A new real estate agent onboarding checklist covers three phases: first-week account setup, a 30-day pipeline sprint, and 60/90-day milestones that turn early activity into closed deals. This page gives you the full list, an embedded milestone table, and a printable PDF so you can cross off each item as you go.
For new real estate agent advice on first-year strategy beyond the checklist, the companion guide covers mindset, prospecting, and the systems that compound over time.
Your first week as a new real estate agent: tools, profiles, and CRM setup
The first week is about activating three systems: MLS access, a CRM, and your public-facing profiles. With those three running, every subsequent action has a home.
MLS and brokerage access
Your broker activates your MLS login and your lockbox key (eKey or Supra) in the first few days. Confirm both before Day 3. MLS access is required to pull comps, schedule showings, and enter a listing.
Compliance and admin setup
The first administrative items protect your license and your clients from Day 1. Work through these before creating any public-facing marketing.
Most states require you to formally transfer your license to your sponsoring broker with the state real estate commission within a set number of days after hiring. Your broker provides the paperwork, but always confirm the transfer in the commission’s online license lookup tool before you begin practicing. Keep a copy of the acknowledgment with your permanent records.
Review and sign your independent contractor agreement. Read the commission split, desk fees, E&O insurance premium, and technology fee sections carefully before signing. If anything is unclear, ask your managing broker to walk through the terms line by line.
Confirm that Errors and Omissions (E&O) insurance covers you from Day 1. Some brokerages include agents under a group policy automatically; others require individual enrollment. If there is a coverage gap, you are personally exposed on any transaction you assist with in the interim.
Complete the fair housing and agency disclosure training your state requires before you advise any client. The National Association of REALTORS requires new members to complete a Code of Ethics orientation within 90 days of joining. Ask your office manager for the fastest approved course path for your state.
Ask your manager for the brokerage advertising compliance checklist. This document governs how your name, the brokerage name, and your license number must appear on social media, business cards, listing marketing, and email. Advertising rules vary by state and by brokerage, so read the checklist before you create any public-facing content.
Set up your transaction management account before any contract arrives. Most brokerages use dotloop, Skyslope, or a proprietary system. Ask your managing broker to walk you through a sample file so you understand the document order, digital signature workflow, and compliance steps. Running through a sample file in a low-pressure moment is far easier than learning the system mid-transaction with a closing date approaching.
CRM setup
Pick a CRM and enter your first 100 contacts before the end of Day 7. Start with people you already know: family, friends, former colleagues, and neighbors. Most agents reach 100 contacts when they work through their existing network methodically, category by category.
Public profiles and bio
Set up a Google Business Profile, an Instagram Business account, and a Facebook Business Page. Submit the Google Business Profile verification request on Day 1 because verification timing varies by method and region and can take several business days or longer. Before entering an address, check your brokerage advertising rules, as some brokerages require agents to list the branch office address rather than a home address.
Write a real estate bio of 150 to 200 words for your brokerage page and your social profiles. Include your license number, your market area, and one sentence on why you specialize in real estate. A short real estate slogan pairs well as a tagline across your email signature, business card, and profile header.
Week 1 checklist:
- Confirm license transfer to your sponsoring broker with your state real estate commission
- Sign your independent contractor agreement after reviewing commission, fee, and insurance terms
- Enroll in or confirm E&O (Errors and Omissions) insurance coverage from Day 1
- Complete required fair housing and agency disclosure training for your state
- Review the brokerage advertising compliance checklist before creating any public materials
- Set up your transaction management software account (dotloop, Skyslope, or brokerage system)
- Confirm MLS access and lockbox key activation with your broker
- Log in to your brokerage back office and complete your agent profile
- Choose and set up a CRM (your brokerage default, Follow Up Boss, or LionDesk)
- Enter your first 100 contacts from your personal network
- Submit Google Business Profile for verification on Day 1 (verification timing varies; allow several business days or longer)
- Create Instagram Business and Facebook Business Page
- Book a professional headshot session
- Write your 150 to 200-word agent bio with license number and market area
- Order business cards
- Set up your professional email signature with phone, license number, and brokerage
Your 30/60/90-day milestones: the actions that build a real estate pipeline
The 30/60/90-day framework splits your first quarter into three sprints: foundation, pipeline, and first close. Each sprint ends with a concrete output so you know exactly where you stand.
