房地產經紀人常常處理大額金錢，如何識別一個值得信賴的地產代理是非常重要的。
除《地產代理條例》訂明的豁免情況外，任何人在香港從事地產代理工作的業務必須領有有效的地產代理牌照。而任何人擔任地產代理的營業員亦必須持有有效牌照。無領有有效牌照而從事地產代理工作屬刑事罪行，一經定罪，最高刑罰為監禁2年及罰款 $500,000。
牌照分為兩類—營業員牌照及地產代理牌照，各有不同的發牌條件。
Real estate agents often deal with large sums of money and how to identify a trustworthy estate agent is very important.
According to the Estate Agents Ordinance, any person who carries on the business of estate agency in Hong Kong must have a valid estate agency license. Any salesperson who is an estate agent must also hold a valid license. It is a criminal offense to carry out estate agency work without a valid license. Upon conviction, the maximum penalty is imprisonment for 2 years and a fine of $ 500,000.
Licenses are divided into two categories – salesperson licenses and estate agency licenses, each with different licensing conditions.
地產代理經營地產代理業務前，亦須就每個營業地點及名稱申請一份營業詳情說明書。
個人持牌人均會獲發一張地產代理證，以供公眾識別其身份。某些持牌人的資料已上載到此網頁的牌照目錄及根據《條例》所備存的登記冊，以供公眾查閱。
持牌人及某些前持牌人均可於此網站註冊及登入以享用一系列的電子服務