Yes, under MLS rules, and each Texas MLS does it differently. Houston's HAR wants 'virtually staged' in the photo description; San Antonio's SABOR wants the virtually-staged option ticked; Austin's Unlock MLS wants an unstaged photo of the same view uploaded. TREC has no rule that names staging, only the ban on advertising that misleads or is likely to deceive.
Unlock MLS may also remove any image with embedded, overlaid or digitally stamped text, so in Austin the disclosure lives beside the photo, not on it.
Regulator: Texas Real Estate Commission · Association: Texas REALTORS® · MLS / boards: HAR (Houston) — Rule 1.25.1, SABOR (San Antonio) — § 1.2(b), Unlock MLS / ACTRIS (Austin) — § 2.15, NTREIS (Dallas–Fort Worth) — § 7.30
Governing text: Texas Occupations Code § 1101.652(b)(23) · 22 Texas Administrative Code § 535.155(d)
Quoted as written, with the source and the day we read it.
“The commission may suspend or revoke a license issued under this chapter or take other disciplinary action […] if the license holder, while engaged in real estate brokerage: […] (23) publishes or causes to be published an advertisement that: (A) misleads or is likely to deceive the public; (B) tends to create a misleading impression;”
Texas Occupations Code § 1101.652(b) — Texas Constitution and Statutes · read September 2, 2026
“Digital images may include the use of virtual staging which is limited to the addition of furnishings and wall décor that would otherwise be considered personal property and not conveyed in the sale of the property. Participants shall clearly indicate in the Photo Description the image has been virtually staged.”
HAR MLS Rules, dated June 8, 2026, Rule 1.25.1 — Houston Association of REALTORS® · read September 2, 2026
“Digital images shall not contain digitally enhanced modifications that alter or misrepresent the condition or appearance of the listed property's structure or grounds included in the sale or lease. (e.g. adding or modifying a swimming pool or landscaping, removal of objects such as powerlines, utility boxes, fire hydrants etc.)”
SABOR MLS Rules and Regulations, revised September 18, 2024, § 1.2(b) — San Antonio Board of REALTORS® · read September 2, 2026
“Participants shall indicate by selecting virtually staged option on the pick list under photo description if home was virtually staged.”
SABOR MLS Rules and Regulations, § 1.2(b) — San Antonio Board of REALTORS® · read September 2, 2026
“Images with virtual staging (i.e., use of software to add furnishings) must include a non-virtually staged image of the same view.”
Unlock MLS Rules and Regulations, March 2026, § 2.15 — Unlock MLS (Austin) · read September 2, 2026
“Unlock MLS reserves the right to reject or remove any digital image submitted that includes any embedded, overlaid, or digitally stamped text, personal advertising or promotion, as well as people or persons.”
Unlock MLS Rules and Regulations, March 2026, § 2.15 — Unlock MLS (Austin) · read September 2, 2026
“Only a true current photograph of Listed Property may be placed in the 'Property Photograph' section without decorative borders, other embellishments, or any digitally enhanced modifications that would misrepresent the true condition or appearance of the property.”
NTREIS MLS Rules and Regulations, approved October 16, 2024, § 7.30 — NTREIS (Dallas–Fort Worth) · read September 2, 2026
The four things a listing has to get right.
| Disclosure to buyers | RequiredBy MLS rule, not by TREC. HAR: 'virtually staged' in the photo description. SABOR: the virtually-staged option on the photo pick list. Unlock: an unstaged image of the same view. NTREIS names no wording. Source |
|---|---|
| Label on the image | Varies by MLSHAR requires a visible watermark only when real property is altered ('Image does not represent actual property as is'); SABOR uses a flag; Unlock may remove any image with stamped text. A burnt-in label is optional in Houston and at risk in Austin. Source |
| Unaltered original | Varies by MLSUnlock: an unstaged image of the same view. HAR: an unaltered adjacent image when real property is altered. SABOR and NTREIS: none found. Source |
| Off-limits alterations | ProhibitedSABOR: nothing that alters the structure or grounds (pools, landscaping, removed power lines, utility boxes, hydrants). HAR: staging limited to furnishings and wall décor. NTREIS: no modification that misrepresents the true condition. Unlock: the image must show the property in its current state. 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 Texas.
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 →
Houston (HAR): 'virtually staged' in the photo description, and a watermark plus an unaltered adjacent image if anything about the property itself was altered. San Antonio (SABOR): tick the virtually-staged option. Austin (Unlock): upload the unstaged photo of the same view, and keep text off the image. Dallas–Fort Worth (NTREIS): no misrepresenting modifications.
No. TREC's standard is that an advertisement may not mislead, be likely to deceive, or create a misleading impression, and 22 TAC § 535.155 says an ad inaccurate in any material fact qualifies. A staged photo that is not disclosed is the textbook case.
In Austin, yes: Unlock MLS may remove any image with embedded or stamped text. Keep a clean copy for Unlock and disclose with the unstaged twin. Houston's watermark rule applies only to altered real property.
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
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
ARMLS's own 'Digitally Altered' watermark, the original beside it, and $200 fines from December 2026
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 statute, the TREC rule and all four MLS rulebooks were read from the primary text; TREC's silence on staging rests on site searches). 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.