Basic criteria work across every MLS you are connected to. Advanced criteria are MLS-specific and only available when you search one MLS at a time.

If you have access to more than one MLS, RealScout gives you a choice on every search. You can search all your connected MLSs at once and get broad coverage with a shorter list of filters, or search one MLS and get its full filter set. Which one you pick depends on what your contact actually needs.

You choose your data source in two places, and the label differs slightly depending on where you are.

On the search page, go to Search → Search and click Change Listing Service & Property Class. Select Cross-MLS (Basic Criteria) to search all your connected MLSs at once, or select a single listing service to get its full filter set. For the rest of the search page controls, see Search Page Overview.

When you are building a Listing Alert for a contact, the same choice appears at the Data Feed step as Cross-MLS Search.

Note: Each MLS has to be approved and active on your account before it appears as an option. See General Reciprocity Information.

Basic criteria are the fields that every MLS reports the same way, so RealScout can match them across all your connected feeds. These are available in a Cross-MLS search:

Cross-MLS is the default experience in the app and on your site. Your contacts see listings from every MLS you are connected to in one view, and they never have to switch MLSs themselves.

You can also define a search area by drawing it instead of typing a location. Draw a polygon or a radius circle to capture a neighborhood, a school zone, or a stretch along a commute. See Use Custom Map Shapes in RealScout Search for the full walkthrough.

Caution: When the same property is listed in two of your connected MLSs, it can appear twice in a Cross-MLS search. RealScout does not remove these duplicates automatically. Run the search on a single MLS when a clean, deduplicated list matters.

Advanced criteria are MLS-specific fields. Different boards collect and label them differently, so they cannot be matched reliably across feeds. These are only available when you search one MLS:

When you switch a search from Cross-MLS to a single listing service, the filter panel expands to show these fields. When you switch back, they disappear. That is expected behavior, not a loading problem.

Note: Remarks is your fallback in a Cross-MLS search. If you need something that has no standardized field, search for it as a keyword in Remarks. This only works if the listing agent wrote it into the listing description, so treat it as a wider net rather than a reliable filter.

Your contact now receives one email that includes matching listings from every MLS you are connected to. For schedule options, see Alert Settings & Schedule Overview.

The alert returns listings from that one board, filtered on the full criteria set.

When a contact needs advanced criteria in two board areas, one alert cannot do it. Create a separate alert for each MLS.

This takes more setup than a Cross-MLS search, and it gives your contact precise results in both areas.

Note: Two Listing Alerts do not mean two emails. Listing Alert Roll-Up combines a contact's matching listings across their saved searches into one digest, grouped by search. It runs automatically and is not a setting you configure. See Listing Alert Roll-Up.

Once your criteria are set, you have three ways to put the search to work:

Templates cannot be edited after you create them, so build a new Template for any criteria change. See Listing Alert Templates for setup, and the Search Links Guide for link options.

Why don't I see a Cross-MLS option?
Cross-MLS only appears when your account has access to more than one MLS, either through direct membership in multiple boards or through an active reciprocity agreement in your market. Each MLS also has to be approved and active on your account. If you do not see the option, your account is connected to one MLS. See General Reciprocity Information.

Why are some filters missing when I select Cross-MLS?
A Cross-MLS search shows only the fields that every connected MLS reports the same way: price, beds, baths, property type, location, and Remarks. MLS-specific fields are hidden because they cannot be matched reliably across different feeds. Select a single listing service to get the full filter set.

My contact wants a specific school district. Can I use Cross-MLS?
No. School district is an MLS-specific field. Create a single-MLS alert for the board that covers that district and apply the school filter there. If the contact also needs coverage in another board area, create a second alert for that board.

Will my contact see listings from both MLSs in one email?
Yes. A Cross-MLS alert sends one email containing matching listings from every MLS you are connected to. If you instead set up two single-MLS alerts, Listing Alert Roll-Up combines them into one digest grouped by search, so your contact still receives a single email rather than one per alert.

Can one contact have both a Cross-MLS alert and a single-MLS alert?
Yes. A contact can hold multiple alerts. A common setup is one Cross-MLS alert for broad coverage plus one single-MLS alert with advanced criteria for a specific area. Both appear on that contact's Email Alerts tab.

Can AI Search run across all my MLSs at once?
No. AI Search reads one connected MLS at a time and cannot run across multiple MLSs in a single prompt. Use AI Search to fill in criteria quickly from a plain-language description, then build a Cross-MLS search manually when you need coverage across boards. See the AI Search Playbook.

Why does the same house appear twice?
The property is listed in two of the MLSs you are connected to, and a Cross-MLS search does not remove duplicates automatically. Run the search on a single listing service when you need one clean list. If duplicates continue to appear in a single-MLS search, contact Member Support at support@realscout.com.