Days 1 to 30: foundation
Complete your week 1 setup, then make 5 to 10 calls per day to your sphere of influence. Call to introduce yourself as a licensed agent, ask what is going on in their world, and mention that you are available to help with anything real estate related. Attend every brokerage training session and shadow an experienced agent on two or three showings.
Start posting on social media this month, before you have any listings. Post three to four times per week: local market updates, neighborhood highlights, and personal story. Agents who build an audience in Month 1 have a warm following ready when the first listing arrives.
Days 31 to 60: pipeline
Host at least two open houses in this window. Ask your broker to sponsor you on active listings if you have none of your own. Open houses give a new agent face time with buyers and sellers at low cost per contact, which makes them a practical first source of pipeline.
This is also the month to build your listing video workflow. A listing video maker takes a set of property photos and renders three output cuts in about two minutes: a 9:16 for Instagram Reels and TikTok, a 1:1 for the grid feed, and a 16:9 for your listing page and YouTube. Each cut includes animated transitions, voiceover narration, and captions. Upload 8 to 25 photos per property for the cleanest result. Before posting, run each video against your brokerage advertising compliance checklist to confirm required disclosures and branding appear on screen. Once cleared, push the 9:16 cut to Reels, where short-form video earns stronger organic reach than static posts. Use the 1:1 in email newsletters and pinned feed posts. Embed the 16:9 on the listing detail page and as a YouTube Short. Your first listing can ship with all three formats on the same day it goes live.
Days 61 to 90: first close
By Day 60, the goal is to have at least one active buyer conversation, open-house leads in active follow-up, or a serious seller opportunity moving forward. Days 61 to 90 focus on converting that momentum into a first transaction and installing a referral habit before the energy fades.
After every showing and every closing, send a short personal note or text asking for an introduction to anyone in the contact’s network who is thinking about buying or selling. A referral system started in the first 90 days compounds for the rest of a career.
For detailed tactics on each channel, see how to get leads as a new real estate agent and how to market yourself as a new real estate agent.
30/60/90 milestone table:
| Milestone | By Day 30 | By Day 60 | By Day 90 |
|---|---|---|---|
| CRM contacts entered | 100 | 200 | 300 |
| Social posts published | 15 | 45 | 75 |
| Open houses hosted | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| Sphere calls completed | 50 | 100 | 150 |
| Approved property videos posted | 1 | 5 | 10 |
| Referral asks sent | 10 | 25 | 50 |
New agents should aim for these video targets using broker-sponsored listings, open-house properties they represent, or properties where they have written broker approval for independent marketing. Before posting any property video, verify that brokerage and local MLS advertising rules allow agents to publish independently, confirm required disclosures and branding appear on screen, and obtain written permission from the listing agent when the property is held by someone else at the brokerage. Reaching the Day 90 column is realistic for agents who build their video workflow in Month 2, even before they have their own listings.
Download the printable 30/60/90 new agent onboarding checklist
The printable PDF combines every item above into a single sheet organized by week and sprint. Print it, keep it at your desk, and cross off each item as you complete it.
The 30/60/90 New Agent Onboarding Checklist
Week-1 setup with checkboxes, the 30/60/90 focus for each sprint, and the six milestone targets to hit by each deadline.
Pair it with the new real estate agent advice hub and the how to market yourself as a new real estate agent guide for a complete first-year plan.
Frequently asked questions
Activate your MLS access and lockbox key, set up a CRM with your first 100 contacts, and submit your Google Business Profile for verification. Those three steps give every future action a system to live in from Day 1.
Yes. This page includes a week-by-week setup checklist and a 30/60/90-day milestone table. The printable PDF download organizes every item into one sheet you can keep at your desk.
A new realtor needs MLS access, a CRM, a Google Business Profile, an Instagram Business account, a Facebook Business Page, a professional headshot, an agent bio with license number, and business cards. Most of these are in place within the first week.