Exclusive Right to Sell Listing Agreement — Kentucky Edition Template

The Exclusive Right to Sell Listing Agreement is the backbone of nearly every residential listing in the United States. It is the contract that formally engages a brokerage to market a seller's property, and — critically — it entitles the listing broker to a commission no matter who procures the buyer, including the seller themselves. That single feature is what distinguishes it from open listings and exclusive agency listings, and it is why virtually every MLS requires an executed exclusive right to sell (or exclusive agency) agreement before a listing can be published.

This 6-page template covers the full lifecycle of a listing engagement: property identification and included/excluded fixtures, listing price and seller's authority to convey, the listing term with a definite expiration date (a requirement in most states — indefinite listings are prohibited or unenforceable in many jurisdictions), commission rate and the conditions that trigger it, a protection/tail period for buyers procured during the term, cooperation and compensation disclosure for buyer brokers (updated for the post-2024 NAR settlement landscape, where offers of compensation can no longer be communicated via the MLS), marketing authorization including photography, signage, and lockbox consent, and seller representations and indemnities.

Agency and listing agreements are governed state by state — statutes such as New York Real Property Law § 443 (agency disclosure) and license-law regulations in every state impose specific disclosure and writing requirements, and the statute of frauds in every state requires brokerage commission agreements to be in writing to be enforceable in most circumstances. This template includes a 50-state variation notes section flagging the most common state-specific requirements (definite termination dates, anti-automatic-renewal rules, required disclosure attachments) so you can adapt it with your broker or attorney. It is a professional drafting template, not a substitute for your state association forms or legal advice.

About this Kentucky Edition: Every template was redrafted around the Kentucky real estate license law (KRS Chapter 324) and the Kentucky Real Estate Commission's agency disclosure regulation (201 KAR 11:121), under which licensees must deliver the Commission's agency disclosure form at first substantive contact and may act as a dual agent only with the informed written consent of both parties — so the dual agency consent in this set is a true consent instrument with the statutory disclosures spelled out. The seller disclosure edition tracks the Commission's required Seller's Disclosure of Property Condition regime, the listing and buyer agreements carry the written-agreement and definite-termination-date requirements Kentucky brokers are held to, the independent-contractor agreement reflects affiliation-through-the-principal-broker supervision, and every instrument recites the Kentucky Uniform Electronic Transactions Act and the Kentucky statute of frauds (KRS 371.010). Kentucky has no general broker commission lien statute, so the disbursement authorization relies on contractual escrow and closing-agent instructions rather than a lien claim. Not legal advice; have a Kentucky-licensed attorney review before use.