Virtual staging disclosure rules: is virtual staging legal?

Is virtual staging legal?

Yes. Adding digital furniture and decor to a photo of an empty room is a normal marketing practice. No US rule we know of bans it. What the rules target is misleading buyers.

The NAR Code of Ethics asks agents to present a true picture in their advertising. Many MLSs now have their own rules for altered photos. California went further and wrote disclosure into state law. So the real question is not whether you may stage, but how you show that you did.

What counts as an altered photo

California defines a digitally altered image as one changed with photo software or AI to add, remove or change elements. The law lists furniture, fixtures, appliances, flooring and walls, plus things outside, like views through windows and neighboring properties. Virtual staging adds furniture, so it is covered.

Routine photo edits are not. The same law excludes changes to lighting, sharpening, white balance, color, angle, straightening, cropping and exposure, as long as they do not change how the property is represented.

How to label virtually staged photos

Put the label where buyers will see it with the photo. California asks for a disclosure that is reasonably conspicuous and on or next to the image. CRMLS, a large California MLS, asks agents to tag the photo description field with a clear term.

A note buried in the agent remarks is weak. A buyer scrolling the gallery may never read it.

• Use plain words: "Virtually staged" or "Digitally altered".
• Label every staged photo, not just the first one.
• Add the label in the photo caption or description field your MLS provides.
• If you also watermark the image, keep it readable on a phone screen.
• Use the same label on Zillow, your website and social posts, not only on the MLS.

Show the original photo too

Most new rules ask you to keep the real room in view. CRMLS wants the unaltered photo to appear immediately before or after the staged one. NorthstarMLS proposed guidelines ask for at least one unaltered photo of each staged room.

California adds a step for online ads. The disclosure must point to a public web page, link or QR code where buyers can see the original, unaltered image. A simple way to meet this is to keep the empty-room photo in the same listing gallery, right next to its staged version.

What you cannot change, even with a label

Staging means movable things: furniture, rugs, art, plants and lamps. Permanent parts of the home are a different matter. CRMLS says agents may not add, remove or modify real parts of the property, such as wall color, flooring or cabinets, even if the photo is labeled. NorthstarMLS proposed guidelines list walls, floor coverings, doors, windows, roofing, ceilings and fireplaces as off limits.

• Do not cover cracks, stains, water damage or worn floors with a rug or a piece of art.
• Do not swap the view out of a window or remove a power line or a neighbor's house.
• Do not show a renovation that has not happened. Use a separate, clearly labeled "renovation idea" image if you want to show potential.
• Do not add people, pets or signs. NorthstarMLS proposed guidelines limit staging to personal property such as furniture and decor.
• Keep furniture to a realistic size so the room does not look bigger than it is.

Removing furniture is an alteration too

Decluttering a photo, or clearing out the seller's furniture before restaging, changes the image as well. CRMLS treats virtually removed furniture as a digital alteration that needs a label and the original photo. Treat a decluttered photo the same way you treat a staged one.

Save the original file before you edit, whether you use our AI declutter tool or any other editor. That way you always have the unaltered photo to post next to the edited one.

How we stage rooms so they stay honest

The AI Two virtual staging tool adds furniture to a photo of an empty room and keeps the walls, windows, floor and layout from your upload. Code compares each staged photo with the original for moved walls, window and door frames, or new openings. The check is automatic and can miss things, so look at every photo before you publish it.

Each photo also comes with a "Virtually staged" label drawn on a second copy. You can change the wording to match your market, and you always get a copy without the label. If you switch it on, the tool can host the original photo on a private page and add a QR code to the label that opens it. That helps with rules that ask buyers to be able to see the original.

For a full listing, whole-house staging keeps one style from room to room. Keep each empty-room photo with its staged version, so you can post both and label the staged one.

A quick disclosure checklist before you publish

Run through this list for each listing. For the wider workflow, such as which rooms to stage and when to restage a stale listing, see our real estate staging guide.

1. Stage only furniture and decor. Leave walls, floors, fixtures and views as they are.
2. Label every staged or decluttered photo with "Virtually staged" or "Digitally altered".
3. Place the original, unaltered photo right before or after its staged version.
4. In California, make sure online ads point to where the originals can be seen.
5. Read your MLS photo rules, since labels, fields and penalties differ between MLSs.
6. Keep the original files with the listing record in case the MLS or a buyer asks.

Frequently asked questions