Colorado

REcolorado® (Denver / Colorado Front Range MLS)

REcolorado MLS Policy (rev. Nov 2025): virtual staging is allowed — no watermark, no remarks disclosure, no original required. Plus the one type Colorado DOES require.

Answer first

No. REcolorado® — the MLS covering Denver and the Colorado Front Range — allows virtual staging outright and requires no disclosure for it. Section 1.20 of the REcolorado MLS Policy (revised November 2025) bans manipulating a property’s true appearance (removing a permanent object, changing the landscape, adding visual improvements that don’t exist) and then states plainly: “Virtual staging is allowed.” REcolorado’s own Photos FAQ explains why — “Virtual staging is not considered manipulating photos or the appearance of the property.” There is no watermark requirement, no public-remarks sentence, and no requirement to post the unstaged original. The one image type Colorado DOES make you disclose is renderings and builder models, which must be identified in the remarks or the photo description. And be careful in the other direction: Section 1.20 prohibits company names, web addresses, logos and branding on any listing photo, so a vendor-branded badge is itself a violation here. Not legal advice — confirm against the current REcolorado policy before relying on it.

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Colorado

What REcolorado® (Denver / Colorado Front Range MLS) requires

Disclosure requiredNo
Required label wordingNONE required. A watermark is PERMITTED but only as a non-predominant feature, and it may not carry vendor identity. Section 1.20 verbatim: “Borders, watermarks, and yard signs are allowed as non-predominant features of a listing photo. Photos may not contain phone numbers, e-mail addresses, web address, company and/or personal names, or financial information. Promotions, personal and/or company branding, advertisement(s) and logos are prohibited on photographs submitted to the MLS.” Overlay text is allowed only if “subtle enough not to obscure or detract from the image it is describing.”
Label placementNot prescribed. Any permitted border/watermark must be non-predominant and must not obscure or detract from the image.
Listing description must discloseNo
Original photo requiredNo

Alterations this rule covers:

  • Virtual staging is EXPRESSLY PERMITTED with NO disclosure condition attached. Section 1.20 verbatim (final sentence of the manipulation paragraph): “Subscribers may not submit to the MLS any photograph where the true appearance of a property has been manipulated (e.g., removing a permanent object from the photograph, modifying the appearance of the landscape, making visual improvements that do not already exist). Virtual staging is allowed.” REcolorado’s own FAQ states the reasoning outright: “Virtual staging is not considered manipulating photos or the appearance of the property.”
  • PROHIBITED alterations (the manipulation list, verbatim): removing a permanent object from the photograph; modifying the appearance of the landscape; making visual improvements that do not already exist.
  • Renderings ARE subject to a disclosure duty — and this is the one place REcolorado requires disclosure. Per REcolorado’s official Photos FAQ: “Be sure to disclose that photos include renderings or builder models in the Private or Public Remarks field or through the ‘Enter description’ section by clicking on each photo.” Section 1.20’s Note confirms the rule’s definition of “photograph” includes “artist renderings, blueprints, illustrations, images, graphics, and builder plans.”
  • No AI-specific rule. The November 2025 MLS Policy contains no mention of artificial intelligence or ‘digitally altered’ media.

Rules documented

That’s the REcolorado® (Denver / Colorado Front Range MLS) rule. We’ve researched and cite this board’s rule, but we don’t yet claim our delivery meets it — ask us for a board check first.

What we can always do for any board: host your original, unaltered photo at a public URL and issue a timestamped verification record. What we don’t claim here is a board-compliant on-image delivery.

Ask for a board check →

What this does — and what you still do

  • SEAREI produces the disclosure artifacts: a disclosure-labeled export, your unaltered original hosted at a public URL, a public verification page, and a certificate with integrity hashes.
  • SEAREI does not guarantee that any MLS, board, or regulator will accept your listing, and is not affiliated with or endorsed by any of them. Board rules change — each board page shows the date we last verified it.
  • You complete the MLS-side steps your board requires (field or public-remarks entry, uploading the original, image ordering) and confirm the current rule with your MLS or broker before publishing.
  • Nothing here is legal advice.

