The opt-out registry for car dealerships
Updated 4 November 2026 · Clearlist Compliance
If your dealership sends stock specials, finance offers or service promotions by SMS, WhatsApp, email or phone, you must register on the NCC opt-out registry by 31 December 2026 and check your lists every month.
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What counts as marketing for you
- Stock specials and new-arrival messages
- Finance, trade-in and upgrade offers
- Service and parts promotions sent to past buyers
- Calls from your sales team to leads and past customers
- Campaigns your OEM, group or agency runs in your dealership's name
Usually not marketing:
- Service booking confirmations and reminders for a vehicle already booked in
- Recall notices and safety information
Where businesses like yours slip up
- Dealer groups often hold lists in several places: the DMS, the CRM, the sales team's phones and the marketing agency. All of them need checking.
- "Your car is due for a service, book now and get 20% off" mixes service and selling. Treat it as marketing.
- If a finance house or insurer markets through your floor, check who is responsible for their lists in writing.
What you need to do
- Register as a direct marketer on the NCC portal before 31 December 2026. The NCC fee is R2,574.
- Check every contact list against the registry before you market, at least monthly. Free until 30 April 2027, then R0.12 per blocked record.
- Block opted-out contacts in every tool you market from, and tell anyone who markets for you.
- Keep records of each check as proof.
How Clearlist helps
We register you within 48 hours, clean and block your lists every month across all your tools, and send you a one-page report as proof. A single dealership fits Starter (R499 a month) plus R999 setup. Groups with several branches or brands fit Growth (R1,500 a month) or an Enterprise quote. NCC fees are passed on at cost.
Common questions
We only message people who bought from us. Do we still need to check?
Yes. A customer can block marketing on the registry at any time, and the block overrides permission they gave you before.
Our marketing agency sends the campaigns. Isn't that their problem?
You stay responsible for marketing sent in your name. We clean the lists and give you a monthly report you can share with the agency.
Can you work with our DMS or CRM?
We work with exports from any system and block opted-out contacts in the tools you give us access to.
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Clearlist is an independent service provider, not part of or endorsed by the National Consumer Commission. This page is general information, not legal advice.