Clear Cooperation Policy

The Clear Cooperation Policy is a NAR-mandated policy that governs the public marketing of listings and their entry into the multiple listing service.

Within one (1) business day of marketing a property to the public, the listing broker must submit the listing to the MLS for cooperation with other MLS participants.



 
Report Off-MLS Marketing

 

Coming Soon Form

 

Registered Status Resources


 
 
Registered Status Slide Deck

Matrix

 
 
Registered Status FAQs

Matrix

 

Registered status is now live for Matrix users


Coming Soon FAQs

Matrix Coming Soon FAQs


Paragon Coming Soon FAQs


Flex Coming Soon FAQs


Clear Cooperation Policy Presentation Slide Decks

Matrix


Paragon


Flex – Ventura


Flex – PSRAR & PFAR

Top Questions

The Basics

  • The Clear Cooperation Policy is a NAR-mandated policy that governs the public marketing of listings and their entry into the multiple listing service. Within one (1) business day of marketing a property to the public, the listing broker must submit the listing to the MLS for cooperation with other MLS participants.

  • Residential, Vacant Residential lot, and Residential 1-4 unit properties.

  • The Registered status is live in Matrix as of 8/18. Paragon and Flex will follow soon. Until then, the current exclusion/waiver process will remain in place. Matrix/Flex: Within 2 business days from the effective date of the listing agreement you must either enter listing into MLS as active (or coming soon) or submit an exclusion. Paragon: Within 48 hours from the effective date of the listing agreement you must either enter listing into MLS as active or submit an exclusion.

    For more information and a helpful video, visit https://go.crmls.org/crmls-exclude-listing/.

  • Yes. The listing broker/agent must obtain a C.A.R. SELM or equivalent seller’s exclusion form, compliant with Matrix & Flex Rule 7.9.1 and Paragon Rule 7.6.

  • Matrix users are still required to obtain a C.A.R. Form SELM or equivalent exclusion form, but they do NOT need to submit the exclusion forms to CRMLS. Instead, keep the exclusion form on file at your local brokerage and enter an incomplete listing as Registered within 2 business days of the effective list date. Click the following link for more information: https://kb.crmls.org/knowledgebase/matrix-registered-listing-contract/.

    For Flexmls and Paragon users, obtain a seller-signed C.A.R. Form SELM or equivalent exclusion form, then submit it to CRMLS within 2 business days of the effective list date. Click on the link specific to your platform and follow the instructions outlined.

    Flexmls: https://go.crmls.org/flexmls-exclude-listing/
    San Diego Paragon: https://go.crmls.org/san-diego-paragon-exclude-listing/

    • How does it affect me?

  • CRMLS is proposing that after the Seller signs the contract, the Listing Broker has two (2) business days from the listing contract date to enter the listing into the MLS under Registered, Coming Soon, or Active status. Within one (1) business day of marketing the property, the Listing Broker must ensure that the listing is in the Coming Soon or Active status.

  • Here is a table comparing the three statuses:

    Required for Registered Status: Address, Listing Contract Date, Price, Expiration Date, Marketing Start Date.

  • No. Marketing to the public would trigger the Clear Cooperation rules, meaning the property would need to be placed in the MLS within 1 business day of such marketing.

    • Questions on Status Types:

    Registered Status


    (The Registered status is live in Matrix as of 8/18.
    Paragon and Flex will follow soon.)

  • Within 2 Business Days of the effective date of any exclusive listing agreement if the property is not otherwise being input into the MLS (usually in a Coming Soon or Active status).

  • Yes, if the property will never be placed in the MLS and therefore will never be publicly advertised (Paragraph 7.D(2) on C.A.R. Form RLA, Revised 6/20). A C.A.R. SELM form may also be necessary if you are using a version other than C.A.R. Form RLA, Revised 6/20.

  • No.

    Please note: if you are required to obtain an exclusion form (see question #5), you only need to provide it to CRMLS if requested by the CRMLS Compliance Department.

  • The “Start Marketing Date” is the date when public marketing of the property is to begin. It should be the same date used in Paragraph 7.D(1) of the C.A.R. Form RLA. At that time, the listing status is to be updated to Active, Coming Soon, Active Under Contract, etc.

    Please note: If the listing is to be excluded from the MLS and not marketed to the public for the entire listing agreement period, this field should remain blank.

