A listing photo looks AI-edited. What can I ask the agent for?

Ask for the original, unaltered photo or a link to it. In California, an altered image in a sale advertisement must carry a disclosure and a link or QR code to the original, and the MLS listing must show the original next to the altered image. Elsewhere, asking is reasonable, and a refusal by itself tells you nothing.

Am I entitled to the original?

In California, for a sale listing with an altered image, the agent's advertisement must link to the original; that is a duty on the agent, enforced by the Department of Real Estate, not a right you can sue on. For rentals and outside California there is no such duty yet. This is general information, not legal advice.

What does a refusal mean?

Nothing by itself. Many sellers have no original to hand, and outside California there is no duty to provide one. Treat it as a reason to rely on the other checks, not as proof of anything.

Does a checked photo mean the listing is real?

No. It means the photo came from a camera file and matches it within tolerance, checked on a stated date. It does not confirm the address, the owner, or that the property still looks like that. For a rental, still never pay before you have seen the flat and the person letting it.

How do I check a listing photo myself?

You can run a listing photo through a free check that reads any embedded credentials and metadata. Most listing photos carry none, and a missing record does not mean the photo is fake; it means the photo cannot vouch for itself, which is the reason to ask for the original.

For buyers and tenants

Housefished? How to ask for the original listing photo

The lawn was greener online. The kitchen had furniture it does not have. The flat you paid a deposit for does not exist. Buyers have a word for it now, and one question that usually settles it: can I see the original photo? This page gives you the words to ask, says what the law requires where it requires anything, and tells you what a checked original does and does not show.

A missing original is a reason to ask, not a verdict.

When you can ask, and what the law says

In California, advertising for the sale of a property that shows a digitally altered image must carry a disclosure on or next to the image, saying that the original can be seen at the link, and, in the words of Business and Professions Code Section 10140.8, "a link to a publicly accessible internet website, URL, or QR code that includes, and clearly identifies, the original, unaltered image." The large California MLSs, among them CRMLS, San Diego and Bay East, also require the original photo in the listing itself, next to the altered one. Routine edits such as exposure, white balance, cropping and straightening are exempt.

An unaltered photo needs no disclosure and no link. The duty applies where an image was altered. So the question to ask yourself is not "where is the mark?" but "is this photo labelled as altered, or does it look altered, and is there no original?" If so, ask.

The California rule covers sale advertising only. A bill for rental advertising, AB 2025, passed the legislature in August 2026 and is with the Governor as of 19 September; New York City has announced plans to require disclosure of altered rental-listing photos; New York's Assembly bill A.11635 would cover sale and lease listings. Until one of them is in force, a tenant has no statutory entitlement to the original. You can still ask.

Outside California, Wisconsin requires a disclosure from 1 January 2027 without an original, and most places have only general rules against misleading advertising. Asking is reasonable everywhere. Where no rule applies, the script below simply drops the sentence about the law.

This page describes the rules in general terms and is not legal advice. Check the current text of the law and your local MLS policy before relying on it.

Three requests you can copy

Each script fits a message to the person who placed the listing. Replace the parts in square brackets. Below each one: what a good answer looks like, and what a refusal means.

To a listing agent (sale)

Hi [name], I'm interested in [address]. Photo [number] in the listing is labelled as altered, or looks altered, and I can't find a link to the original. In California, advertising with an altered listing image has to include a link or QR code to the original, unaltered image (Business and Professions Code Section 10140.8). Could you send me the original, or the link to it? If the original has been checked against the camera file, the link to that check would be ideal. Thanks, [your name]

A good answer is the original photo, or a link that opens its check page, or a badge version of the photo whose reference code finds that page. On the page you see the check date, the delivered photo beside the picture developed from the camera file, and the camera's recorded date and model.

A refusal proves nothing by itself. Outside California there may be no duty to provide it. In California, if the image is altered and no original is provided, you can raise it with the agent's broker, the agent's MLS, or the Department of Real Estate. The law creates no new lawsuit; enforcement runs through the DRE.

To a private seller (a watch, a lens, a camera, an instrument)

Hi, I'd like to buy the [item]. Before I pay, could you send me one original photo of it, checked by an independent service this week? A checked photo shows the check date and that the image matches the camera's original file. If you have the camera's RAW file, lumethic.com/verify does this at no cost and gives you a link to send me. Thanks, [your name]

A good answer arrives within a day: a link that opens without an account and shows a check date from this week. It replaces the photo with a dated note, which can be edited in a minute.

