How IDX Approval Actually Works in Canada

Start here: three letters that get confused constantly

Almost every conversation about listing data on a brokerage website goes wrong in the first minute, because IDX, VOW and DDF describe three different permissions. They are not tiers of the same thing.

IDX

Public display of active listings on your site.

No loginPublic search and map

VOW

Broader data behind a registered client relationship.

DDF

CREA's national distribution of consenting listings.

No loginOutside your board

Feed	What it allows	Visitor sees	Typical use
IDX	Public display of active listings on your site	No login required	Your public search and map
VOW	Broader data behind a registered client relationship	Login + agreement	Client portals, sold data where permitted
DDF	CREA's national distribution of consenting listings	No login required	Coverage outside your own board

The practical consequence: a brokerage that wants a public map search on its own website needs IDX. VOW is what you add when you want a logged-in client experience with more data. DDF is how you fill in listings from outside your board's territory. Most offices start and stay with IDX, and that is fine.

Who is actually approved: you, not your vendor

This is the single most misunderstood point, and the one that costs brokerages weeks. The data licence runs between your brokerage and your board. A technology vendor is named on the application as the party receiving the feed on your behalf, but the vendor cannot hold the licence for you and cannot get you "around" a board rule.

Two things follow from that. First, when you change platforms you do not have to reapply from zero. You amend the vendor on the existing agreement, which is faster. Second, if a vendor tells you they can show listing data without your board's approval, that is your signal to end the conversation.

The one-line version

You hold the licence. The vendor consumes the feed. Your display must follow your board's rules: attribution, refresh frequency, what may be shown and what must be hidden.

The approval process, step by step

Six steps, most of them yours. The board review in the middle is the one you can't hurry, so start on day one.

1
Confirm your standing
Your brokerage must be in good standing with the board and your broker of record must be the applicant. Have your office number, brokerage legal name and broker of record's licence number to hand.
Day 0
2
Choose the feed and the display
Decide IDX, VOW or both, and be ready to describe where the data will appear: the domain, whether it is public or behind a login, and which fields you intend to display.
Day 0–1
3
Name your technology provider
The application asks who receives the feed. Your vendor supplies their technical contact, the receiving system and the domains the data will be served on. Ask them for this in writing before you start the form. Chasing it afterwards is the most common delay.
Day 1
4
Submit and sign
The broker of record signs the data licence. Expect fees. Some boards charge a set-up fee, a monthly data fee, or both. Budget for them; they are not usually large, but they are rarely mentioned up front.
Day 1–3
5
Board review
Timelines vary by board and by season. Expect longer around a spring market. If your application sits untouched for a week, phone rather than email; boards move faster on the phone.
Several business days
6
Credentials, then compliance check
Credentials go to your vendor, listings appear on a staging URL, and the board may review the live display before sign-off: attribution, disclaimers, refresh frequency and any excluded listings.
1–2 days

Five mistakes that send an application back

1
The wrong signature.
An office administrator signs where the broker of record must. Straight back to the queue.
2
Domains that don't match.
The domain on the application must be the domain the data appears on, including whether it is a subdomain. List every domain you intend to use.
3
Missing attribution or disclaimer.
Boards check the live page. If the required credit and trademark notices are absent, approval stalls at the last step.
4
Displaying excluded listings.
Some listings are opted out of public display. Your platform must respect the exclusion flags in the feed. Verify this rather than assume it.
5
Stale data.
Boards specify how often you refresh and how quickly a sold or withdrawn listing disappears. A cached page showing yesterday's status is a compliance issue, not a cosmetic one.

Questions to ask any platform vendor

?Which boards are you already receiving feeds from, and can you name a brokerage on each?
?Who do I call when the feed breaks at 8am on a Saturday?
?How often do you refresh, and how quickly does a status change appear on my site?
?If I leave, what happens to my leads, my saved searches and my content?
?Does my brand appear on everything a client sees, the site, the alerts, the reports, or does yours?

Want help with the application?

RealViu is an approved PropTX vendor. Select RealViu Hub as your vendor in PropTX and we handle the technical side of the application: receiving system, domains, compliance display. Site live in minutes; listing search switches on when your board approves.

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