What should a virtual staging disclosure say?

At minimum: 'Virtually staged.' A stronger, defensible version reads 'This photo has been digitally staged/altered; the unaltered original is available' with a link or QR to that original. In California, AB 723 requires the disclosure to be conspicuous and the unaltered original to be accessible.

Where do you put the virtual staging disclosure?

Put a conspicuous label on or directly beside the image itself, repeat it in the MLS photo caption or remarks, and keep it wherever the photo appears — Zillow, Instagram, flyers, and email. The disclosure follows the photo, not the platform.

Does the disclosure wording have to be on the photo in California?

AB 723 requires a conspicuous disclosure on digitally altered listing photos plus an accessible unaltered original. A baked-in label on the image with a QR or link to the original is the cleanest way to meet both requirements, because it travels with the photo everywhere it is republished.

What is an example MLS remarks line for virtual staging?

Example: 'Some photos are virtually staged for illustrative purposes; unaltered originals available upon request.' Pair it with an on-image label, since many platforms strip or truncate remarks.

Virtual Staging Disclosure Wording: Exact Text (2026)

You staged the photo — now you need the words. Here's copy-paste disclosure wording for the image, the MLS, and every other place a listing photo lands, plus what makes it actually hold up under California AB 723. Steal what you need.

The shortest version that works

If you remember one thing, it's this two-word label, placed on or directly beside the image:

Virtually staged

That's the minimum a buyer needs to not be misled. But "minimum" and "defensible in California" aren't the same thing — AB 723 also wants the unaltered original to be accessible, so the stronger wording points to it.

Copy-paste disclosure wording

Pick the line that fits where it's going. All three are written to be conspicuous and non-misleading.

1) On the image itself (baked-in label):

Digitally staged — scan for the unaltered original

2) MLS photo caption / remarks line:

Some photos are virtually staged for illustrative purposes; unaltered originals available upon request.

3) California AB 723 version (with accessible original):

This photo has been digitally altered (virtual staging). The unaltered original is available at [link / QR code]. CA AB 723.

Whichever you use, keep the language plain. "Enhanced," "reimagined," or "artist's concept" are too soft — a regulator or a frustrated buyer reads them as hedging. Say staged or digitally altered.

Where the wording has to go

On the image — a visible label that can't be stripped when the photo is re-shared. This is the one that travels.
MLS caption/remarks — repeat it, but don't rely on it alone; Zillow, social, and print often drop captions.
Everywhere the photo appears — Zillow, Instagram, flyers, email blasts. The disclosure obligation follows the photo, not the platform.

This is exactly why on-image wording beats a remarks-only disclosure: the moment someone screenshots your Zillow photo or your brokerage reposts it, a caption-only disclosure is gone — but a baked-in label and QR survive.

Not sure your current disclosures hold up?

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What the AB 723 version adds

California's AB 723 (effective January 1, 2026) doesn't hand you an exact script — it sets two tests your wording has to pass:

Conspicuous: a reasonable person sees it without hunting. On-image or directly adjacent — not buried in line nine of the remarks.
Accessible original: the unaltered photo has to be reachable. A QR code or a stated link in the disclosure satisfies this cleanly, and AB 723 expects you to retain that original for years.

So the strongest wording does two jobs at once: it labels the edit and tells the viewer where the real photo is. That's why example #3 above includes the link/QR — it's the version least likely to be second-guessed.

Common wording mistakes

Too vague: "enhanced for marketing" doesn't tell a buyer furniture was added.
Remarks-only: a caption that disappears the second the photo is reposted isn't "conspicuous everywhere."
No original: labeling the edit but giving no path to the unaltered photo misses half of AB 723.
Inconsistent: disclosed on the MLS but not on Zillow or the flyer. The photo is the same; the obligation is too.

The easy way to never re-type this again

The cleanest fix is to stop treating disclosure as a sentence you remember and make it part of the image. Our free AB 723 label tool stamps "Virtually staged" or "Digitally altered" and a date on the photo in your browser, and the $24 AB 723 Pro Template Pack gives you matching wording for remarks, captions and flyers, label PNGs, a seller acknowledgement form, an office policy template, two checklists and a retention log. Not legal advice; check current California law and your MLS rules.

For more, see our guide on whether you have to disclose virtual staging, the California AB 723 compliance guide, and the step-by-step disclosure overlay tutorial.

Published 2026-06-20. General guidance, not legal advice — confirm your AB 723, NAR, and MLS obligations with your broker/MLS.

Virtual staging disclosure wording: the exact text to use