I can't imagine that people who aren't registered would be clearing anything. But if you wanna dig into it deeper, I'm sure that reading through the referenced sections would help you answer your question.
(3) the term “participant” means a participant as defined in section 3(a)(24) of the Exchange Act, that is an NASD member.
(4) the term “registered clearing agency” means a clearing agency, as defined in section 3(a)(23)(A) of the Exchange Act, that is registered with the Commission pursuant to section 17A of the Exchange Act.