Professional Standards Corner: Statewide Professional Standards Cooperative

By Andrea Huddleston |  March 30, 2026

One of the most important features that distinguishes REALTORS® from other real estate professionals is that, by choosing to become members of the association, REALTORS® agree to be bound by the Code of Ethics created by the National Association of REALTORS® and adopted by Tennessee REALTORS®.  The purpose of the Code is to create standards of professionalism, competency and integrity beyond those created by the law.

When a member of the public or another REALTOR® member believes a REALTOR® has violated the Code and files an ethics complaint—that system of complaint, review, and hearing is the Professional Standards process.

In January 2022, Tennessee REALTORS® began the statewide cooperative for Professional Standards, offering the local associations the option to delegate by agreement the handling of all ethics complaints and arbitration requests via the statewide Grievance and Professional Standards Committee.  All 20 Tennessee local associations now participate in that statewide cooperative.

Statewide centralization of Professional Standards allows the local associations to focus on their core services (such as education offerings, local government advocacy, and MLS access).  Statewide centralization of Professional Standards means full-time PS staff can ensure focused, uniform handling of ethics complaints and arbitration requests.  There are many states across the country with such statewide PS programs (Georgia, Texas, and Ohio—just to name a few.)

The Tennessee Professional Standards and Grievance Committees are appointed by the President and come from all across the state.  They are required to take Professional Standards training every year and are appointed to 1-2 year staggered terms.

We’ll be using this space to share information about the Code of Ethics, as well as general information about the Professional Standards and arbitration process.  You can review our webpage for further information and access our ethics complaint and arbitration request system here:  https://tnrealtors.com/professional-standards/

For further questions, contact our Professional Standards Director Andrea Huddleston at Andrea.Huddleston@tnrealtors.com