Indiana open house rules for agents: who the law presumes you represent, the licensee do not call carve-out, buyer agency agreements, and destroying lists.
Last reviewed August 31, 2026Every claim links to a primary source
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This is not legal advice
We are software people, not lawyers. This page is a plain reading of public Indiana sources, gathered so you can go read them yourself. Rules change, and how any rule applies to your situation is a question for your broker, your association, or an attorney licensed in Indiana.
Who do you tell a visitor you represent?
Indiana starts from a presumption that catches open house hosts out at the door. Indiana Code 25-34.1-10-9.5 says a licensee has an agency relationship with, and is representing, the individual the licensee is working with, unless there is a written agreement to the contrary or the licensee is merely assisting that individual as a customer without compensation. At an open house you are working for the seller, so say that early, and keep what you do for a visitor inside that second exception: assisting them as a customer, without compensation from them. The same chapter, at 25-34.1-10-10, separately makes it a duty of a licensee representing a seller to disclose the nature of the agency relationship with the seller, and to redefine and disclose it if that relationship changes.
“A licensee has an agency relationship with, and is representing, the individual with whom the licensee is working unless: (1) there is a written agreement to the contrary; or (2) the licensee is merely assisting the individual as a customer without compensation.”
Indiana's state Do Not Call law is Article 4.7 of the Indiana Code, Telephone Solicitation of Consumers. Indiana Code 24-4.7-1-1 says the article does not apply to a telephone call made by an individual licensed under IC 25-34.1, which is the real estate licensing article, if the sale of goods or services is not completed and payment is not required until after a face to face sales presentation. A call to an open house visitor to arrange a showing has exactly that shape, so as long as you are not closing a sale or taking payment on the call, the state list is usually not the thing standing between you and a follow up. Do not read the carve out wider than it is. The next section, 24-4.7-1-2, says the article does not relieve a person from complying with any other applicable law, so the federal telemarketing and texting rules sit on top of this untouched.
“(4) A telephone call made by an individual licensed under IC 25-34.1 if: (A) the sale of goods or services is not completed; and (B) the payment or authorization of payment is not required; until after a face to face sales presentation by the seller.”
Does a visitor have to sign a buyer agreement first?
Indiana wrote this into statute in 2024. Indiana Code 25-34.1-12-2 requires a buyer agency agreement, or any authority to represent a buyer or tenant, to show a definite date of expiration, to be in writing on paper or electronically, and to reach the buyer or tenant as a copy within three business days of signing. What triggers the requirement is authority to represent, not attendance, so nothing in it asks a visitor to sign anything before walking through a house you are hosting for the seller. The moment to stop and paper it is the moment you agree to act for that buyer instead of for your seller.
“Buyer agency agreements, or any authority to represent a buyer or tenant, shall show a definite date of expiration and shall be in writing, either on paper or in electronic format, with one (1) copy to go to the buyer or tenant within three (3) business days of the time of signing.”
Indiana has no sign-in rule written for open houses, so the one that actually reaches your sheet is the disposal chapter, Indiana Code 24-4-14. Getting rid of a customer's unencrypted, unredacted personal information without shredding, incinerating, mutilating, erasing or otherwise rendering it unusable is an infraction, and the same chapter counts placing that information in a container for trash collection as getting rid of it. Personal information there is a defined term the chapter takes from Indiana's data breach law at 24-4.9-2-10, which reaches a Social Security number, or a name paired with a driver's license, state ID, credit card or financial account number, so a sheet holding only names, phone numbers and emails sits outside it. That is a good reason to ask for nothing more than those at the door, and to shred rather than bin any paper that ever carried more.
“A person who disposes of the unencrypted, unredacted personal information of a customer without shredding, incinerating, mutilating, erasing, or otherwise rendering the information illegible or unusable commits a Class C infraction.”
Every claim above carries a link to a primary source, plus the exact words from that source that support it. If a claim cannot be quoted, it is not on this page.
Each claim shows the date a human last opened that link and confirmed the quote still says what it says.
We only cover what we could source. A topic you were hoping to find may be one we have not confirmed yet, so treat this as a starting point rather than a complete list of everything Indiana expects of you.
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