diff --git a/backend/market/migrations/0004_listing_status.py b/backend/market/migrations/0004_listing_status.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c4fb157
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/market/migrations/0004_listing_status.py
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+# Generated by Django 5.0.2 on 2026-01-19 16:27
+
+from django.db import migrations, models
+
+
+class Migration(migrations.Migration):
+
+    dependencies = [
+        ("market", "0003_delete_phoneverification"),
+    ]
+
+    operations = [
+        migrations.AddField(
+            model_name="listing",
+            name="status",
+            field=models.CharField(
+                choices=[
+                    ("pending", "Pending"),
+                    ("verified", "Verified"),
+                    ("rejected", "Rejected"),
+                ],
+                default="pending",
+                max_length=10,
+            ),
+        ),
+    ]
diff --git a/backend/market/models.py b/backend/market/models.py
index 741ae34..0eff17c 100644
--- a/backend/market/models.py
+++ b/backend/market/models.py
@@ -91,6 +91,16 @@ class Meta:
     created_at = models.DateTimeField(auto_now_add=True)
     expires_at = models.DateTimeField()
 
+    status = models.CharField(
+        max_length=10,
+        choices=[
+            ('pending', 'Pending'),
+            ('verified', 'Verified'),
+            ('rejected', 'Rejected'),
+        ],
+        default='pending',
+    )
+
     def __str__(self):
         return f"{self.title} by {self.seller}"
 
diff --git a/backend/market/serializers.py b/backend/market/serializers.py
index 257af71..159b66c 100644
--- a/backend/market/serializers.py
+++ b/backend/market/serializers.py
@@ -137,6 +137,7 @@ class Meta:
             "images",
             "listing_type",
             "additional_data",
+            "status",
         ]
         read_only_fields = [
             "id",
@@ -148,6 +149,8 @@ class Meta:
         ]
 
     def validate(self, attrs):
+        if 'status' in attrs and not self.context['request'].user.is_superuser:
+            raise ValidationError({"status": "Only superusers can modify the status."})
         if not self.instance:
             listing_type = self.initial_data.get("listing_type")
             additional_data = self.initial_data.get("additional_data", {})
@@ -193,6 +196,8 @@ def contains_profanity(self, text):
 
     def create(self, validated_data):
         validated_data["seller"] = self.context["request"].user
+        validated_data["status"] = "pending"
+        
 
         listing_type = self.initial_data.get("listing_type")
         additional_data = self.initial_data.get("additional_data", {})
@@ -263,6 +268,11 @@ def update(self, instance, validated_data):
                 setattr(instance, attr, value)
             if tags:
                 instance.tags.set(tags)
+            
+            # updates to certain fields require reapproval
+            if any(field in self.validated_data for field in ["images", "title", "description"]):
+                instance.status = "pending"
+            
 
             if listing_type and listing_type != self.get_listing_type(instance):
                 raise ValidationError(
diff --git a/backend/market/views.py b/backend/market/views.py
index 965469d..5a1c217 100644
--- a/backend/market/views.py
+++ b/backend/market/views.py
@@ -118,6 +118,7 @@ def get_filter_dict(listing_type):
             "min_price": "price__gte",
             "max_price": "price__lte",
             "negotiable": "negotiable",
+            "status": "status",
         }
 
         item_filters = {
@@ -168,7 +169,7 @@ def list(self, request, *args, **kwargs):
         if request.query_params.get("seller", "false").lower() == "true":
             queryset = queryset.filter(seller=request.user)
         else:
-            queryset = queryset.filter(expires_at__gte=timezone.now())
+            queryset = queryset.filter(expires_at__gte=timezone.now(), status="verified")
 
         page = self.paginate_queryset(queryset)
         if page is not None:
@@ -180,9 +181,11 @@ def list(self, request, *args, **kwargs):
 
     def retrieve(self, request, *args, **kwargs):
         instance = self.get_object()
-        if instance.seller == request.user:
+        if instance.seller == request.user or request.user.is_superuser:
             serializer_class = ListingSerializer
         else:
+            if instance.status != "verified":
+                raise exceptions.NotFound("No Listing matches the given query")
             serializer_class = ListingSerializerPublic
         serializer = serializer_class(instance)
         return Response(serializer.data)
diff --git a/backend/utils/moderation.py b/backend/utils/moderation.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e69de29