  • The listing must still be Registered in the MLS. Because the listing is to be excluded for the entire listing agreement period, the Start Marketing Date field should be left blank.

  • In Matrix, click on the Add/Edit tab, then “Add New”. Click on “Register Listing Contract” then “Start with a blank Listing”. Enter the information for all required fields (highlighted in yellow) and click the “Submit Listing” button.

    To access our Knowledgebase article, click here.

  • You can edit a Registered listing by following the steps outlined here. If the Property type is inaccurate, you will need to create a new Registered listing. Please contact your local Association/Board or CRMLS Compliance for the removal of the incorrect listing.

    Click here to chat live with a Compliance Analyst Monday-Friday, from 8:30am-4pm, or submit your ticket here.

  • Once you submit a Registered listing, the Property Type field is locked, and a new Registered listing will need to be created if the Property Type needs to be changed. Please contact your local Association/Board or CRMLS Compliance for the removal of the incorrect listing.

    Click here to chat live with a Compliance Analyst Monday-Friday, from 8:30am-4pm, or submit your ticket here.

  • Yes. The listing agent, co-listing agent, listing broker, and co-listing broker can modify the Start Marketing Date.

  • Yes. However, only the listing broker or co-listing broker may make this change.

  • Yes. However, you will need to contact your local Association/Board or CRMLS Compliance to make this change.

    Click here to chat live with a Compliance Analyst Monday-Friday, from 8:30am-4pm, or submit your ticket here.

  • Yes. You can edit a Registered listing by following the steps outlined here.

    Please note: Extensions to the expiration date can only be made by the listing broker and co-listing broker. Additionally, once you submit a Registered listing, you must contact your local Association/Board or CRMLS Compliance to shorten the expiration date.

    Click here to chat live with a Compliance Analyst Monday-Friday, from 8:30am-4pm, or submit your ticket here.

  • Click on the My Matrix tab in Matrix, then “My Listings.” Change the dropdown menu to “My Registered.”

  • You can edit a Registered listing by following the steps outlined here. Once on the input listing screen, click on the Property Type specific to the subject property (located below the Register Listing Contract input option). Then complete the listing input form as per usual.

    Please note: All completed fields on the Registered listing will be copied onto the new input form. When submitted, the previously assigned MLS# will remain unchanged.

  • No. A listing can be moved from Registered to Active status at the listing broker’s discretion.

  • Only the listing or co-listing agent who entered the listing, their listing or co-listing broker, the listing or co-listing broker’s office manager, and the Association/MLS staff can see a Registered listing.

  • No. Public marketing of the property is not permitted while a property is in the Registered status.

  • Yes, subject to limitations. If the listing broker office has a signed Agency Disclosure form with the prospective buyer, any agent under that listing broker’s license can show the home to that buyer. Note that this permission does not extend to any agent under the broad banner of a real estate franchise; it is specific to only the agents listed under the broker’s license number with the DRE.

  • Marketing and advertising includes, but is not limited to, any information about the property or its availability for sale displayed on any: signs, websites, social media, brokerage or franchise operated websites, communications (verbal or written), multi-brokerage or franchise listing sharing networks, flyers or written material, applications available to the public, or open houses or showings.

  • If a broker has a listing in Registered, and then enters a contract with one of their already existing clients (defined as any person or entity with whom the broker signed an Agency Disclosure Form within the last year), then the broker could move the property from Registered to Pending. In that case, no public “marketing” has occurred.

    • • Have additional questions or need further assistance? Submit your ticket here.
    • • Click here to chat live with a Compliance Analyst Monday-Friday, from 8:30am-4pm.

    • Coming Soon Status

  • The Coming Soon status allows listing agents to place a property in the MLS for up to 21 days to
    pre-market and prepare the property (staging professional photos, preparing for showings, etc.)
    without Days on Market accruing.

  • • Marketing is allowed in both statuses, so long as Coming Soon listings are clearly marked as Coming Soon.
    • Both Coming Soon and Active listings are fully displayed to other MLS users.
    • The listing agent offers compensation to the buyer’s side on both Coming Soon and Active
    listings.

