# 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. - State: California (CA) - Risk level: highest - Last verified: 2026-10-07 - Confidence tier: verified_public_rulebook — verified against the board or statute’s own public rulebook - Canonical page: https://relto.app/mls-compliance/california ## Summary California AB 723 — signed October 10, 2025 as Chapter 497, Statutes of 2025, codified at Business & Professions Code §10140.8, effective January 1, 2026 — requires a reasonably conspicuous statement on or adjacent to every digitally altered listing image saying the image has been altered, plus a link, URL, or QR code to the unaltered original. AB 723 carries no penalty clause of its own: because §10140.8 sits in California’s Real Estate Law, §10185 makes a willful violation of, or knowing participation in a violation of, that law a misdemeanor. The duty is written by reference to the advertisement rather than the platform, so it is not limited to the MLS — but the separate requirement to include the original inside a posting reaches only websites the licensee or their agent controls. ## Virtual staging laws in California ### AB 723 (Business & Professions Code § 10140.8) 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. Effective: January 1, 2026. ### 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) 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. Effective: March 17, 2026. ### 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. ## What California MLS boards require for virtual staging ### CRMLS (California Regional MLS) (110,000+ subscribers) - Disclosure rule: Label "digitally altered" or "virtually staged" in photo description. Include original unedited image immediately before or after altered image. - Permitted: Standard virtual staging with full disclosure and original image pairing. - Prohibited: 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. - Penalty: Warning first; $250 fine if not corrected in a timely manner. ### SDMLS (N/A subscribers) - Disclosure rule: 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. - Permitted: Standard virtual staging with AB 723 compliance. - Prohibited: Vendors/technology providers may NOT remove, obscure, or modify altered-image indicators, pairings, or related metadata. - Penalty: Standard enforcement per AB 723. ### MLSListings (Bay Area) (16,000+ subscribers) - Disclosure rule: Clear disclosure of virtually staged photos required. AB 723 compliance mandatory. - Permitted: Standard virtual staging with disclosure. - Prohibited: Images that misrepresent actual property condition. - Penalty: Standard MLS enforcement. ### BAREIS (Northern California) (7,500+ subscribers) - 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. ## What happens if you skip disclosure in California - Criminal (criminal): 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. - Regulatory (regulatory): 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. - Civil (civil): 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. - MLS (mls): 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 - A reasonably conspicuous statement on or adjacent to each altered image, saying the image has been altered - Language in that statement indicating the unaltered images can be accessed through the link, URL, or QR code - A link, URL, or QR code to a publicly accessible location that includes and clearly identifies the original - On a website the licensee or their agent controls: the unaltered version included in the posting, with the link-out available as an alternative - Your MLS may prescribe wording and ordering the statute does not — CRMLS requires the original immediately before or after the altered image ## Broker 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. ## 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 - Primary source: 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 ## Not legal advice This page is for general information only and is not legal advice. RELTO is a virtual-staging technology provider, not a law firm. Statutes, MLS rules, and enforcement practices change. This entry is verified against the board or statute’s own public rulebook. Before you act, confirm the current rule with the statute or MLS rulebook itself, your broker of record, and a licensed California real-estate attorney.