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Wholesaling is legal in every state. What changed between 2024 and 2026 is how many states now put conditions on it: ten require a license for the regulated activity, two require a state registration, and a dozen require a specific written disclosure with a seller cancellation right. The tracker above gives you the rule, the statute and the deadline for each state, reviewed against official bill text rather than copied from another blog. Pick your state, read what you have to do, and build the checklist before you sign anything.

The four models states use

• License required. Kentucky, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Pennsylvania treat marketing a property or contract you do not own as real estate brokerage. Iowa requires a licensed broker on the deal. Illinois and Virginia count deals: the second assignable-contract deal in 12 months makes you a broker. Rhode Island passed a license law in June 2026 and Delaware's license requirement phases in around February 2027.
• Registration required. Oregon (since July 1, 2025) and Connecticut (since July 1, 2026) let you wholesale without a license if you register with the state, use the state disclosure and honor a three-business-day cancellation window.
• Disclosure plus cancellation. Arizona, Texas, Wisconsin, North Dakota, Alabama, Indiana, Tennessee, Maryland, Ohio, Louisiana, Missouri and Washington require a written disclosure to the seller (Texas also to buyers). Skip it and the seller can cancel, often keeping the earnest money. Missouri's version requires the disclosure 14 calendar days before the contract.
• General license law only. The other 26 states have no wholesaling statute. You may assign a contract you hold as a principal. Advertising the house itself, or acting for someone else for a fee, is unlicensed brokerage everywhere, and in Florida it is a felony.

What changed in 2025 and 2026

• Pennsylvania, Jan 4, 2025. Act 52 of 2024 made any residential wholesale transaction licensed brokerage with a 30-day seller cancellation right.
• Oregon, July 1, 2025. Residential Property Wholesaler registration opened at the Oregon Real Estate Agency.
• North Dakota, Aug 1, 2025. HB 1125 extended the disclosure rule from residential to all property types.
• Maryland, Oct 1, 2025. Real Property § 10-715 added the written intent-to-assign disclosure and a rescission right.
• Oklahoma, Nov 1, 2025. SB 1075 added pre-contract disclosures, a two-business-day cancellation right and pulled double closings into the definition.
• Washington, Jan 1, 2026. SHB 1081 gives owners of solicited, unlisted property a right to an appraisal at the buyer's expense and a right to cancel. It never uses the word wholesaling, which is why most trackers miss it.
• Ohio, March 2, 2026. SB 155 created Ohio Revised Code 5301.95, the first statute to define "wholesaler" and require a standalone signed disclosure.
• Delaware, June 1, 2026. SB 201 signed: disclosures and a 21-day cancellation right from about Aug 30, 2026; license requirement about Feb 26, 2027.
• Rhode Island, June 2026. H 7840 passed both chambers and went to the Governor on June 18, 2026: license required, three-day rescission for sellers and buyers.
• Connecticut, July 1, 2026. Public Act 25-168 opened wholesaler registration at the Department of Consumer Protection; the state disclosure form became mandatory Oct 1, 2026.
• Louisiana, Aug 1, 2026. Act 807 (HB 468) added written disclosures and a five-day cancellation right for residential deals.
• Missouri, Aug 28, 2026. SB 973 requires the wholesaler disclosure 14 calendar days before the contract.

Three things most "wholesaling laws by state" pages get wrong

• North Carolina did not pass HB 797. It cleared the House on April 30, 2025 and has been parked in Senate Rules since May 1, 2025. Pages announcing an October 1, 2025 effective date are repeating the bill's proposed date, not the law. North Carolina is still a general-license-law state, for now.
• Georgia's 2025 SB 201 is about disaster contractors, not wholesaling. Georgia's wholesaler disclosure proposal is SB 485 (2026). What does apply today is the unsolicited-offer notice requirement in O.C.G.A. § 10-1-393.18 and the attorney-closing rule.
• Delaware's license requirement is not in force yet. SB 201 was signed June 1, 2026, but the section adding wholesaling to "real estate services" takes effect 270 days later. The disclosure and 21-day cancellation rules came first.

Kentucky and Indiana, specifically

Kentucky is a license state. Since HB 62 (2023), advertising an equitable interest in a purchase contract is real estate brokerage under KRS 324.010, with no volume exemption, and KRS 324.990 carries misdemeanor exposure. Our HB 62 compliance guide walks through what counts as advertising and what the Kentucky Real Estate Commission can do about it. Indiana is a disclosure state: IC 32-21-16.5 requires every written solicitation to a residential owner to say you are not a licensee and do not hold title, and treats a missing disclosure as a deceptive act.

The practical answer in both states is the one most wholesalers skip: bring the deal to a licensed brokerage. Winner Realty is licensed in Kentucky and Indiana, so we can legally market an assignable contract to our buyer list, run the disclosures, and close through a title company. Our off-market deals page explains how we work with wholesalers and investors, and the wholesale offer calculator prices the deal before you write it.

Frequently asked questions

Is wholesaling real estate illegal anywhere?

No state bans it. South Carolina comes closest: marketing residential property before you take title is brokerage and licensed firms may not wholesale, but assigning the contract right itself is carved out. Oklahoma, Kentucky, Nebraska, Pennsylvania and Iowa require a license for the public-marketing part. Everywhere else the question is disclosure, not legality.

Does a double close avoid these rules?

Usually not. Oklahoma's SB 1075 includes simultaneous closings in the definition of wholesaling, North Carolina's pending bill does the same, disclosure states key off your intent and marketing rather than the closing method, and license states regulate advertising a property before you own it regardless of how you close. A double close solves the "assignment fee on the HUD" problem, not the licensing problem.

I wholesale virtually across several states. Which law applies?

The law of the state where the property sits, not where you live. If you market contracts on Louisville houses from Texas, Kentucky's HB 62 applies to the Louisville deals. Build a checklist for each state you buy in and keep the disclosures separate.

How often is this tracker updated?

We re-check every state with a wholesaling statute or a moving bill at least quarterly, and immediately when a governor signs one. Each state card shows its verification level and the review date. If you see a change we missed, email Rob@thewinnerrealty.com with the bill number and we will verify it against the official text.

How Winner Realty helps

We buy and sell off-market deals in Louisville, Southern Indiana and across Kentucky, and we work with wholesalers and investors nationally who want a licensed brokerage on the Kentucky side. If you have a contract you cannot legally market here, or you are an out-of-state buyer who wants vetted deals sent to you, join our free buy-box list at buy-box signup or email Rob@thewinnerrealty.com. This page is general information, not legal advice; confirm your state's current rule with a local real estate attorney before you sign.

Equal Housing Opportunity.