Many honest sellers shoot on a phone and have no RAW file. Treat a refusal as a reason to use the other checks (pay only through the platform's protected payment, meet in person for high-value items), not as proof of a scam.

To a landlord or letting agent (rental you have not seen)

Ask for an original photo that was checked by an independent service this week. Someone who copied the photos from another listing has no camera file to check, so the request costs nothing and tests something; a genuine landlord may not have one either. A checked photo does not confirm the address, who the landlord is, or that they have the right to let, so keep the other checks: never pay before you have seen the property and the person letting it.

Hi, I'm interested in the flat at [address]. Before I pay anything, could you send me one original photo of the flat that was checked by an independent service this week? I'll also want to see the flat and meet you before any payment. Thanks, [your name]

A good answer is a link with a check date from this week. "This week" means the date the service recorded the check, not the date on the camera, which its owner can set to anything.

A refusal is common and means little; most landlords have never heard of a checked photo. What matters is the viewing and the person. Keep the checks the consumer protection agencies list, and never pay a deposit for a flat you have not seen.

What a checked original tells you, and what it does not

A checked original comes in two forms. There is a check page anyone can open without an account, and, for a photo that passed, a badge version of it with the check date stamped in the corner and a reference code (L-XXXXXX) on a strip below. On the page, look for four things:

The result and the date the check was made
The delivered photo beside the picture developed from the camera's RAW file
The camera's own recorded date and model, in the file details
What the check does not cover: where it was taken, whether it is the property or item advertised, who owns it, or whether it still looks like this

The check date is the service's own fact. The camera's date and model are whatever the camera wrote, and its owner can set them, so read them as recorded, not proven. "Verified" means the delivered photo was developed from that camera file without changes the check can see; small changes can sit inside its tolerance, so it is not a statement that nothing was edited. The fourth point is the one to read twice. A checked photo says the picture came from a camera file. It does not say the picture is of this flat, that the seller owns the item, or that the room still looks like that.

One more limit: many interior listing photos are merged from several exposures. A merged image cannot be checked against one camera file, so a checked page for an interior shows the single frames behind it and marks the merged image as not checked.

If the answer is no

For a sale listing in California: tell the agent's broker, report it to the MLS the listing runs on, or file a complaint with the Department of Real Estate. Elsewhere, report a misleading listing to the portal it runs on; complaints are one of the ways portals and regulators learn of a problem.

For an item: pay only through the platform's protected payment, or meet in person. There are many ordinary reasons a seller has no camera file to show; a seller who will not accept protected payment is a different matter.

For a rental: do not pay. See the flat, meet the person letting it, and use the checks your consumer protection agency publishes. The one question this page adds does not replace them.

If you are the seller or the photographer

A buyer sent you here. If you hold the camera's RAW file, you can check the photo and send back a link in a few minutes; an account with five free checks a month is enough for one sale. Listing photographers who deliver originals to agents will find the delivery workflow in the guide for AB 723 originals.

Check a photo Read the delivery guide

Questions buyers ask

A listing photo looks AI-edited. What can I ask the agent for?: Ask for the original, unaltered photo or a link to it. In California, an altered image in a sale advertisement must carry a disclosure and a link or QR code to the original, and the MLS listing must show the original next to the altered image. Elsewhere, asking is reasonable, and a refusal by itself tells you nothing.
Am I entitled to the original?: In California, for a sale listing with an altered image, the agent's advertisement must link to the original; that is a duty on the agent, enforced by the Department of Real Estate, not a right you can sue on. For rentals and outside California there is no such duty yet. This is general information, not legal advice.
What does a refusal mean?: Nothing by itself. Many sellers have no original to hand, and outside California there is no duty to provide one. Treat it as a reason to rely on the other checks, not as proof of anything.
Does a checked photo mean the listing is real?: No. It means the photo came from a camera file and matches it within tolerance, checked on a stated date. It does not confirm the address, the owner, or that the property still looks like that. For a rental, still never pay before you have seen the flat and the person letting it.
How do I check a listing photo myself?: You can run a listing photo through a free check that reads any embedded credentials and metadata. Most listing photos carry none, and a missing record does not mean the photo is fake; it means the photo cannot vouch for itself, which is the reason to ask for the original.