MLS compliance
Compliant by construction.
Last reviewed: September 2, 2026
The walkthrough shows the actual home, built from its own photos. Every photo tool that changes what a photo shows on purpose, staging, decluttering, sky and lighting edits, and renovation previews, ships with a disclosure and the original your MLS asks for.
This page is a plain-English summary, not legal advice. Rules vary by MLS. Check your own.
What changed in 2026
California AB 723 (Chapter 497, Statutes of 2025) took effect January 1, 2026 and amends Business and Professions Code section 10140.8. A licensee, or anyone acting on a licensee’s behalf, who uses a digitally altered image to promote a property must include a conspicuous disclosure that the image was digitally altered, and either the unaltered image or a link to it. Read the Senate Judiciary analysis.
On March 17, 2026, the California DRE published an advisory on the same subject: licensees must comply with section 10140.8, brokers carry a duty to supervise how altered images get used, and any output stays subject to fair-housing scrutiny like any other listing media. Read the DRE advisory.
Other states are watching California. NC REALTORS issued guidance on November 27, 2025 telling agents to label altered images and keep the unedited photo on hand. New York bill A.11635 would add a similar disclosure requirement, with a possible 2027 session. San Diego MLS has its own AB 723 explainer worth a read if you list in California.
What each MLS requires
A quick reference, not a substitute for your own MLS’s rulebook. Click through to the source for the full text.
| Source | Requires | Bans |
|---|---|---|
| California AB 723 | A conspicuous disclosure that the image was digitally altered, plus the unaltered image or a link to it. Effective January 1, 2026. | A digitally altered image used to promote a property without that disclosure and original. |
| CA DRE Advisory | Licensees follow Bus. & Prof. Code section 10140.8. Brokers carry a duty to supervise how altered images get used. | Misleading edits, and digitally altered media used without broker oversight or fair-housing review. |
| CRMLS (Rule 11.5.2) | The original unaltered image placed immediately before or after the altered one, and a label in the photo description ("digitally enhanced" or "virtually staged"). | Digitally changed landscaping unless the seller will actually make the change. Decluttering counts as alteration and needs the same label. |
| NorthstarMLS | Disclosure in the caption or on the photo, plus at least one unaltered "Before" image per staged or enhanced room. Virtual staging covers personal property only. | Altering walls, floors, doors, windows, roofing, siding, ceilings, fireplaces, driveways or grading. Fabricating a permanent feature. |
| Stellar MLS (Art. 04.04) | Add "Virtually staged" to the photo description, check the virtually-staged field, and open public remarks with "One or more photo(s) was virtually staged." | Virtual staging on pre-construction or under-construction listings; exterior staging beyond unattached furniture and decor; altering permanent fixtures; adding a view or landmark; removing damage; distorting room dimensions. Noncompliance means photo removal plus an automatic fine. |
| Canopy MLS | Full disclosure on any staged or edited image, including images made with editing tools. | An impossible view, a changed room dimension, or an added amenity or structural element. |
| NAR Code of Ethics (Art. 2 & 12) | Advertising gives a true picture of the property. No exaggeration, misrepresentation or concealment. | Any listing photo or description that misrepresents the property’s real condition. |
How PropWalk keeps you inside the lines
- The walkthrough is the real house. It is built only from the listing’s own photos: same rooms, same layout, same finishes. Nothing is invented, added or removed.
- Every stage, exterior, declutter and renovation export can carry a disclosure label, stamped right on the JPG.
- One click downloads the before-and-after pair, the original photo next to the labeled edit, which is exactly what CRMLS and Stellar both ask agents to post.
- Copy-paste captions for every tool, plus the Stellar public-remarks line when you are staging a room or previewing a renovation.
- Pick your own MLS disclosure wording once in Settings, and it gets used on every labeled export from then on.
Disclosure template library
Paste-ready text for each tool. Add the original photo’s link where the AB 723 line asks for one.
Relight caption
Photo digitally enhanced (lighting). Original image included.
Stage caption
Virtually staged. Original unstaged image included.
Exterior caption
Sky and lighting digitally enhanced. Original image included.
Declutter caption
Digitally altered photo: personal items removed. Original image included.
Renovate caption
Concept image, digitally altered to show a possible renovation. Original image included.
Stellar MLS public remarks (staging and renovation previews)
One or more photo(s) was virtually staged.
California AB 723 disclosure line
Image digitally altered. Unaltered original available on request or at the link provided.
What we won’t do
- Invent a feature the home doesn’t have.
- Remove real damage or defects from a photo.
- Change walls, floors, windows, doors or other permanent fixtures.
- Add a view, a landmark, or anything that wasn’t in the original shot.
- Stage or renovate an exterior beyond unattached furniture and decor.
Questions
Do I have to disclose an edited listing photo?
Under California’s AB 723, yes, starting January 1, 2026: a digitally altered image used to promote a property needs a conspicuous disclosure, plus the unaltered original or a link to it. Most MLSs already require something similar. Check your own MLS, since the exact wording varies.
What counts as "digitally altered"?
Virtual staging, decluttering and renovation previews count. Lighting, white balance, crop and exposure edits generally do not, under CRMLS guidance. A relight-only edit is usually not treated as "alteration."
Does the walkthrough video need a disclosure?
PropWalk’s walkthrough is built only from the listing’s own photos: same rooms, same layout, same finishes. Nothing is invented, added or removed, so it does not carry the same disclosure a staged or renovated photo needs. Confirm with your own MLS to be sure.
Where do I get the original photo to post next to the edit?
Every stage, exterior, declutter and renovation result has a "Before + after pair" download. One click saves the original upload and the labeled edit as two separate files, ready to post together.
Is this page legal advice?
No. This is a plain-English summary of public MLS rules and California’s AB 723, not legal advice. Rules vary by MLS and change over time. Check your own MLS, and ask a real estate attorney if you are unsure.
Try the tools that ship with disclosure built in. Your first walkthrough and photo session are free.
Start freeFor how PropWalk handles your photos and data more broadly, see Your Photos & Your Data.