National DNC Safe Harbor, TSR and Express Written Consent FAQ

Last reviewed: September 25, 2026

This page answers the questions outbound teams, lead buyers and the compliance staff who support them ask most often before a number is dialed: what the national DNC safe harbor actually requires, what the TSR is, what prior express written consent must contain, how consent ends, and why "scrub the number and you don't get sued" is not how the rules work. Every legal claim below links to its primary source on the eCFR, the U.S. Code, a federal agency site or a published court opinion, so you can read the rule instead of taking our word for it. Nothing here is legal advice, and nothing on this site creates a safe harbor. It is a plain starting point for people who want to check a number and understand what the result does and does not tell them.

Is there a national DNC safe harbor?

Yes. The Telemarketing Sales Rule at 16 CFR 310.4(b)(3) excuses a call to a registered number made in error when the seller can show six things: written do-not-call procedures, trained personnel, a maintained internal do not call list, a scrub process using a registry version obtained within the rule's 31-day window, records of that process, and monitoring. The FCC has a parallel safe harbor at 47 CFR 64.1200(c)(2)(i). Both rest on your own records, which a lookup here does not produce.

The Telemarketing Sales Rule treats a call to a number on the National Do Not Call Registry as an abusive practice, but 16 CFR 310.4(b)(3) gives a seller or telemarketer a defense when the call was the result of error and the seller can show all of the following: written procedures for complying with the do-not-call rules; personnel trained in those procedures; an internal do not call list of numbers the seller may not contact, maintained and recorded; a process that prevents calls to registered numbers using a version of the national registry obtained within the 31-day window the rule sets, with records documenting that process; and monitoring and enforcement of the procedures. The FCC has a parallel safe harbor at 47 CFR 64.1200(c)(2)(i). This site does not produce or keep those records for you; a lookup here is a spot check of one number, not a scrub log. Check registry status with our DNC lookup.

A court example where the defense worked

In Van Elzen v. American Home Shield Corp., No. 24-C-1206 (E.D. Wis. April 21, 2026), a consumer on the national registry sued over four marketing texts. The court could not decide on summary judgment whether he had consented, and granted judgment for the company anyway under 47 CFR 64.1200(c)(2)(i): it had a written do-not-call policy, a training manual for everyone who sent messages, an internal do not call list enforced by its dialing software, paid subscriptions to the national and state registries, and no other use of registry data. The defense turned entirely on records the company had built before the complaint, which is the point of the six elements above.

Other safe harbors, and the state law gap

The registry safe harbor is not the only one. The Reassigned Numbers Database safe harbor at 47 CFR 64.1200(m) protects a caller who queried the database, received a "no" and called in reliance on it; see the reassigned-numbers answer below. The ported-number safe harbor at 47 CFR 64.1200(a)(1)(iv) covers a voice call to a number that moved from a wireline to a wireless service within the previous 15 days, provided the caller did not know it was wireless and the number was not on the national registry or the caller's own list. The statute itself, at 47 U.S.C. 227(c)(5), makes reasonable practices and procedures an affirmative defense to a do-not-call claim. None of these answers a claim under state law: states run their own registries and telemarketing statutes, some with their own safe harbor language and some with none, so a federal defense has to be checked against the statute of each state you call into.

What is the TSR (Telemarketing Sales Rule)?

The TSR is the Federal Trade Commission's telemarketing rule at 16 CFR Part 310. It sets calling hours, disclosure and caller ID requirements, the national registry and internal do-not-call duties, and the safe harbor. It works alongside the TCPA statute at 47 U.S.C. 227 and the FCC rules at 47 CFR 64.1200.

The TSR is issued by the Federal Trade Commission under the Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act, 15 U.S.C. 6101-6108. It covers most outbound sales calls to consumers: calling hours, caller ID transmission, required disclosures, abandoned-call limits, the national registry, entity-specific do-not-call requests and the safe harbor described above. It sits alongside two other rules. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 47 U.S.C. 227, is the statute that restricts autodialed and prerecorded calls and texts and gives consumers a private right of action. The FCC's implementing rules at 47 CFR 64.1200 apply the TCPA and carry the FCC's own do-not-call requirements, which reach some callers the TSR does not. A call can be lawful under one rule and unlawful under another, which is why compliance teams check against all three. Our free TCPA tools return the signals a single-number check can give.

