2026 compliance guide for real estate professionals • Reviewed September 10, 2026
ARMLS Rule 8.23 introduced a digitally altered media policy on May 28, 2026. For ARMLS listings, use the Flexmls 'Digitally Altered' disclosure watermark and upload the original immediately before or after the edited image. This is an MLS rule, not a statewide Arizona statute. Confirm other Arizona MLS policies and state advertising duties separately.
ARMLS's published timeline provides education and fine abatement through November 2026. Its $200-per-violation enforcement phase begins in December 2026. Those are ARMLS compliance consequences, not Arizona statutory fines.
Use the platform's Digitally Altered tool for each altered image, then pair it with the adjacent original. An independently added label is not a substitute for the specified MLS workflow.
ARMLS's examples treat furniture additions and removals as alterations. Routine brightness, contrast, color, crop, and sharpening adjustments that preserve the substance of an image are treated differently.
Audit existing ARMLS photo sets before the December enforcement phase. Confirm the rule separately when listing with a different service or publishing outside the MLS.
Describe the edits accurately and replace every bracketed placeholder. Check the required wording, image placement, MLS fields, and original-photo access described above. Use custom image labels only where permitted. A template does not authorise an otherwise prohibited or misleading alteration.
“Digitally altered images in this ARMLS listing have been identified using the MLS photo tool. The corresponding original appears immediately before or after each altered image.”
Guide reviewed September 10, 2026. Links below include legislation, regulator guidance, and board or MLS materials. Their scope differs: a board rule is not statewide law, and a regulator homepage is not proof that no other rules exist. This guide does not verify every local MLS policy. Confirm the current requirements before publishing.
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