Glossary / Funding and payment
Also known as: CDA, commission disbursement form
A commission disbursement authorization (CDA) is a document a brokerage sends to the party handling funds, such as a title or escrow company, telling it who receives commission payments and how much. It is signed by an authorized person at the brokerage.
A CDA is a payment instruction. TotalBrokerage describes it as the document that "tells the title company or closing agent exactly how to split commission payments" and notes that the listing or selling brokerage typically prepares it before settlement. Paperless Pipeline lists the usual contents: the transaction details, gross compensation, the payees at the brokerage and agent level, and the signature of the brokerage's authorized signer.
CDAs are most familiar in sales closed through escrow or title. In many commercial leases there is no closing table, and the landlord pays the commission directly under the Commission agreement, so whether a CDA is used at all depends on the deal and the firm.
Where a CDA is used, it decides exactly who is paid and how much at disbursement, including your share after the Commission split, any referral fees, and any amount owed to a third party under an Assignment of commission. TotalBrokerage notes that without it, the title company may not release commission funds, which delays payment.
Regulators limit what a CDA can do. A 2025 California DRE advisory, issued jointly with the DFPI, warned against brokers using CDAs to direct commissions to personal expenses or to unlicensed parties, and stressed that escrow agents follow the written instructions of the principals. Rules vary by state, so check yours before relying on a CDA to route funds.
When a CDA applies to your deal, review it before it is signed: it is the last chance to catch a wrong split or a missing payee.