See the full Terms of Service.

What the agent must do

To meet the REcolorado® (Denver / Colorado Front Range MLS) rule, an agent completes these MLS-side steps (from the cited source):

  • Recommended (not required by this board): disclose the virtual staging in your listing's public remarks. The ready-to-use disclosure text is included in your SEAREI compliance kit.
  • No staging disclosure is required (Section 1.20: 'Virtual staging is allowed').
  • Do not manipulate the property's true appearance (no removing permanent objects, altering landscape, or adding improvements that don't exist).
  • Keep any watermark non-predominant and free of phone numbers, web addresses, company/personal names, branding, or logos (Section 1.20).
The rule

REcolorado® MLS Policy, Revised November 2025 — Section 1.20 (Listing Photographs). Same text appears as Section 1.18 in the earlier REcolorado MLS Rules & Regulations (NAR approved March 17, 2021). Both read verbatim.

Effective 2025-11-01.

Published by REcolorado, Inc. — serving Denver / Front Range, Colorado.

Read the source →

Penalty

No staging-specific penalty. REcolorado’s MLS Policy does not attach a fine schedule line item to virtual staging because virtual staging is not a violation. Photos containing branding, logos, web addresses or company names are removed (per the Photos FAQ: “Avoid any company logos, as these photos will be removed”). Do NOT publish a dollar figure for REcolorado — none was located in the November 2025 policy.

FAQ

Does REcolorado require you to disclose virtually staged photos?

No. Section 1.20 of the REcolorado MLS Policy (revised November 2025) states, after listing the prohibited forms of photo manipulation: “Virtual staging is allowed.” No disclosure, label, watermark or remarks statement is attached to that permission. REcolorado’s official Photos FAQ confirms it: “According to MLS policy, photos with virtual staging are acceptable. Virtual staging is not considered manipulating photos or the appearance of the property. Rather, it is showing the home in its best light, similar to physical staging.”

Source →

What photo edits ARE prohibited by REcolorado?

Anything that changes the property’s true appearance. Section 1.20 verbatim: “Subscribers may not submit to the MLS any photograph where the true appearance of a property has been manipulated (e.g., removing a permanent object from the photograph, modifying the appearance of the landscape, making visual improvements that do not already exist).” So removing power lines, editing out a neighbouring structure, greening the lawn, or adding a deck that isn’t there are all violations — while dropping furniture into an empty room is not.

Source →

Can I put a ‘Virtually Staged’ watermark on a REcolorado listing photo?

Yes, but keep it plain and keep your name off it. Section 1.20 allows “Borders, watermarks, and yard signs … as non-predominant features of a listing photo,” and allows descriptive text that is “subtle enough not to obscure or detract from the image.” In the same paragraph it prohibits phone numbers, e-mail addresses, web addresses, company or personal names, and “Promotions, personal and/or company branding, advertisement(s) and logos.” A badge carrying a vendor name or a verification URL would be removed.

Source →

Do I have to disclose artist renderings or builder models in Colorado?

Yes — this is the disclosure Colorado actually requires. REcolorado’s Photos FAQ: “When you are listing a new home, plan, or community, you may only have access to artist renderings and drawings or builder models… Be sure to disclose that photos include renderings or builder models in the Private or Public Remarks field or through the ‘Enter description’ section by clicking on each photo.” Section 1.20’s closing Note confirms renderings, illustrations and builder plans count as “photographs” under the rule.

Source →

Does Colorado state law require virtual staging disclosure?

No Colorado statute prescribing a virtual-staging disclosure was located as of August 2026. Colorado licensees remain bound by the general prohibitions on misleading advertising and, for REALTORS®, by the NAR Code of Ethics. Colorado’s AI legislation (SB 24-205, as amended) has been the subject of delayed effective dates and is not a real-estate-photo disclosure rule; SEAREI has not verified its application here and makes no claim about it.

Source →

Sources

Last verified 2026-08-26.

Related
Related markets

The rule differs board by board. A few related markets to compare — the full list is on the compliance overview:

North Texas (NTREIS) · New York (OneKey MLS) · Austin (ACTRIS)

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.