You can share another agent's listing on social media only with the listing broker's permission, given before you post, and with the listing brokerage named in the post. That rule comes from three places: NAR's Code of Ethics, NAR's model MLS rules, and state license law in several states. It covers more than a repost. A video tour you film yourself, a post you build from the listing photos and, under some MLSs, even a link to the listing all count as advertising someone else's listing.
This guide covers the US rules, each linked to its source and checked on October 23, 2026. It is general information, not legal advice. Your broker's policy, your MLS and your state regulator have the final word. For the wider set of rules on Fair Housing, AI-edited photos and housing ads, see our real estate social media compliance guide. For what to post and how often, start with our guide to real estate social media marketing.
The short answer
- Ask the listing agent first. Their yes needs to cover their broker, because the permission belongs to the listing firm.
- Keep the yes in writing. A text, direct message or email you can find later is enough for most MLSs that ask for written permission.
- Name the listing brokerage in the post, and tag the listing agent if you can.
- Share their post or link to the listing. Don't download their photos to make your own post.
- Never make it look like your listing. "My new listing" or a "Just Listed" graphic with your branding is misleading, even with permission.
What NAR's Code of Ethics says
If you're a REALTOR®, Article 12 of the Code of Ethics applies to every post.
- Standard of Practice 12-4 says you can't advertise property without authority.
- Standard of Practice 12-5 requires your firm's name, readily apparent, in any ad for your services or a listed property.
- Standard of Practice 12-10 bars presenting other people's content without attribution or without permission, and bars misleading images.
NAR's own explainer on displaying competitors' listings on social media answers the question directly: not without permission of the listing firm. It draws a line between two cases. Linking to another broker's website doesn't need permission (Case Interpretation 12-15). Copying and publishing their listing information is advertising, and that needs specific authority from the listing broker (Case Interpretation 12-16).
NAR repeated the point in its January 2025 social media tips: members must get the listing firm's permission before advertising third-party listings on social media, and should get written permission before using someone else's images.
What MLS rules say
NAR's Handbook on Multiple Listing Policy gives MLSs a mandatory model rule, Section 2.7, "Advertising of Listings Filed with the Service": nobody but the listing broker may advertise a listing without the listing broker's prior consent. The handbook adds three policies that matter for social media:
- IDX (Policy 7.58) lets brokers display each other's listings on websites, mobile apps and audio devices. Social media isn't on that list, so IDX consent alone doesn't cover a post.
- Policy 7.98 lets an MLS allow displays outside IDX, including on social media. The listing broker still has to consent.
- Policy 7.80 lets an MLS ban ads about properties listed or sold by other brokers altogether.
Local MLSs then write their own rules, and they differ. Three examples:
| MLS | What its rules say |
|---|---|
| CRMLS (California) | You need the listing broker's written permission before you post. A link in your feed that leads to the listing counts as advertising. A link back to your own broker's IDX website counts as permission. Instagram, Snapchat and private Facebook groups need specific written permission. |
| Canopy MLS (North Carolina) | Even the share button carries risk: ask the listing agent and confirm by email. Instagram and TikTok need written permission from the listing brokerage. Don't record and post a tour without the listing brokerage's express permission. |
| SmartMLS (Connecticut) | Posting another agent's listing is prohibited unless the listing agent gave written permission. The IDX agreement doesn't cover social media. |
If your MLS isn't here, search its compliance or help pages for "social media" before you post.
What state law says
Some states write the rule into license law, and the details vary. These are the six we checked:
| State | The rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | No advertising a sale or lease without the authority of the seller or the seller's agent. Your employing broker's name and phone number go on the ad. | 49 Pa. Code 35.301, 35.305 |
| Illinois | Advertising a listing held by another sponsoring broker without that broker's permission and identification is deceptive. Advertising includes any form of social media, and copying another licensee's listing information needs written or electronic permission. | 68 Ill. Adm. Code 1450.715 and 1450.720 |
| North Carolina | No advertising of any property without the written consent of the owner or the owner's authorized agent. The firm name has to be in the post itself, not only in your bio. | 21 NCAC 58A .0105; NC Real Estate Commission |
| Texas | It's misleading to advertise a property listed with another broker without that broker's permission and without naming the listing broker. Advertising includes social media. | 22 TAC 535.155 |
| Florida | Ads must carry the brokerage's licensed name. We found no Florida rule on other brokers' listings, and Florida Realtors advises getting specific permission anyway: attribution doesn't replace it. | FREC Rule 61J2-10.025 |
| California | Your license number and your responsible broker's name go on first-contact materials, including electronic ads, and social media posts must disclose your license status. The permission rule comes from MLS rules such as CRMLS. | DRE advertising guidelines |
Sharing their post vs making your own
There are two ways to share a listing, and the rules treat them differently.
Clicking Share on the listing agent's own public post is the safer option, but it isn't automatically safe. NAR's Case Interpretation 12-15 and Illinois's rule both say a link needs no permission. CRMLS counts a link to a listing in your feed as advertising, though, and Canopy MLS says even the share button carries risk. Asking first takes one message and settles it.
