MLS virtual staging rules, quoted at the source

The six rules side by side

What they all agree on: furniture may be added to an empty room, and nothing the owner does not control may be added or removed. Power lines, views, water towers and structural features stay as they are.

CRMLS (California Regional MLS)

Rule 11.5.2, written to follow California AB 723 and in force since 1 January 2026. When adding a digitally altered image, “the original, unaltered version must appear in the listing immediately before or after the digitally enhanced image”, and the altered one is labelled in the photo description field with terms such as “digitally enhanced”, “digitally altered” or “virtually staged”.

A watermark is not required: “The image needs to have the term ‘digitally altered’ or one similar in the image description.” Virtually clearing a room of furniture also counts as an alteration. “AI-generated landscaping images are not permitted in the MLS.” Enforcement: a warning, then “a $250 fine” if not corrected in time. Minor adjustments (brightness, colour correction, sharpening, lighting) are not affected.

CRMLS Knowledgebase, Digitally Altered Image Guidance and FAQs, updated 24 July 2026.

Stellar MLS (Florida)

Article 04.04, Virtually Staged Photos. Disclosure is required “in the photo description entry field by adding the words ‘Virtually staged’ and by checking the virtually staged field. Additionally, the first words of the public remarks must read ‘One or more photo(s) was virtually staged.’”

Prohibited: staging exterior photos “except for unattached furniture or décor”; altering permanent fixtures; adding views or landmarks not physically possible; hiding defects such as “holes in the wall, exposed wiring, damaged flooring”; distorting room dimensions, for example “placing small furniture to make a room appear larger than it actually is”; and “words on any property photograph”. Virtual staging “shall not be used for Pre-Construction & Under Construction properties”. Failure to comply means the photos are removed and an automatic fine under Level I of the fine schedule.

Stellar MLS Rules and Regulations, last updated 15 September 2025, linked from stellarmls.com/photorules.

Bright MLS (Mid-Atlantic)

Policy on Images and Documents, section E. “Virtually-staged photo(s)/rendering(s) must be disclosed in the MLS.” Adding or removing “visual elements not within a property owner's control is strictly prohibited”, such as a view that is not possible from the location, or power lines, water towers and nearby highways. Adding furniture, mirrors, artwork and plants to an empty room, or replacing existing furniture, is permitted. Staging is permitted on to-be-built and under-construction listings.

Bright MLS, Policy on Images and Documents in the MLS, dated 28 February 2024, the latest version we could find.

MRED (Midwest Real Estate Data)

Section 6.2, Photography and Virtual Staging. The same prohibited inclusions and exclusions as Bright, with its own example: “Editing in a view of CloudGate (aka the Chicago Bean) that is not physically possible from the specified location”. Furniture in an empty room is permitted, and “Disclosure of virtually staged photo(s)/rendering(s) is required in the specified field.”

MRED Rules and Regulations, revised 14 May 2026.

Canopy MLS (Charlotte region)

The strictest text of the six on placement. “All AI-enhanced and virtually-staged photo(s), renderings, or virtual tours must include a clear, readily visible disclosure directly ON the image or within the virtual tour.” And: “Disclosure provided ONLY in captions, agent remarks, or supplemental text is NOT acceptable.” A non-staged original image “MUST be included immediately before or after” the staged one.

Permitted: furniture, mirrors, artwork and plants in an empty room, and cosmetic changes such as paint colour, “provided no structural changes are shown or implied”. Prohibited: adding pools, fireplaces or rooms that do not exist, changing dimensions, or removing power lines and flaws.

Canopy MLS Support, Digital, Virtually Staged, and AI-enhanced Images, 27 February 2026 (section 1.18.1 of its rules).

SmartMLS (Connecticut)

SmartMLS separates two cases. Virtually staged photos (furniture and decor added) “must have a stamp/watermark that notes that they are virtually staged”, and “do not need to be accompanied by an original/as is photo”. Digitally altered photos (wall colour, new cabinets) must each be preceded by the as-is photo, and both carry a stamp. The platform applies one if you tick the box.

The caption does not count, and SmartMLS says why: the caption field “is not included in data feeds to 3rd party/IDX sites”, so buyers on other sites would never see it.

connectMLS help, virtually staged vs digitally altered photos, updated 8 September 2026.

California AB 723: the state law behind CRMLS

AB 723 adds section 10140.8 to the Business and Professions Code. It was approved by the Governor on 10 October 2025 (Chapter 497), and CRMLS applies it from 1 January 2026. It reaches further than any MLS, because it covers every advertisement, not only the listing.

A licensee who uses a digitally altered image “shall include in the advertisement or promotional material a statement disclosing that the image has been altered and a link to a publicly accessible internet website, URL, or QR code that includes, and clearly identifies, the original, unaltered image”. The statement must be “reasonably conspicuous and located on or adjacent to the image”. On a website the licensee controls, the unaltered images must be included in the posting, or linked.

“Digitally altered” covers additions, removals or changes to “fixtures, furniture, appliances, flooring, walls, paint color, hardscape, landscape, facade, floor plans”, and to what is visible from the property, such as utility poles and views through windows. It excludes “lighting, sharpening, white balance, color correction, angle, straightening, cropping, exposure”. A wilful violation of the Real Estate Law is a crime.

AB 723, bill text on leginfo.legislature.ca.gov.

One workflow that satisfies all six

The rules conflict on the label, not on the photo. Keep the original photo next to the staged one everywhere, and move the label to where your MLS wants it.

• Keep the pair. Roomstill downloads two files: the untouched photo (…-current-state) and the render (…-virtually-staged), in that upload order. That covers CRMLS, Canopy and AB 723's “original, unaltered image”.
• Label on the image for Canopy and SmartMLS: switch on the disclosure on the result screen and it is burned into the render.
• Label in the field for Stellar, CRMLS, Bright and MRED: leave it off, since Stellar bans words on photos, and type the disclosure in the description field.
• Nothing structural moves. Walls, windows, doors, framing and light are held in every request sent to the engine: the line every one of these rules draws.

Already have a staged image that needs a visible label? Label an AI photo for free, in your browser.

Questions agents ask