California
BAREIS: virtual staging rules
What BAREIS (Northern California) requires before a virtually staged photo goes into a listing — the disclosure rule, the edits it permits, the edits it prohibits, and what happens when a listing gets it wrong.
Disclosure rule
Virtual staging disclosure required per AB 723 and NAR standards.
Permitted
Standard virtual staging with disclosure.
Prohibited
Images that misrepresent actual property condition.
Penalty
Standard MLS enforcement.
Provenance: these board rules were documented as part of RELTO's California research, whose state entry is verified against the board or statute’s own public rulebook. No separate board-rulebook citation is indexed for this rule — confirm the current wording with the board directly. Full legal context, penalties, and sources for California: California virtual staging rules.
Disclosure language you can copy
RELTO's recommended wording — always confirm the exact format BAREIS requires (photo label, caption, or public remarks) before publishing.
- On the photo
- Virtually Staged
- In public remarks
- One or more photo(s) was virtually staged.
- Extended disclaimer
- Images have been virtually staged to illustrate the property's potential. Furniture and decor shown are digitally rendered and are not included with the property. Please refer to the original photographs for an accurate representation of the property's current condition.
Sources
- California AB 723 — bill text — California
- California Bus. & Prof. Code §10140.8 — California
- California Bus. & Prof. Code §10185 — misdemeanor for willful violation — California
- DRE Advisory: Artificial Intelligence in California Real Estate (2026-03-17) — California
- CRMLS — Digitally Altered Image Guidance & FAQs (Rule 11.5.2) — California
- California AI Transparency Act (SB 942) — adjacent context, not real-estate-specific — California
Stage compliantly on BAREIS
RELTO's free tier watermarks every image automatically, and MLS-ready downloads on paid plans add the disclosure label. Free to start, no credit card.
Stage a photo freeInformational only — not legal advice. RELTO is a virtual-staging technology provider, not a law firm, and nothing on this page creates an attorney-client relationship. Board rules and enforcement practices change; confirm each rule with the board's current rulebook, your broker, and a licensed real-estate attorney before relying on it. Every rule above was documented as part of the state research that covers this board; verification dates and confidence tiers describe those state entries, not board-specific rulebook citations.