It happens to every listing agent eventually. A buyer sees your sign, calls the number and says: "I don't have an agent. Can you write the offer?"
Or the in-house version: another agent in your office has a buyer who wants your listing.
Both are legal in Arizona. Both are what AAR calls limited representation, and both require the same thing before you go any further: the written consent of everyone involved.
We put this exact scenario to two free, general-purpose AI tools. One gave a reasonable summary and then told us to check with our broker. The other pointed us to a version of the form from 2002. Neither is wrong to be cautious, but neither gets the agent to the answer. So here's the answer, from the current form and the rules behind it.
The rule: prior written consent
Two places in Arizona law say the same thing, one more strictly than the other.
The statute, A.R.S. § 32-2153(A)(2), lets the Commissioner discipline a licensee who has "acted for more than one party in a transaction without the knowledge or written consent of all parties."
The Department of Real Estate's rule is tighter. Under A.A.C. R4-28-1101(F), a salesperson or broker "shall not accept compensation from or represent more than one party to a transaction without the prior written consent of all parties."
Prior, written, all parties. Those three words are the whole compliance question. The AAR Consent to Limited Representation (updated November 2024) is the form built to satisfy them.
What the form does, section by section
The form is one page and 39 lines. It's short, which is exactly why agents skim it.
Who's covered (lines 1–8). Buyer, seller, property and firm, then a choice: one licensee representing both parties, or two licensees in the same brokerage, one who has been representing the buyer and one who has been representing the seller.
That second box matters. Two agents, two clients, two separate conversations, and it's still limited representation. In Arizona the brokerage holds the agency relationship, so when both agents hang their license with the same broker, the broker represents both sides. An in-house deal needs this consent just as much as a one-agent deal does.
What changes (lines 9–18). Once the form is signed, neither the broker nor the licensees "can represent the interests of one party to the exclusion or detriment of the other party" (lines 9–10). The form then names the limits:
Without written authorization, the licensee won't tell the buyer the seller will take less, or tell the seller the buyer will pay more (lines 14–15).
Loyalty, obedience, disclosure and confidentiality are now in conflict. Confidential information can be shared only with written authorization (lines 16–17).
What doesn't change (lines 17–25). This is the part agents miss. The consent "does not relieve each Licensee of any legal obligation to disclose all known facts which materially and adversely affect the consideration to be paid by any party" (lines 17–18). That's the same duty R4-28-1101(B) puts on every licensee in every transaction. Representing both sides limits what you can share about negotiating positions. It doesn't let you sit on a cracked slab.
The licensee still has to "exercise reasonable skill and care" (line 23) and "deal honestly with all parties" (line 24). And both clients are told that the licensee's duties "do not relieve the Seller or the Buyer from the responsibility to protect their own interests" (line 25).
Compensation (line 26). Not set by law, fully negotiable, and paid under separate agreements. The consent doesn't set the fee. Your listing agreement and buyer-broker agreement still do.
How it fits with existing agreements (lines 27–29). The consent doesn't replace the listing agreement or the buyer-broker agreement. Both stay in effect. Where they conflict with the consent, the consent wins.
When it ends (lines 30–32). If the parties never sign a contract on the property, or the deal fails to close, the consent terminates. A new deal with the same buyer on a different listing means a new consent.
Indemnification (lines 33–35). Buyer and seller agree to hold the broker harmless for claims arising from the limited-representation role. Point it out. It's the line clients are most likely to ask about later.
When to get it signed
"Prior" consent means before you're acting for both sides, not at closing and not stapled to the purchase contract after the fact. The practical moment is the first time you realize you'll be working with both parties on the same property: when the unrepresented buyer asks you to write the offer, or when your colleague says their buyer wants your listing.
Two things worth doing before anyone signs:
Explain the limits out loud. The form is short, but the trade-off is real: neither client gets an advocate who can push against the other. Some clients will decide they'd rather have their own agent. That's their call to make, and they can only make it if you explain it first.
Check your brokerage's policy. Many brokerages layer their own rules on top of the state's: designated broker notice, a required file document, or a ban on one-agent limited representation altogether. The state rule is the floor, not the ceiling.
A short checklist
Recognize the trigger: one agent on both sides, or two agents in the same brokerage.
Get the Consent to Limited Representation signed by buyer and seller before acting for both.
Walk both clients through lines 9–25: what you can't share, and what you still must disclose.
Keep the listing and buyer-broker agreements in place; the consent works alongside them.
If the deal falls apart, the consent ends with it. Start fresh on the next one.
Follow your brokerage's policy on top of the form.
Where reTEQ fits
This is the kind of question that shouldn't end with "ask your broker" or a twenty-year-old PDF. Ask reTEQ "Can I represent the buyer on my own listing?" and the answer comes from the current Consent to Limited Representation, with the cited lines highlighted on the form, and from your brokerage's own policy when it has one. Every agent asking the same question gets the same answer, with the source attached.
That doesn't replace your designated broker. It means the conversation with them starts from the right form.
This blog post is general information about Arizona real estate forms and rules, not legal advice. For a specific transaction, talk with your designated broker or a real estate attorney.
