West Virginia Code Chapter 19. Agriculture § 19-2C-10. Advertising

In advertising an auction sale by any licensed auctioneer, the principal auctioneer or auctioneers who physically conduct the sale shall be listed prominently in such advertising as used by said auctioneer or auctioneers.  The individual auctioneer or auctioneers who conduct the sale shall be the person or persons who call for, accept and close bids on the majority of items offered for sale.

Any apprentice auctioneer who advertises, as provided in this section, shall indicate in his or her advertisement the name of the sponsoring auctioneer under whom he or she is licensed.

The auctioneer's name and license number shall be displayed in equal prominence with the name of the apprentice auctioneer and license number in such advertisement.

Nothing in the provisions of this article shall be construed so as to prohibit any other auctioneer, licensed pursuant to this article, from assisting with any auction, notwithstanding the failure to list the name of the other auctioneer in any advertising associated with such auction.

It is unlawful to conduct or advertise that an auction is absolute if minimum opening bids are required or other conditions are placed on the sale that limit the sale other than to the highest bidder.

No property other than the property of a specified deceased person or the property of a specified living person's estate may be sold at auction if the auction is conducted or advertised only as an estate auction.  However, property other than that of the specified estate may be sold at the sale if all advertisements for the sale specify that items will be sold that do not belong to the estate and those items are identified at the sale.