The National Consumer Commission (NCC) launched the National Opt-Out Registry in Pretoria on Wednesday 7 October, but consumers will only benefit from blocking direct marketers from May 2027, according to TechCentral. That is 10 months later than the NCC promised in April, when it said “registration of direct marketers and consumers will commence in July 2026”. Marketer registration also slipped, opening only on 15 September, and the NCC gave no reason for either delay.
TechCentral updated its report on 9 October: after the article was published, the NCC told it that consumers can already register pre-emptive blocks against direct marketers that have registered.
How the registry works
The registry is free for consumers. Marketers have until December to register, and from December to April 2027 they can clean their contact lists against the registry free of charge. “From 15 April 2027, the commission will enforce the law in full,” Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau said, as reported by The Citizen. Under the NCC’s draft guidelines, “historical or existing consent is invalid once a consumer registers a pre-emptive block”.
What it costs
The regulations set a 2026 registration fee of R2 574 and an annual renewal fee of R1 930.50. The cleansing fee, charged per data entry, rises from 14c in 2027 to 18c in 2029, according to law firm ENS. The draft guidelines charge that fee only for consumers who have registered a block. But ENS warns that the wording “may mean that the entire database attracts the fee each time it is cleansed”. On that reading, a marketer cleansing a million records a month would pay R140 000 a month at 2027 rates, or R1.68 million a year. TechCentral has asked the NCC to clarify.
Marketers who flout the rules face administrative penalties of up to R1 million or 10% of annual turnover, whichever is greater, the NCC said in April. In serious cases, the draft guidelines add, offenders may be prosecuted and face a fine or up to 12 months in prison. The NCC published the draft guidelines in the Government Gazette on 2 October, with public comment closing on 17 October. They are not binding, though anyone applying the Act must take them into account.
Spam calls and scams
The NCC cited Truecaller data showing 17.5 billion spam calls in South Africa in the first half of 2026, up 25.2% year on year. TechCentral notes that the registry will do nothing to stop scam calls: Truecaller’s numbers include criminal scams, while the registry relies on marketers registering and complying. Tau said at the launch that South Africa ranks ninth in the world for spam call intensity, with nearly 30% of calls from unknown numbers classified as spam or fraudulent.
The delay is the latest chapter in a 15-year saga. The Consumer Protection Act, in force since 2011, gave consumers the right to block direct marketing and allowed the NCC to set up a registry for the purpose. Only on 15 April 2026 did Tau gazette regulations handing the job to the NCC.
The marketing industry’s own list
The Direct Marketing Association of South Africa, which has run its own do-not-contact list for almost two decades, has no plan to switch it off, even though the NCC said in July that it would not recognise private opt-out services when handling complaints, according to law firm Michalsons. “We are under no obligation to stop the service to our members, as we have amassed over a million of the most sensitive customers and businesses who find the system a much-needed service,” association CEO David Dickens told TechCentral. He said the association’s complaints team mediates when businesses keep calling consumers who have opted out, and escalates serious violations to the Information Regulator.
The association is in talks with the NCC. Acting commissioner Hardin Ratshisusu invited it to Wednesday’s briefing and it is “currently submitting plans to assist as requested”, Dickens said. Handing its list to the commission “is an option”, but the association would need guidance from the Information Regulator, “as the data was placed on the system for a specific purpose”.
Our earlier report sets out what marketers must do before the December deadline.
Until May 2027, consumers’ main shield remains the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), whose rules the Information Regulator amended last year to make clear that an opt-out is not consent. For more on how this affects your business, see our Tech & Telco coverage.
