All of your questions regarding the remarks fields, virtual tours, photos, and attachments can be found here. As a reminder, there shall be no reference to cooperative compensation in any public or non-public field (including photographs, attachments, and virtual tours), showing services, and Supra.


TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Public Fields

There shall be no promotion, reference, information, or messaging that brands, relates, associates, or correlates any website address, phone number, agent, office, office address, product, service, program, or any listing owner name or related contact information in any public field including photographs, public attachments (excluding unaltered attachments sourced direct from a state Realtor Association forms vendor and not further enhanced with additional branding upgrades) and virtual tours. 


Text, logos, descriptions, labels, or other similar alterations cannot be added to, or overlayed onto, any photograph, drawing, or depiction entered into the PrimeMLS Database unless such is relating to the accuracy of the entered image itself, the physical location of the property, or a physical characteristic of the property. 


Bar codes, QR codes, and other like coded images are prohibited from being attached as a document or included in a virtual tour or added as a photo to any listing in the MLS database. 


Photographer information (including, but not limited to promotion, logos, branding, and watermarks) cannot appear on photos submitted to the system. 


Permitted exceptions include mandatory entry of an Auctioneer's name and license number if required by State law, and branded attachments to listings in the commercial/industrial property type.


There shall be no reference to cooperative compensation in any public or non-public field, including photographs, attachments, virtual tours, showing services and Supra. Seller to Buyer concessions can be included in Remark fields. If a dollar or percentage amount is included for a concession, it must indicate what the concession is for (such as closing costs assistance, flooring improvements, or home warranties) to ensure transparency and consistency.  

2. What is the Public Remarks field?

Remarks are intended for the sole purpose of describing the specific property being listed and shall be written in a manner appropriate for public viewing. For example, no telephone numbers, no email addresses, no website addresses, no agency name, no agent name, no agent bonus offering, no incentives are permitted in the public remarks.  This includes the "Directions" field.


While concessions can be included in the Public Remarks, if a dollar amount or percentage is included, it must 

indicate what the concession is for (such as closing costs assistance, flooring improvements, or home warranties) to ensure transparency and consistency. If a dollar or percentage amount is not included, agents can contact the list agent outside of the MLS to obtain details on the concession offering.


This is the appropriate location to disclose broker/agent interest in the property. Also keep in mind the Cautionary Words list, which is a list of words/phrases that could violate NAR policy and/or HUD Standards when included in the public remarks or another public field. This list is not all-inclusive.

3. Where do branded virtual tours and Syndication Remarks display?

The Branded Virtual Tour URL field and the Syndication Remarks field do not display in the MLS, on any Agent or Customer report within Paragon or on PrimeMLS member IDX sites, but they are sent out in the data feeds to the MLS public websites, primemls.com and commercial.primemls.com, intra-office feeds, and the syndication websites such as Realtor.com and ListHub. It is up to each website if they choose to display these fields; however, PrimeMLS has requested that the Syndication Remarks field be displayed in place of the Public Remarks field if it is populated.

4. Best practices for the Syndication Remarks field

Copy and paste the public remarks into this field where you can then add branded information with an additional 500 characters. If this field is utilized, it will override the Public Remarks field on the MLS public websites, intra-office data feeds and syndication websites such as Realtor.com and ListHub (if those syndication sites display the Syndication Remarks field).


Also, keep in mind the Cautionary Words list, which is a list of words/phrases that could violate NAR policy and/or HUD Standards when included in the advertising remarks or another public field. This list is not all-inclusive.

5. How do I indicate agent interest or ownership in a property?

Per Section 5.1 of PrimeMLS Rules, if a participant or any licensee affiliated with a Participant has any ownership interest in a property, the listing of which is entered into the PrimeMLS database, that person shall disclose that interest in the public remarks on the listing input screen when the listing is entered into the PrimeMLS database and such information shall be disseminated to all PrimeMLS Participants.


Per Section 1.2.C, remarks are intended for the sole purpose of describing the specific property being listed and shall be written in a manner appropriate for public viewing. For example, no telephone numbers, no email addresses, no website addresses, no agency name, no agent name, no agent bonus offering, and no incentives are permitted in the remarks. This is the appropriate location to disclose broker/agent interest in the property.

6. Photographs

All listings, regardless of the status, must include at least 1 photograph. This includes Comp Only listings.


Participants shall be solely responsible to have the written authorization of the proprietary owner of any photograph, digital image, facsimiles, sketches, and virtual tour prior to submitting to the PrimeMLS database.