Do Not Call Registry Singapore: shop texts after you buy

Under the rules behind Singapore’s Do Not Call Registry, a shop can message you about a transaction you agreed to, your warranty or a product recall without a register check or marketing consent, if that is the message’s only purpose. A promotional text or WhatsApp message to your Singapore mobile number needs either a register check or your clear consent, kept in a form the shop can produce later. PDPC treats messages tied to an ongoing relationship, such as a membership, as a separate case, and says a once-off purchase is not enough to create one.

To stop a shop’s marketing, tell it that you withdraw consent. PDPC’s Do Not Call guidelines say the shop must stop sending marketing messages to your number after a 21-day prescribed period, and treat a general “stop” as covering only the channel it was sent on, so name every channel. Registering your number does not cancel consent you already gave a shop.

This is general information, not legal advice; the Do Not Call guidelines call themselves advisory and not legally binding. No penalty amounts are given: the pages read state none for these rules.

Which messages can a shop send after I buy something?

A “specified message” is one whose purpose, or one of whose purposes, is to advertise, promote or offer goods, services, land, or a business or investment opportunity, or their supplier (section 37(6)); a low price or a free offer does not change that. The PDPA’s Eighth Schedule lists exclusions (section 37(5)). Quoted examples are PDPC’s unless marked as ours.

• Transaction, warranty and delivery messages are excluded when that is their sole purpose (paragraph 1(d)): “The [transaction] you requested has been completed”; warranty, recall, safety or security information; delivery of what you are entitled to, such as a contract upgrade.
• Member messages are excluded when you are in an ongoing relationship with the sender and the message’s sole purpose relates to it (paragraph 1(e)): “ABC celebrates your birthday month! Show this SMS to enjoy 10% discount for your purchases at ABC’s stores this month”.
• A member message with a pitch added is not excluded: “Members enjoy additional 5% on top of membership privileges in the month of June. Visit our stores to check out our new Summer arrivals.” Its purpose is not solely to notify a change in the relationship’s terms or features.
• Our illustrations of marketing: a once-off buyer later gets “Weekend sale: 20% off all appliances”, or a delivery update adds “Use code SAVE10 on your next order.” PDPC says once-off transactions are insufficient to establish an ongoing relationship, and an excluded message must not also be used to promote.

PDPC weighs continuity, regularity and frequency, such as repeated visits. Our inference: a member account is likelier to qualify than one purchase where you left a number for the e-receipt. PDPC’s individual’s guide adds a tip: even if messages are not covered by the DNC rules, you can still ask the sender to stop contacting you.

What counts as clear consent at a till or sign-up form?

Before sending a marketing message to your Singapore number, a shop must either hold a valid register result showing it is not listed or have your “clear and unambiguous consent” in written or other retrievable form (section 43). PDPC asks whether you were told clearly that marketing messages would go to your number and whether you took a positive action to agree; failing to opt out is unlikely to count. Its examples:

• Clear: a ticked box beside “you consent to receive information about special offers we may have from time to time, by SMS”; or a “yes” reply to a shop’s text, if the shop had checked the register and keeps the exchange.
• Too vague: “you consent to the use of your personal data for marketing purposes”, because that may not include marketing messages to your phone. An email saying that anyone who does not reply agrees to SMS offers is not consent either.

The Key Concepts guidelines separately say organisations should generally get express opt-in consent for direct marketing and do not consider a pre-checked box appropriate. The Do Not Call guidelines say a shop should generally not deny you goods because you decline marketing.

How do I stop a shop’s marketing messages?

Give the shop notice. It must not prohibit you from withdrawing consent (section 47(2)) and should act reasonably and in good faith; the Key Concepts guidelines add that it must tell you the likely consequences (section 16(2)).

