Is virtual staging legal? Disclosure rules by state

Which states have virtual staging laws?

What does California’s AB 723 require?

AB 723 was signed October 10, 2025 and took effect January 1, 2026. It applies to real estate licensees advertising property with digitally altered images.

• State that the image has been digitally altered, in a way that is “reasonably conspicuous and located on or adjacent to the image.”
• Include a link or QR code to the original, unaltered image.
• On websites you control, show the original or link to it.
• Basic edits are exempt when they don’t change the representation of the property: lighting, sharpening, white balance, color correction, angle and cropping.

California agents in CRMLS also have Rule 11.5.2, which requires the original to appear immediately before or after the altered image. Our California AB 723 guide goes through both in detail.

What will Wisconsin require starting in 2027?

Wisconsin 2025 Act 69 was enacted December 9, 2025 and takes effect January 1, 2027. The key sentence: “A licensee shall in all advertising disclose if the advertising has been altered or modified using technology … to add, remove, or change elements of the property that creates a false or misleading impression of the property.”

The law doesn’t say how to disclose. It also reaches “all advertising,” not just the MLS. Wisconsin agents should use the same habits as everywhere else: a visible label on the image, a caption note, and access to the original.

What’s pending in New York and New Jersey?

• New York S9584 would require disclosing virtual staging “as digitally added furnishings or finishes.”
• New York A.11635 would require disclosure plus a link to the original images.
• New Jersey A4728 would ban deceptively altered listing images, with an exception for staged furniture. It cleared the Assembly Housing Committee around May 2026.

Pending bills can change or stall. If you work in either state, watch them, and consider following California-style disclosure now so nothing changes for you if they pass.

What rules apply if your state has no specific law?

No photo-specific statute doesn’t mean no rules. Three layers apply almost everywhere:

• The NAR Code of Ethics (for REALTORS®). Article 12 says REALTORS® “shall present a true picture in their advertising, marketing, and other representations.” Standard of Practice 12-10 prohibits “manipulating … listing and other content in any way that produces a deceptive or misleading result” and the “use of misleading images.” NAR’s February 2026 guidance adds: label altered images on the photo or in remarks, and don’t conceal defects.
• Your MLS rules. Many MLSs have their own photo rules, and some fine violations (CRMLS: a warning, then $250). Examples: CRMLS requires originals and labels; SmartMLS requires a stamp or watermark; MLS Now requires an unaltered primary photo; Stellar MLS bans changing permanent fixtures, paint and utility lines or covering material flaws; NorthstarMLS proposed labeling plus a “Before” image in July 2026.
• State license law. Real estate license laws generally prohibit misrepresentation in advertising. A staged photo that hides a defect or changes the property can raise a misrepresentation issue even without a virtual-staging statute.

How do you check the rules in your state?

1. Ask your broker for the brokerage’s written policy on altered photos.
2. Search your MLS rules and help center for “virtual staging,” “digitally altered” and “photo rules.”
3. Check your state real estate commission’s advertising rules and any recent bulletins.
4. Check your state REALTOR® association’s legal updates for new or pending bills.
5. If you list in more than one MLS or state, follow the strictest rule across all of them.
6. Set a reminder to recheck every January, when new laws and MLS rules often take effect.

What’s a cautious default?

Following the strictest rules we found meets most current requirements we know of, but check your state and MLS. That means:

• A visible “Virtually staged” or “Digitally altered” label on every altered image.
• The same label in the caption, and a line in the remarks.
• The original photo shown next to the staged one, or a link or QR code to it.
• No changes to permanent features: walls, floors, fixtures, paint, views or utility lines.
• Labeled versions everywhere you advertise, including social media and property websites.

For wording and placement examples, see how to disclose virtual staging. For MLS file specs, see MLS photo requirements.