Yes, with the MLS's own watermark and the original beside it. ARMLS Rule 8.23, in force since May 28, 2026, requires a clear and conspicuous disclosure on every digitally altered image, at minimum an MLS-provided 'Digitally Altered' watermark applied in Flexmls, with the unaltered original paired directly before or after; $200 fines start in December 2026. Tucson's MLSSAZ wants 'virtual staged' along the top of the image plus the unmodified copy adjacent.
ARMLS bars watermarks of any kind except its own, so a label burnt in by a staging tool does not satisfy the rule and may breach it. ARMLS agents need a clean render and the Flexmls watermark, which stays on the image permanently once applied.
Regulator: Arizona Department of Real Estate · Association: Arizona REALTORS® · MLS / boards: ARMLS (Phoenix) — Rule 8.23, effective May 28, 2026, MLSSAZ (Tucson) — listing photo rules
Governing text: A.R.S. § 32-2153(A) · A.A.C. R4-28-502(C) — advertising by a licensee
Quoted as written, with the source and the day we read it.
“'Digitally Altered' means any digital alteration to Media that adds, removes, or modifies furniture, décor, or other non-permanent or permanent features.”
ARMLS Rules and Regulations, last updated May 28, 2026, § 1.29(b) — ARMLS · read September 2, 2026
“Any Media that has been Digitally Altered must include a clear and conspicuous disclosure indicating that the Media has been Digitally Altered. The disclosure must, at a minimum, include an MLS system-provided watermark applied directly to the Media. Each Media item that is Digitally Altered must be paired directly before or after with the corresponding unaltered original Media item.”
ARMLS Rules and Regulations, § 8.23(n) — ARMLS · read September 2, 2026
“Photographs and other Media may not be altered to display text or images, except to identify the property's location attributions, or watermarks of any kind except for those specifically provided by ARMLS, including those made available through the MLS system, and displayed in such Media as permitted by ARMLS guidelines.”
ARMLS Rules and Regulations, § 8.23(e) — ARMLS · read September 2, 2026
“Media must not be Digitally Altered to materially misrepresent the existing condition or existing structure of a property, unless disclosed as described in these Rules. This includes altering the surrounding elements, such as views or neighboring structures. Routine enhancements, such as brightness, contrast, or color correction, that do not change the property's representation are permitted.”
ARMLS Rules and Regulations, § 8.23(f) — ARMLS · read September 2, 2026
“Photo enhancements are allowed as follows: saturation of color, brightness & contrast, cropping of size, and virtual home staging. Virtual staged photos must include a 'virtual staged' disclosure prominently placed along the top of the image. Virtually staged photos must also include an unmodified copy of the photo adjacent to the staged photo.”
MLSSAZ Rules and Regulations, effective March 1, 2022, listing photo rules item (I) — MLS of Southern Arizona (Tucson) · read September 2, 2026
“A salesperson or broker shall ensure that all advertising contains accurate claims and representations, and fully states factual material relating to the information advertised. A salesperson or broker shall not misrepresent the facts or create misleading impressions.”
A.A.C. R4-28-502(C) — Cornell LII · read September 2, 2026
The four things a listing has to get right.
| Disclosure to buyers | RequiredARMLS: a clear and conspicuous disclosure on every digitally altered image, at minimum the MLS-provided 'Digitally Altered' watermark, plus the original paired before or after. MLSSAZ: 'virtual staged' along the top of the image plus the unmodified copy adjacent. Source |
|---|---|
| Label on the image | YesARMLS: only the ARMLS-provided watermark, applied in Flexmls; § 8.23(e) bars watermarks of any kind except those. A tool's burnt-in label does not satisfy the rule. MLSSAZ: 'virtual staged' text prominently along the top of the image. Source |
| Unaltered original | YesARMLS: paired directly before or after the altered image. MLSSAZ: an unmodified copy adjacent to the staged photo. Source |
| Off-limits alterations | ProhibitedARMLS: no alteration that materially misrepresents the existing condition or structure, including views and neighbouring structures, unless disclosed per the rule. MLSSAZ: enhancements limited to colour, brightness and contrast, cropping, and virtual staging. Source |
Plain words, consistent with the rule above. Sedam Staging writes the same line into the disclosure file that ships with every listing.
Public decisions and reports involving altered or virtually staged listing photos relevant to Arizona.
Sedam Staging burns the “Virtually staged” label into every listing image, ships the untouched original beside it, compares every render against the photograph so walls, windows, floors and built-ins never move, and writes the remarks line into the download. See the renders we refused →
No. Rule 8.23(n) requires at minimum the MLS-provided 'Digitally Altered' watermark applied in Flexmls, and 8.23(e) bars watermarks of any kind except ARMLS's own. Use a clean render, apply the Flexmls watermark, and upload the original directly before or after.
Any alteration that adds, removes or modifies furniture, décor, or other non-permanent or permanent features. Brightness, contrast, cropping, sharpening and colour correction that do not change the property's representation need no disclosure.
December 2026, at $200 per violation, after an education phase from June to November 2026. Non-compliant media can be removed at any time.
The same four questions, answered from each regulator's own text. The national layer for the United States →
AB 723: the first statute, plus CRMLS and San Diego rules that disagree on where the label goes
Stellar MLS's virtual-staging article, and a state law that bans misleading ads
Four MLSs, four ways to disclose: Houston, San Antonio, Austin and Dallas–Fort Worth
A Department of State alert on AI listings, and a disclosure bill that is not yet law
The general-impression test in DOL's advertising guideline, and a members-only NWMLS rulebook
Listing across the border? The rules in Canada, province by province.
How this page was made. Each quotation was read at the linked source on September 2, 2026; our confidence that it is current and complete is high (the ARMLS and MLSSAZ rules were read from the primary PDFs and the statute from azleg.gov; the fine timeline comes from ARMLS's web page rather than the penalty policy PDF). Rules change and boards add policies; the linked documents are the authority, and this is a plain-language summary, not legal advice. Spotted a change? Tell us and we will fix the page.