Do Not Call Registry and TSR: Small Business Basics

The short answer

If your business phones consumers to sell something, two federal rule sets apply to you at the same time: the Federal Trade Commission's Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR, 16 CFR Part 310) and the Federal Communications Commission's do-not-call rules under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA, 47 CFR 64.1200). In practice, as of October 2026, that means:

• Before you call, pay for (or claim the free tier of) access to the National Do Not Call Registry for every area code you call. The fee for the FTC's fiscal year 2027 (from October 1, 2026) is $85 per area code, the first five are free, and the cap is $23,425 ^[1].
• Remove Registry numbers from your call list at least every 31 days ^[2].
• Keep your own internal do-not-call list and honor requests within 10 business days ^[3].
• Call homes only between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m., the called person's local time ^[4].
• Most calls to businesses are exempt, with exceptions covered below.

Civil penalties under the TSR run up to $53,088 per violation ^[2], and individuals can also sue under the TCPA. This article is educational, not legal advice; check your own situation, including state law, with counsel.

Two rules, one registry

Since June 2003 the FTC and FCC have jointly enforced one National Do Not Call Registry, and together they cover nearly all sales calls to U.S. consumers ^[2]. The FCC side rests on a statute authorizing "a single national database" of residential subscribers who object to telephone solicitations ^[5].

A purely local business that never makes an interstate call may sit outside the TSR, but the FCC rules still cover intrastate calls; the FTC guide makes this point for small home-based sellers ^[2]. Plan to follow both.

State law sits on top: the TSR does not preempt it, and the same guide says some thirteen states run their own do-not-call registries. This article does not cover state lists; check the states you call.

What the Registry is, and is not

From the FTC's consumer FAQ ^[6]:

• Free for consumers, and registration never expires unless the number is disconnected and reassigned or the person asks.
• Home and cell numbers are treated the same.
• It does not block calls. It tells law-abiding telemarketers which numbers not to call. Scammers ignore it.
• 31 days. A registration shows up the next day, but sales calls can take up to 31 days to stop.
• Personal numbers only. "The Registry is for personal phone numbers. Business phone numbers and fax lines are not covered."

Under FCC rules, registrations must be honored indefinitely, until the consumer cancels or the number is removed by the administrator ^[3].

The business-to-business exemption and its limits

Most calls from a telemarketer to a business are exempt from the TSR, including its Registry prohibition ^[7]. Three limits:

1. Nondurable office or cleaning supplies. Calls to induce the retail sale of nondurable office or cleaning supplies are not exempt. The FTC's examples: paper, pencils, toner and ink, anything used up and replaced; copiers, software and mops are durable. These sellers are still excused from the Registry provisions and TSR recordkeeping ^[2][7].
2. Employees buying for themselves. A call to a business line that solicits an individual employee to buy something for personal use, or to make a personal donation, is not a business-to-business call and is not exempt ^[2].
3. No exemption for misrepresentation. As the rule now reads, the B2B exemption does not apply to the TSR's bans on misrepresenting material information in 310.3(a)(2) and (a)(4) ^[7]. Being exempt from the Registry is not permission to mislead.

The hard part is knowing whether a number is a business line. A sole proprietor's listed cell may also be a personal phone. If you cannot tell, treat it as a consumer number and scrub it.

Do you have to pay to access the Registry?

Usually yes, if you are a seller covered by the TSR. A seller may not call anyone in an area code, even unregistered numbers, until it has paid for that area code's data, unless it calls only people with whom it has an established business relationship or written permission and does not otherwise access the Registry ^[1].

Fees for fiscal year 2027 (effective October 1, 2026), set by the FTC's final rule of August 26, 2026 ^[8] and now in 16 CFR 310.8(c)-(d):

Other rules worth knowing ^[1][2]:

• Access lasts twelve months from the first day of the month you pay; an area code added in the first six months costs the full $85.
• Sharing access costs with another seller is prohibited.
• A telemarketer can use its client's Subscription Account Number (SAN).
• Registered users can check up to 10 numbers at a time online, at ^[9].
• Registry data may be used only to prevent calls.

A business calling three or four local area codes pays nothing, but must still register, certify and download.

The 31-day scrub and the safe harbor

Sellers and telemarketers must delete Registry numbers from their call lists at least every 31 days ^[2]). Both rule sets offer a safe harbor for mistakes if you can show, as routine practice, that you (^[4][3]:

• have written do-not-call procedures, and actually use them;
• trained your staff, and any vendor helping you, on those procedures;
• keep and record your own internal do-not-call list;
• use a process that blocks calls to numbers on that list and on the Registry, using a Registry version downloaded no more than 31 days before each call, and keep records of that process;
• monitor and enforce compliance (TSR); and
• can show that any bad call was an error, not a failure to capture a do-not-call request.

The FTC warns that a high rate of "errors" can show the procedures are inadequate.

Records. Since the 2024 amendments, TSR records must be kept for 5 years ^[10]; the FTC guide's recordkeeping section still says two years, but the regulation controls. A minimum file:

Your own internal do-not-call list

You must honor anyone who asks you to stop calling, registered or not ^[4]. The FCC's minimum standards ^[3]:

1. Written policy, available on demand.
2. Training for everyone involved in telemarketing.
3. Record the request at the time it is made and honor it within a reasonable time, no more than 10 business days.
4. Identify yourself: caller's name, business name, and a phone number or address where you can be reached.
5. Keep the request for 5 years.
6. A do-not-call request covers the entity that called, not affiliates, unless the consumer would reasonably expect them to be included.

