California AB 723: Which Real Estate Photo Edits Need a Disclosure?
Since January 1, 2026, a California listing photo that has been edited to add, remove or change elements in the image (furniture, paint, landscaping, a power line, the view through a window) has to carry a disclosure on or next to it, plus a link, URL or QR code to the original, unaltered photo. Exposure, color, white balance, straightening, cropping and other routine corrections are excluded, so HDR and flambient blends of your own frames are fine. Lawn greening and virtual staging are named in the law; on our reading of the text, sky swaps, day-to-dusk and removing a car or trash can are covered too. For every altered frame, deliver the unaltered version as well.
Most coverage of AB 723 is written for agents: what the broker has to post and where. But the agent can only comply if the photographer kept, and delivered, the unaltered file. This guide goes through the law's definition one photographer edit at a time, then covers the delivery habits that make compliance easy for your clients.
What does the law actually say?
AB 723 (Assemblymember Pellerin) added section 10140.8 to the Business and Professions Code. It was chaptered on October 10, 2025 as Chapter 497, Statutes of 2025, and took effect January 1, 2026. It has two parts.
The duty. A real estate broker or salesperson, "or person acting on their behalf," who uses a digitally altered image in advertising or other promotional material for the sale of real property has to include "a statement disclosing that the image has been altered," plus "a link to a publicly accessible internet website, URL, or QR code that includes, and clearly identifies, the original, unaltered image." The statement "shall be reasonably conspicuous and located on or adjacent to the image," with language saying the unaltered images can be seen at that link.
The definition, subdivision (b), in full:
(1) For purposes of this section, "digitally altered image" means an image, created by or at the direction of the real estate broker or salesperson, or person acting on their behalf, that has been altered through the use of photo editing software or artificial intelligence to add, remove, or change elements in the image, including, but not limited to, fixtures, furniture, appliances, flooring, walls, paint color, hardscape, landscape, facade, floor plans, and elements outside of, or visible from, the property, including, but not limited to, streetlights, utility poles, views through windows, and neighboring properties. (2) "Digitally altered image" does not include an image where only lighting, sharpening, white balance, color correction, angle, straightening, cropping, exposure, or other common photo editing adjustments are made that do not change the representation of the real property.
Subdivision (b) as reproduced in the San Diego MLS's January 2026 rules. Subdivision (a) is quoted in part; read the full section on leginfo.legislature.ca.gov.
Two words in that definition matter most to photographers. The first is "in the image." The July 2025 version of the bill covered elements "of the real property." The final law covers elements in the frame, so removing a car or a trash can reads as covered, just like removing a wall. The second is "representation." The exclusion is for edits that don't change how the property is represented, not just its physical condition.
Which common edits need a disclosure?
Here is the usual real estate editing menu, checked against that definition. Where the statute names the thing, we cite it. Where it doesn't, we give our reading and say so.
| Edit | Disclose? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Exposure, white balance, color correction, sharpening | No | Named in the exclusion. |
| Straightening verticals, lens correction, cropping | No | "Angle, straightening, cropping" are named in the exclusion. |
| HDR or flambient blend of your own frames | No | Lighting and exposure adjustments of what was really there. |
| Window pull from your own bracket | No, probably | An exposure blend showing the real view. Not named either way. |
| Replacing the view through a window | Yes | "Views through windows" are named. |
| Sky replacement | Yes, our reading | Not named, but a new sky is an element added to the image, and it changes how the home is represented. |
| Day-to-dusk (virtual twilight) | Yes, our reading | Adds a sky and glowing windows that weren't in the frame. More than a lighting adjustment. |
| Lawn greening, adding grass or plants | Yes | "Landscape" is named. |
| Removing cars, bins, hoses, cords, personal items | Yes, by the text | "Remove ... elements in the image." The final law isn't limited to parts of the property. |
| Removing power lines or poles | Yes | "Utility poles" and "streetlights" are named. |
| Fire in the fireplace, image on the TV | Yes, by the text | Adds an element to the image. |
| Virtual staging | Yes | "Furniture" is named. |
| Virtual renovation: paint, floors, counters | Yes | "Paint color," "flooring," "walls" and "fixtures" are named. |
| Removing your reflection, sensor dust | Unclear | Not named. Arguably a common adjustment that doesn't change the representation. Ask the agent's MLS. |
The pattern: anything that only changes how the captured light looks is excluded, and anything that changes what is in the frame is covered. If an edit makes you think "the buyer won't notice," that's the kind the law was written for.
Who has to comply: the agent or the photographer?
The duty is on the licensed broker or salesperson "or person acting on their behalf," for images "created by or at the direction of" them. Whether an independent photographer hired for a shoot is "acting on their behalf" hasn't been tested. The California Association of REALTORS opposed the bill unless amended, partly over liability for images on sites the licensee doesn't control (Senate Judiciary Committee analysis, July 2025).
