MLS video rules: what the largest MLSs allow in a listing video

The video you put in your MLS is the one most likely to earn you a fine. It travels further than any Reel: the unbranded tour field feeds thousands of broker websites, client alerts and the portals. And the rules for it are stricter than most agents expect. Branding is the obvious one, but several large MLSs also ban any text on screen, any people, and any commentary, which rules out a lot of perfectly unbranded marketing videos.

We read the current rules of twelve of the largest MLSs on 29 October 2026, and link each rule below so you can check it yourself. We make listing videos, so we have an interest in getting this right; nobody paid for anything on this page.

The short version

• Put an unbranded video in the unbranded tour field. No agent or brokerage name, logo, photo, phone, email, website, sign, QR code or slogan, on screen or in the audio. Every MLS we read bans these.
• Check whether your MLS allows any text at all. CRMLS, Bright, Stellar, Miami, ARMLS, BeachesMLS and MRED all restrict text in tour media, from "no written communication" to labels for locations only. Captions and title cards can break those rules even with no branding in them.
• Leave people out, AI generated people included. Bright's ban covers people who are "real, animated, computer-generated, or otherwise".
• Narration is an MLS by MLS question. NorthstarMLS accepts an unidentified narrator; MRED bars "audio/video/text commentary".
• Host it somewhere neutral. No registration, no links out to your site or socials, no URL with your name in it.
• Disclose edited and staged photos the way your MLS asks, and in California follow AB 723. The simplest MLS video uses unaltered photos only.
• Fines are real: $250 for branded media at CRMLS and Bright, up to $1,500 for a third violation at Miami.

Branded and unbranded tour fields

Most MLS systems follow the RESO Data Dictionary, which defines two separate fields: VirtualTourURLUnbranded and VirtualTourURLBranded. On RESO's own adoption figures, 387 of 420 reporting organisations use the unbranded field and 211 use the branded one, and only the unbranded field is in the payload that feeds other brokers' IDX websites. That is why the unbranded field is the one to get right.

UtahRealEstate.com's help article on tour links explains the split more clearly than most: the unbranded tour shows on the member site, IDX feeds and client alerts; the branded tour goes to the public site and syndication partners such as Realtor.com and ListHub. An unbranded link may go in both fields, but a branded link may never go in the unbranded one. Some MLSs have more fields: NorthstarMLS has two, both unbranded; FMLS has three; NWMLS and REcolorado each take three tour links.

What counts as branding

Text, captions and title cards

This is the rule that catches people out. Many agents assume an unbranded video is any video without their name in it. Several of the biggest MLSs go further and restrict all text in tour media:

• CRMLS (Southern California): rule 11.5(a) says "written communication" is prohibited in media; text is allowed only on aerials, to identify features. Rules and Policies, effective 10 July 2026.
• Stellar MLS (Florida): no "text, or graphics of any kind" in tours, under Article 04.05 D. Updated 16 October 2026.
• Bright MLS (Mid-Atlantic): no readable or superimposed text or graphics; readable text must be incidental. Appendix C 3.A and 3.C, effective 22 July 2026.
• Miami (Southeast Florida MLS): its fine schedule names "branded photos, virtual tours and videos containing text, embedded links, watermarks, logos, graphics, QR codes". Fines revised 17 September 2025.
• ARMLS (Arizona): no added text except location labels, rule 8.23(e). Rules updated 28 May 2026.
• BeachesMLS: no text overlays except to label the exterior location. Compliance Center.
• MRED (Chicago area): no "audio/video/text commentary" in photos and tours, rule 6.1.1. Revised 14 May 2026.

In those MLSs, burned in captions, a title card with the address and price, room labels and an end card can all count as text, even though none of them names you. If you list in one of them, make a version for the MLS with captions, titles and end cards switched off.

People, including AI generated people

• Bright: no identifiable person "whether real, animated, computer-generated, or otherwise", Appendix C 3.A.
• Stellar: no people, including people in costume, Article 04.05 E and G.
• ARMLS: no people unless they are in the background, 8.23(c).
• NorthstarMLS: no people or pets in photos or videos, except overhead lifestyle video where nobody is identifiable. MLS Photo Rules, updated 9 October 2026.
• UtahRealEstate.com: no people in photos, 1.21.
• REcolorado is the exception we found: its photo FAQ says lifestyle photos may include people.

Generated "lifestyle" people, offered by several video tools, are exactly what Bright's rule names. Keep them out of the MLS version.

