Contracts, agents and the MLS

Multiple listing service

Also called MLS, The MLS

Definition

A private database where member brokerages share listings so agents can find homes for their buyers. Each MLS covers a local or regional market and sets its own rules and statuses, and most home search websites show its listings.

When a home is listed, the listing agent enters it in the MLS with its price, photos, details and status, so every member agent can show it to buyers. The listings you see on most home search websites come from MLS data, shared through programs like IDX.

Who runs the MLS?

There isn’t one national MLS. There are hundreds of local and regional ones, many owned by Realtor associations and others by brokers or independent companies. Brokers and agents pay to join, agree to follow the MLS’s rules and get access to its data.

Each MLS writes its own rules, within NAR policy for MLSs tied to Realtor associations. That’s why listing statuses, photo rules and fees differ from one market to the next.

What information is in the MLS?

Far more than a public listing page shows. Members see showing instructions, agent remarks, history like price changes and days on market, and the sold price after closing. Sold data is what agents use to pull comparables for pricing.

Every listing carries a status, like coming soon, active, pending or closed. RESO, the standards group for real estate data, publishes shared status definitions, but each MLS chooses its own labels and rules.

What rules does the MLS set for listings?

Two are worth knowing. Under NAR’s Clear Cooperation Policy, adopted in 2019, a listing broker must submit a home to the MLS within one business day of marketing it to the public. Since 2025, NAR policy also lets sellers choose delayed marketing, where the home is in the MLS for agents but kept off public websites for a period the local MLS allows, or an office exclusive that isn’t shared with other members at all.

And since August 17, 2024, the MLS can’t carry offers of compensation to buyer brokers. That change came from the NAR settlement.

Can you search the MLS yourself?

Not the full system, which is limited to members. But you can see most active listings on agent and brokerage websites that display MLS data through IDX, and on large search sites that receive listings from MLSs and brokers.

If a listing looks out of date on a big search site, an agent’s site fed from the MLS can be more current. For anything that matters, like a status or a price, confirm with the listing agent.

Common mistakes

  • Thinking there’s one national MLS. There are hundreds, each with its own rules.
  • Treating a search site’s status as final. Statuses can lag, so confirm with the listing agent.
  • Assuming every home for sale is in the MLS. Office exclusives and for sale by owner homes may not be.
  • Expecting to see buyer-agent pay on the MLS. Since August 2024, it isn’t allowed there.

Questions

Who can access the MLS?

Licensed brokers and agents who join and pay for it, plus others the MLS allows, such as some appraisers. The public sees MLS listings through agent websites and search sites.

Are home search websites the same as the MLS?

No. They display listings that come from MLSs and brokers, but the MLS itself is a private database for members, with more detail and rules about how its data can be shown.

How fast does a new listing reach the MLS?

Under the Clear Cooperation Policy, within one business day of public marketing, unless the seller chose an exempt option the local MLS allows. Rules vary, so ask your listing agent.

Sources

  1. NAR: MLS policy
  2. NAR: MLS Clear Cooperation Policy
  3. NAR: Multiple Listing Options for Sellers
  4. NAR: Settlement FAQs
  5. RESO Data Dictionary: StandardStatus field

Written and checked by the Broker & Agent team on October 2, 2026. General information, not legal, tax or lending advice. Something out of date? Tell us.

Related terms

The whole glossary
IDXInternet Data Exchange: the MLS program that lets member brokers and their agents show other brokerages’ active listings on their own websites and apps, under display rules set by each MLS.Full guide Clear Cooperation PolicyAn NAR policy, adopted in 2019, that requires a listing broker to put a home in the MLS within one business day of marketing it to the public, such as with a yard sign, website or email blast.In the glossary Pocket listingA home for sale that a listing agent markets privately instead of putting it in the MLS, so only selected agents and buyers hear about it. MLS rules limit when this is allowed, and it can shrink the pool of buyers.Full guide IDX feedThe data connection an MLS licenses to a broker or an approved website vendor, delivering active listings, photos and updates so an IDX website can show the market and keep it current.In the glossary Broker reciprocityAn older name, still used by some MLSs, for IDX: brokers in an MLS agree to let one another show their listings on their own websites, each listing credited to the brokerage that holds it.In the glossary PendingA listing status that means the seller has accepted an offer and the home is no longer on the market while the sale moves toward closing. Each MLS defines pending a little differently, and some pending sales still fall through.Full guide

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