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# 1850 - FTC AND FCC DO NOT CALL TELEMARKETING RULES

[Information regarding individual state "do not call" laws appear at the end of this document.]

Effective October 1, 2003, dealers cannot place marketing calls to (residential) phone numbers listed on the National Do No Call Registry unless there is an established business relations or the customer has given a dealer written permission to call that number. For the most part, business-to-business calls are not covered by the 2003 revision to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (TCPA). Refer to the specific details listed below.

The Amended Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) at a Glance

Briefly stated, the amended TSR:

• supplements the company-specific Do Not Call provision of the original Rule with new provisions based on a National Do Not Call Registry.
• creates an "established business relationship" exception to the National Do Not Call provisions so that a company may call a consumer with whom it has such a relationship, even if the consumer's number is on the Registry.
• allows a company to call a consumer who has given the company express written permission to call, even if the consumer's number is on the Registry.
• prohibits denying or interfering with a consumer's Do Not Call request.
• prohibits misuse of Do Not Call lists.
• exempts tax-exempt non-profit organizations from the rules.
• requires sellers and telemarketers to get a consumer's express informed consent before submitting the consumer's billing information for payment.
• requires telemarketers and sellers to maintain records of express informed consent and express agreement.

Exemptions: Some Types of Calls

Some types of calls are not covered by the Rule, regardless of whether the entity making or receiving the call is covered. These include:

• unsolicited calls from consumers.
• calls placed by consumers in response to a catalog.
• business-to-business calls that do not involve retail sales of nondurable office or cleaning supplies.
• calls made in response to general media advertising (with some important exceptions).
• calls made in response to direct mail advertising (with some important exceptions).

How does the established business relationship provision work for a consumer whose number is on the registry? For a consumer whose number is on the registry: A company with which a consumer has an established business relationship may call for up to 18 months after the consumer's last purchase or last delivery, or last payment, unless the consumer asks the company not to call again. In that case, the company must honor the request not to call. If the company calls again, it may be subject to a fine of up to $11,000. If a consumer makes an inquiry or submits an application to a company, the company can call for three months. Once again, if the consumer makes a specific request to that company not to call, the company may not call, even if it has an established business relationship with the consumer. A consumer whose number is not on the national registry can still prohibit individual telemarketers from calling by asking to be put on the company's own do not call list.

What is the National Do Not Call Registry? The National Do Not Call Registry is a list of phone numbers from consumers who have indicated their preference to limit the telemarketing calls they receive. The registry is managed by the FTC, the nation's consumer protection agency. It will be enforced by the FTC, the FCC, and state officials.

What calls are covered? The do not call provisions of the TSR cover any plan, program or campaign to sell goods or services through interstate phone calls. This includes calls by telemarketers who solicit consumers, often on behalf of third party sellers. It also includes sellers who are paid to provide, offer to provide, or arrange to provide goods or services to consumers.

What types of calls are not covered by the National Do Not Call Registry? The do not call provisions do not cover calls from political organizations, charities, telephone surveyors, or companies with which a consumer has an existing business relationship.

If a call includes a telephone survey and a sales pitch, is it covered? Yes. Callers purporting to take a survey, but also offering to sell goods or services, must comply with the do not call provisions. But if the call is for the sole purpose of conducting a survey, it is exempt.

Who can access the national registry? Access to the national registry is limited to sellers, telemarketers and other service providers. Sellers are companies that provide, offer to provide, or arrange for others to provide goods or services to a customer in return for some type of payment as part of a telemarketing transaction. Telemarketers are companies that make telephone calls to consumers on behalf of sellers. Service providers are companies that offer services to sellers engaged in telemarketing transactions, such as providing lists of telephone numbers to call, or removing telephone numbers from the sellers' lists. T

How much does it cost to access the registry? The pricing structure depends on the number of area codes you want to use. Visit https://telemarketing.donotcall.gov/ for updated information and for rules of operation. 

-- March 2004, updated March 2010, Do Not Call website