Narration and music

No two MLSs treat sound the same way. NorthstarMLS says "an unidentified narrator is acceptable", as long as the narrator does not name the agent. MRED bars "audio/video/text commentary". BeachesMLS bans audio as well as visual branding. No MLS document we read mentions music, but every rulebook says you must own or have licensed what you submit, and audio is part of the media, so use licensed tracks only (our reading, not a quoted rule).

Practical rule: a narrator who describes the house and never names you or tells people to call is the most widely accepted. Where commentary is banned, use music only.

Links, hosting and lead capture

• No registration: MRED says virtual tours "may not require any registration", 6.1.1. We found no MLS that allows a gated tour.
• No links out: NorthstarMLS says the tour must not link anywhere else; Stellar bans links to third-party business or social networking sites; CRMLS 11.5(e) lists external links as branding.
• A neutral URL: Stellar and SDMLS (11.7.2) say the tour URL may not contain or identify the member.
• YouTube, carefully: CRMLS's Photographs and Media FAQ, Q7 allows YouTube in the unbranded field only from a channel with nothing tying it to an agent or brokerage.
• Field, not remarks: CRMLS 12.5 says public remarks may not link to video tours. Put the link in the tour field.
• Link or upload: most MLSs store a link. ARMLS takes videos as an embed code and tours as a URL (media page); SDMLS says it does not support embedding APIs, HTML or URLs for displaying media.

Edited and virtually staged photos

California AB 723, now Business and Professions Code section 10140.8, has applied since 1 January 2026. Any advertisement with a digitally altered image must carry a "reasonably conspicuous" statement on or next to the image and give a link, URL or QR code to the unaltered original. Lighting, colour correction and cropping do not count as altering. Text of section 10140.8; CRMLS guidance, updated 20 October 2026.

There is a tension worth seeing: AB 723 wants a statement and a link on or next to the image, while many MLSs ban text and URLs inside tour media. Our reading is that the safest MLS video in California uses unaltered photos only, and keeps edited and staged versions for your website and social cuts, where the label can sit on screen.

MLS by MLS

Each entry gives the rule, the section, the document's date and the fine for branded media where one is published. All read on 29 October 2026.

CRMLS (California Regional MLS)

• Video and tours are "Media", including content reached by links in a listing (11.5). Media must show the property; written communication is prohibited except feature labels on aerials (11.5(a)). Branding is prohibited: signs, contact information, identifiable persons, logos, slogans, external links, team names (11.5(e)).
• Fines: branding $250 with no warning; improper media content $100 after a warning. Citation Policy, effective 10 July 2026.
• Rules and Policies, effective 10 July 2026.

Bright MLS

• "No branded photos/videos may be submitted" (1.7). No identifiable person, real or computer generated; no readable or superimposed text, contact details, signs or logos (Appendix C 3.A). Bright stores links to tours hosted by your provider (3.C).
• Fine: branded media, virtual tours included, is an automatic $250 (Appendix I).
• Rules, effective 22 July 2026.

Stellar MLS

• No logos, agent photos, contact details or branding; no text or graphics of any kind; only the tour vendor's own non-clickable contact details; the URL may not contain member names or link to business or social sites (04.05 D). No people (04.05 E, G).
• Fines: a courtesy warning, then $50, $100, $250 and $500, with automatic fines for some items. Article 11.04, updated 27 September 2026.
• Article 04.05, updated 16 October 2026.

Miami (Southeast Florida MLS)

• Virtual tours count as images and documents (3.8); photos may not carry watermarks, logos, text or other brands (15.1.12).
• Fines for branded photos, tours and videos with text, links, watermarks, logos, graphics or QR codes: $500, then $750, then $1,500. Fine schedule, revised 17 September 2025.
• Rules, last updated 21 August 2025.

BeachesMLS (RWorld)

• Bans audio or visual contact details and branding, watermarks, the listing broker, team or agent, text overlays except exterior location labels, collages, people or pets unless in the background, and QR codes, URLs or redirects.
• A courtesy notice with a 2 to 7 day grace period, then a fine; the amount is not published. Compliance Center.

ARMLS (Arizona)

• No identifying or promoting an agent or broker (8.23(a), (b)); no people unless in the background (8.23(c)); no added text except location labels and no watermark but ARMLS's own (8.23(e)); property information links only without contact details (8.23(l)).
• Fine: $200; the first violation each calendar year gets a warning. Penalty Policy, 28 May 2026.
• Rules, last updated 28 May 2026.

MRED (Chicago area)

• Photos and tours may not prominently display names, contact details, URLs, QR codes, for sale signs, persons, collages or "audio/video/text commentary" (livestreams excepted); tours may not require registration (6.1.1). Staging must be disclosed in the specified field (6.2).
• Fines per office after notice: $250, $300, $500, then $1,000.
• Rules, revised 14 May 2026.

