Any real estate agent team working in Connecticut will face new rules for how they can name themselves come Jan. 1, 2022.

A little-noticed law passed by the state’s legislature this year means any group of two or more agents who are affiliated with the same broker and who advertise themselves as a group, using a common name, must drop phrases like “group,” “company” or “LLC” that could make customers think the team is an independent business.

Other soon-to-be-banned terms include: associates, corporation, group, “real estate” or “realty.” The new law specifically calls out “team” as a term that will not be prohibited.

The team must also include the full name of its sponsoring broker in a prominent spot in all its advertisements.

The law also requires these teams to register with the state Department of Consumer Protection, and renew that registration each year.

The change comes as real estate teams become an increasingly important part of brokerages’ sales, with some providing the lion’s share of transactions an office might do in a single year. The National Association of Realtors estimates that one-fourth of all Realtors are members of a team. However, Connecticut had no laws regulating how teams operate until now.