How to List on MARIS MLS: A St. Louis Seller’s Guide to the Rules
Learn how to list on MARIS MLS in St. Louis: who can file, the April 2026 same-day marketing rule, photo and price-change deadlines, and flat-fee options.
Contents
MARIS (Mid America Regional Information Systems, Inc.) is the multiple listing service that St. Louis-area agents use to share listings with each other. You can’t log in and enter your own home, because MARIS only accepts listings filed by a brokerage Participant. To get your home on MARIS, you sign a listing agreement with a broker, either full-service or flat-fee and limited-service, and that broker files the listing for you.
What MARIS is and who can use it
MARIS is based in St. Louis and is wholly owned by 14 Realtor boards and associations: St. Louis REALTORS, St. Charles REALTORS, Southern Gateway, Franklin County, East Central, South Central, Pulaski County, Lebanon, Mineral Area, Southwestern Illinois, Southeast Missouri, Mark Twain, Three Rivers and Bootheel Regional. The Southwestern Illinois board is a shareholder, so the service area covers parts of Illinois as well as Missouri. You can find member resources and news on the official MARIS website.
A written rulebook governs the MLS: the MARIS Rules and Regulations for Participants and Subscribers, last revised August 23, 2024. Under those rules, any listing filed with MARIS is “subject to a real estate broker’s license.” A Participant is the principal, partner or officer of a real estate brokerage firm. A broker’s license alone doesn’t qualify someone, and a homeowner isn’t a Participant. That’s why a seller can’t file directly.
Listing agreements MARIS accepts
MARIS accepts two kinds of listing agreements:
- Exclusive right to sell
- Exclusive agency, where you keep a general right to sell the property yourself. MARIS requires these listings to be coded distinctly.
MARIS doesn’t accept net listings or open listings. Every agreement has to include your written authorization to submit the listing to MARIS.
For a broader look at how sellers get MLS exposure without a traditional agent, see our guide on how to list your home on MLS without an agent.
MARIS listing rules that affect sellers
Your broker handles the data entry, but several rules shape your timeline, your photos and your price changes. Here are the eight that matter most to a seller.
| Rule | What it means for you | MARIS rule or source |
|---|---|---|
| Entry timing, no public marketing | Listing entered within five business days after the listing agreement is fully signed | Rules PDF, Interpretive Policies: Submission & Status Change Timeframe |
| Entry timing, publicly marketed | In MARIS the same calendar day the home is marketed (social media, websites, email blasts and similar) | MARIS Clear Cooperation news post, April 20, 2026 |
| Yard sign | In MARIS by the end of the calendar day after the sign goes in | MARIS Clear Cooperation news post, April 20, 2026 |
| Photos | At least one current front exterior photo or rendering within three business days of entry | Interpretive Policies: Photo/Video Standards |
| Price and other changes | Need your written authorization and must be filed within three business days | Rules §1.4 |
| Limited service | Listing carries an “LS” code so cooperating brokers know what the listing broker does and doesn’t provide | Rules §1.2.2 |
| Compensation fields | No field, photo, attachment or supplement may include an offer of compensation to cooperating brokers | Rules §1.2.1 |
| Termination date | Listing needs a definite termination date and drops off automatically at expiration unless extended | Rules §1.10, §1.11 |
Other rules to know
- Status changes. Moves to Active Under Contract, Pending and Closed have to be reported within three business days after signatures.
- Published price. MARIS publishes the full gross listing price, except for auctions.
- Photo standards. Photos must accurately show the property. An altered photo has to appear alongside the original. Photos can’t include people, pets, added text or promotional messages, and they can’t be copied from other listings. You can ask that your photos not be displayed.
- Commissions. Listing brokers have to disclose in conspicuous language that broker commissions are not set by law and are fully negotiable. Any payment offered to a buyer’s broker requires your written authority, with the amount or rate set in advance. MARIS doesn’t fix, control, recommend or suggest commission rates or splits.
- Withdrawing a listing. You can’t make MARIS withdraw a listing on your own without the listing broker’s agreement, unless you document that the exclusive relationship has ended.
The same-day marketing rule, explained for sellers
This is the rule most likely to catch a seller off guard. The 2024 Rules PDF gave brokers one business day to enter a listing after public marketing began. MARIS replaced that with a stricter standard at 9am CST on April 22, 2026. The MARIS announcement on the same-calendar-day Clear Cooperation change describes it.
What counts as public marketing
MARIS lists social media, websites and email blasts as examples. Its FAQ is direct on one point sellers often miss: if you post the home on your own social media, it has to be in MARIS that same calendar day. A neighborhood Facebook group post, a public Instagram story or a listing on a personal website all count.
Yard signs get a little more time. The home has to be in MARIS by the end of the calendar day after the sign goes in.
During the rollout, first-time violations received a notice instead of a fine through June 1, 2026. That date has passed.