• Name every channel. PDPC’s example: you consented to phone, fax and SMS and reply “unsubscribe” to a text. That withdraws SMS only; a later email withdrawing consent to all marketing messages covers all three.
• A register does not replace the notice. Registering after you consent to a shop is not a withdrawal (section 47(5)). Tell the shop.
• Agents, other companies and records. The shop must make its agents stop. It need not tell other companies it passed your details to, but you can ask how your data may have been disclosed. It may keep records it needs for a warranty or audit.

Our wording of a message to copy and adapt, replacing the square-bracket parts:

Our suggestion: send it from the email or account the shop knows, and keep a copy.

How do I register my number, and where can I complain?

PDPC’s how-to-register page (last updated 22 April 2026) says registering an 8-digit Singapore number is free and does not expire. You can register on the online DNC Registry portal, which also lets you check your registration status, by SMS “DNC” to 78771 from that number (standard SMS charges apply, mobile numbers only), or on the toll-free line 1800 248 0771 from that number with caller ID enabled. Organisations then have a 21-day grace period to stop sending, and a new number needs a new registration.

PDPC’s telemarketing page (last updated 22 September 2026) describes a complaint about marketing messages to a registered number: you confirm you registered and waited at least 21 days since registering, the form takes 5 to 10 minutes and needs Singpass, and PDPC says it will respond within 5 working days. Two limits for a shopper:

• The page words “no ongoing relationship” as “You are not a current customer and have not made orders, transactions, nor signed up for any package”, while the guidelines say once-off transactions are insufficient to establish one. The pages do not reconcile the two.
• The page covers people who registered. It sets out no route for messages sent after you withdraw consent from a shop.

How long does the shop have, and what should I keep?

For marketing messages to a Singapore number, the Do Not Call guidelines say a shop that receives a withdrawal notice must stop sending them “after the expiry of the prescribed period”, which they put under section 47(3) at 21 days. The Key Concepts guidelines separately cover withdrawing consent to the collection, use or disclosure of personal data under section 16: as a general rule of thumb, PDPC would consider notice of at least 10 business days from the day the organisation receives it reasonable, and it is good practice for an organisation needing longer to say when the withdrawal will take effect. They point readers to the Do Not Call guidelines for withdrawal under the Do Not Call Provisions. Neither document says how the two periods fit together, and this guide does not choose between them.

A fictional, illustrative timeline, not a real shop or case. It uses only the 21-day figure, because the Do Not Call guidelines tie it to marketing messages, and it does not predict when any shop must stop. We count calendar days, our reading, as the guidelines do not say how days are counted. On Saturday 24 October 2026 you buy a sofa online and tick “send me offers by SMS” at checkout. Texts follow.

1. Mon 2 Nov 2026: you send the withdrawal message and screenshot the sent email and the latest promotional text, each showing its date and time.
2. Mon 23 Nov 2026: 21 calendar days after your notice. On our reading, a marketing text on or before this date falls within the 21 days.
3. From Tue 24 Nov 2026: screenshot any further marketing text (sender, date, time, wording) and write back quoting your 2 Nov notice. Where a shop has stopped keeping its consent record, PDPC says it weighs the remaining evidence, including whether a message was sent, so keep your log.

Which rule applies to the last promotional text I received?

Take the text through these steps, in order.

1. Does it promote anything? If it only confirms a transaction or gives warranty, recall or safety information, the marketing rules do not apply.
2. Is it solely about a membership or account you hold? It may fall outside the Do Not Call rules (paragraph 1(e)), but you can still ask the sender to stop.
3. Did you tick or sign something naming SMS, WhatsApp or calls? Then you gave consent, and the withdrawal message above ends it.
4. Otherwise, check whether your number is registered. If it is, a shop needs consent or an exclusion to message you, so screenshot the text and tell the shop. If not, the withdrawal message is still a clear written request to stop.

More on the counter and the order itself: what shops can ask for at checkout, what to save before you pay, testing a free trial’s cancel path, checks before you pay an online seller, comparing SIM-only plans if the sender is your mobile operator, the consumer rights guide, the glossary entries for specified message and ongoing relationship and the ownership topic page.

Common questions