NAR Issues New MLS Guidance

NAR released new guidance on July 9 clarifying what brokers must do before taking an office exclusive listing or using a pre-marketing options. It also answers several compliance questions tied to the Clear Cooperation Policy, including when an office exclusive has to be submitted to the MLS.

Read the full compliance breakdown, including the CCP rules on sharing office exclusives outside your firm at www.nar.realtor/the-facts

What is an office exclusive listing?

An office exclusive is a listing that is filed with the MLS but not publicly marketed and not shared with agents outside the listing firm.

Every Realtor association-owned MLS is required to offer the option. Whether to use it is the seller’s decision. Reasons for using the office exclusive option include privacy, health, safety, or any case where the seller’s individual interests outweigh the benefits of broad market exposure.

What are pre-marketing listing options?

Pre-marketing options, where a local MLS makes them available, include Coming Soon statuses and Delayed Marketing Exempt Listings (DMEL). Unlike an office exclusive, these listings are generally filed with the MLS and available to other participants and subscribers. What is limited or delayed is public-facing marketing, such as IDX display and syndication to sites like Realtor.com, for a period set by the local MLS.

NAR’s guidance notes that a listing under a pre-marketing option is not off-market in the same sense as an office exclusive, since other MLS Participants can still see it.

What Brokers are Required To Do

According to the guidance, brokers must take three steps before entering into an office exclusive listing or using a pre-marketing option:

1. Explain all listing options to the seller, including how each aligns with the seller’s goals and serves their interests.

2. Secure a signed seller disclosure form confirming the seller’s understanding of the options and the MLS benefits being waived or delayed.

3. Check local MLS rules, since submission requirements, deadlines, and available pre-marketing options vary by market.

NAR also specifies three elements the disclosure must cover: 

1. A statement on the professional relationship between the agent and the seller.

2. An acknowledgment that the seller understands the MLS exposure they are giving up.

3. Written confirmation of the seller’s decision.

How this Affects Clear Cooperation Policy Compliance

The guidance also answers several compliance questions tied to the Clear Cooperation Policy (CCP), which requires listings to be submitted to the MLS within one business day of public marketing.

If an office exclusive listing is later marketed to the public, the guidance states it must be submitted to the MLS within one business day, consistent with CCP.

Brokers who want to share an office exclusive listing with a broker outside their firm need authorization from the seller first. The communication must be one-to-one between brokers, and the receiving broker cannot market the property, including showing it, without triggering CCP’s submission requirement.

For pre-marketing listings already filed with the MLS and visible to other participants, NAR states the listing brokerage is in compliance. These listings, the guidance notes, are not off-market in the way an office exclusive is, even with delayed or limited public exposure.

The release is part of a broader set of resources NAR has published this year on its MLS policies, following six earlier resources and a set of explainer videos published in 2025. NAR has said the effort is tied to its strategic plan commitment to strengthen collaboration with MLSs.