During election season, many members may want to get involved in campaigns and support a specific candidate. This video educates members on the rules that allow members to use the REALTOR® Trademark to show support for a specific candidate, which we detail below.
Members may use the REALTOR® Trademark to show support for a specific candidate. NAR's Bylaws (Article V, Section 6) permit the use of the term REALTOR® in connection with activities in support of specific candidates in elections to public office, so long as the following conditions are met:
- The term REALTOR® is defined as a registered collective membership mark identifying members of NAR.
- All letterhead and other written campaign literature, campaign media aids, and other materials, unless not reasonably practical, must identify those conducting the activities as members of a REALTOR® association(s).
- All use of the term REALTOR® in connection with the candidate or the candidate’s campaign must cease after the election.
Any use of the REALTOR® trademark as part of a website in support of a candidate must comply with the above rules. When using the REALTOR® trademark in a website’s URL, the webpage associated with that URL may be used to comply with all of the above requirements.
Additionally, note that the right to use the trademark is a right of membership, and so an association cannot stop its members from creating a group to support a candidate who opposes the association’s favored candidate.
If you have any specific usage questions, please e-mail trademark@realtors.org.
Example: Using the REALTOR® trademark on election materials. Click to enlarge.
