METHODOLOGY · UPDATED SEPTEMBER 28, 2026

Show the evidence. Explain the relevance.

AgentCerta helps people understand which real estate agents appear relevant to their needs and why. There is no universal “best agent” score.

1. Establish eligibility

Results include published records with appropriate source provenance. Synthetic development records never mix with production records. A known inactive, expired, revoked, suspended, surrendered, or deceased license record is excluded from active real estate agent discovery.

2. Match the question

Location, specialty, transaction side, property type, price range, recency, and verified evidence determine the candidate set. A county license record supports a regional connection; it does not establish neighborhood expertise. Self-reported specialties remain labeled.

3. Order by explainable dimensions

Current ordering compares the number of verified matching transactions in the past 24 months, verified specialty evidence, recent license-source checks, and transaction-verified review volume, in that order. Equal evidence uses a stable internal identifier as a tie-break. No arbitrary overall score is published.

4. Make uncertainty visible

Strong coverage requires at least five relevant verified transactions and a recent source check. A recent license check without transaction support provides limited coverage. Unavailable evidence is marked as not established; absence in our dataset does not prove a lack of experience as a real estate agent.

Sources and recency

Factual evidence identifies its source, scope, and check date. Refresh targets and evidence freshness deadlines depend on the source; they are not a universal weekly schedule. A source publication date and the date we collected it can differ. A recent check establishes what the source reported at that time, not an agent's performance or a guarantee that a record has not since changed.

See source coverage and refresh targets

What payment changes

Subscriptions may enable real estate agent tools. Subscription status, revenue, advertising, and profile appearance are not inputs to the relevance service. Verification is based on evidence, never payment.

Limitations at launch

AgentCerta serves the United States. Initial public profile cohorts use licensing sources from the Texas Real Estate Commission, California Department of Real Estate, and New York State Department of State through Open NY. These are bounded identity and license records, not a complete directory of any state. New York's Active label reflects membership in the source's dated active-license dataset; absence from that dataset does not establish a reason. Licensing addresses do not establish service areas. Transaction feeds, independently verified reviews, and specialty evidence are not yet broadly available. No comprehensive coverage or regulatory endorsement is claimed.

Check current coverage

Corrections and versions

Source conflicts and correction requests enter a review workflow. A request does not automatically replace source evidence or grant ownership of a profile. Material methodology changes are dated. Anyone can submit a source concern or correction through Contact without creating an account. Confirm current license status with the regulator and discuss services directly with the real estate agent.

Submit a correction or source concern