Canopy MLS §1.18.1 requires the disclosure directly ON the staged or AI-enhanced image — captions and remarks are not acceptable — plus the unstaged original adjacent.
Yes, and Canopy MLS is unusually specific about where. §1.18.1 requires "a clear, readily visible disclosure directly ON the image or within the virtual tour," and states outright that disclosure provided only in captions, agent remarks, or supplemental text is NOT acceptable. The image must be labeled as AI-Enhanced, virtually-staged, or a rendering, and the unstaged original must appear immediately before or after it. Staging is limited to personal property and cosmetic changes: you may add furniture, art, plants, or change paint color, but you may not add amenities that do not exist, change room dimensions, fabricate a skyline view, or remove power lines, highways, or flaws.
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| Disclosure required | Yes |
|---|---|
| Required label wording | An on-image label is MANDATORY. No single mandated string for staging, but the rule specifies the labels: images must be "clearly labeled as AI-Enhanced, virtually-staged photo(s) or rendering(s)." Safest literal compliance is one of those three phrases on the image. Separately, §1.18 mandates the exact string "example photo" across any photograph that is similar to but not a photograph of the actual listing. |
| Label placement | DIRECTLY ON the image — verbatim: "must include a clear, readily visible disclosure directly ON the image or within the virtual tour. NOTE: Disclosure provided ONLY in captions, agent remarks, or supplemental text is NOT acceptable." The nonstaged original must be included immediately before or after the staged image, or be easily accessible alongside the virtual tour. CAUTION: §1.7 bars company/agent/seller contact info in photos and Canopy reserves the right to remove images containing embedded advertising or promotion — the disclosure label is required, but a vendor brand name on the image is not permitted. |
| Listing description must disclose | No |
| Original photo required | Yes |
Alterations this rule covers:
Not offered for this board
That’s the Canopy MLS (Charlotte, North Carolina) rule. This board bans the on-image disclosure our product produces. We can host your original photo and issue a verification record, but not a board-compliant delivery.
What we can always do for any board: host your original, unaltered photo at a public URL and issue a timestamped verification record. What we don’t claim here is a board-compliant on-image delivery.
See the full Terms of Service.
To meet the Canopy MLS (Charlotte, North Carolina) rule, an agent completes these MLS-side steps (from the cited source):
Effective 2025-08-28.
Published by Carolina Multiple Listing Services, Inc. (dba Canopy MLS) — serving Charlotte region, North Carolina (Charlotte–Asheville–Hickory/Lenoir).
Category-based (§8.4). Category I: no fine on first violation, correct within 2 business days, uncorrected = $100; same mistake again in the same calendar year = $100 immediately. Category II: $100 immediate fine. Category III: $500. Hearing triggered at 10 Category I or 3 Category II/III violations in a calendar year; hearing request fee capped at $500; overall ceiling $15,000. UNVERIFIED: which category a §1.18.1 disclosure failure falls into — the §8.4 tables name a Category I "digital image required violation" but no line item for AI-enhanced or virtually staged images. Do not publish a dollar figure for a staging-disclosure violation.
No. §1.18.1 says it directly: "Disclosure provided ONLY in captions, agent remarks, or supplemental text is NOT acceptable." The disclosure must appear on the image itself or within the virtual tour.
Yes, and it must be adjacent: "A nonstaged (original) image MUST be included immediately before or after the AI enhanced or virtually-staged photo(s) or be easily accessible alongside the virtual tour."
No. §1.18.1(b) lists removing power lines, water towers, and nearby highways as prohibited exclusions, alongside removing flaws and blurring or skipping negative attributes in a virtual tour.
Last verified 2026-08-26.
The rule differs board by board. A few related markets to compare — the full list is on the compliance overview:
This page summarizes publicly available rules for general information and is not legal advice. Confirm current requirements with the cited source or your broker or legal counsel before relying on it.