Southampton - A common public misconception is that anyone who holds a real estate license is a Realtor.

The reality is that there is no automatic connection between being a holder of a real estate license and being a Realtor. The License Law of the State of New York does not require that a holder of a real estate license be a Realtor, nor does the Licensing Agency, the New York State Department of State, grant Realtor status.

Realtor is a national trademark. Real Estate Boards exist throughout the United States. In order to become a Realtor, you must join a local real estate board. Membership in a local board automatically includes, in New York, membership in the New York State Association of Realtors and membership in the National Association of Realtors. The National Association comprises approximately two-million members, half of which are considered active real estate agents.

The two real estate boards active on Long Island are the Long Island Board of Realtors and the Hamptons and North Fork Realtors Association, whose membership, according to Richard T. Stauffer, its Executive Officer, numbers approximately 945.

While membership in the national, state, and local boards provides services and benefits to its members, it also imposes upon them a Code of Ethics that is revised annually which addresses the duties that Realtors have to their clients and customers.

The Code comprises 17 Articles consisting of 94 Standards of Practice. Violations of the Code may result in required education, suspension and dismissal from membership, and financial penalties.

The Code is consistent with the License Law requirements of the State of New York. If a conflict did exist, the law would prevail.

A real estate board does not have any jurisdiction over the real estate agent's license. That is the purview of the New York State Department of State.

Those who do wish to become members of a Board of Realtors must complete training in the Code and submit to periodic re-training. They also agree to submit any disputes among themselves to resolution by appointed grievance committees within their respective boards. There are, however, provisions for bringing the issues in dispute before a court. Non-members, Realtors and non-Realtors, as well as members of the public, may, under prescribed conditions, also bring complaints before a board.

The New York State Department of State does not ordinarily hear complaints of real estate licensees against each other. Their proper recourse is to file a grievance with a real estate board or a seek remedy through the courts. In fact, one of the primary reasons that legislative bodies and regulatory licensing agencies encourage, though do not require membership in a real estate board, is to provide real estate agents with the opportunity to resolve their disputes without resort to regulatory agencies or to the courts. The role of the Department of State is to protect the public from incompetent and unlawful conduct of real estate licensees, not licensees from each other.

The National Association's Code of Ethics is available to anyone by visiting the website of the National Association of Realtors.

It will also include steps that should be taken to file a complaint against a Realtor.