Updated October 16, 2026 · My Single Property Websites
The rule itself is one sentence. From NAR's policy page: within one business day of marketing a property to the public, the listing broker must submit the listing to the MLS for cooperation with other MLS participants. NAR adopted it in November 2019, MLSs put it in place by May 2020, and it applies to participants and subscribers of REALTOR association-owned MLSs.
Everything turns on "marketing to the public." NAR's list, which it says is not exhaustive:
In March 2025 NAR also clarified the other edge: one-to-one, broker-to-broker conversations about a listing don't trigger the rule, but a message about it to agents across several brokerages does.
NAR's list doesn't name single property websites, so this part is our reading, not NAR's: a property website anyone can open is digital marketing on a public facing website. So is a "coming soon" sign rider with the site's QR code, and a social post linking to it. If the home isn't in the MLS yet, the first of those to go public starts the one-business-day clock. Your MLS's rules are the authority; if they define public marketing differently, they win.
Here is how each option for a home that isn't on the market yet lines up:
| Option | In the MLS? | On IDX and the portals? | Public property website? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular listing | Yes | Yes | Yes, from the day it's filed |
| MLS Coming Soon status | Yes, if your MLS has one | Set by your MLS | Set by your MLS's Coming Soon rules |
| Delayed marketing exempt listing | Yes, visible to other MLS agents | Not during the delay period | Yes, during the delay (NAR FAQ 16) |
| Office exclusive | Filed only if local rules require; not shared | No | No: it can't be publicly marketed |
| Not filed anywhere | No | No | Starts the one-business-day clock |
From NAR's Clear Cooperation policy page and its Multiple Listing Options for Sellers FAQ (March 25, 2025), checked October 16, 2026. NAR doesn't set Coming Soon rules; each MLS does.
NAR's Multiple Listing Options for Sellers policy took effect March 25, 2025, and every REALTOR-owned MLS had to put it in place by September 30, 2025. It adds the delayed marketing exempt listing, and the FAQ is specific about how it works:
So during the delay, the portals and IDX sites are dark, and the listing's public presence is whatever the listing side builds: the sign, the brokerage site, social posts, and the property's own website. That's the window where a single property website does the most work, because for a week or two it may be the only full page about the home a buyer can find. Ask your MLS how long its delay period is, since NAR left that to each one.
On March 20, 2026, NAR put out a statement on pre-marketing: its MLS policies let each MLS set local rules, including on pre-marketing, and agents agree to follow their MLS's rules. NAR's article with it says Clear Cooperation doesn't prohibit pre-marketing such as coming-soon listings or office exclusives. The one-business-day rule for public marketing didn't change.
Zillow moved too. Its Listing Access Standards, announced in April 2025, kept a home off Zillow if it was publicly marketed and not on the MLS within one business day. According to RealEstateNews (March 2026), the updated standards dropped that timeline: a listing has to be broadly accessible to the public, and a public-facing website can count instead of the MLS. Zillow said the change doesn't alter agents' obligations to their MLS, so Clear Cooperation still applies. Check Zillow's current standards before you rely on them.
If the public can reach it, it almost certainly does. NAR's definition of public marketing includes digital marketing on public facing websites, along with yard signs, window flyers and email blasts. A live property website for a home that isn't in the MLS starts the one-business-day clock, unless the listing is filed as a delayed marketing exempt listing.
Not publicly for more than one business day, if you belong to a REALTOR association-owned MLS. NAR says Clear Cooperation doesn't ban coming-soon or office exclusive listings and leaves pre-marketing rules to each MLS, but public marketing still means filing with the MLS within one business day. Check your MLS's Coming Soon status rules.
An option NAR added in March 2025, which MLSs had to implement by September 30, 2025. With the seller's signed consent, the listing is filed in the MLS and other agents can see it, but it stays off IDX and syndication for a period the local MLS sets. During that period NAR says the seller and listing agent can market it as the seller wants, including on websites other than the brokerage's.
Not a public one. NAR defines an office exclusive as a listing the seller has directed not to be disseminated through the MLS and not publicly marketed. Once it's advertised to the public, it has to go into the MLS within one business day.
No. The yard sign is already public marketing on NAR's list. A QR code just takes the buyer to the website faster. If you're adding one, our free QR code for a real estate sign makes a print-ready code from the listing link.
A dedicated website for one listing, with an AI sales agent answering buyers day and night, from the day the listing can be marketed.
Start free Find a domain for the listing →Related: What to put on a single property website · QR code for a sign · MLS photo limits · Guides