Commission Disbursement Authorization (CDA) — Missouri 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 Missouri Edition: Every one of the 12 templates has been redrafted around Missouri's real estate license law (RSMo Chapter 339) and its brokerage relationship statutes (RSMo §§ 339.710–339.860), which give Missouri a statutory menu of seller's agent, buyer's agent, dual agent (lawful only with written consent of all parties, § 339.750), designated agent (§ 339.820), and transaction broker (§ 339.755, the default when there is no written agency agreement). The forms also reflect RSMo § 339.150 (compensation payable only to and through licensed brokers), § 339.105 (escrow accounts), the Missouri Real Estate Commission's rules at 20 CSR 2250 (definite expiration dates, no automatic renewal, advertising and record retention), the statute of frauds (RSMo § 432.010), and Missouri's Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (RSMo Chapter 432). Because Missouri has no mandatory statutory seller disclosure form, the seller disclosure template is built on Missouri's common-law fraud and latent-defect principles plus the methamphetamine-production disclosure statute (RSMo § 442.606) and the psychologically-impacted-property safe harbor (RSMo § 442.600), with the federal lead-based paint rules and RSMo Chapter 701 lead program addressed separately.