End of spam calls in South Africa
The National Consumer Commission (NCC) has launched the National Opt-Out Registry to curb unwanted spam calls and other forms of direct marketing.
The NCC launched the registry to give every South African consumer a free, government-administered way to stop unwanted direct marketing calls, SMSes and other electronic communications.
The opt-out system will require direct marketers to register with the new system and check its lists monthly before conducting any marketing activities.
“This is to ensure that consumers who have enacted a block against a direct marketer do not receive any unwanted direct communication,” the NCC said.
The move to address spam calls comes as these direct marketing tactics have been used extensively in South Africa.
In its 2026 South Africa Spam Report, TrueCaller found that over 17 billion spam calls had been received between January and June 2026.
This was a 25.2% increase from the same period in 2025, while spam SMSs increased by 58.9% year on year to 3.71 billion.
The NCC said that the large number of unwanted communications made it necessary to implement the new opt-out system.
“The Opt-Out Registry will therefore bring relief to South Africans bombarded with unwanted direct marketing communication,” it said.
The system will be implemented in two stages, starting by allowing direct marketers time to register on the system.
These companies will have from 15 September 2026 to December 2026 to register, with failure to do so possibly being a breach of the Consumer Protection Act.
“Should a direct marketer fail to register during the period of registration, such failure after this period may constitute a contravention of section 11 of the CPA, read together with the Consumer Protection Act Amendment Regulations, 2026,” the NCC said.
In the second phase, direct marketers will be given the opportunity to clear their marketing lists over a five-month period.
“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,” the commission said.
“This will allow direct marketers to understand the cleansing process and make necessary preparations to interface with the system.”
Following the two-part launch, the new system is intended to be fully operational from May 2027, allowing consumers to block unwanted direct marketing.
“Consumers who have registered on the Opt-Out Registry will be able to register and pre-emptively block direct marketers from unwanted direct marketing,” the NCC said.
In a Tweet, Minister of Trade, Industry, and Competition, Parks Tau, said the new opt-out system would end South Africa’s spam calls.
“South Africans can finally breathe a sigh of relief and say goodbye to direct marketers that they don’t want to be contacted by, as well as an end to spam and fraudulent calls, SMSes and emails,” he said.
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