What if I have problems when I try to access the National Registry?

What if I have problems when I try to access the National Registry?

Visit telemarketing.donotcall.gov for help during regular business hours via a secure electronic form or send an email to the registry Help Desk at

How does the National Registry impact small, home-based direct sellers?

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FTC staff does not contemplate enforcing the National Do Not Call Registry provisions against individuals who make sales calls out of their own homes to personal friends, family members, or small numbers of personal referrals. In fact, most of the calls made by such small direct sellers probably would be local or intrastate calls, and therefore not covered by the TSR. The TSR applies to telepaigns that involve more than one interstate call.

Nevertheless, small home-based direct sellers should be aware that the Do Not Call regulations of the FCC cover intrastate calls. The FCC regulations exempt personal relationship calls – where the party called is a family member, friend, or acquaintance of the telemarketer making the call.

As a matter of goodwill, small direct sellers may want to avoid contacting a person whose number is on the Registry.

Where can I get more information about compliance? The best source of information about complying with the Do Not Call provisions of the TSR is It includes business information about the National Registry.

It’s important that sellers and others involved in telemarketing recognize that both the FTC and the FCC regulate telemarketing practices. Those involved in telemarketing should review regulations put in place by both agencies. The FCC’s regulations can be found at:

Do Not Call Safe Harbor

If a seller or telemarketer can establish that as part of its routine business practice, it meets the following requirements, it will not be subject to civil penalties or sanctions for erroneously calling a consumer who has asked not to be called, or for calling a number on the National Registry:

  • the seller or telemarketer has established and implemented written procedures to honor consumers’ requests that they not be called.
  • the seller or telemarketer has trained its personnel, and any entity assisting in its compliance, in these procedures.
  • the seller, telemarketer, or someone else acting on behalf of the seller or charitable organization has maintained and recorded an entity-specific Do Not Call list.
  • the seller or telemarketer uses, and maintains records documenting, a process to prevent calls to any telephone number on an entity-specific Do Not Call list or the National Do Not Call Registry, provided that the process involves using a version of the National Registry downloaded no more than 31 days before the date any call is made.
  • the seller, telemarketer, or someone else acting on behalf of the seller or charitable organization monitors and enforces compliance with the entity’s written Do Not Call procedures.
  • the call is a result of error.

What happens if a consumer is called after he or she has asked not to be called? If a seller or telemarketer calls a consumer who has:

the seller and telemarketer may be liable for a TSR violation. If an investigation reveals that neither the seller nor the telemarketer had written Do Not Call procedures in place, both will be liable for the TSR violation. If the seller had written Do Not Call procedures, but the telemarketer ignored them, the telemarketer will be liable for the TSR violation; the seller also might be liable, unless it could demonstrate that it monitored and enforced Do Not Call compliance and otherwise implemented its written procedures. Ultimately, a seller is responsible for keeping a current entity-specific Do Not Call list, either through a telemarketing service it hires or its own efforts.

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