  • • Coming Soon listings have limited distribution: they will not go out from the MLS to portals like Zillow, Trulia, and Realtor.com, or to IDX broker and agent websites.
    • Showings are not permitted in Coming Soon.
    • Because of these limitations, Days on Market do not count in Coming Soon.

  • Per MLS Rule 7.9, “Marketing” and “Advertising” includes, but is not limited to, information about the property or its availability for sale displayed on any: signs, websites, social media, brokerage or franchise operated websites, communications (verbal or written), multibrokerage or franchise listing sharing networks, flyers or written material, or on any applications available to the public, or by conducting an open house.

  • Rule 7.9 provides any individual or entity that has signed within the previous year a Disclosure Regarding Real Estate Agency Relationship form in compliance with CA Civil Code section 2079.16 that identifies the Listing Broker shall not be considered a “member of the public.” So, any individual or entity with whom your brokerage does not have such an AD form is a member of the public. Further, other agents in your brokerage (those under the same broker’s license) are not members of the public.

  • “Days on Market” or “DOM” for a listed property is a measure of the number of days that a property is listed in the status of Active or Active Under Contract in the MLS. Accordingly, DOM will begin to accrue the day a listing first appears in Active or Active Under Contract status. Not that DOM is NOT a measure of how many days that the property has been in the MLS.

  • Yes. You can market the property on Facebook, Zillow, or other sites as “Coming Soon,” however, once public marketing occurs, the property must be entered in the MLS under the status of Coming Soon or Active within 1 business day. The DOM will not begin accumulating until the listing is in the status of Active or Active Under Contract.

  • No. Once the property has been marketed to a member of the public, the listing must be entered in the MLS as either Coming Soon or Active within 1 business day.
    A violation of Rule 7.9 will result in the issuance of a Warning Notice and is subject to a citation in the amount of 1% of the list price and a minimum fine of $500, not to exceed $2,500 if not timely entered in the MLS.

  • An Exclusion form is an instruction from the seller that states that a property will not go into the MLS at all or will be submitted to the MLS at a later date. The CAR SELM includes disclosures related to the specific effects of excluding a listing from the MLS, including that the property will be subject to limited exposure as it is not available for cooperation on the MLS. The Coming Soon form is an instruction from the Seller to input the property as a Coming Soon listing. This form includes disclaimers and disclosures that there will be limitations to exposure of the listing and the property. Additionally, the Coming Soon form allows the seller to advise
    when the property is available for showings.

  • Yes, pursuant to Rule 8.1 and Ca. Civil Code sections 1086 and 1088, a valid listing agreement is required because the property is in the MLS for cooperation. A listing that is entered in the MLS prior to an effective agreement in place will result in a violation of CRMLS Rule 8.1 and is subject to a citation and fine in the amount of $1,500, and immediate removal of the listing.

  • Begin by entering the listing information as you normally would. On the listing input screen, select the status of Coming Soon while under the Status tab. Under the Office/MLS tab, you will be prompted to enter the Start Showing Date. When all information is entered, click Save as Incomplete, or Submit Listing.

  • Contact CRMLS Compliance by email at compliance@crmls.org or live chat (https://go.crmls.org/compliance-live-chat/). Be prepared to provide the Compliance analyst with the effective listing agreement and a seller signed Coming Soon form. Once supporting documentation is provided and reviewed, you will be walked through the process to correct this error. For all future listings, make sure you are selecting Coming Soon as the status under the Status tab on the listing input screen. Under the Office/MLS tab, you will need to enter the Start Showing Date, which is the date the listing will be changed to Active.

  • Yes. Per Rule 11.5.1, an exterior photograph that displays a substantial portion of the exterior structure of the property is required for all property types, except business opportunity. Coming Soon listings are not exempt from this requirement.

  • Yes. While in the status of Coming Soon, offers may be presented and accepted by the seller(s).

  • Yes. A listing in the status of Coming Soon may be publicly marketed by use of flyers, For Sale
    signs, Facebook posts, etc. However, no showings or open houses may take place.

  • No. Coming Soon listings cannot be shown by anyone, under any circumstances. This includes, but is not limited to, Virtual Open Houses and Virtual Showings. If the property is going to be shown, the listing status must be updated to Active prior to the showing date.

  • Yes. You can advertise an open house and disclose the date in which the property is available to be shown, however, the property cannot be shown prior to the date disclosed unless the listing is updated to the Active status.

