Arizona rules for licensed agents

What must an Arizona agent do with earnest money?

Arizona routes earnest money through the broker. The statute has every licensee promptly place cash, checks and other items of value received in a transaction in the care of the designated broker, and has a broker place entrusted money in a neutral escrow depository in the state or, on receipt, in a trust fund account at a depository in the state.

Rule text read from the 2026 Law Book of the Arizona Department of Real Estate, azre.gov, read November 1, 2026. Informational, not legal advice.

What a licensee does with it

The statute for licensees is A.R.S. 32-2151.01, subsection D:

“All licensees shall promptly place all cash, checks or other items of value received as payment in connection with a real estate transaction in the care of the designated broker.”

Subsection C of the same statute asks the broker to say in the purchase contract, lease or earnest money receipt what kind of earnest money came in:

“A broker shall specifically state in the real estate purchase contract, lease agreement or receipt for earnest money the type of earnest money received in any real estate transaction, whether it is cash, a check, a promissory note or any other item of value.”

Where the broker puts it

The trust money statute is A.R.S. 32-2151, Disposition of funds; trust money deposit requirements. Subsection A:

“Unless otherwise provided in writing by all parties to a transaction, any licensed real estate broker who does not immediately place all monies entrusted to the broker, in the broker’s capacity as a real estate broker, in a neutral escrow depository in this state shall on receipt place all such monies in a trust fund account”

The statute goes on to say what kind of federally insured account it must be and that the depository is located in the state.

How the account is run

Subsection B asks for deposit slips and receipts that identify each transaction, the date, the amount and the parties, a complete record of money received, and a monthly reconciliation of the bank statements, the client ledgers and the trust fund account ledgers with an explanation of any variation. It also says what the money may be used for:

“monies shall be used only for the purpose for which the monies were deposited.”

“This section does not allow a broker to commingle monies entrusted to the broker with the broker’s own monies, unless the commissioner adopts rules that allow commingling.”

Subsection C lists acts that make a variation a violation, including failing to remove earned interest at least once every twelve months and failing to keep separate ledgers for each property.

Who may withdraw

The statute opens this line with an exception for property management accounts under A.R.S. 32-2174(C), which we do not cover here. The statute’s line:

“a broker shall not grant any person authority to withdraw monies from the broker’s trust fund account unless that person is a licensee under that broker’s license.”

What this page does not settle

How your brokerage collects earnest money and which escrow company it uses is brokerage policy. The transaction folder has to show how the money was handled; that duty sits in the Arizona record keeping statute.

Common questions

Who handles earnest money in an Arizona transaction?

The statute has every licensee promptly place cash, checks or other items of value received as payment in connection with a real estate transaction in the care of the designated broker.

Where does an Arizona broker deposit earnest money?

In a neutral escrow depository in the state, or on receipt in a trust fund account at a depository located in the state, unless all parties provide otherwise in writing.

Can an Arizona broker mix client money with the broker’s own?

The statute does not allow commingling unless the commissioner adopts rules that allow it.

Who can withdraw money from an Arizona broker’s trust account?

A broker may not give anyone authority to withdraw from the trust fund account unless that person is a licensee under that broker’s license, with an exception for property management accounts.

Does Listing AutomatEr hold Arizona earnest money?

No. The app builds and schedules posts for listings you have permission to market. Arizona trust money is outside what it does.

Where Listing AutomatEr fits

Listing AutomatEr is a desktop app for Mac and Windows that posts the listings you have permission to market to Facebook Marketplace on a schedule. By default it puts your name on the post as the agent marketing the home and credits the brokerage that holds the listing.

It does not obtain the permission for you, and it does not decide whether a post meets a rule. That stays with you and your broker.

Sources

• A.R.S. 32-2151 and A.R.S. 32-2151.01 in the 2026 Law Book, Arizona Department of Real Estate
• Arizona record keeping, the sales transaction folder and the five year rule

This is not legal advice. This page quotes statutes so you can read them yourself. It is not a lawyer's opinion about your situation. The official text, your brokerage and your own lawyer are the authorities, and the official text wins over this page.