NVAR Professional Services :: Northern Virginia Association of Realtors®

How to File an Ethics Complaint

Contact the Professional Services Department at 703-207-3212 or email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to obtain a copy of the appropriate complaint forms. We will need to verify that the individual who is accused of violating our rules is a REALTOR® member of NVAR. Our association is a strictly voluntary organization and some real estate agents are not members of NVAR. In cases when the individual is not a member of NVAR, we can usually determine if the individual is a member of another local association of REALTORS®. If this is the case, we can provide you the appropriate contact information to file your complaint with the individual's local association of REALTORS®. When the complaint involves a REALTOR® member of NVAR, we will provide you with the appropriate forms and instructions for filing the complaint.

Complaint Process

For a flow chart of the process, click here.

The Grievance Committee: The Grievance Committee handles initial review of formal written complaints and determines if the rules apply. If the rules apply to the case, it is forwarded to the Professional Standards for further consideration. The Professional Standards Committee provides the panels that hear evidence and issue decisions in each disciplinary complaint.

The Hearing: In ethics cases, NVAR's Professional Standards Committee convenes a panel of impartial, unbiased, and experienced REALTORS® to consider your case. Designed to ensure that the due process rights of all parties are protected, claimants and respondents may be represented by attorneys, call witnesses, present evidence, and challenge the qualifications of the panel members selected to hear the case.  For more details about the procedures we follow,  click on: Outline of Procedures: Ethics)

Disciplinary Sanctions: If the Professional Standards Hearing Panel determines there is clear, strong, and convincing evidence of a violation of the rules, the panel will recommend disciplinary sanctions to the Board of Directors for final approval. The following links provide additional information on the disciplinary sanctions available to the Hearing Panels.

Download Files:
Disciplinary Sanctions - Ethics and Membership Duties

What NVAR Cannot Do for a Complainant

NVAR is a voluntary membership trade association and has legal limits on its authority. For instance we cannot hold a trial to determine criminal violations of state law or award monetary damages to an injured party in a case. These are powers that are reserved to the courts. We also do not have the power to revoke an individual's real estate license since we do not have the power to license real estate agents or brokers. This power is only within the authority of the courts and the Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation.

If you have any questions, please contact the Professional Services Department at 703-207-3212 or email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.