A practical tip
Don’t post, email or put up a sign until your broker confirms the listing is active in MARIS. Once it’s live, share it as widely as you like. If you want to test interest privately first, talk with your broker before you tell anyone outside your household.
If you don’t want MLS exposure at all, the rules allow an “Office Exclusive” filing. The broker submits a form within one business day of the contract, and other Participants don’t see the listing. Most sellers want the opposite, since buyer agents across the region search MARIS.
How to list on MARIS step by step
Here is the order a St. Louis-area seller typically follows with a flat-fee or limited-service broker.
- Confirm your address. Check that the property is in a county the MARIS broker serves. If you use HomeRise, the address also has to be in Missouri.
- Pick your agreement type. Exclusive agency keeps your right to sell the home yourself. Exclusive right to sell is the other option. Ask how the broker codes each one.
- Sign the listing agreement. It should include your written authorization to submit the listing to MARIS, a definite termination date and the required statement that commissions are negotiable.
- Decide on buyer-agent compensation. You choose whether to offer a buyer’s broker anything and how much. Put it in writing with the broker. It won’t appear in any MARIS field.
- Gather photos and details. Include at least one current front exterior photo. Leave out people, pets and added text, and don’t use photos from an old listing.
- Hold your marketing. Wait to post, email or install a sign until the listing is live. If you’re not marketing yet, the broker has five business days after signing to enter it.
- Review the live listing. Check the price, details and photos. A limited-service listing will show the “LS” code.
- Put changes in writing. Price cuts and other changes need your written authorization, and the broker files them within three business days.
- Report status changes. Tell your broker promptly when you sign a contract, so the move to Active Under Contract, Pending and Closed happens within three business days.
What “limited service” means
Under MARIS definitions, a listing is limited-service when the broker doesn’t do one or more of these: arrange appointments, accept and present offers, advise on offers, help with counteroffers, or negotiate on the seller’s behalf. Many flat-fee listings fall into this category. The LS code tells cooperating agents up front which of those services the listing broker provides, so they know before they show the home whether they may be dealing with you directly on some steps.
If you’re comparing how different MLSs handle these steps, our guide to listing on GSMLS walks through another system’s rules.
What HomeRise covers in Missouri
HomeRise works with three Missouri MLS boards: Heartland MLS in Kansas City, MARIS in St. Louis, and the Springfield Association of Realtors MLS. Coverage is confirmed at listing by county and location, so a city guide doesn’t guarantee coverage for every address. The Missouri flat fee MLS hub has the statewide details.
MARIS reaches parts of Illinois, but HomeRise’s flat-fee service here is for Missouri addresses only. On the Missouri side, HomeRise has local guides for St. Louis flat fee MLS listings and St. Charles, plus O’Fallon and Florissant.
As MARIS rules require, a Participant broker files the listing. HomeRise Essentials is a flat fee MLS listing in 15 states plus Washington, DC. Essentials is a flat fee, never a percentage: $95 to list, plus $495 at closing only if you sell.
Most Missouri sellers go live within 24 to 72 hours of submitting listing details and completing the compliance call. If you cancel before the listing goes live, you get a full refund. If you’re ready, you can start a Missouri listing whenever you have your details and photos together.
Frequently asked questions
Can I list my own home on MARIS without an agent?
You can’t file it yourself. MARIS accepts listings only from brokerage Participants, and a homeowner doesn’t qualify. You can hire a flat-fee or limited-service broker to file it while you handle much of the work. An exclusive agency agreement also keeps your right to sell the home yourself.
What is the MARIS Clear Cooperation same-day rule?
Since April 22, 2026, a home that is publicly marketed has to be entered in MARIS the same calendar day the marketing starts. Marketing includes social media, websites and email blasts. A yard sign gives you until the end of the next calendar day.
Can I post my house on Facebook before it’s on MARIS?
You can, but the listing then has to be in MARIS that same calendar day, according to MARIS’s FAQ. The simpler path is to wait until your broker confirms the listing is live, then post.
Will my MARIS listing show what I’m offering a buyer’s agent?
No. MARIS rules bar any offer of compensation to cooperating brokers in listing fields, photos, attachments or supplements. You decide whether to offer anything and how much, and that decision is set in writing with your broker.
How fast do price changes show up?
A price change needs your written authorization, and the broker has three business days to file it. Send the signed change promptly so the new price appears as soon as possible. For more on how flat-fee listings handle changes, see our flat fee MLS FAQ.
Can I cancel my MARIS listing whenever I want?
MARIS won’t withdraw a listing at your request alone. It needs the listing broker’s agreement, or documentation that your exclusive relationship has ended. Every listing also has a termination date and drops off automatically at expiration unless extended.
This article is general education, not legal advice. MARIS rules can change, so confirm current rules with your listing broker before you sign or start marketing.
