GuideUpdated
What are the ARMLS photo rules?
ARMLS Rule 8.23 keeps listing media clean: no phone numbers, emails, names, websites, company names or ads; people only in the background; and no added text or images except location markers and one ARMLS-approved watermark. Virtual staging is allowed, and ARMLS has approved watermarks for staged and digitally altered media, videos and tours included.
We make PropWalk, so read this as a summary from a tool maker, not ARMLS. We read ARMLS’s Rule 8.23 page on Nov 8, 2026. Fines are set in ARMLS’s penalty policy.
What can’t go on ARMLS photos?
Anything that advertises the agent or anyone else.
- Phone numbers, emails, names, websites, company names or ads.
- People, except in the background.
- Added text or images, except property location markers and an approved watermark.
Which watermarks are allowed?
Only ARMLS-approved ones, one per photo, with the design unchanged: for status, for digitally altered media, and for homes still to be built.
Is virtual staging allowed?
Yes. The staging watermark is optional under the rule, though your broker may require it. Videos and tours have their own digitally altered watermark.
Read on ARMLS’s own page on Nov 8, 2026: ARMLS Rule 8.23: watermarks and listing media
Quick answers
What are the ARMLS photo rules?+
Rule 8.23: no contact info, names, websites or ads on listing media, people only in the background, and no added text except approved watermarks. Read Nov 8, 2026.
Can I put my logo on ARMLS photos?+
No. Names, company names, websites and ads are not allowed on listing media.
Do I have to watermark virtually staged photos in ARMLS?+
The staging watermark is optional under Rule 8.23, though your broker may require it.
Can people be in ARMLS listing photos?+
Only in the background.
Related questions
Start with the listing you have right now.
Upload the empty rooms. Under a minute later each one is furnished, with the disclosure line and the original beside it.
How the virtual staging works