Must you present every offer to a seller?

The default rule, in RECO's own words

RECO Bulletin 4.2 states it without hedging: “The law is clear that a seller's agent must convey an offer to the seller as soon as possible after receiving it unless the seller has given clear and detailed written direction to do otherwise.” There is no carve-out for an offer you think is too low, from a buyer you don't like, or that arrives after you've already recommended another one — the seller decides, and they can only decide on offers you've actually shown them.

The one lawful way to delay

A seller can choose to hold all offers to a single presentation date — the common “offer night” practice — but only on specific terms. Bulletin 4.2 requires that instruction to be documented: “An agent whose seller client chooses to defer their consideration of offers to a specific date and time may do so only if the agent has the seller's specific instructions documented in a written direction.” If the seller later changes the date or time, the same bulletin puts the notification duty squarely on you: “The seller's agent is responsible for making sure all interested parties are notified of the change.”

A different bulletin, a different question

Don't confuse this with Bulletin 4.1, which governs something else entirely: whether the seller lets you disclose the content of one offer to a rival bidder. The seller controls that decision, and can withhold offer content from competing buyers at any point. That is a disclosure choice about what other bidders get told. It is not, and has never been, a way for a seller to instruct you not to present an offer to them at all — those are two different questions, and the bulletins that answer them are not interchangeable. For the mechanics of a specific offer type built around a documented deadline, see how a pre-emptive offer is handled and what a back-up offer actually secures.