You don't need to settle that to know what to do. The agent can't post a link to an unaltered original they never received. If you sky-swap and green the lawn but deliver only the finished JPEG, you've handed your client a compliance problem.
How should photographers deliver altered photos now?
- Export the unaltered version before the alteration step. Our reading: the "original, unaltered image" for an HDR exterior is your finished blend before the sky swap, not the raw bracket. Everything in the excluded list can stay.
- Name the files in pairs so they can't get mixed up:
07-front-exterior_ALTERED.jpgand07-front-exterior_ORIGINAL.jpg. - Send a short list of which frames are altered and how ("07: sky replaced, lawn greened; 12: virtually staged"). The agent needs it to fill in labels.
- Don't burn a label into the photo unless the agent asks. The law allows the statement "on or adjacent to" the image, and at least one MLS forbids it in the pixels (below). Put it in the file name and your list, and let the agent place it.
- Give the originals a public home. The link has to reach a publicly accessible page that "clearly identifies" the original. San Diego's MLS hosts it (below); on the agent's own website or a tour page, the original can sit next to the altered frame, each one captioned.
How are MLSs handling it?
Each MLS sets its own mechanics, so check the one your client lists in. The San Diego MLS published rules effective January 2026 that are a useful example of how it works in practice:
- Rule 7.4.2 adopts the statute's definition and updates it automatically if the law changes.
- Rule 7.4.3: the broker labels the photo "Digitally Altered" in the MLS, "is not permitted to watermark or embed the disclosure directly onto the photo itself," uploads the original to the MLS (which assigns it a public URL), and pastes that URL into the altered photo's description field.
- Rule 7.4.4: altered images can't carry text, watermarks, contact information or promotional material, and posting one without the disclosure and original-image access is a violation "subject to citation and removal."
- Rule 12.8: an SDMLS participant or subscriber advertising the listing elsewhere must carry the label and the original-image URL along with the photo.
From SDMLS Rules and Regulations & Policy Changes, effective January 2026, read October 2026. Other California MLSs may do this differently.
That rule is why a burned-in "Virtually Staged" banner, which plenty of photographers add by habit, can now get a photo removed in San Diego. Deliver clean altered files and let the label live in the MLS field. For the rest of what MLSs check on upload (sizes, file limits, branding), see our MLS photo requirements guide.
What does this change for your editing menu?
Nothing has to come off it. Virtual staging, twilight conversions and sky swaps are all still legal in California; they just travel with a label and an original now. Two practical changes:
- Day-to-dusk loses some of its edge. A real twilight shoot needs no disclosure; a converted one does, with the daytime original a click away. That's a fair reason to sell the real thing. See twilight real estate photography, and the twilight calculator to time it.
- Clean up on site, not in Photoshop. Moving the bins and the car before you shoot is now worth more than ever. Every removal you skip in post is one less disclosure for your client.
For staging prices and how to sell it, see virtual staging for real estate; for the full editing workflow, see how to edit real estate photos. This guide explains the law as written and isn't legal advice.
Frequently asked questions
What is California AB 723?
AB 723 (Pellerin) added section 10140.8 to the California Business and Professions Code (Chapter 497, Statutes of 2025). Since January 1, 2026, a real estate broker or salesperson, or a person acting on their behalf, who uses a digitally altered image to advertise a property for sale has to say on or next to the image that it was altered, and give a link, URL or QR code to the original, unaltered image.
Does sky replacement need an AB 723 disclosure?
The statute doesn't name skies. It covers any edit that adds, removes or changes elements in the image, and it excludes only lighting, color, exposure and similar adjustments that don't change how the property is represented. A swapped sky is an element added to the image, so our reading is that it counts; disclose it unless the agent's MLS or broker tells you otherwise.
Do HDR blending and window pulls count as digitally altered?
Not when they only blend your own exposures. The law excludes lighting, white balance, color correction, angle, straightening, cropping and exposure adjustments that don't change the representation of the property. A window pull from your own bracket shows the view that is really there. Replacing the view is different: views through windows are named in the definition.
Is the photographer responsible for AB 723 compliance?
The duty sits on the licensed broker or salesperson and on a person acting on their behalf, for images created by them or at their direction. Whether an independent photographer counts as acting on the agent's behalf isn't settled. In practice the agent can't comply without you, because you hold the unaltered files, so deliver them.
Put the original next to the altered photo
A PFRE tour holds as many photos as the listing needs, so for the agent's own site and social posts you can put the original beside the altered frame, captioned "Digitally altered" and "Original, unaltered." Includes an unbranded MLS version. From $8 per tour, no subscription.
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