires commissions to be paid to the broker (not directly to a salesperson except as the broker directs), the CDA functions as the broker's written payment direction that lets closing agents cut agent checks at the table without violating that rule.

This 2-page template includes: transaction identification (property, closing date, file number, buyer/seller); the brokerage's total commission due with the calculation basis (percentage of sales price or flat fee); itemized disbursement instructions (brokerage company dollar, agent split, team member splits, outstanding fee deductions, referral fees payable to outside brokers); wiring/delivery instructions with payee details; the broker's authorization signature with license number; and a hold-harmless provision for the closing agent relying on the instruction. A second page provides a multi-agent/team split table for deals with multiple participating licensees.

Operationally, CDAs reduce E&O exposure by eliminating verbal disbursement instructions and creating an audit trail that matches the brokerage's commission ledger — important in states that audit trust-account and commission records. The included notes flag states where direct-to-agent disbursement at closing is restricted or where commission checks must pass through the brokerage first, in which case the CDA still documents the internal split instruction. Simple document, big operational value.

About this Alabama Edition: Every template was redrafted around the Alabama Real Estate License Law (Ala. Code § 34-27-1 et seq.) and the Real Estate Consumers Agency and Disclosure Act (RECAD, Ala. Code § 34-27-80 et seq.), under which a licensee is a transaction broker unless a written agreement creates an agency relationship, the Commission's Real Estate Brokerage Services Disclosure must be presented at first substantive contact (§ 34-27-82), and limited consensual dual agency is permitted only with written informed consent — so the dual-agency document is drafted as a Limited Consensual Dual Agency Agreement with a transaction-brokerage alternative. The seller disclosure is drafted as a voluntary disclosure for Alabama's caveat emptor market, explaining the judicially recognized exceptions (health/safety defects, direct questions, fiduciary relationships) and Alabama-specific items such as wood-infestation reports and termite bonds. The forms also apply the Alabama statute of frauds (Ala. Code § 8-9-2) and the Alabama Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (Ala. Code § 8-1A-1 et seq.), and note that Alabama has no broker lien statute.