CVR MLS §5.8.2 requires virtual staging disclosure in the REMARKS field — not on the photo. No watermark, no original-photo requirement, and a $250 fine for failing to disclose staging, enhancement or any other photo manipulation.
Yes — and CVR MLS names exactly one place to do it. Section 5.8.2 reads in full: “If a photo has been altered, manipulated or enhanced by virtual staging, then agent must make such disclosure in REMARKS field.” That is a remarks-field duty, not an on-image one. CVR MLS requires no watermark, prescribes no wording, and does not require you to post the unstaged original. The fine is $250, and the Fine Chart’s wording is broader than the rule’s — it covers failure to disclose “virtual staging, photo enhancement or any other manipulation of photos.” One trap runs the other way: §5.8 limits photos to the property and its neighborhood and bans “self/office promotional photos/information,” and a separate $250 line penalizes branding left on a photo — so a burned-in badge carrying a vendor name or URL creates a violation Virginia never asked you to risk.
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| Disclosure required | Yes |
|---|---|
| Required label wording | NONE required, and no wording is prescribed. CVR MLS requires the disclosure in the REMARKS field, not on the image. Burned-in text is not mandated by any rule — and putting SEAREI branding, an agent/office name, or a verify URL into the photo is separately fineable at $250 under the ‘Failure to remove branding, agent or office information from a photo or Virtual Tour’ line of the Fine Chart, read with §5.8’s ban on ‘self/office promotional photos/information’. |
| Label placement | Not applicable — no on-image disclosure is required. The rule names one location and one only: the REMARKS field. |
| Listing description must disclose | Yes |
| Original photo required | No |
Alterations this rule covers:
That’s the CVR MLS (Central Virginia Regional MLS — Richmond, Tri-Cities, Central Virginia) rule. SEAREI applies it to your photos automatically — the disclosure, the description text, and a certificate that proves it — in about 2 minutes. Your first listing is free.
Effective 2023-07-01.
$250 per violation. CVR MLS Fine Chart, charted under Rule 5.8: “Failure to properly disclose the use of virtual staging, photo enhancement or any other manipulation of photos — $250.” The chart also carries a catch-all: “This Fine Chart represents common violations. Any violation of these Rules and Regulations may be subject to a fine of no less than $250.00.” A separate $250 line covers branding left on a photo or virtual tour.
No. Section 5.8.2 requires the disclosure in the REMARKS field and says nothing about the image itself. No CVR MLS rule prescribes a watermark, a label, or any wording on a listing photo. The only watermark language in the rulebook is in the Enforcement section, where CVR MLS reserves the right to watermark listings to protect its own intellectual property — that is a right of the MLS, not a duty of the agent.
$250. The CVR MLS Fine Chart lists, under Rule 5.8: “Failure to properly disclose the use of virtual staging, photo enhancement or any other manipulation of photos — $250.” The chart adds that it “represents common violations” and that any rules violation “may be subject to a fine of no less than $250.00.”
No. Unlike Canopy MLS in North Carolina or ACTRIS in Austin, CVR MLS imposes no before/after or same-view requirement. Section 5.8.2 asks for one thing: a disclosure in the REMARKS field. Section 5.8.1 requires photos within three days of listing entry, but says nothing about unaltered versions.
No. Full-text searches of the July 2023 CVR MLS Rules and Regulations and of the August 2024 redline turn up no AI-specific provision — no ‘artificial intelligence’, no ‘AI-generated’, no ‘digitally altered’ definition. Section 5.8.2 is the entire altered-image regime, and its language (‘altered, manipulated or enhanced by virtual staging’) is broad enough to catch AI staging without naming it.
That is the wrong move in Central Virginia. Section 5.8 limits photos to “photos of the property for sale and the neighborhood in which it’s located” and provides that neither photos nor virtual tours “may include personal photos or self/office promotional photos/information.” The Fine Chart carries a matching $250 line for “Failure to remove branding, agent or office information from a photo or Virtual Tour.” Since no rule requires an on-image label at all, an unbranded caption plus the required REMARKS sentence is the compliant path.
Last verified 2026-08-21.
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.