To reduce the number of off-market/pocket listings in the markets served by Canopy MLS.

To promote fairness and nondiscrimination in housing sales by exposing listings to the extensive MLS marketplace.

To support the pro-competitive and pro-consumer MLS model of cooperation among participants. The public marketing of a listing obligates the MLS participant to list the property in the MLS.

No. Firm (office) exclusive listings are an important option for sellers concerned about privacy and wide exposure of their for-sale property. Common examples include divorce situations and celebrity clients. Such sellers must sign a certification indicating that the seller, the listing brokerage, or any other entity cannot publicly market the listing in any way, including by means noted in NAR’s Clear Cooperation policy.

In a firm exclusive listing, the listing brokerage, seller or any other entity cannot publicly market the listing, which includes but it not limited to: flyers, yard signs, digital marketing on public-facing websites, brokerage website displays (including IDX and VOW), digital communications marketing (email blasts), multi-brokerage listing sharing networks, and applications available to the general public.

MLS rules prohibit the property from being previewed or shown by the Seller or any real estate agent, including the listing brokerage’s agents, prior to the Marketing Date or the beginning of the term of the listing, even if there was no public marketing.

Under a firm exclusive listing, the listing brokerage can:

1. Share this listing with all agents/brokers in their firm.
2. Allow agents/brokers in the listing brokerage’s firm to share the listing directly with their clients and customers through one-to-one relationship communications.
3. Engage in one-to-one private communications with agents outside the listing brokerage; however, multi-brokerage communications about a listing will constitute public marketing.

The listing brokerage must file the firm exclusive listing with the service within two (2) business days from the “Effective Date” of the listing agreement, but it will not be disseminated. (In Matrix, under Resources, select Canopy MLS Forms, select Firm Exclusive Registration.)

Filing of the listing should be accompanied by certification signed by the Seller that he or she does not desire the listing to be disseminated by the service. The Listing Brokerage may use the “Firm Exclusive Agreement” form affirming that the Seller(s) do not want the listing to be disseminated by Canopy MLS.

If the seller later determines that public marketing is desired, the listing brokerage must amend the listing agreement to obtain marketing authorization from the seller prior to submitting the listing to Canopy MLS.

Sellers with privacy or security concerns can have their listings in the MLS without distributing the listings to public websites. Furthermore, Canopy MLS does not require subscribers to place a lockbox on the property.

For Canopy MLS, the Clear Cooperation policy applies to the sale or exchange of the following property types:

• Residential
• Lots/acres/farms
• Multifamily properties of four units or less

It does not apply to commercial properties, rental properties, auction properties, fractional listings and new construction that is “Proposed” and “Under Construction.” If a listing agreement for new construction is not set up as a Firm Exclusive and the property is not already under contract when the Certificate of Occupancy is issued, then it is required to be submitted to the MLS.

The listing agent is responsible for ensuring that third-party vendors, such as home stagers and photographers, comply with the Clear Cooperation policy. The listing agent should instruct third-party vendors not to publish any information about a listing until both the seller and the listing brokerage are fully prepared to enter the listing into the MLS within one business day of beginning marketing.