NAR Clear Cooperation Policy - Content Update

The MLSListings board approved a rule change clarifying that one-to-one communication for exclusive listings does not trigger the Clear Cooperation Policy.

In January 2026, the MLSListings Board adopted the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) rule clarifying that agent-to-agent communication about excluded listings does not trigger the Clear Cooperation Policy.

The rule, including the stricken language, is provided below.

7.5      Mandatory Submission

Broker Participants shall input exclusive right to sell or seller reserved listings on one to four-unit residential property and vacant residential lots located within the service area of the MLS within 3 days after all necessary signatures of the seller(s) have been obtained on the listing. Or, within 1 business day of marketing or advertising a property to the public on any exclusive right to sell or seller reserved listing agreement for the sale of the aforementioned properties, Broker Participants must input the listing to the Service for cooperation with other Participants. Public marketing or advertising includes, but is not limited to, conveying or displaying any information about the property or its availability for sale through or on any: windows, signs, public facing websites, social media, brokerage or franchise operated websites (including IDX and VOW), digital communications marketing (ex: email, text or phone blasts, social media messaging), multi-brokerage or franchise listing sharing networks, flyers or written material or on any applications available to the public or through conducting an open house. The public would include anyone outside the broker(s) and agent(s) licensed within a single listing brokerage and their clients, as further described in Section 7.6) Only those listings that are within the service area of the MLS must be input.  Open listings, rental listings, new construction developments of 5 or more units (single family homes, condos, townhomes) or listings of property located outside the MLS's service area (see Section 7.7) are not required by the Service, but may be input at the Broker Participant’s option.

For violation of this section, see Appendix A, Citable Infractions, 2.1, Listing Not Loaded Within 3 Days of Start Date of Listing/Advertising an Excluded Listing.