RESO FAQ

Yes, but not every year when you renew your annual RESO membership. Active certifications expire when the awarded certification is older than the two most recent versions of a specific standard. Certification on the most recent standard is classified as “Certified Current,” and certification on the previous most recent standard is classified as “Certified Legacy.” | LEARN MORE

RESO keeps a current list of MLSs that are either not certified or have not applied for certification. | VIEW LIST

A signed TMA allows members to display RESO logos on their website to show their commitment to standards and, in cases of certification, demonstrate to technology developers and brokerages that they can be relied upon to be interoperable with other tools. | GET TMA

The RESO certification program provides the real estate industry’s seal of data excellence. Consumers want a technology experience where apps, servers, and other systems work together seamlessly and reliably. Certification ensures that MLSs have implemented RESO data standards and that brokers and technology partners are using the standards correctly. RESO certifies MLSs for RESO Data Dictionary compliance and certifies MLSs, brokers, and technology partners for RESO Web API compliance. | LEARN MORE

Certification is free as a RESO member benefit. Fees apply for nonmembers. | CERTIFICATION FEE SCHEDULE

Certification times vary based on the availability of access credentials and the amount of troubleshooting that is necessary. Please note that your organization is considered to be in compliance with NAR policy if you have an active application.

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Organizations seeking certification can APPLY ONLINE. RESO reviews the application for current membership status and for a signed Declaration. If you do not have a signed Declaration, one will be sent to you via DocuSign. Certification is free to RESO members. If you are not a member and would rather pay for certification, your payment will need to be processed prior to the review process. RESO uses data access credentials supplied by the applicant and/or applicant’s technology vendor to run appropriate system tests. Certificates are suppled by RESO to those who pass the tests. Systems that do not initially pass testing are guided through troubleshooting by RESO staff before retesting.

A signed Declaration sent to support@reso.org is required by MLS organizations prior to certification to assure that certified companies continue to follow RESO standards after being certified. Its purpose is to protect the integrity of RESO certification by ensuring that companies that advertise RESO compliance remain compliant. | GET DECLARATION

While RESO certification is not mandatory, compliance to RESO standards is mandated for MLS systems that are owned and operated by REALTOR® associations. Becoming certified demonstrates that you are in compliance and that your system in interoperable with other tools. For other organizations, certification is voluntary but sends a strong signal that your company wants to be at the forefront of the industry’s best technology practices. The goal of certification is to bring the technology experience to real estate that consumers and professionals expect. | LEARN MORE

No. Although a vendor may manage several MLSs, each MLS system is unique and must have its data setup and transport methodology certified. RESO uses MLS access credentials supplied by MLS vendors to verify standards conformance. When an MLS system passes testing, the vendor will reach out to a designated MLS staff representative to ask for results confirmation and an acceptance of certification terms. Once that is completed, certification from RESO is granted. | READ MORE

Access to data from a Web API service comes from the MLS organization that owns the data. After agreeing to an MLS’s data use and licensing policies, data recipients work directly with that MLS’s software provider or technical staff to receive credentials and instructions on how to access that MLS’s data.

There is no RESO-supported WordPress plug-in for Web API. Contact your developer.

RESO does not provide MLS real estate data. RESO creates the standard for the data, and other organizations build technology based upon it. Brokers and technology companies should go directly to MLSs to request data via the Web API. MLSs owned and operated by REALTOR® associations are required by the National Association of REALTORS® to have production-level access available to their data via Web API.

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The RESO Web API specification provides an open standard for web-based API (Application Programming Interface) access to real estate data using the common REpresentational State Transfer (RESTful) approach. RESO’s move toward a RESTful standard is meant to facilitate and encourage access to real estate information directly from web, mobile, social and other web-based applications.

OData (Open Data Protocol) is essentially a system of rules for interacting with data via RESTful web services. It supports the description of data models and the editing and querying of data according to those models. The RESO Web API uses OData as its underlying protocol which serves as a set of fundamental building blocks.

Compatible RESO OData Transport client and server applications MUST be implemented according to the OData V4 standard specification.

RETS is an older standard that is proprietary to the real estate industry. It has been deprecated (no longer supported) because the industry is moving to a more well-known technology standard. RETS created great value for 20 years, and it is still in use, but the conversion to Web API is underway.

