Anyone can call themselves an agent in a Facebook post. Whether they are one is a matter of public record, and you can look it up yourself without asking their permission.
Two different things
A real estate broker passes a licensure examination and is registered with the Professional Regulation Commission. A real estate salesperson takes no examination — they are accredited by the Board and work under a named broker. Both are covered by the Real Estate Service Act.
“Real estate salespersons shall be under the direct supervision and accountability of a real estate broker. As such, they cannot by themselves be signatories to a written agreement involving a real estate transaction unless the real estate broker who has direct supervision and accountability over them is also a signatory thereto.”
This is the part worth remembering: a salesperson cannot be the only signature on your agreement. Their broker signs too.
Even the advertising is covered
“No person shall practice or offer to practice real estate service in the Philippines or offer himself/herself as real estate service practitioner, or use the title, word, letter, figure or any sign tending to convey the impression that one is a real estate service practitioner, or advertise or indicate in any manner whatsoever that one is qualified to practice the profession … unless he/she has satisfactorily passed the licensure examination given by the Board, except as otherwise provided in this Act, a holder of a valid certificate of registration, and professional identification card”
So a post that presents someone as an agent is already inside the law, before anyone has been shown a unit.
How to check
- Ask for the full name as it appears on their PRC card, and the license number
- Open the PRC verification site and search by name — profession, first name, last name
- Or search by license number, which also asks for their birthdate
- It is free and does not require an account
If someone will not give you a name to check, that is the answer. PRC says of its own service:
“While the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) believes the information to be reliable, human or mechanical error remains a possibility, as does delay in the posting or updating of the information.”
So a name that does not come up is a reason to ask more, not proof of anything on its own. A name that comes up under a different profession is a different matter.
What has to be on the paper
“Real estate service practitioners shall be required to indicate the certificate of registration, professional identification card, PTR number, and APO receipt number, and the date of issuance and the duration of validity on the documents he/she signs, uses or issues in connection with the practice of his/her profession.”
The law also requires a licensed practitioner to keep a principal place of business and to display their certificate of registration there (Section 33). An agent who works only out of a phone and meets you in a lobby is not automatically a fake — but there is a register, and there is paper, and you are allowed to ask for both.
What a valid licence does not tell you
That the unit exists. That it is still available. That the person messaging you is the person whose licence you just looked up. Licence numbers get borrowed, and a screenshot of a PRC card proves nothing about who sent it. The checks in “Rental scams” are the other half of this.
If the person who showed you the unit was one of ours, tell us directly. We would rather hear it from you than not hear it at all.
This page quotes the law and links to the source. It is information, not legal advice, and it is not written for any one person’s situation. For your own case, go to your barangay or to a lawyer.
Law text checked 2026-08-09