California Agents: What AB 723 Actually Requires
Since January 1, 2026, Bus. & Prof. Code §10140.8 has required a conspicuous disclosure on every digitally altered listing image plus access to the original. Here is the statute, the CRMLS rule that sits on top of it, and the difference between them.
Informational only — not legal advice, not a substitute for counsel, and no attorney-client relationship is created. Confirm every rule with your broker and a licensed real-estate attorney before relying on it. This entry is verified against the board or statute’s own public rulebook.
Avoid CA fines — stage compliantlyBroker
warning
Section 10140.8 applies to you, your agents, and anyone acting on your behalf, and it is not limited to the MLS — social media, flyers, websites, and email blasts all fall within "an advertisement or other promotional material for the sale of real property." The DRE's March 2026 AI advisory puts responsibility for AI output on the licensee and the responsible broker, and treats supervising advertising as an existing broker duty. If you have a team, a written policy and a system that applies the disclosure every time is how you evidence that supervision.
The laws that apply to you
Virtual staging laws in California
AB 723 (Business & Professions Code § 10140.8)
Effective January 1, 2026
First state law specifically targeting digitally altered real estate images. Signed October 10, 2025 as Chapter 497, Statutes of 2025. The duty runs to licensed brokers, salespersons, and persons acting on their behalf, and is written by reference to the advertisement rather than the platform. It reaches advertising “for the sale of real property,” so rentals are outside its text.
Bus. & Prof. Code § 10185 (pre-existing)
The provision that supplies AB 723’s criminal consequence. A person who willfully violates, or knowingly participates in a violation of, Division 4 of the Business and Professions Code is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not exceeding $10,000, up to six months in county jail, or both. Willfulness or knowing participation is the element — an inadvertent omission is not automatically a crime.
DRE Advisory — AI in California Real Estate (March 17, 2026)
Effective March 17, 2026
Guidance, not regulation. The Department’s position is that a licensee using AI must do so consistently with existing law, that responsibility for AI output rests with the licensee and their responsible broker rather than the technology provider, and that a broker’s supervisory duty extends to the tools used in the office.
California AI Transparency Act (SB 942)
Requires AI providers with 1M+ monthly users to embed provenance metadata in AI-generated images. Applies to AI tool makers, not directly to real estate agents, but means AI-generated staging images will carry embedded provenance data.
California’s is the first of two state statutes written specifically for digitally altered listing images, and the only one in force before January 1, 2027, when Wisconsin’s takes effect. For the text of Bus. & Prof. Code § 10140.8 quoted and sourced, an edit-by-edit breakdown of what counts as a digitally altered image, and the DRE's AI guidance, see the California AI real estate law guide.
Your board's rules
What California MLS boards require for virtual staging
CRMLS (California Regional MLS)
110,000+ subscribersWhat you need to disclose
Label "digitally altered" or "virtually staged" in photo description. Include original unedited image immediately before or after altered image.
What happens if you don't
Warning first; $250 fine if not corrected in a timely manner.
What's allowed
Standard virtual staging with full disclosure and original image pairing.
What's banned
Add, remove, or modify any real part of the property (wall color, flooring, cabinets, wall dimensions, landscaping) unless the property will match at closing. Landscaping changes the seller will not make as part of the listed price should not be published at all, labelled and watermarked or not.
SDMLS
N/A subscribersWhat you need to disclose
Publishes its own AB 723 requirements, an FAQ, and separate guidance for photographers, alongside rules-and-regulations changes effective January 1, 2026. Addresses how altered-image indicators and pairings are expected to survive downstream distribution through IDX, VOW, API, and syndication feeds — an MLS data-distribution rule, not a requirement of §10140.8.
What happens if you don't
Standard enforcement per AB 723.
What's allowed
Standard virtual staging with AB 723 compliance.
What's banned
Vendors/technology providers may NOT remove, obscure, or modify altered-image indicators, pairings, or related metadata.
MLSListings (Bay Area)
16,000+ subscribersWhat you need to disclose
Clear disclosure of virtually staged photos required. AB 723 compliance mandatory.
What happens if you don't
Standard MLS enforcement.
What's allowed
Standard virtual staging with disclosure.
What's banned
Images that misrepresent actual property condition.
BAREIS (Northern California)
7,500+ subscribersWhat you need to disclose
Virtual staging disclosure required per AB 723 and NAR standards.
What happens if you don't
Standard MLS enforcement.
What's allowed
Standard virtual staging with disclosure.
What's banned
Images that misrepresent actual property condition.