NorthstarMLS (Minnesota)

• Two unbranded tour fields, sent to more than 4,000 broker websites. The tour must not link elsewhere or show identifiable people; an unidentified narrator is acceptable; the tour logo or listing office may appear in 10 pt type.
• Virtual Tours: no links to other sites, updated 17 August 2026; MLS Photo Rules, updated 9 October 2026.

UtahRealEstate.com (WFRMLS)

• The unbranded link must relate to the listing and carry no contact details, except "Listing Courtesy of" with the brokerage where state rules require it (1.31(a)); branded tours go to syndication only (1.31(b)); no people in photos (1.21).
• Fine: $20 per business day if not fixed within 3 business days of notice. Fine policy, revised 17 October 2025.
• Rules, revised 11 September 2026.

MLS PIN (New England)

• No broker or agent name, website, email, phone or other identification outside the agent and office fields, expressly including virtual tours linked in any way to the listing (1.0(e)).
• Fines: $100, $250, $500, then a suspension of at least 10 days.
• Rules, amended through 25 March 2026.

SDMLS (San Diego)

• Media includes audio and video; SDMLS may remove media showing text, advertising, member promotion or people, and branding is banned (11.5). A tour URL may not identify the member or lead to their website (11.7.2).
• Fines up to $500, doubled for a second offence within a year. Schedule of fines, August 2024.
• Rules, July 2026.

Realcomp (Michigan)

• No legible real estate signs in photos or tours (4K); no names, phone numbers, emails or URLs, and no links to pages that show them (4X).
• Fines: $50, then $100, then $250 and a committee appearance (4Y).
• Policy Handbook, revised March 2023.

Where we could only read part of the rules: NWMLS's full photo policy is members only, but its public photography guidance bans people, pets, logos, watermarks, contact details, superimposed text and QR codes. HAR's rules are not public; its listing videos page suggests videos under 2 minutes with an agent intro for display on HAR.com itself, which is a different thing from the unbranded field. We could not read NTREIS, Canopy, Georgia MLS, FMLS, Doorify or TheMLS rules on the day.

Fines for branded media at a glance

Zillow, Redfin and Realtor.com

The portals mostly take your video from the MLS, so the MLS rules come first. Zillow's listing quality policy (section 2(a), updated September 2024) bans the agent's name, company, logo, phone or email on listing photos or in video walkthroughs, and its help centre says third-party tours come in through the MLS virtual tour field. Redfin's photos FAQ (updated 22 October 2026) says tours come from the MLS and data providers, and only the agent can change an MLS-supplied tour. Per UtahRealEstate.com, branded tours reach Realtor.com and ListHub through syndication.

Fair housing applies to narration and captions

The federal rule on discriminatory advertising, 24 CFR 100.75, covers "all written or oral notices or statements" and "words, phrases, photographs, illustrations, symbols", so it reaches a voiceover and burned in captions as much as a written listing. The NAR Code of Ethics (Standard of Practice 10-3, and Article 12 on presenting a true picture) says the same for Realtors. 2026 Code of Ethics. Describe the property, never the people it suits.

Where our MLS cut fits

Every film we make includes an unbranded 16:9 MLS cut, on every plan, never watermarked. It drops your name, headshot, logo, contact card and the watermark. By default it keeps the narration, the word by word captions, room labels, a title card with the address and price, and an unbranded end card with the price, key features and an invitation to book a showing.

That suits MLSs whose rules are about branding. It does not suit MLSs that ban all text or commentary in tour media, such as CRMLS, Stellar, Bright, Miami, ARMLS, BeachesMLS and MRED. If you list in one of those, turn off the captions and the title in the editor's Text panel and switch the narration off before you download the MLS cut; edits do not use up another listing. The MLS cut always ends on its unbranded listing card, which is text, so trim the last few seconds off or ask your MLS whether a closing card is acceptable. Leave edited or staged photos out of that version too, since their labels are text and are always burned in. A one click text free MLS cut is on our list; until it ships, this is the way.

Play with sound

A checklist before you paste the link

1. Open your MLS's current rules and search for "virtual tour", "media" and "branding". Note the date on the document.
2. Watch the video with the sound on: no name, team, brokerage, phone, email, website or "call me" anywhere, in picture or audio.
3. If your MLS restricts text, check for captions, title cards, room labels and end cards, and remove them.
4. Check for people, including generated ones, and for signs in the shot.
5. Check edited or staged photos are disclosed the way your MLS asks, or left out.
6. Host the video on a neutral page or player with no registration, no links out and no name in the URL.
7. Paste the link in the unbranded virtual tour field, never in the public remarks.