AB 723 and listing photos: what the law says

Short answer: since 1 January 2026, if you advertise a California property with a digitally altered photo, you must put a statement on or next to the image saying it was altered, with a link, URL or QR code to a public page showing the original. The duty sits with the broker or salesperson, or whoever acts for them. The statute sets no dollar fine. MLSs add their own rules, and some publish their own fines.

Every rule below is quoted from its source. Where we could not read a rulebook, we say so rather than guess.

What the statute says

AB 723 added §10140.8 to California’s Business and Professions Code. The duty:

(a) (1) A real estate broker or salesperson, or person acting on their behalf, who includes a digitally altered image in an advertisement or other promotional material for the sale of real property shall include in the advertisement or promotional material a statement disclosing that the image has been altered and a link to a publicly accessible internet website, URL, or QR code that includes, and clearly identifies, the original, unaltered image. The statement shall be reasonably conspicuous and located on or adjacent to the image and shall include language indicating that the unaltered images can be accessed on the linked internet website, URL, or QR code.

So each altered photo needs three things wherever it is advertised: a statement that it was altered, placed on or next to it; a way to reach the original; and wording that tells the reader the original can be seen there.

Source: Bus. & Prof. Code §10140.8, added by Stats. 2025, Ch. 497 (AB 723), effective 1 January 2026.

What counts as altered

The definition is broad, and it names AI:

(b) (1) For purposes of this section, “digitally altered image” means an image, created by or at the direction of the real estate broker or salesperson, or person acting on their behalf, that has been altered through the use of photo editing software or artificial intelligence to add, remove, or change elements in the image, including, but not limited to, fixtures, furniture, appliances, flooring, walls, paint color, hardscape, landscape, facade, floor plans, and elements outside of, or visible from, the property, including, but not limited to, streetlights, utility poles, views through windows, and neighboring properties.

Virtual staging adds furniture. Decluttering and emptying a room remove it. A renovation preview changes flooring, walls or paint. All of these are named in that list.

What it leaves out:

(2) “Digitally altered image” does not include an image where only lighting, sharpening, white balance, color correction, angle, straightening, cropping, exposure, or other common photo editing adjustments are made that do not change the representation of the real property.

Ordinary photo correction is fine. The exemption only covers adjustments that “do not change the representation of the real property”. A new sky or a twilight edit sits between the two, which is why we treat it as altered. Our day-to-dusk guide goes through that case in detail.

Where the statement goes

The statute says “on or adjacent to the image”. California MLSs say where that is in their systems, and they do not all say the same thing.

CRMLS (Rule 11.5.2) asks for the label in the photo description, and the original immediately before or after the edit:

Clearly label the digitally enhanced image in the photo description text field. Use terms such as “digitally enhanced,” “digitally altered,” or “virtually staged,” etc.

When adding a digitally enhanced image to the MLS, the original, unaltered version must appear in the listing immediately before or after the digitally enhanced image.

It also bars changing the property itself, even with a label:

In compliance with Truth in Advertising rules, users CANNOT add, remove, or modify any real part of a property such as wall color, flooring, cabinets, wall dimensions, landscaping, etc.

Source: CRMLS digitally altered image guidance.

San Diego MLS says a label is not enough without the original, and it forbids putting the disclosure into the photo itself. Asked “Do I need to include the original photo if I label the altered one?”, its FAQ answers:

Yes. Labeling alone is not sufficient.

(a) Include the label “Digitally Altered” on the digitally altered image. The listing broker is not permitted to watermark or embed the disclosure directly onto the photo itself.

(d) Paste the service’s public URL for the original image into the description field of the digitally altered image.

Sources: SDMLS AB 723 FAQ, answer 7; SDMLS Rules and Regulations, July 2026, Rule 7.4.3(a) and (d).

Bay East’s FAQ on its rule page lists what it counts as altered, including sky replacement:

A digitally altered image is any photo that has been modified after capture in a way that changes or enhances the appearance of the property. This includes, but is not limited to, virtual staging, object removal, sky replacement, AI enhancements, or digital renderings.

Source: Bay East digitally altered MLS photo rule, FAQ; the rule itself is Bay East MLS Rule 11.5.2, which requires the original “displayed immediately after the digitally altered image”.

We have not read the current rules of most other California MLSs. Some keep them behind a member login and some we have not reviewed yet. If you belong to one, check its rulebook.

MLS rules are mostly about the MLS listing, though San Diego MLS’s Rule 12.8 also requires the label and the original’s URL when a participant advertises a listing with an altered photo. The statute covers every advertisement or promotional material that uses the photo, so flyers, websites and social posts need the statement and the link too.

What happens if you don’t

The statute names no fine. The Legislative Counsel’s Digest for AB 723 notes: “A willful violation of the Real Estate Law is a crime.” Source: AB 723 bill page.

MLSs enforce their own rules. CRMLS publishes this for Rule 11.5.2: “Violating this rule will result in a warning at first and then, if not corrected in a timely manner, a $250 fine.” That is a CRMLS fine, not a fine in AB 723. San Diego MLS’s citation schedule (dated August 2024) lists a maximum fine of $500 under Rule 11.5, the media rule its July 2026 rulebook ties to the altered-image rules 7.4.2 to 7.4.4. A second offence of a rule within a year doubles the fine, and a hearing can go beyond the schedule, up to termination of MLS services. Sources: CRMLS guidance, SDMLS citation schedule of fines.

Checklist for one listing

Mark every photo you altered beyond ordinary correction.
Put each original where people can see it: next to the edit in the MLS, and on a public page you can link to.
Label each altered photo the way your MLS asks: in the photo description at CRMLS; at San Diego MLS, “Digitally Altered” on the photo’s label (not burned into the photo) and the original’s public URL pasted into the altered photo’s description field; at Bay East, “altered”, “digitally altered” or “AI altered”.
In every ad that uses the photo, put a statement on or next to it that it was altered, with the link or QR code and wording that the original can be seen there.
Do not change real parts of the property, like flooring, wall colour, cabinets or landscaping. CRMLS does not allow it in the MLS even with a label: “users CANNOT add, remove, or modify any real part of a property such as wall color, flooring, cabinets, wall dimensions, landscaping, etc.”

How Duskly helps

Every Duskly edit you pay for comes with the original, a public page that shows it at a permanent link, a QR code to that page for print, and disclosure wording for the MLS, the listing remarks and print. Publishing it correctly is still your responsibility, and your MLS rulebook is the final word. See how it works.

_Every quote on this page was re-read at its source on 19 October 2026. Rules change; if one of these has, tell us and we will correct the page. This is a reading of published rules, not legal advice: for a specific listing, your MLS, your broker or a lawyer is the authority._