What is express written consent under the TCPA?

Prior express written consent, defined at 47 CFR 64.1200(f)(9), is a signed written agreement in which a person clearly authorizes a named seller to send advertising or telemarketing calls or texts to a stated number using an autodialer or an artificial or prerecorded voice, with a clear and conspicuous disclosure that signing is not a condition of buying anything. An E-SIGN compliant electronic signature counts. Consent belongs to the person, not the number.

Two points trip callers up. First, consent belongs to the person who gave it, not to the number: if the number is later reassigned, the new subscriber never consented, which is the problem the Reassigned Numbers Database answer below addresses. Second, consent says nothing about whether the person has sued callers before, so run the number through the TCPA litigator lookup as well.

Prior express consent versus prior express written consent

The FCC rules use two tiers of consent. Which one you need depends on what the call is for and how it is placed.

A live, manually dialed call with no prerecorded voice needs neither tier under section 227(b), but the do-not-call rules still apply to it: a number on the national registry may be called for marketing only with the person's signed written agreement or an established business relationship (16 CFR 310.4(b)(1)(iii)(B); 47 CFR 64.1200(c)(2)). The DNC lookup tells you whether the number is registered; it cannot tell you whether consent exists.

Express written consent checklist

Every element comes from the definition at 47 CFR 64.1200(f)(9). If one is missing, the agreement is not prior express written consent.

1. Clear and conspicuous disclosure. The consent language is readable and not buried in unrelated terms.
2. Identifies the seller. The person authorizes a specific, named seller, not "our partners".
3. States the technology. It says the calls or texts may be delivered using an automatic telephone dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice.
4. Not a condition of purchase. It tells the person they are not required to sign, directly or indirectly, to buy any property, goods or services.
5. Includes the telephone number. The agreement names the number the messages may be sent to.
6. Bears a signature. A handwritten signature, or an electronic or digital one that is valid under the E-SIGN Act or state contract law, such as a checkbox or button click that is recorded.

Illustrative example only, with a fictional company and a fictional number, not a template for your own forms: "By ticking this box and clicking Submit, I agree that Acme Home Services may call and text me at (555) 555-0142 about its products using an automatic telephone dialing system and prerecorded or artificial voice messages. I understand that my consent is not a condition of any purchase." The recorded checkbox and click are the signature; keep the page text, the timestamp and the number with the lead.

Current status (2026)

Legal status last updated: September 27, 2026, against the sources linked in this section.

• One-to-one consent: not in force. The FCC's December 2023 order added a rule that consent had to name one seller at a time and be logically and topically related to the interaction that produced it. The Eleventh Circuit vacated that part of the order in Insurance Marketing Coalition Ltd. v. FCC, No. 24-10277 (11th Cir. January 24, 2025), holding it conflicted with the ordinary meaning of "prior express consent" in the statute. The definition above is the one that applies.
• Oral consent for telemarketing calls: circuit-limited. In Bradford v. Sovereign Pest Control of TX, Inc., No. 24-20379 (5th Cir. February 25, 2026), the Fifth Circuit held that the statute's "prior express consent" includes oral consent for telemarketing as well as informational calls, and that the FCC's written-consent requirement in 47 CFR 64.1200(a)(2) has no basis in the statute. That reading binds federal courts in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. The FCC rule text has not changed, other circuits have not adopted the holding, and the TSR's separate requirement of a signed written agreement to call a registered number is untouched, so a written record remains the safe course everywhere.
• Revocation rules: in force since April 11, 2025, except "revoke all". The FCC's February 2024 order (FCC 24-24) codified revocation by any reasonable means and the ten-business-day deadline at 47 CFR 64.1200(a)(10), effective April 11, 2025. The part of that rule that would treat an opt-out from one kind of informational message as revoking consent for every unrelated message from the same caller has been waived twice: to April 11, 2026 (DA 25-312, April 7, 2025) and then to January 31, 2027 (DA 26-12, January 6, 2026), while the FCC considers changing it.

