ExamPassThe RECO Information Guide explained
The RECO Information Guide is a plain-language consumer document that the registrar publishes on RECO's website. Before a brokerage, broker or salesperson provides any service or assistance to a person in a trade, two things must happen: a registrant provides the guide (a copy or a link), and a broker or salesperson explains its contents. That applies to prospective clients and to self-represented parties, for every new trade. The person cannot waive the explanation, and no signed receipt is required by the regulation.
Students tend to treat the guide as a form to hand over. The exam treats it as a sequence: what you may say before the guide, what must wait until after it, and who is allowed to do each step. Get the order right and most of these questions become straightforward.
This page explains the rule and how it fits with the separate self-represented party form. It does not reproduce the guide; read the current version on RECO's website.
What is the RECO Information Guide?
It is a document the registrar must prepare and publish on the administrative authority's website (O. Reg. 567/05, s. 13(1)). Its job is to help buyers and sellers make informed choices before they commit to anything. As the course teaches, its main purpose is to show the value of being represented and the risks of going without representation. Its secondary purposes cover how a brokerage represents people, what to look for in a brokerage agreement, and how to raise a concern.
Receiving the guide is not hiring a brokerage. A person becomes a client by entering a representation agreement.
When must a salesperson provide and explain the guide?
Before providing services or assistance to the person in relation to a trade. The regulation splits the duty in two.
| Provide the guide | Explain the guide | |
|---|---|---|
| Who | Any registrant, including the brokerage | A broker or salesperson only |
| How | A copy, or a link to it on RECO's website | Going through its contents with the person |
| When | Before services or assistance | Before services or assistance |
| Source | O. Reg. 567/05, s. 13(3) | O. Reg. 567/05, s. 13(4) |
Emailing the link meets the first half only. An unregistered assistant can send it but cannot explain it. The explanation can be in person, by phone or by video.
The duty attaches to each trade. A seller you represented three years ago who now wants to buy is owed the guide again, provided and explained, before you help with the purchase. Friends, relatives and experienced investors are owed it too.
What counts as a service that has to wait?
A brokerage may give general information about the business of trading in real estate without creating an implied representation agreement (O. Reg. 567/05, s. 1(6), para. 2). The working test: is this aimed at this person's own trade?
| Fine before the guide | Must wait until after |
|---|---|
| How your brokerage works | An opinion on the value of their home |
| What the guide is, and sending the link | Booking or conducting a showing |
| That a person can be a client or a self-represented party | Pulling comparables to support a list price |
| A general description of how offers work | Preparing or presenting an offer |
| Signing a representation agreement |
Signing the agreement is itself a service, so the explanation comes first. If the order goes wrong, a later explanation does not fix what came before. Explain fully now, record what happened, and tell your broker of record, because the brokerage must ensure its brokers and salespersons comply (TRESA, s. 26).
What does the RECO Information Guide cover?
The regulation lists what the guide must include (O. Reg. 567/05, s. 13(2)). In summary:
- that a person may deal with a registrant as a client under a representation agreement or as a self-represented party;
- a summary of the rights and duties of registrants, clients and self-represented parties;
- the risks of being a self-represented party, and a statement advising independent professional advice;
- the duties and services a client receives under brokerage representation and under designated representation;
- that brokerage agreements may include termination terms, and guidance on permitted and prohibited remuneration arrangements;
- cautions that multiple representation is not permitted unless its requirements are met, and guidance on duties and services when it happens (see designated vs multiple representation);
- how to complain about a broker or salesperson to the brokerage and to RECO.
The course organizes the guide into five sections: working with a brokerage, the risks of representing yourself, signing a contract with a brokerage, multiple representation, and making a complaint. A good explanation covers all five, gives each one's key content rather than reading aloud, and spends the most time on self-representation risks, the contract terms and multiple representation. It also touches the competing-offer rules: every competing buyer learns the number of written offers, and the content is shared only if the seller directs it (O. Reg. 567/05, s. 22.7). See competing offers under TRESA for the detail.
What if the person will not sit through it or will not sign?
They want to skip the explanation. They cannot waive it. Having bought before, having read it online, or being short of time does not remove the duty. Stay courteous, say why it matters to them in this trade, and offer a short call or video now, or a new time. No service starts until it is done.
They will not acknowledge receipt. Section 13 requires the guide to be provided and explained. It sets no acknowledgement requirement. Brokerages ask for a signed receipt because it is good evidence, not because the law makes it a precondition. If the person declines, explain the guide anyway, record that it was provided and explained and that they declined to sign, and carry on. Never sign for them.
How does the guide work with a self-represented party?
A self-represented party is a party to the trade who is not a client (O. Reg. 567/05, s. 1(5)). When you learn that someone in the trade intends to go without representation, three steps come before any assistance, in this order:
- Provide and explain the guide, stressing the risks of going alone and the benefits of representation.
- Confirm their choice: now that they know the risks, do they still want to proceed alone?
- If so, give them the registrar's self-represented party form and explain it.
That form discloses that your brokerage provides services to and represents a client in the trade, the risks of receiving assistance from your brokerage, the type of assistance it may give, and a recommendation to get independent professional advice (s. 13.1(1)). The brokerage must explain it, make best efforts to obtain a written acknowledgement, and give the person a copy if they sign (s. 13.1(3)).
Assistance stays outside an implied representation agreement only when it is a service to your client and does not encourage the other person to rely on your skill or judgment (s. 1(6), para. 1). More in the self-represented party under TRESA.
A worked example: one listing, two conversations
Marguerite Lalonde, a salesperson in Sault Ste. Marie, gets a call from Owen and Ruth Halvorsen about selling 42 Tamarack Lane. "We're thinking $615,000. Does that sound right?" Marguerite explains how her brokerage works and texts the guide link, but holds back on price. That evening she walks them through the guide by video, checking their understanding after each section. Ruth signs the receipt; Owen says he does not sign "regulator paperwork". Marguerite notes that both received the explanation and that Owen declined to sign, then they discuss price and the listing agreement.
Three weeks later, a buyer named Callum Fraser tells her at an open house that he wants to "deal direct". Before she sends him the disclosure package, Marguerite explains the guide, asks whether he still wants to go alone, and only then gives and explains the self-represented party form. He signs the acknowledgement and gets a copy.
What do exam questions on the guide usually test?
- A link alone provides the guide; it does not explain it.
- An administrator may send it; only a broker or salesperson may explain it.
- Every new trade needs a new explanation, even for a past client.
- No signature is required for the guide; the self-represented party form needs best efforts to get one.
- With a self-represented party, the order is guide, choice, form. Never the form first.
These come back often in Simulation 1, which is built around first meetings like this.
Frequently asked questions
Can an unregistered assistant explain the RECO Information Guide? No. Any registrant, including the brokerage, may provide it, but only a broker or salesperson may explain it.
Do I need to give the guide to everyone at an open house? No. The duty is triggered when you are about to provide services or assistance to that person in a trade.
Is a signed receipt for the guide required? Not by the regulation. It is useful evidence. If the person declines, explain the guide anyway and record that they declined.
How does ExamPass help you practise this?
ExamPass gives you hundreds of original scenario questions on first meetings, the guide and self-represented parties, with every option explained. The Study notes walk through the sequence in plain language, and the Mock Exam, Drill Wrong Answers and AI Tutor help you catch the ordering traps before exam day. For the wider regulatory picture, see TRESA exam prep. See courses and pricing