New registry aims to stop spam calls and SMSes

South Africa introducing national opt-out registry allowing consumers to block unwanted marketing calls and SMSes from May 2027

1 hour ago

Gugu Myeni 1 minute read

Opt-out registry launched PHOTO: cottonbro studio/Pexels

Persistent spam calls and SMSes will soon be a thing of the past for consumers flooded daily by telemarketers.

According to Truecaller’s 2026 South Africa Spam Report, South Africans received 17.47 billion spam calls between January and June this year, up 25.2% on the same period in 2025. Spam SMSes rose by 58.9%, to 3.71 billion.

This has prompted the government to launch a national opt-out registry, giving consumers the power to stop the unwanted electronic communication.

Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition Parks Tau gazetted the Consumer Protection Act Amendment Regulations, 2026, empowering the National Consumer Commission (NCC) to administer the registry.

“The Opt-Out Registry places an obligation on direct marketers to register on the system and cleanse their list monthly before running any direct marketing campaign.

“This is to ensure consumers who have enacted a block against a direct marketer do not receive any unwanted direct communication.

“For consumers, an effective Opt-Out Registry under Section 11 of the CPA means they must register and pre-emptively block direct marketers,” said Tau.

The Opt-Out Registry will be phased in to allow direct marketers and consumers to register on the system.

The NCC will roll out the system as follows:

Phase 1 – registration: The system was opened to direct marketers for registration from 15 September until December.
Failure for a direct marketer to register during this period may constitute a contravention of Section 11 of the CPA, read together with the Consumer Protection Act Amendment Regulations, 2026.

Phase 2 – cleansing: The NCC will afford direct marketers the opportunity to cleanse their marketing lists over a period of five months from December to April 2027 at no cost to direct marketers.

This will allow direct marketers to understand the cleansing process and make necessary preparations to interface with the system.

After the completion of these phases, and from May 2027, consumers who have registered on the Opt-Out Registry will be able to register and pre-emptively block direct marketers from unwanted direct marketing.

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