National Do Not Call Registry rules for businesses (2026): who scrubs, how often, fees

Who has to use the registry

Sellers and telemarketers that make telephone solicitations to consumers must check the registry before calling, under both the FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule (16 CFR Part 310) and the FCC's TCPA rules (47 CFR 64.1200). The FCC rule extends the same protection to marketing text messages sent to wireless numbers, and the FCC confirmed in its December 2023 order that registry protections cover texts.

A business does not have to pay for or download the registry if it calls only people who gave signed, written agreement to be called (including the phone number) or with whom it has an established business relationship, and it uses the registry for nothing else (16 CFR 310.8(b)). Most businesses that buy, rent or build lists of prospects do not qualify.

Last verified October 8, 2026 against the eCFR text and FTC notices linked in the sources. This is general information, not legal advice.

What's exempt

• Business-to-business calls, except sales of nondurable office or cleaning supplies (16 CFR 310.6(b)(7)).
• Charities calling on their own behalf, and political calls, which fall outside the Telemarketing Sales Rule.
• Pure surveys and informational calls that sell nothing.
• Calls to people with an established business relationship: a purchase or transaction in the last 18 months, or an inquiry or application in the last 3 months (the FTC counts 540 and 90 days).
• Calls to people who gave signed, written permission that names the number to call. A purchased lead list is not that permission.

An established business relationship ends as soon as the person asks your business not to call.

Registry fees for fiscal 2026 and 2027

Fees are paid by the seller. Telemarketers calling for a seller use the seller's subscription, and sharing one subscription across sellers is not allowed.

How often to scrub, and the safe harbor

Both the FTC and the FCC require the list used to block calls to be no more than 31 days old (16 CFR 310.4(b)(3)(iv); 47 CFR 64.1200(c)(2)(i)(D)). A business that calls a registered number by mistake avoids liability under the safe harbor only if it can show all of these:

1. Written do-not-call procedures
2. Staff trained on those procedures, including any vendor that runs compliance
3. An internal do-not-call list that is kept and recorded
4. A process that uses a registry version no more than 31 days old, with records showing it
5. Monitoring and enforcement of the procedures
6. The call was an error, not a practice

Your internal do-not-call list

Separate from the national registry, every business that telemarkets must keep its own list of people who asked not to be called, and honor it (16 CFR 310.4(b)(1)(iii)(A)). Under the FCC rule the request has to be recorded when it is made and honored within a reasonable time that may not exceed 10 business days, a limit in force since April 11, 2025, and it must be honored for 5 years (47 CFR 64.1200(d)). The FCC also requires a written do-not-call policy, trained staff, and caller identification with a contact number on every call.

Penalties

The FTC can seek civil penalties of up to $53,088 per violation; its September 2026 inflation notice left the amount at the 2025 level for 2026. Consumers can also sue under the TCPA (47 U.S.C. 227(c)(5)) once they have received more than one call from the same business within 12 months: up to $500 per violation, and up to three times that if the court finds the violation willful or knowing. It is an affirmative defense that the business had established and implemented reasonable do-not-call practices and procedures with due care.

How Lead Friendly handles do-not-call

Before every call, Lead Friendly checks the contact's do-not-call status and whether the number has replied STOP to your texts; before every text, email or WhatsApp message it checks the organization's opt-out ledger. A STOP reply, or QUIT, END, REVOKE, OPT OUT, CANCEL or UNSUBSCRIBE, is recorded at once and blocks both texts and calls until the person texts START. A WhatsApp STOP or an email unsubscribe applies to that channel only, so when someone asks to stop all contact, mark the contact do-not-call as well. Scrubbing uploaded lists against the National Do Not Call Registry and state do-not-call lists is the customer's job: the platform does not hold a registry subscription for you, and each organization attests to its do-not-call practices before it can place outbound calls or run marketing automation.