These are summaries of court opinions and agency orders, not legal advice, and they can be overtaken by a later ruling. Read the linked documents and check with counsel before relying on any of them.

Does TCPA consent expire?

Not on a fixed clock. Neither 47 U.S.C. 227 nor 47 CFR 64.1200 gives prior express consent an expiry date; it lasts until the person revokes it or the number is reassigned to someone who never consented. The separate established business relationship exemption under the TSR does have clocks: 16 CFR 310.2(q) ends it 18 months after the last purchase or transaction and 3 months after an inquiry or application.

Three things end consent in practice, and none of them is a calendar. Revocation, covered in the next answer, ends it the moment the person asks. Reassignment ends it because consent belongs to the person, not the number; the Reassigned Numbers Database answer below explains how to check. And a consent record that no longer matches your calls, because the seller, the number or the purpose has changed, is not consent for the new calls. Keep the record, the date, the page text and the number together for every lead, and treat an old record with suspicion rather than assuming it is still good.

How can a consumer revoke consent?

By any reasonable means, and the caller must honor the request within a reasonable time not exceeding ten business days. 47 CFR 64.1200(a)(10), in force since April 11, 2025, names replying stop, quit, end, revoke, opt out, cancel or unsubscribe to a text, using an automated opt-out or keypress, or telling the caller by phone or voicemail; a caller may not restrict revocation to one exclusive method.

The same order that codified this, FCC 24-24, allows a caller to send one confirmation message acknowledging the opt-out, with no marketing in it, and treats a confirmation sent within five minutes as within the original consent. A consumer only has to revoke once, and the ten business days run from receipt of the request, not from the confirmation. A revocation is separate from the national registry: registering at donotcall.gov stops most telemarketing calls, while telling a specific caller to stop binds that caller for everything it has consent for. If a caller keeps going after you have said stop, the complaint routes are the FCC at consumercomplaints.fcc.gov and the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov.

How many DNC violations are allowed?

None, and there is no safe count. Under the TSR every call to a registered number without an exemption is a violation, subject only to the safe harbor in 16 CFR 310.4(b). Under 47 U.S.C. 227(c)(5) a person who receives more than one call in a 12-month period from the same entity in violation of the do-not-call rules can sue for up to $500 per violation, which a court may treble for willful violations.

Any page that gives you a safe number is guessing. Under the TSR, each call to a registered number without an established business relationship or a signed written agreement is a violation, subject to the safe harbor conditions in 16 CFR 310.4(b); the defense depends on your procedures, not on how few calls you made. Under the TCPA, 47 U.S.C. 227(c)(5) lets a person who has received more than one call within any 12-month period from or on behalf of the same entity, in violation of the do-not-call regulations, sue for up to $500 per violation, which a court may treble for willful or knowing violations; the same section makes reasonable practices and procedures an affirmative defense. In practice one call is a regulatory exposure and a second call to the same registered number within a year is a lawsuit exposure. Check before the first call with our DNC lookup.

How do I get a copy of the National Do Not Call list?

Sellers and telemarketers register at telemarketing.donotcall.gov for a Subscription Account Number and then obtain registry data by area code. Fees are set by 16 CFR 310.8 and change each fiscal year, so read the current amounts there. Consumers register their own number free at donotcall.gov. To check one number, use our DNC lookup.

Sellers and telemarketers do not download a public file. After registering they receive a Subscription Account Number (SAN) and then obtain registry data for the area codes they subscribe to. 16 CFR 310.8 also provides that the first five area codes of data are free; the FTC adjusts the amounts each fiscal year, so read the current figures there rather than on any third-party page. The FTC's Q&A for telemarketers and sellers explains who must subscribe and how the scrub obligation works in practice. Consumers need none of this: registering a personal number, or checking whether it is registered, is free at donotcall.gov. If you only want to know whether one number is on the national registry or one of the state registries, our DNC lookup answers that without a subscription.

