Guide · State laws · updated October 2026

Virtual staging laws by state: California, Wisconsin and the bills in New York and New Jersey

Two states have a law written for digitally altered listing photos. California's has applied since January 1, 2026: a label on or next to each altered photo and access to the original. Wisconsin's starts on January 1, 2027. New York and New Jersey have bills in their legislatures. Everywhere else, the general rule against misleading advertising applies, and your MLS's photo rules are the ones you'll meet first. Each law and bill is below with its source, then one checklist that covers them all.

At a glance

State	Law or bill	Status	What it asks for
California	AB 723 (Business and Professions Code § 10140.8)	In effect since January 1, 2026	A statement on or next to each altered image, and access to the unaltered original
Wisconsin	2025 Wisconsin Act 69 (Wis. Stat. § 452.136 (1m))	Takes effect January 1, 2027	Disclosure when advertising is altered with technology, AI included (full wording below); how and where is left to the firm
New York	Bills A11635 and S9584	In committee (October 2026)	A label on or next to altered images and the original online (A11635); a note that furnishings or finishes were digitally added (S9584)
New Jersey	Bill A4728	Advanced by the Assembly Housing Committee on May 14, 2026	No fundamental alterations; staging of movable items allowed with disclosure, originals on request, photos no older than five years
Florida, Texas, Arizona	No statute written for altered photos (as checked)	—	The general rule against misleading advertising, plus your MLS's photo rules

California: AB 723, in effect since January 1, 2026

AB 723 added section 10140.8 to the Business and Professions Code. It covers images changed with photo-editing software or AI to add, remove or alter elements, such as furniture, fixtures, flooring, walls or landscaping, in advertising for the sale of property by brokers, salespersons and people acting for them. Lighting, color, cropping and similar adjustments that don't change how the property is represented are excluded.

A statement that the image was altered, reasonably conspicuous, on or next to the image.
Access to the original: on a website you control, the unaltered photo alongside it or a link to it; elsewhere, a link, URL or QR code to a public page with the original.
The regulator's reading: the Department of Real Estate's March 17, 2026 advisory on AI says licensees “must also make the original, unaltered image available to consumers,” and that skipping a review of AI-edited images “may result in violations even if the alteration was unintentional.”

Our AB 723 checklist has the steps for each place a photo appears, and how CRMLS, SDMLS and Bay East apply the law.

Wisconsin: 2025 Act 69, from January 1, 2027

Wisconsin's act was enacted on December 9, 2025 and takes effect on January 1, 2027. Its section 4 adds a subsection headed “Advertising enhanced by technology” to the real estate practice law (Wis. Stat. § 452.136 (1m)):

“A licensee shall in all advertising disclose if the advertising has been altered or modified using technology, including artificial intelligence, to add, remove, or change elements of the property that creates a false or misleading impression of the property.”

All advertising: the MLS, portals, your website, flyers and social posts alike.
How and where are left open. The Wisconsin REALTORS® Association's January 2026 forms memo notes that the law doesn't say how or where to disclose and leaves it to the firm; the association asked whether the listing contract should remind sellers and agents of the rule.
No original-photo rule. Unlike California's law, the act doesn't ask for access to the unaltered photo.
The last clause. The sentence ends with “that creates a false or misleading impression of the property”, and the act doesn't define that phrase or say whether furniture-only staging falls under it. Disclosing every staged photo avoids the question, and it's what California and most MLSs already ask for.

MLS rules apply on top. The Close reported on September 3, 2026 that Metro MLS (Milwaukee area) requires, from September 1, the original photo immediately before the altered one, a watermark on the altered photo and the changes noted in the public remarks, with a $10-a-day sanction for an altered primary photo until it's replaced and a separate $10 sanction for a missing watermark. Check Metro MLS's own notice for the details. The same act also changes how real estate firms may be paid; that part isn't about photos.

New York: two bills, not law yet

Neither bill had passed a house of the Legislature when we checked on October 16, 2026.

A11635 (Assemblymember Rosenthal)

Introduced on July 29, 2026 and referred to the Assembly Housing Committee. It would add section 443-b to the Real Property Law.

Covers still photos altered with photo-editing software or AI to add, remove or change elements such as furniture, appliances, flooring and walls, and images created in whole or in part by generative AI.
A statement that the image has been altered, “conspicuously located on or adjacent to each altered image.”
Online, the unaltered version of each altered image, or a link to the original.
Not covered: lighting, sharpening, white balance, color correction, angle, straightening, cropping and exposure, as long as they don't change the property's conditions.
It would take effect 60 days after becoming law.

S9584 (Senator May; the Assembly version is A11403)

Introduced on March 26, 2026; the Consumer Protection Committee reported it on April 28, 2026, and it is now in the Senate Judiciary Committee. It would add section 349-i to the General Business Law.

A clear and conspicuous disclosure on any image, video or virtual tour with material alterations.
Where virtual staging is used, a disclosure “that furnishings or finishes were digitally added.”
No digital alteration may add non-existent physical features or remove or conceal known material defects.
Virtual tours may not show spaces or features that don't exist, and AI-generated elements must be clearly labeled.
Enforced by the Department of State (license suspension, revocation or fines) and the Attorney General; it would take effect immediately.

