According to Inman, the number of MLSs that provide access to non Realtors is growing. In NAR’s situation, its
Executive committee voted
to repeal the
MLS policy 7.7
during the recent NXT annual conference. The change seemed to target the common practice of having real estate professionals join state, local and national Realtor associations in order to gain access to the MLS and conduct everyday business.But Inman’s analysis shows that hundreds of thousands of real estate agents can already join their MLS without becoming a Realtor, and more are gaining that access.“Starting Jan. 1, you will no longer have to be a member of the Association of Realtors” to access SmartMLS in Connecticut, Michael Barbaro, the MLS’s president, told Inman.“Up until our vote on Sept. 30, SmartMLS had a requirement that in order to be a member, you had to be a Realtor member in good standing,” Barbaro said.The change followed feedback from brokerages who were unhappy about the commission litigation and ensuing settlements, Barbaro said.
NAR’s Board of Directors at NAR NXT in Houston, November 2025
“I also heard from small brokers who were just disgusted at the way they handled the case and said, ‘We don’t want to be members anymore,'” he said. Barbaro said that the change was made after feedback from brokerages who were unhappy with how they handled the commission litigation and settlements. Barbaro said that the membership vote was overwhelmingly positive. “We don’t anticipate a mass exodus.”
SmartMLS is one of the nation’s largest multiple listing services to move forward with providing access to agents who aren’t NAR members. Doorify MLS serves North Carolina. Doorify MLS serves North Carolina.
CanopyMLS, in the Carolinas, has been an “open MLS” since January, though the group didn’t elaborate on the change.
Those MLSs and others also join the nation’s top five largest MLSs that have already provided non-Realtor access to the MLS.
The California Regional Multiple Listing Service (CRMLS), the nation’s second-largest by subscriber count, has offered access to non-Realtors for decades. “In California, due to a lawsuit from the 1980s, Realtors orgs haven’t tied MLS membership with Realtor membership. So no changes needed at CRMLS,” said CEO Art Carter to Inman. We only allow MLS. Realtors and non-Realtors both get access to the same MLS.”
Many MLSs which allow some non-Realtor access, charge a fee higher for them. Bright MLS, for example, charges non-Realtors $174 per quarterly and Realtors $120. )
Non-Realtors also might not get access to forms that are vetted and used in everyday transactions.
The Arizona Multiple Listing Service is owned by Realtor associations but is governed independently, according to ARMLS CEO Matthew Consalvo. Consalvo stated that as long as you’re licensed through the Arizona Department of Real Estate you can be a subscriber. “If you’re not, we do not have a membership category for you.”
Non-Realtor access is called MLS-Only (MLSO), and while Consalvo wouldn’t discuss how many of ARMLS’s roughly 40,000 subscribers were non-Realtors, he said the group was “not materially significant.”
“Are there more today than a year ago? “Yes,” Consalvo said. “But out of 40,000 subscribers, it’s not a significant number.”
While many agents and brokers have MLS access, many don’t. Consalvo believes it’s time to make a change. Consalvo stated that many MLSs have not been opened to non-Realtor owners. “My response is maybe it’s time.”
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Update: Inman updated the attribution of HAR’s statement after publication of this article.