Zillow’s Listing Access Standards: What Agents Need to Know

This article was updated on March 17, 2026 when Zillow updated our Listing Access Standards. For more details about why we updated the standards, see here with details that clarify Zillow’s updated Listing Access Standards.

At Zillow, we believe everyone deserves fair access to real estate information. That’s why we introduced our listing access standards in April 2025, designed to protect transparency and foster a competitive market for buyers, sellers and agents–and we want to share how you can keep all your listings in front of the largest online audience of buyers.

Zillow's Listing Access Standards

Our updated standards are simplified while continuing to support transparency for consumers. Hiding inventory for the benefit of a single brokerage is a terrible experience for buyers, sellers, agents and the broad market. Our updated standards seek to limit this anti-consumer behavior on our platform. 

In short, the updated Listing Access Standards say:

• If listings are publicly marketed, they should be broadly accessible to buyers.
• Sellers can still choose truly private listings if they do not want public marketing at all during the active listing. 
• Listings that are part of a broker program or marketing strategy that publicly markets to buyers the existence of a broker’s exclusive or off-market inventory of listings, or restricts public access to those listings by gating them behind a registration wall or by requiring consumers to work with a specific brokerage, do not align with the standards.

These standards are designed to give agents flexibility while supporting a more transparent marketplace.

• For agents: These standards allow agents to best serve their clients, where everyone has open access to listings. A transparent market supports you in providing the best possible service: Your sellers expect broad exposure for their listing and the best way to deliver that for them is by widely marketing the listing. Your buyers expect to see all available listings. 
• For sellers: By ensuring listings are widely marketed, sellers benefit from broad  exposure, which research shows typically leads to higher sale prices and a quicker sale. This has a greater impact on communities of color:  Home sellers in communities of color lose $6,000 more on average when selling off the MLS. Aligning with Zillow’s standards helps sellers trust that their property is being marketed fairly and reaches the broadest possible audience.
• For buyers: Buyers gain confidence knowing they have access to all available listings, reducing frustration and increasing trust in the marketplace. This transparency helps buyers make more informed decisions and feel more secure in their homebuying journey. Additionally, limiting who can - and can’t - see a listing presents fair housing risks.

What's allowed under the Listing Access Standards

Listings meeting all of the following conditions are compliant with the standards:

• Shared only in 1:1 communication between agents within the listing brokerage and their individual clients.
• The seller signed a waiver/opt‑out form that:
  • Specifically instructs the listing agent not to publicly market the listing on websites or platforms accessible to the general public, and
  • Clearly explains the potential drawbacks of withholding the listing from the general public.
• Have never been in a brokerage’s private listing network (or private/off‑market inventory) that is actively marketed to consumers, including on any public‑facing website.
• Access to the listing is not and has never been gated behind a login or registration wall or depending upon the consumer agreeing to work with a particular brokerage.

What's not allowed under the Listing Access Standards

If a listing is marketed to the public behind a login or registration wall, or in a way that only people working with the listing brokerage can see it, it’s not considered broadly available to the public and it won’t be eligible to appear on Zillow or Trulia for the life of the listing agreement between that listing broker and seller.

More about Zillow's Listing Access Standards

• Zillow Listing Access Standards publication: Full Listing Access Standards are linked within Zillow’s Terms of Use.
• Broad reach across local markets:  Zillow’s Listing Access Standards apply to as many local markets as possible across the U.S. 
• Listing violation notifications: Each non-compliant listing is logged as a single violation and the listing agent will be notified directly on each violation.
• Blocking of violating listings: An agent’s third non-compliant listing – and any subsequent non-compliant listings – will be blocked from Zillow and Trulia for the life of the listing agreement or any subsequent listing agreement between that broker and seller. Listings that meet the standards will remain visible and will be on Zillow and Trulia, regardless of an agent’s past violations.
  
  If you have a concern about a listing you believe doesn't align with our standards, let us know here.

FAQs

How are the standards being implemented?

Our goal is for all agents to follow the Zillow Listing Access Standards so each of their listings can be shown on Zillow and Trulia. If an agent’s listing violates the standards, we will block on a listing level, but track compliance at the agent level. Here’s what that means – If an agent posts two listings that do not comply with our listing access standards, the third non-compliant listing—and any subsequent non-compliant listings—will be blocked from appearing on Zillow and Trulia for the life of the listing agreement between that specific listing broker and seller. Listings that do comply with the standards will be on Zillow and Trulia, regardless of an agent’s past violations.

Can a blocked listing ever be published to Zillow? 

Listings that don’t meet these standards won’t be published on Zillow or Trulia for the life of the listing agreement between that listing broker and seller. The address itself isn’t blocked, only the active listing for the duration of the listing agreement between that listing brokerage and seller. 

Will you remove a listing that is already on Zillow that you find violated the standards?

No, listings that are currently active will not be taken down from Zillow or Trulia.   

How many warnings will agents get? 

• Agents receive two notifications before their listing is blocked. Each notification corresponds to a non-compliant listing. The third notification results in the non-compliant listing being blocked.
• Any subsequent non-compliant listings – will be blocked from Zillow and Trulia for the life of the listing agreement or any subsequent listing agreement between that broker and seller without a notification.

How are you notifying agents? 

Zillow announced the Listing Access Standards in April, and has communicated directly with agents through emails, blog posts, and other materials. For listings that do not qualify for publication on Zillow, agents receive individual notifications via email.

Do the standards impact New Construction listings? 

No. Builder inventory is not impacted under these standards unless the property is listed with an agent under an exclusive listing agreement..

Do the standards impact for sale by owner listings?

No. For sale by owner listings are still able to be entered directly onto our sites. These standards apply to listings that are subject to a for-sale  listing agreement between a broker and a seller.

Do the standards impact rental listings on Zillow and Trulia?

No. Rentals inventory is not impacted under these standards.