Downloading the listing photos to make your own post or video needs permission for the listing and for the photos. Under federal copyright law, a photo belongs to the photographer unless it was made as a work for hire or the rights were assigned. NAR's MLS policy expects the listing broker to own the photos or have the right to license them, and the license the MLS receives is for MLS use. That usually doesn't stretch to your Instagram. Using someone else's photos without a license can bring statutory damages of $750 to $30,000 per photo, and up to $150,000 if the infringement is willful, under 17 U.S.C. 504. Those statutory damages depend on the photo having been registered in time.
Video tours follow the same rule. Canopy MLS says don't record and post a tour without the listing brokerage's express permission. A live video tour for one specific client is fine; streamed to all your followers, it's advertising.
How to ask for permission
Send the listing agent a short message you can keep. For example:
Hi Dana, I'd love to share your listing at 18 Willow Lane with my followers on Instagram and Facebook. I'll credit you and Thornbury Realty in the post and tag you, and I won't change your photos or details. Is that OK with you and your broker? If you'd rather I share your own post, I'm happy to do that.
Save the reply with a screenshot, or keep the email thread. If the agent says yes but your MLS asks for the listing broker's consent, ask them to confirm their broker agrees. In North Carolina the consent must be written and come from the owner or the owner's agent. Under NAR's Multiple Listing Options for Sellers, an office-exclusive listing isn't publicly marketed at all, so it can't be shared even with goodwill.
What to put in the post
- The listing credit: "Listing courtesy of Thornbury Realty" in the caption or on the image, plus a tag for the listing agent.
- Your own brokerage name, because your post is still your ad (Standard of Practice 12-5 and most state rules). In California, add your DRE license number.
- Accurate wording. Write "Take a look at this home listed by @dana" rather than "my new listing". Texas rules also bar implying a role in a transaction you didn't have.
- Current status. When the home goes under contract or sells, update or remove the post. In Texas, an ad that mentions a property 10 or more days after closing has to show its current status.
Credit is not permission. Florida Realtors puts it plainly: providing attribution doesn't justify skipping the request.
Listings from your own brokerage
Brokerages often let their agents share each other's listings, but it's a brokerage decision, not a given. The Illinois REALTORS legal hotline answers "yes, with consent in the same brokerage". The Pennsylvania guidance suggests brokers adopt an internal rule that allows it. In North Carolina, every ad needs your broker-in-charge's consent. Check your office policy, ask the listing agent anyway, and credit them in the post.
"Just Sold" when you represented the buyer
Standard of Practice 12-7 lets the listing broker and the cooperating (buyer's) broker say they sold a property. A buyer's agent can post the sale after closing, with a few limits:
- Use your own photo, such as a closing-day shot your clients agreed to. The listing photos still need permission.
- Leave out the price terms your clients haven't agreed to share. NC REALTORS warns that a "below list price" post without your buyer's consent can break the rules.
- Say what you did. "Just helped my buyers close on their first home" is accurate; a "Just Sold" graphic over the listing photos suggests you had the listing.
- Wait for closing before any sold sign appears in your photos, unless the listing broker agrees.
Our Just Listed and Just Sold captions include wording for buyer-side sales.
Posting your own listings with Velisto
For your own listings, the permission is yours, and the work is making the posts. Velisto keeps your brokerage name and each agent's license number in the brand kit and fills them into the templates that use them, so every graphic carries them without retyping. A listing campaign turns one listing into posts, Stories and an optional reel for each stage, from Just Listed to Just Sold, and the real estate content creation tool writes the captions in your voice. You review and approve the content; Velisto publishes it at the scheduled time to Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Threads and YouTube. It doesn't check permissions for other brokers' listings, so the rules above still apply when you share one.
Sharing another agent's listing FAQ
Can I share another agent's listing if I tag them? Tagging is credit, not permission. Ask the listing agent first, and keep their yes in writing.
Do I need written permission? Get it in writing to be safe. NAR's 2016 guidance said a verbal agreement is fine, but MLSs such as CRMLS and SmartMLS want written permission before you post, and North Carolina requires written consent. A text or an email you keep is enough.
Can I share a listing from my own brokerage? Usually, if your brokerage allows it. Check your office policy, ask the listing agent, and credit them.
Can I use the listing photos? Only with permission. The photographer or the listing brokerage usually owns them, and the MLS's license to use them doesn't extend to your social media.
Can a buyer's agent post "Just Sold"? Yes, after closing, if you were the cooperating broker. Use your own photo, don't share price terms without your client's consent, and make clear you represented the buyer.
What if another agent shares my listing without asking? Ask them to take it down or to credit your brokerage properly. If that doesn't work, contact your MLS's compliance team, which can enforce its advertising rules.
Put your brokerage name and license number on every template once, and post your own listings with Velisto. Get started.
