The MLS credentials belong to the MLS member: the agent, the broker, or the brokerage. MLSImport is not a data vendor, cannot apply on your behalf, and cannot hold credentials for you.
Which member applies depends on your MLS. Some boards accept applications from agents, some accept them only from the designated broker, and most require the broker to sign either way.
Who applies
Already paying MLS dues? That’s a separate thing from a website feed. Here’s why MLS access alone doesn’t put listings on your site.
- Agent or member. Many boards let a member request their own feed for their own website, sometimes as a courtesy feed included in membership.
- Designated broker or brokerage. Some boards accept feed requests only at brokerage level, and route brokers to a different platform than members.
- Broker as signing party. Even where the agent applies, the broker is usually required to sign or enable access before the request moves.
Ask your MLS which route applies to your role before starting anything. An agent working through a broker only route waits for an approval that will never arrive.
Building a site in Canada? On REALTOR.ca DDF, only a brokerage owner can turn on the brokerage’s settings. See who has to say yes for a Canadian agent’s own website.
The most common reason an application sits in a pending state is that the broker has not logged in and completed their part. If yours has stalled with no explanation, check that step before contacting the MLS again.
Is an IDX plugin approved by my MLS, or do I check the approved vendor list?
No. Your MLS doesn’t approve a plugin. It approves a feed. The feed goes to a member (you or your broker) for one website. Some boards also keep an approved vendor list. That list matters when a vendor holds the feed for you. With MLS Import, the feed is in your name, so you hold it.
Think of it as two doors into the same data:
| Member route | Vendor route | |
|---|---|---|
| Who applies | You or your broker | The vendor, often with your broker’s signature |
| Whose name is on the feed | Yours or your brokerage’s | Often the vendor’s |
| Does the approved vendor list matter? | Usually not, the credentials are yours | Yes, the vendor must be listed or must apply |
| Fees | Set by your board for members | Most boards charge vendors their own fees |
MLS Import works on the member route. It can’t register as your vendor, sign for you, or apply for you. Your board gives you the API token, and you paste it into the plugin.
Boards really do keep vendor lists. NTREIS, for example, links a list of authorized IDX vendors and says a vendor not on it has to apply first. That rule is about vendors who receive data. Ask your board how it treats a member using their own plugin on their own site.
How to check before you buy anything
- Email your MLS and ask: “Is there a member route for my own website, or must I use an approved IDX vendor?” Also ask which platform sends the feed, which login values you will get, what it costs, and whether your broker needs to log in and approve it.
- If there is a member route, apply as a member. Use your real domain. Get your broker to sign.
- If the form asks who your vendor is, answer the way the form asks. Ask the board which option fits a member using their own plugin.
- Not sure which route your board uses? Send us your MLS name and your role before you buy.
When a plugin says it’s “MLS approved”, ask: approved by which MLS? Approval happens one board at a time. Your board’s written answer is the only one that counts for your site.
Is MLS Import on my MLS’s approved vendor list?
It doesn’t need to be on the member route. MLS Import doesn’t sign up with boards as a data vendor. Your board approves you, you hold the credentials, and the plugin uses them. If your board only allows listed vendors, tell us your MLS name and we’ll tell you which route your board uses.
Does “MLS approved” on a vendor’s site mean my MLS approved it?
No. It means some boards approved that vendor. Yours may not be one of them. Check your own board’s IDX or data access page, or call its support desk.
What MLSImport is and is not
Vendors manage, process, or redistribute MLS data. MLSImport does not do any of that. It connects your WordPress site to the feed your MLS has already approved for you.
That distinction matters on application forms. We cannot call your MLS, fill in or sign its forms, register as your vendor, sign agreements for you, apply on your behalf, access your MLS account to find credentials, or ask the MLS to approve anything for you. Every one of those is the member’s to do.
What we can do is confirm your credentials connect before you pay, tell you which server your MLS runs and which values to request, and set the plugin up once access is approved.
Why we work this way: the feed stays tied to your brokerage. If you ever leave us, your MLS approval doesn’t leave with the vendor. The trade-off is plain. Your broker spends a little time on the forms.
Building a site for a client
Web developers and agencies are a large part of who uses MLSImport, and the rule does not change. The credentials belong to your client, the MLS member.
- Your client applies, through their board, naming the domain the site will run on.
- Use the real domain in the application, not a staging URL. Approvals are recorded against the site that displays the data.
- The client shares the credentials with you to enter into the plugin, or enters them themselves.
- Applying as a third party vendor is a different route with its own fees on most boards. If your client qualifies as a member, the member route is usually cheaper and faster.
Ask your client to forward the approval email itself, not a summary of it. It names the feed type, the platform, and the domain approved, which are the three things that decide whether a connection will work.
Frequently asked questions
The MLS form asks who our IDX vendor is. What do we put?
Follow your MLS’s form. Many boards have a member or broker route for your own website with no third party vendor. On that route, your brokerage is the one applying. If the form makes you name a vendor or software, send us a screenshot through a support ticket before you submit. We will tell you what your board usually expects.
Can you email my broker to approve my access?
No. We do not send approval requests to brokers and cannot apply on your behalf. The request has to come from you or your broker directly to the MLS or the API platform.
Do I need a real estate licence to use MLSImport?
You need MLS approved access, which in most markets means being a member or working under one. A developer without a licence can build the site, but the feed is approved to the member whose listings are being displayed.
My application has been pending for weeks. Can you check it?
We cannot see your application. Contact your MLS and ask for the current status, whether any broker or domain details are missing, and when credentials will be issued. If your trial is running out while you wait, tell us and we will extend it or help you pause.
Can two agents share one set of credentials?
Not usefully. Credentials are issued to a member for an approved domain, and MLSImport connects one MLS per WordPress install. Two agents with two websites need two approvals and two subscriptions.
Related
- MLS approval processes that take time
- What RESO Web API access is and why you need it
- Who can use MLSImport
- Requirements before you buy
Tell us your MLS name and your role and we will tell you which application route your board uses.
