Buying

How to Check a Bali Real Estate Agency: Licence, Certified Brokers and Commission

A licensed Indonesian property agency is a legal entity with an NIB under KBLI 68200, works through certified Indonesian brokers and signs a written agreement with you — rules now set by Trade Minister Regulation 33/2025, which revoked the 2017 rule many sites still cite.

Published 13 October 2026 · Updated 13 October 2026 · Rules checked 13 October 2026 · 6 min read

The short answer

Indonesia licenses property brokerage as a business, not as a person with a business card. A licensed agency (a P4, perusahaan perantara perdagangan properti) is a legal entity with an NIB business number for KBLI 68200, real estate on a fee or contract basis, and must show its licence on its website and publications.
Since 5 October 2025 the rules sit in Trade Minister Regulation 33/2025, which revoked Regulation 51/M-DAG/PER/7/2017. As reported by Kontan, it keeps commission between 2% and 5% of the transaction value for a sale and 5% to 8% for a lease, requires brokers holding a BNSP competency certificate, and requires brokers to be Indonesian citizens.
Compliance is far from universal. Trade Ministry inspections of 216 brokerage businesses in Bandung, Jakarta and Bali from 2021 to 2024 found 56 (26%) compliant; the most common gaps were missing certified brokers, missing annual reports and a missing NIB (RRI, 28 July 2025).
Before you pay anything, ask for the agency’s company name and NIB, the broker’s certificate, and a written agreement stating the commission and who pays it.

Which law regulates real estate agents in Indonesia?

For eight years it was Trade Minister Regulation 51/M-DAG/PER/7/2017 on property brokerage companies, and most English-language Bali guides still cite it. It was revoked by Trade Minister Regulation 33 of 2025 on business activity standards in the trade sector, enacted on 3 October 2025 and in force from 5 October 2025, according to the government’s legal database (JDIH BPK). Brokerage standards are now part of that regulation.

Separately, Government Regulation 28 of 2025, which revised risk-based business licensing, moved KBLI 68200 from low to medium-high risk, as Trade Ministry officials told an AREBI (Indonesian Real Estate Brokers Association) forum in Kuta in July 2025. In practice that means an NIB alone is no longer the whole licence: the business also needs a verified standard certificate (sertifikat standar).

We have not been able to read the full text of Regulation 33/2025’s brokerage standards, which run inside a regulation of several hundred pages. The requirements below are as reported by Kontan (19 November 2025) and RRI (28 July 2025); confirm a specific point with a notary or lawyer before relying on it.

What should a licensed agency be able to show you?

A licensed agency can produce each of these on request, and most put the licence number on their website. Ask by message, so the answer is in writing.

Ask for	What it shows	Why it matters
The legal entity’s name	A PT, sole-shareholder PT, cooperative or state company	Your agreement and any payment should be with an entity, not a person
NIB with KBLI 68200	Registered for real estate brokerage	The licence must be shown on the agency’s website and publications
Verified sertifikat standar	The business meets the brokerage standard	Required since KBLI 68200 became medium-high risk
The broker’s BNSP certificate	The person advising you is a certified broker	Brokers must be certified Indonesian citizens; each is registered to one business location
A written agreement	Scope, property, commission, who pays	Required with every client and every co-broking agency

How much commission do Bali agents charge?

As reported, Regulation 33/2025 keeps the ranges of the 2017 rule: 2% to 5% of the transaction value for a sale, 5% to 8% for a lease, and an agency may pass at most 70% of its commission to the individual broker. The rate within that range, and who pays it, is a matter for the written agreement.

Ask both questions before your first viewing, and get the answer in writing. Two agencies showing the same villa can quote different prices partly because one adds its commission to the owner’s price and the other does not; the syndication guide explains how one villa ends up with five prices.

Can a foreigner work as a property agent in Bali?

Not as the broker. Under the rules as reported, brokers must be Indonesian citizens holding a BNSP competency certificate; foreigners may hold management roles in a licensed company. A foreign individual introducing villas is not a licensed broker, whatever their website says, and an agreement with them is an agreement with a person, not with a regulated business.

That does not make every foreign-run agency suspect: many are licensed Indonesian companies with foreign managers and certified Indonesian brokers. The test is the entity and its NIB, not the nationality of the person you met.

What are the warning signs?

No company name on the website, the agreement or the invoice.
A deposit requested into a personal bank account, or bank details that change by message. Pay a company account, and confirm the account by phone.
A promise that a foreigner can own freehold, or an offer to arrange a nominee. Bali’s Perda 4/2026 bans nominee arrangements; the nominee guide covers it.
A leasehold advertised without the years remaining, or with only the years originally granted.
No answer, or no written answer, on commission and who pays it.
Pressure to commit before you have seen the title, the building permit (PBG) and the zoning.
Rental projections stated as certain. Licensed agencies are barred from offering uncertain promises and from facilitating crowdfunded property schemes, as reported.

Where does Baliestate fit?

Baliestate publishes the listings of its partner agencies and developers and names the agency on every listing, so you know who you would be dealing with. The checks above apply to that agency as to any other: ask for its entity, NIB and agreement before you pay.

Common questions

Do real estate agents in Bali need a licence?

Yes. Property brokerage must be run by a legal entity with an NIB for KBLI 68200 and, since KBLI 68200 became medium-high risk, a verified standard certificate. The rules are in Trade Minister Regulation 33/2025, which replaced Regulation 51/2017 from 5 October 2025.

What commission do real estate agents charge in Bali?

As reported of Regulation 33/2025, between 2% and 5% of the transaction value for a sale and between 5% and 8% for a lease. The exact rate and who pays it should be in the written agreement.

Is Permendag 51/2017 still in force?

No. JDIH BPK lists it among the regulations revoked by Trade Minister Regulation 33/2025, in force from 5 October 2025.

Can a foreigner be a real estate broker in Indonesia?

Not as reported of the current rules: brokers must be Indonesian citizens with a BNSP competency certificate. Foreigners may work in management roles at a licensed company.

How many Indonesian property agencies are compliant?

In Trade Ministry inspections of 216 brokerage businesses in Bandung, Jakarta and Bali between 2021 and 2024, 56 (26%) were compliant, RRI reported on 28 July 2025.

General information, not legal advice. The revocation of Regulation 51/2017 is from JDIH BPK; the content of Regulation 33/2025 is as reported by Kontan and RRI, because we could not read its brokerage standards in full. Checked 13 October 2026.