The ULI, which is still in development, will provide all real estate licensees a unique ID number, whether or not they are affiliated with the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR). While NAR’s NRDS ID number is a critical cornerstone of identifiable information, it does not account for non-member licensees. The ULI can bridge that gap within the U.S. as well as internationally. READ MORE

The Universal Property Identifier (UPI) is a global model for identifying property derived from the authoritative government organizations’ methods. The UPI helps avoid the duplication of referenced properties. | MORE INFORMATION

The UOI API provides the ability of any organization to query the API to receive basic real estate organization information, including the UOI number itself.

The UOI (formerly OUID) provides organizations within the real estate industry a unique ID number. The UOI list includes a comprehensive list of REALTOR® associations, MLSs, real estate technology companies, and other affiliated businesses and data providers. Having such a list at hand is useful for keeping track of unique business entities and their affiliations without including duplicate records. Companies are regularly edited and added to the list. | MORE INFORMATION

RESO has either implemented or embarked upon three equally important projects meant to give a unique or universal identifying code for every piece of property, every real estate organization, and every licensed real estate agent. These identifiers are called the Universal Property Identifier (UPI), Unique Organization Identifier (UOI), and Unique Licensee Identifier (ULI). | MORE INFORMATION

Data can be delivered between any technologies companies using RESO Common Format. Some organizations may want to use the RESO Web API for data transport, but it is not a requirement to be able to use the Data Dictionary.

The RESO Data Dictionary is the real estate industry’s universal language for data. It allows a wide range of systems to talk to each other in a seamless manner. Not every aspect of the Data Dictionary needs to be supported, but if a given field exists in your data, then it should support what is defined in the Data Dictionary. | LEARN MORE

Metadata is “data about data.” It is descriptive information about a particular data set, including how it is formatted and when it was collected.

RESO standards are available to all. MLS, brokerage, and technology companies each benefit uniquely from standards, which in turn benefits consumers by way of systems that are easier to use and interoperable.

Technology standards remove ambiguity and incompatibility across different computer systems, resulting in more consistent and higher quality data. In addition to reducing time spent on bug fixes and data corrections, standards help new businesses bring new innovation and competition to the industry.

RESO currently publishes standards documents for the RESO Web API, Data Dictionary, and Universal Property Identifier (UPI).

This website offers a great deal of information about RESO standards, workgroups, product updates and more, and RESO’s collaborative Confluence workspace for members provides many development-related details from workgroup meetings and discussion groups, but the RESO GitHub is the best one-stop shop for specifications for development. | GO TO RESO’S GITHUB

You can contact dev@reso.org.

RESO does not provide MLS real estate data. RESO creates the standard for the data, and other organizations build technology based upon it. Brokers and technology companies should go directly to MLSs to request data via the Web API. MLSs owned and operated by REALTOR® associations are required by the National Association of REALTORS® to have production-level access available to their data via Web API.

Contact the MLS or other organization which owns the data. They can provide access to a Web API service and credentials to access their data set. RESO does not supply MLS data.

Any member can join a workgroup. If you are not currently a member, you can contact support@reso.org or join online. | JOIN RESO | JOIN A WORKGROUP

Workgroups create and update RESO standards. RESO members volunteer their time as subject matter experts to drive the next generation of data standards. From Internet tracking to unique ID systems to international, commercial and rental, RESO’s workgroup members are the driving force for the organization. Workgroups are formed by the Board of Directors, Chief Executive Officer or by suggestions from other RESO members. Workgroups are led by chairpersons that report to a Board of Director’s Workgroup Liaison Committee on a monthly basis in order to summarize all workgroup activities to the Board of Directors. Committees are special workgroups created by and report directly to the Board of Directors for special or specific tasks. | MEET THE WORKGROUPS

The MLS is a tool to help listing brokers find cooperative brokers working with buyers to help sell their clients’ homes. Having a collaborative and cooperative system helps to consolidate property information for a more organized marketplace. | VIEW FULL DEFINITION FROM NAR

The Real Estate Standards Organization (RESO) develops standards that create efficiency in real estate data and technology. RESO is an independent, not-for-profit trade organization serving a membership that covers more than 100 countries, 500 multiple listing services, 1,000 technology companies, 1,200 REALTOR® associations, 35,000 brokerage offices and 1 million licensed real estate agents.

RESO membership offers an opportunity to actively change the way the real estate industry interfaces with technology. Our members are the first to participate in future technology and business trends through monthly workgroup meetings, active discussions within a member-only workspace and two annual can’t-miss conferences. | VIEW MORE BENEFITS