consumer-rights

Do Not Call Registry — Register Once, Then Report Violators for FTC Action

Difficulty Easy Risk None Applies To All Potential Savings Reduces unwanted telemarketing calls; TCPA private lawsuits can recover $500–$1,500 per illegal call Last Verified 2026-04-04

Do Not Call Registry — Register Once, Then Report Violators for FTC Action

What Is It?

The National Do Not Call Registry (DNC Registry), maintained by the FTC, allows consumers to register their phone number to stop most telemarketing calls. Registration is free, permanent (until you deregister), and takes about two minutes at donotcall.gov. Telemarketers have 31 days from the date you register to stop calling you — after that, calls are illegal.

Violations are enforced by the FTC and FCC, which have levied hundreds of millions of dollars in fines against violators. Beyond federal action, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) gives individual consumers a private right of action to sue robocallers for $500–$1,500 per illegal call — without needing to prove actual damages.

How It Works

Step 1 — Register your number. Go to donotcall.gov and register your landline or mobile number. Registration is immediate, but telemarketers have 31 days to remove your number from their call lists. You can register up to 3 numbers per email address. Registration does not expire.

Step 2 — Keep records of unwanted calls. After the 31-day grace period, any telemarketing call to your registered number is potentially illegal. Note the date, time, phone number displayed (even if spoofed), the name of the company if provided, and a brief description of what was offered or said.

Step 3 — File a complaint. Report violations at donotcall.gov/report.html or call 1-888-382-1222. For robocalls specifically, also file with the FCC at consumercomplaints.fcc.gov. Filing is free. Complaints feed into the FTC’s and FCC’s enforcement databases and are used to investigate and fine large-scale violators.

Step 4 — Consider a TCPA lawsuit for robocalls. The DNC complaint is easy and free, but enforcement action against an individual caller is not guaranteed — the FTC prosecutes patterns across many complaints, not individual incidents. For a more direct remedy, the TCPA provides a private right of action:

  • Unsolicited robocalls or texts to your cell phone using an automatic dialer or prerecorded voice: $500 per call, or $1,500 per call if willful
  • No actual harm required — the violation itself entitles you to statutory damages
  • Consult a consumer rights attorney who handles TCPA cases — many work on contingency

What Calls Are Exempt

The DNC Registry does not stop all calls. Exempt calls include:

  • Political calls — candidates, political parties, ballot initiatives, and political organizations are fully exempt under the First Amendment
  • Charities — nonprofit organizations calling for donations (though calls by paid third-party fundraisers on behalf of charities may still be covered)
  • Survey and research calls — genuine polling and research calls
  • Businesses you have an established relationship with — if you’ve made a purchase or inquiry in the past 18 months, the company may still call you (though you can tell them to stop)
  • Debt collectors — not governed by the DNC rules (governed separately by the FDCPA)

What Most People Don’t Know

  • Spoofed caller ID doesn’t protect the caller. The FCC has rules against caller ID spoofing under the Truth in Caller ID Act. Filing a complaint with a spoofed number is still useful — the FTC and FCC have forensic tools to identify violators beyond the spoofed number, and a pattern of complaints builds enforcement cases.
  • The TCPA is often more powerful than the DNC for individual recovery. If a company uses a robocall or autodialer to call your cell phone without prior written consent — regardless of the DNC Registry — that is a TCPA violation. The TCPA applies to text messages too. Courts have awarded millions of dollars in TCPA class actions.
  • “Established business relationship” doesn’t last forever. A company you bought something from 18 months ago cannot keep calling forever just because you were once a customer. After 18 months, the relationship exception expires.
  • You can demand a company-specific do-not-call. Even if a company qualifies for an exemption (such as an established business relationship), you can verbally tell the caller to put you on their internal do-not-call list. They must honor this within 30 days — and calling you after that is a violation regardless of the exemption.

Frequently Asked Questions

I registered my number years ago — is my registration still active?

Yes. The FTC eliminated the registration expiration requirement in 2008. If you registered your number, it stays registered permanently unless you specifically remove it.

I get 10 robocalls a day from different numbers — is anything actually being done?

The FTC and FCC have brought hundreds of enforcement actions and collected billions in fines. The challenge is that many violators operate from overseas or use sophisticated spoofing. The FCC’s STIR/SHAKEN framework (call authentication standards implemented in 2021) has reduced some spoofed robocalls, but enforcement remains an ongoing problem. Your complaints still contribute to enforcement databases.

Can I sue a robocaller myself without a lawyer?

Yes. You can file a TCPA lawsuit in small claims court for individual violations — most states’ small claims limits are above the $500–$1,500 per-call damages. The challenge is identifying and serving the defendant, which can be difficult if the caller is obscured behind spoofed numbers or shell companies. A consumer rights attorney can handle identification and service as part of the case.

Does the Do Not Call Registry cover text messages?

The DNC Registry primarily covers voice calls, but the FTC’s telemarketing rules and the TCPA extend to text messages sent via autodialer. If you’re receiving unwanted commercial text messages, the TCPA is often the more relevant statute — unsolicited commercial texts to your cell phone are covered.

What about calls from charities I’ve never donated to?

Nonprofit charities calling directly (with their own employees) are exempt from the DNC Registry. However, if a professional fundraising company is calling on behalf of a charity using an autodialer, that fundraiser may not qualify for the charitable exemption. The distinction matters for TCPA purposes.

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