Licentia communicates with clients and prospective clients through various channels to deliver services, provide compliance updates, and—where lawful—conduct direct marketing.

Licentia will not unlawfully use personal information for marketing. Where consent is required for direct marketing, Licentia will obtain and record such consent and will provide a clear opt-out mechanism.

7.1 Communication Channels Used by Licentia

Licentia may communicate with data subjects via:

email;
telephone calls;
WhatsApp or similar messaging platforms;
SMS (where applicable);
system notifications via Licentia’s internal platforms and applications; and
written correspondence where required for formal notices or regulatory engagement.

These channels may be used for both Prospective Clients (quotation stage) and Active Clients (mandate/SLA stage), subject to lawful purpose and minimum necessary processing.

7.2 Service Communications (Operational / Transactional)

Licentia processes personal information to communicate with data subjects for service delivery purposes, including:

responding to enquiries and issuing quotations;
confirming instructions, mandates, and SLAs;
requesting information required to execute the mandate/SLA;
providing updates on application status, regulatory correspondence, and compliance steps;
sending reminders relating to documents required, compliance deadlines, renewals, and inspections;
issuing invoices and payment status updates via the provincial entity workflow under Head Office governance; and
sending formal notices where required (including breach, compliance directives, and legal correspondence).

Lawful basis: contractual necessity (Active Clients), steps taken at the request of the data subject (Prospective Clients), and lawful interests in process integrity and compliance administration.

7.3 Direct Marketing (Including Section 69 POPIA Compliance)

Licentia may send direct marketing communications relating to:

Licentia services, compliance products, licensing support, and operational updates;
reminders and industry compliance notices that may assist clients; and
information regarding third-party service providers or companies that may benefit clients, where the client remains free to choose whether to use such providers.

Direct marketing may occur through email, WhatsApp, SMS, internal system notifications, or other electronic communication methods.

Consent and opt-out rules:

Where POPIA requires consent for electronic direct marketing, Licentia will ensure that:

consent is obtained and recorded; and
the recipient can opt out at any time using a clear and accessible mechanism.

Where a data subject opts out, Licentia will respect the opt-out and will not continue direct marketing to that contact point, except where communication remains necessary for service delivery, legal compliance, or lawful enforcement.

7.4 Marketing Involving Photos or Premises Content

Where Licentia uses business premises photographs, project outcomes, or compliance improvements for marketing, industry education, or portfolio demonstration purposes, Licentia will make reasonable efforts to:

focus on premises, project outcomes, and compliance work rather than individuals; and
avoid unnecessary identification of individuals unless relevant and lawful.

Where marketing involves third parties (for example, a featured service provider), Licentia will process and share only the minimum necessary information for the specific marketing purpose and will act within lawful boundaries.

7.5 Communication Recordkeeping and Audit

Licentia may retain communication records (including messages and attachments) to:

evidence instructions and approvals;
track process flow and compliance steps;
respond to disputes or regulatory queries; and
ensure governance oversight, auditing, and lawful enforcement where required.

Such records are governed by Licentia’s retention and access controls as set out in Section 10.