Is a clean DNC scrub safe to dial?

No. DNC status and litigator status are independent: serial plaintiffs often keep their numbers off the registry so calls keep coming. An unregistered wireless number still needs prior express written consent for autodialed or prerecorded marketing, a reassigned number can carry stale consent, and your internal do not call list applies regardless. Check both the DNC lookup and the TCPA litigator lookup before dialing.

A clean DNC scrub of a single number tells you one thing: at the moment of the check, the number was not on the national registry or the state registries we cover. It tells you nothing about three other risks. Litigator status is independent of DNC status; serial plaintiffs who make a living from TCPA suits commonly keep their numbers off the registry so that the calls, and the claims, keep coming. Consent status is separate too: an unregistered wireless number still needs prior express written consent before an autodialed or prerecorded marketing call. And reassigned numbers can carry stale consent from a previous subscriber. Your own internal do not call list also has to be honoured whatever the registry says. Treat the DNC result and the litigator result as two different questions and check both: the DNC lookup and the TCPA litigator lookup.

What is a TCPA litigator?

A person who has filed one or more lawsuits under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act; serial plaintiff and TCPA troll are informal terms for those who file repeatedly. A litigator list matches those filings to numbers and names, and a match here is a record match, not a determination about the person now holding the number. Check a number with the TCPA litigator lookup or a name with the litigator name search.

A TCPA litigator's number or name appears in the filings and demand letters that compliance data providers collect. "Serial plaintiff" and "TCPA troll" are informal terms for the subset who file repeatedly, sometimes dozens of times. A litigator list is a record of those filings matched to phone numbers and names. When this site shows a litigator match, it is a record match: the number or name corresponds to an entry in that list. It is not a determination about the person now holding the number, who may have inherited it, and it is not an allegation that anyone has done anything wrong; filing a lawsuit is a legal right. Check a number with the TCPA litigator lookup, or check a name and optional state with the litigator name search.

What are reassigned numbers and how do I check them?

A reassigned number has been disconnected by one subscriber and issued to another, so earlier consent no longer covers it. The FCC's Reassigned Numbers Database at reassigned.us answers yes, no or no data for a number and a consent date, and 47 CFR 64.1200(m) gives a safe harbor to callers who rely on a no response. This site does not query that database.

Consent given by the first subscriber does not transfer to the second, so a caller with a valid consent record can still be calling a stranger. The FCC established the Reassigned Numbers Database so callers can check a number against the date they obtained consent. Under 47 CFR 64.1200(m), a caller who queries the database, receives a "no" response and calls in reliance on it has a safe harbor against liability for reaching a reassigned number. That safe harbor is tied to the database query itself, and this site does not query the Reassigned Numbers Database. A suppression hit here comes from complaint, litigation and do-not-call sources instead; our blacklist lookup page explains what that result means.

Are the blacklist and litigator rows a scam warning?

No. The Blacklist and Litigator rows are caller-side suppression signals: the number belongs to someone who has asked not to be called, complained, threatened, or appeared in TCPA litigation records, so dialing it carries risk for the caller. They say nothing about whether the person who owns the number is a scammer or a bad actor of any kind. If your own number is listed, ask us to review the record from the data removal page.

A consumer who reports abusive telemarketers is exactly the kind of person who ends up on a suppression list. If you searched your own number with the reverse phone lookup and it is listed, that is all it means, and the data removal page is where to ask for a review. The blacklist lookup page explains each value.

What this page is not

US People Search is not a consumer reporting agency as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), and the information we provide is not a consumer report. You may not use this site to make decisions about employment, housing, credit, insurance or any other purpose covered by the FCRA.

Nothing on this page is legal advice; the rules summarized here change, and the linked primary sources control over any paraphrase. A lookup result does not create a safe harbor under the TCPA, the TSR or any state law, and we do not produce or retain the written procedures, training records or scrub logs a safe harbor requires. Read about our data sources for how each signal is assembled, and use the data removal page to ask for a record to be corrected or removed.