Multiple listing services will be able to require an ownership interest of up to 50% in the copyright of certain listing content under one of four MLS policy changes adopted at NAR NXT 2026, the National Association of Realtors announced Nov. 8. The package also lets MLSs set their own rules for who can receive data feeds and adds a new policy statement spelling out what MLS data may be used for.
The changes were proposed by NAR’s Multiple Listing Issues and Policies Committee and approved at its Sunday, Nov. 8 meeting. Taken together, they push in one direction: giving local MLSs more tools to control how listing information, photos and data move beyond the MLS itself.
The copyright option
The most consequential change revises MLS Policy Statement 7.85 and adds a new optional policy titled “Copyright Protection of MLS Data.” Under it, an MLS may, at its discretion, require participants to assign it an interest of up to 50% in the copyright of certain listing content. NAR says the purpose is “strengthening copyright protection and enforcement.”
The option comes with conditions. Any such interest is subject to quarterly copyright registration requirements. MLSs must give participants the right to opt out of assigning a copyright interest. And brokers keep the ability to independently use and license their own listing content.
NAR’s own news report on the vote said the proposal “comes amid increased industry focus on protecting listing content and strengthening MLSs’ ability to enforce copyright rights as listing data and images are increasingly distributed across third-party platforms.”
The registration piece matters because of how copyright enforcement works. In comments filed with the U.S. Copyright Office on June 24, NAR noted that timely registration is generally required to bring an infringement case in federal court and to seek statutory damages and attorney fees. Because MLS databases change constantly, NAR told the office, MLSs must register multiple times a year to get protection other owners secure with a single filing, and their registrations are still paper-based. On our reading, a co-ownership interest paired with quarterly registration is designed to put MLSs in a position to sue over scraped listings and photos themselves, rather than relying on individual brokers to do it.
Data feeds and permitted uses
A second new optional policy covers MLS data feed services. It gives MLSs flexibility to set local eligibility and licensing requirements for certain data feeds, as long as those requirements are “reasonable, objective and applied equally to all participants.” Participants keep access to MLS listing information and to feeds of their own listings. NAR’s report said the provision arrives “amid ongoing industry discussions about MLS data access, licensing requirements and the appropriate use and distribution of listing data.”
A third change creates a new MLS policy statement on the use of MLS data. It says the data must be used in compliance with applicable participation or data licensing agreements and for purposes connected to providing real estate brokerage services, preparing appraisals or other valuations of real property. NAR said the statement is meant to address “concerns around unauthorized use of MLS content.”
The fourth change updates the qualifications for serving on NAR’s MLS Committee to reflect what the association called the evolving MLS landscape. NAR said the new criteria will not affect existing committee members.
NAR’s announcement does not give an effective date for the new policies. The first two are optional, so their reach will depend on how many of the country’s MLSs choose to adopt them.
Part of a broader rewrite
“These updates reflect our commitment to ensuring MLS policies remain relevant, effective, and responsive to the needs of today’s real estate industry,” NAR CEO Nykia Wright said in the release. “In line with our 2026β2028 Strategic Plan and significant member feedback, we will continue working collaboratively with MLSs, brokers, members, and other industry partners to support a clear understanding and implementation of these changes.”
NAR said it has engaged nearly 500 MLS executives this year through regular calls and individual meetings, and that its MLS Emerging Issues and Technology Advisory Board formed a work group of MLS leaders, brokers and association executives to advise on policy.
The package follows a larger overhaul a year ago. In November 2025, NAR’s Executive Committee approved 18 updates to its Multiple Listing Policy Handbook, effective January 2026, that removed outdated enforcement practices and reinforced local discretion on issues such as non-member access to MLSs.
The new rules land while MLSs are already testing how much control they can exert over listing data. Three Western MLSs have launched Orion, a shared listing database spanning California, Nevada and Oregon, and Austin’s Unlock MLS has refused a Compass demand to stop penalizing listings that are publicly marketed without being shared through the MLS. More on the industry’s rules fights is on RealtyWire’s agents and brokerages page.