What you're risking
What happens if you skip disclosure in California
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
| CriminalCriminal | Bus. & Prof. Code §10185 makes a willful violation of, or knowing participation in a violation of, the Real Estate Law a misdemeanor — a fine, up to six months in county jail, or both. AB 723 itself has no penalty clause, and willfulness is the element. |
| RegulatoryRegulatory | DRE disciplinary action under Bus. & Prof. Code §§10176 and 10177 — substantial misrepresentation, willful disregard of the Real Estate Law, negligence or incompetence, or a broker’s failure to supervise. This is the realistic enforcement path and it is administrative, not criminal. |
| CivilCivil | Ordinary misrepresentation and unfair-competition claims; §10140.8 contains no express private right of action and none is needed. Greatest risk for remote and investor buyers who don't physically inspect. |
| MLSMLS | CRMLS: warning first, then a $250 fine if the listing is not corrected in time |
What you need to know
- AB 723 is the first state law specifically targeting digitally altered real estate images — it adds a disclosure duty, it does not create a new crime
- Written by reference to the advertisement rather than the platform, so it is not limited to the MLS
- The separate duty to include the original inside a posting reaches only a website the licensee or their agent controls
- Original unaltered images must be reachable via a publicly accessible link, URL, or QR code that clearly identifies them
- The statutory definition names fixtures, furniture, appliances, flooring, walls, paint color, hardscape, landscape, facade, floor plans, streetlights, utility poles, views through windows, and neighboring properties
- Even "virtually clearing" a room of furniture is a digitally altered image
- CRMLS goes beyond disclosure: it instructs subscribers not to publish landscaping changes the seller will not make as part of the listed price
- Reaches advertising "for the sale of real property" — rentals are outside its text
How to disclose properly
- 01A reasonably conspicuous statement on or adjacent to each altered image, saying the image has been altered
- 02Language in that statement indicating the unaltered images can be accessed through the link, URL, or QR code
- 03A link, URL, or QR code to a publicly accessible location that includes and clearly identifies the original
- 04On a website the licensee or their agent controls: the unaltered version included in the posting, with the link-out available as an alternative
- 05Your MLS may prescribe wording and ordering the statute does not — CRMLS requires the original immediately before or after the altered image
Let the tool handle it
Stage your California listings without the compliance headache
Upload your photos, RELTO adds the right watermark for your California board, pairs originals alongside, and keeps an audit trail — so you are covered if anyone asks.
Questions California agents ask about virtual staging
Is virtual staging legal in California?
Yes. California does not prohibit virtual staging. Since January 1, 2026, Bus. & Prof. Code §10140.8 requires a reasonably conspicuous statement on or adjacent to every digitally altered image saying it has been altered, plus a link, URL, or QR code to the original. The duty runs to the listing broker or salesperson and anyone acting on their behalf, and it is written by reference to the advertisement rather than the platform.
What are the penalties for non-compliant virtual staging in California?
Four separate layers, and they are commonly collapsed into one. MLS enforcement comes first — CRMLS is a warning, then $250 if uncorrected. DRE license discipline under §§10176 and 10177 is the realistic regulatory path. Civil misrepresentation claims come from ordinary law, not from §10140.8. Criminal exposure exists but requires willfulness: §10185 makes a willful violation of, or knowing participation in a violation of, the Real Estate Law a misdemeanor. AB 723 has no penalty clause of its own.
Does AB 723 apply to social media posts?
Treat it as yes. §10140.8(a)(1) reaches "an advertisement or other promotional material for the sale of real property" without naming a medium, so a social post falls within that phrase on its own terms — the statute is channel-agnostic rather than containing a clause that names any platform. Note one real limit: the separate duty to include the original inside the posting applies only to a website the licensee or their agent controls.
How does RELTO help California agents comply with AB 723?
RELTO provides tools designed to support the §10140.8 disclosure workflow: it applies the virtual-staging disclosure, keeps the original paired with every staged version, generates board-specific caption and public-remarks text, writes the disclosure into EXIF ImageDescription and IPTC Caption (which many MLS feed pipelines preserve), and keeps an audit history of what was generated and when. Enterprise plans add brokerage-wide policy controls. The obligation itself stays with the licensee and their responsible broker.
Sources cited on this page
- Primary rulebook: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=BPC§ionNum=10140.8.
- California AB 723 — bill text: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB723
- California Bus. & Prof. Code §10140.8: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=BPC§ionNum=10140.8.
- California Bus. & Prof. Code §10185 — misdemeanor for willful violation: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=BPC§ionNum=10185.
- DRE Advisory: Artificial Intelligence in California Real Estate (2026-03-17): https://www.dre.ca.gov/Licensees/Advisories/Advisory_2026_03_17_AI_in_California_Real_Estate.html
- CRMLS — Digitally Altered Image Guidance & FAQs (Rule 11.5.2): https://kb.crmls.org/knowledgebase/digitally-altered-images-faqs/
- California AI Transparency Act (SB 942) — adjacent context, not real-estate-specific: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB942
Rules and rulebooks change without notice. Follow each link to the source to confirm the current text before relying on it.
Important — please read
This page is for general information only and is not legal advice. RELTO is a virtual-staging technology provider, not a law firm, and nothing on this page creates an attorney-client relationship. Statutes, MLS rules, and enforcement practices change — do not rely on this page alone for a transaction, listing, or compliance decision.
This entry is verified against the board or statute’s own public rulebook. Before you act, confirm the current rule with (1) the text of the statute or MLS rulebook itself, (2) your broker of record, and (3) a licensed California real-estate attorney. RELTO makes no warranty that the information here is current, complete, or accurate for your listing.
Last verified October 7, 2026. Confidence tier: verified_public_rulebook.