New Jersey: A4728, not law yet

Introduced on March 10, 2026; the Assembly Housing Committee advanced it on May 14, 2026, the latest step we could confirm. As amended, according to the sponsors' release and a law firm's summary:

No listing photos created or edited with generative AI or photo-editing software in a way that fundamentally alters the image.
Adding or removing furniture and other movable items (virtual staging, decluttering) is allowed if the photo otherwise shows the property's actual condition and doesn't hide defects.
Disclose that AI or editing software was used, and give the original photos on request.
Photos must show the current condition and be no more than five years old.
Sellers face civil penalties of $500, then up to $1,000 for each later offense; agents, discipline by the New Jersey Real Estate Commission. It would apply to properties first listed after it takes effect.

Florida, Texas, Arizona and other states

In the states we have checked for our guides, no statute is written for altered listing photos, so the general advertising rule applies. Florida's rule 61J2-10.025 says no licensee's advertisement “shall be fraudulent, false, deceptive or misleading”. Texas lets TREC act against an advertisement that “tends to create a misleading impression” (Occupations Code §1101.652(b)(23)). Arizona's R4-28-502 bans “misleading or ambiguous impressions”. Wherever they work, NAR's Code of Ethics asks REALTORS® for a “true picture” in their advertising.

In practice, your MLS's photo rule is the one you'll meet first:

Stellar MLS (Central Florida): no words on photos; “Virtually staged” in each staged photo's description, the virtually staged field ticked and a line in the remarks. The Stellar checklist.
ARMLS (Phoenix area): the Flexmls Digitally Altered watermark on each altered photo and the original directly before or after it. The ARMLS rule.
HAR and SABOR (Texas): furnishings and wall décor only, marked in the photo description. The Texas rules.
Bright MLS (Mid-Atlantic): virtually staged photos “must be disclosed in the MLS”; adding or removing visual elements outside the owner's control is prohibited, while adding personal property that doesn't convey is permitted (its Policy on Images and Documents, in the version dated February 28, 2024).

More boards, from MRED in Chicago to Canopy MLS in Charlotte, are compared in virtual staging rules by MLS. The wording to paste in each place, the photo, the caption, the remarks, ads and social, is in our virtual staging disclaimer examples.

One checklist for every state

Our suggestion, written to satisfy the strictest of the rules above:

Keep the original of every photo you stage.
Stage, don't renovate: movable furniture and décor only; walls, floors, fixtures, views and defects stay as photographed.
Disclose every staged photo, even where the law is vague or there isn't one yet: on or next to the photo where words are allowed, in the field your MLS uses where they aren't.
Give buyers the original: next to the staged photo on your own site, a link or QR code elsewhere (required in California, proposed in New York and New Jersey).
Follow your MLS's field and watermark rules; most are more specific than the laws.
Keep labels on reposts and ads; don't crop them off.

How ORVIONIS fits

Every Virtual Staging order comes with a disclosure pack: clean versions with no words or logo for MLSs that ban text, copies labeled “Virtually staged” for ads, social posts and flyers, a public page with the unaltered original plus a QR code to it, and the line to paste next to the photo. Walls, floors, windows and fixtures are kept as photographed. Pricing: $15 a room, or $49 for a whole listing (up to 5 rooms + the MLS description), $99 for 10. Your first photo is free, so you can try it on a real listing first.

Stage your first photo free

Questions

Which states have virtual staging laws?

The two we know of, as of October 2026: California's AB 723, in effect since January 1, 2026, requires a label on or next to each altered listing photo and access to the original; Wisconsin's 2025 Act 69 adds a disclosure rule for advertising altered with technology from January 1, 2027. New York (A11635 and S9584) and New Jersey (A4728) have bills that haven't passed.

Is virtual staging legal in Wisconsin?

Yes. From January 1, 2027, 2025 Wisconsin Act 69 requires licensees to disclose in all advertising when it has been altered with technology, artificial intelligence included, to add, remove or change elements of the property “that creates a false or misleading impression of the property.” The act doesn't say how or where to disclose; labeling each staged photo and noting it in the remarks covers both.

Does Wisconsin's law require the original photo?

No. Unlike California's AB 723, Act 69 only requires the disclosure. Your MLS may still ask for the original: The Close reported in September 2026 that Metro MLS (Milwaukee) wants it immediately before the altered photo.

Is New York's virtual staging law in effect?

No. As of October 16, 2026, both bills are in committee: A11635 in the Assembly Housing Committee and S9584 in the Senate Judiciary Committee. A11635 would take effect 60 days after becoming law; S9584 immediately.

Do I have to disclose virtual staging in a state without a law?

Usually yes, through your MLS: Stellar MLS, ARMLS, HAR, SABOR and Bright MLS all require it in some form. State advertising rules (Florida's 61J2-10.025, Texas Occupations Code §1101.652(b)(23), Arizona's R4-28-502) forbid misleading ads, and NAR's Code of Ethics asks REALTORS® for a true picture in their advertising.

Sources

General information, not legal advice. Checked against the pages above on October 16, 2026; bills change and laws get amended, so check the current text and your broker's policy.