  • Yes. The listing will automatically update from Coming Soon to Active on Day 22 of the listing’s input date, or, the date entered into the Start Showing Date, whichever is earlier.

  • Yes. The change needs to be made prior to the current Start Showing Date and the new Start Showing Date cannot exceed the 21-day time frame allotted for Coming Soon.

  • To submit a report of off-mls marketing for a property that is not in the MLS as Coming Soon or Active, click on the following link to access the web form below: https://crmls.secure.force.com/TicketSubmission/. The web form will prompt you to enter information regarding the property being marketed, the brokerage firm or agent marketing the property and the type of marketing found. You will also be required to upload any proof of marketing that corresponds with your report. Once submitted, a confirmation will appear on the screen and you will receive a second confirmation via email once a case is created. The CRMLS Compliance Department will review the report and take appropriate measures to correct/address the issue.

  • Reports received for activity by an agent who is not a CRMLS user are deemed outside of CRMLS’s Compliance jurisdiction and will be referred to the violating agent’s appropriate MLS for further processing. As with all reports submitted to CRMLS, the report will be kept confidential and your contact information will not be submitted with the report unless you provide written authorization for CRMLS to submit that information on your behalf to the violator’s MLS.

    • Answers to other common questions

  • Marketing and advertising includes, but is not limited to, any information about the property or its availability for sale displayed on any: signs, websites, social media, brokerage or franchise operated websites, communications (verbal or written), multi-brokerage or franchise listing sharing networks, flyers or written material, applications available to the public, or open houses or showings.

  • Business days are Monday through Friday, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and federal/state holidays.

  • Yes. An office exclusive will be covered under the Registered status.

  • Yes. The seller still has the ability to exclude their property from the MLS; however, no marketing of the property can be done, and a seller instruction form must be signed. If any marketing does take place, then the property must be entered in the MLS within one business day. By keeping the property off of the MLS, the seller is agreeing that the listing broker will only share the property with the listing broker’s own clients.

  • CDOM (Cumulative Days on Market) will reset after 90 days off the MLS.

  • No. CRMLS keeps all reporting parties’ identities confidential at all times.

  • Yes. The Clear Cooperation Policy does not change an off-mls sale’s eligibility from being entered in the MLS once a sale closes. Rule still applies.

  • Yes. If attempting to share the listing with only your own clients and then determining that the listing is not getting enough exposure, with written permission of your seller, you may enter the listing in the MLS as an Active or Coming Soon listing. (Under the Coming Soon status, no showings can occur.)

  • No. The Clear Cooperation Policy was proposed by the National Association of Realtor Emerging Issues and Technology Advisory Board after having received numerous complaints and requests to take action from agents and brokers of all size complaining about a lack of inventory and the challenge of dealing with off MLS properties. Additionally, in June 2018 the Department of Justice convened a workshop centered on competition in real estate. One of the DOJ’s focuses was the challenge with pocket listings and the negative impact that pocket listings were having on potential buyers. When the Clear Cooperation Policy was presented to the NAR MLS Policy Committee for debate, approximately 90% of the brokers and agents speaking on the issue supported the policy. Similarly. 92% of the NAR Board of Directors, which is made up of brokers and agents from firms of all sizes, voted in favor of the policy.

  • Yes. To be clear, a listing agent can communicate the office exclusive listing to anyone with whom their brokerage has signed an Agency Disclosure form in the last year.

  • Yes. CRMLS does not require showings to take place while a property is in Active status. If the seller and listing broker agree on terms that address the issues, CRMLS is not in a position to interfere with that process.

  • No. Putting up a sign is marketing and would trigger the requirement to submit the listing into Active or Coming Soon within one business day.

  • No. There aren’t any limitations on inspections related to Clear Cooperation rules.

  • Yes. While a listing is in Hold status, marketing to the public can continue.


    • Matrix/Flex: Updates to the Mandatory Submission Rule 7.9

    San Diego Paragon: Updates to the Mandatory Submission Rule 7.5.1

    NAR Clear Cooperation Policy – Paragon – Ed Zorn 4/30/20

    The Coming Soon Status

    NAR Clear Cooperation Policy – Ed Zorn 4/10/20

    NAR Clear Cooperation Policy – Jeff Smetana 4/7/20