California AB 723 took effect January 1, 2026.
Here’s what your brokerage needs to do — and the fastest way to do it.
California Assembly Bill 723 amended the Business and Professions Code to require disclosure whenever real estate marketing images are digitally altered in ways that could affect a buyer’s understanding of the property.
In plain language: if your listing photo has been virtually staged, AI-enhanced, or had furniture digitally added or removed, you must disclose that fact — visibly, on the photo or in the listing description, in a way the average buyer will see.
The four practical requirements
- Visible disclosure on each altered photo. A “Virtually Staged” watermark or label, reasonably conspicuous and readable at typical listing-thumbnail size, as AB 723 requires.
- Disclosure in the listing description. A statement at the top of the listing remarks identifying which photos have been digitally altered.
- Original-photo retention. Keep the unaltered original and produce it on request for any retention period your board sets (AB 723 itself sets none).
- Audit-ready record. Both the original and altered images, plus the date of alteration, must be retrievable on request.
What happens if you don’t comply
- MLS sanctions: boards can fine, suspend, or revoke listing privileges
- Brokerage liability: the brokerage is on the hook, not just the agent
- DRE exposure: the California Department of Real Estate has investigative authority over deceptive marketing
- Civil exposure: undisclosed material alterations can give buyers grounds for misrepresentation claims
If you have one agent who does five listings a year, you can probably manage by hand. Most brokerages don’t have that.
A 30-agent brokerage doing 20 listings per agent per year = 600 listings. That’s ~4,800 photos to label correctly, 600 disclosure statements to add to listing remarks, 600 originals to retain and retrieve on demand, and 600 audit records of who staged what, when, with which tool.
Doing this manually with each agent using a different staging tool means inconsistent disclosures, missed labels, and originals scattered across personal Dropboxes. When a board audits, you’re either ready or you’re not.
1. The AB 723 disclosure, applied automatically
Whether you use SEAREI’s Core Staging (we stage the photo) or MLS Ready (your photographer or other tool stages, we wrap the disclosure), a California listing gets the “Virtually Staged” watermark AB 723 calls for, the disclosure language pre-written, and a public verification URL the buyer can scan from a QR code. How the disclosure is applied follows each board’s rule — many boards outside California require no mark on the image at all.
2. Original-photo retention with proof of retention
We keep the original unaltered image stored so it can’t be altered, permanently — well beyond any retention period a board may set (AB 723 itself sets none) — accessible via a public URL that’s part of every certificate. When a board audits, you point them at the URL.
3. Brokerage-wide audit dashboard
Every listing across every agent. Every certificate. Every verification URL. Every disclosure label. One dashboard for the brokerage admin. Quarterly report in two clicks — hand to auditor, hand to counsel, hand to the board.
4. We track the rules so you don’t have to
When AB 723 took effect, or when a board we support updates its photo rule, we update the disclosure language we generate. Your existing listings keep their original certificate (they snapshot the rule at issue time), and new listings pick up the current wording automatically.
For brokerages with 20+ agents
$29/agent/month — $348/year, billed annually, with a 1-month free trial for brokerages with 20+ agents. About $0 today and $29/agent/month after the trial — most agents do enough listings that the math works at 5+ listings/agent/year.
For solo agents and smaller teams
$49 per listing for MLS Ready (you bring the staging) or $39 per photo for Core Staging (we do the staging too). Disclosure package included on both.
- Read the AB 723 statutory text
- Maintain a per-MLS-board rule database
- Watermark each photo manually
- Write disclosure language for each listing
- Keep originals organized and retrievable on request
- Build a system that keeps a dated record of every change
We do all of that. You upload photos and pick a style.
My MLS isn’t in California. Does AB 723 apply to me?
No — AB 723 is California-specific (Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §10140.8). But most major MLS boards have their own disclosure rules, and NAR's 2026 Code of Ethics also requires AI/altered-image disclosure. SEAREI supports 7 boards today with a disclosure package matched to each board's own rule — ACTRIS, Stellar MLS, Arizona Regional MLS, CVR MLS, MRED, Bright MLS, and Metro MLS — and documents the published rule for a broader set (15 MLS boards across 12 states, which includes those 7). How the disclosure appears is board-specific: some boards want it on the photo, others require it only in the listing and don't allow anything added to the image. If your board isn't on the supported list yet, ask us for a board check.
We use a photographer who already adds a watermark. Do we still need SEAREI?
The watermark is one of four AB 723 requirements. The other three (in-listing disclosure language, original retention, and a dated record of everything that happened to the photo) are usually missing in photographer workflows.
We’ve been using virtual staging for years. Do we need to retroactively disclose?
AB 723 applies prospectively (Jan 1, 2026 forward). Listings still active on or after Jan 1, 2026 should be brought into compliance — SEAREI’s MLS Ready Package can wrap your existing staged photos.
Is AB 723 enforced today, or just on paper?
It’s enforced. CA DRE has investigative authority and the MLS boards have started auditing. Per-listing risk is small; the bigger risk is brokerage-wide when an audit goes wide.
Does the SEAREI compliance certificate hold up legally?
It’s an HTML certificate that can’t be quietly changed, with a tamper-proof fingerprint of every file, a public verification URL, and the issuing rule snapshotted in. Strong evidence of good-faith compliance. We’re not attorneys — before signing any large contract, have your counsel review a sample certificate.
Deeper guides on the same topic: AB 723 compliance real estate software guide · Virtually staged photo disclosure software · Real estate photo compliance certificate generator.
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This page summarizes the practical requirements of California AB 723 for real estate brokerages. It is not legal advice. SEAREI compiles MLS disclosure rules from each board’s published guidance and aligns the certificate it issues with those rules. Always verify the current rules with your local MLS and your own counsel before relying on any disclosure for a specific listing. More on AB 723 compliance.