The TSR also forbids making opting out hard: hanging up, requiring a pitch first, or sending the person to another number all count as interfering ^[2].

The established business relationship (EBR). You may call a registered number if you have an EBR and the person has not asked you to stop:

The FTC notes the EBR exemption covers live agent calls, not robocalls.

A script for the request. When someone says "stop calling":

"Understood. I'm adding this number to our do-not-call list now. You won't get more sales calls from [Business Name]. Is there any other number you'd like added?"

Then log it before the next call, not at the end of the day.

Calling hours and penalties

Hours. Without prior consent, no telemarketing calls to a person's residence before 8:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m. local time at the called person's location ^[4][3]. Use the called person's time zone, not your office's.

FTC penalties. TSR violators face civil penalties of up to $53,088 per violation, plus injunctions and consumer redress ^[2]. That figure is the FTC Act section 5(m)(1)(A) amount in 16 CFR 1.98(d). It is normally adjusted for inflation each year, but on September 15, 2026 the FTC announced no 2026 adjustment, because OMB cancelled it after the October 2025 CPI data was not produced during the government shutdown; 2025 levels continue ^[12]. The FTC's consumer FAQ still shows an outdated figure, $50,120 per call (the 2023 level) ^[6]; $53,088 is the current one. Each call can be a separate violation, and a seller that has not paid for Registry access can be liable for calls even to unregistered numbers ^[2].

Private lawsuits. Under the TCPA, a person who receives more than one call within 12 months from the same entity in violation of the FCC do-not-call rules can sue for actual losses or up to $500 per violation, and a court can triple that for willful or knowing violations ^[5].

Does this apply to a business that only receives calls?

Mostly not, for the inbound calls themselves. A call a customer places on their own, not prompted by any solicitation, is exempt from the TSR, except for any upsell you add during that call ^[7]. Calls responding to general media ads are also exempt, with exceptions such as debt relief and technical support ^[7]. Do-not-call rules govern calls you make, not calls you answer.

The rules come back into play the moment your staff call people back:

The first row is our reading, not agency text. If a service callback turns into a pitch, treat that part as telemarketing. Log each inquiry's date so you can show when the three-month window started.

Spam labels on your outbound calls are a separate carrier issue; see why a business number shows up as spam and the STIR/SHAKEN guide.

FAQ

Can I register my business line on the Registry? No. The FTC says the Registry is for personal phone numbers; business and fax lines are not covered ^[6]. To cut unwanted calls to your office, see how to stop spam calls to your business.

Does a cell number count? Yes. Cell numbers can be registered and are treated the same as home numbers ^[6]. The FCC applies its do-not-call rules to wireless numbers as well ^[3].

Is a sole proprietor's line "residential"? Unclear, and we could not find a primary source that settles it for every case. If the number is also someone's personal phone, or it appears on the Registry, treat it as a consumer number.

Do I need to scrub if I only call my own customers? If you call only people with a current EBR or written permission, the TSR does not require you to pay for Registry access ^[1]. You still need an internal do-not-call list, and the EBR ends when a purchase is more than 18 months old.

Auto Attendant ($29 USD per line per month) handles calls coming in to your business number and does not place outbound calls.

Sources

• 16 CFR 310.2, Definitions (eCFR, FTC Telemarketing Sales Rule): established business relationship (540 days / 90 days).
• 16 CFR 310.4, Abusive telemarketing acts or practices (eCFR): seller-specific and Registry prohibitions, safe harbor, 8 a.m.-9 p.m. calling hours.
• 16 CFR 310.5, Recordkeeping requirements (eCFR): 5-year retention and required records.
• 16 CFR 310.6, Exemptions (eCFR): B2B exemption and its limits, customer-initiated and general-media calls.
• 16 CFR 310.8, Fee for access to the National Do Not Call Registry (eCFR, current as of October 2026): $85, five free, $23,425 cap, $43 second-half add, no cost sharing.
• Telemarketing Sales Rule Fees, 91 FR 54947, August 26, 2026 (Federal Register, FTC): FY2027 fees effective October 1, 2026, and prior FY2026 amounts.
• 16 CFR 1.98, Adjustment of civil monetary penalty amounts (eCFR, FTC): $53,088 for FTC Act section 5(m)(1)(A).
• Civil Penalty Inflation Adjustments, 91 FR 58446, September 15, 2026 (Federal Register, FTC): no 2026 adjustment; 2025 levels continue.
• Complying with the Telemarketing Sales Rule (FTC business guidance): scope, B2B examples, 31-day update, fees, safe harbor, EBR, penalties, state registries.
• National Do Not Call Registry FAQs (FTC Consumer Advice): free registration, no blocking, 31 days, personal numbers only, cell phones, older $50,120 figure.
• 47 CFR 64.1200, Delivery restrictions (eCFR, FCC): national DNC and safe harbor, internal list standards, 10 business days, 5 years, EBR, wireless numbers.
• 47 U.S. Code 227 (Legal Information Institute, Cornell): single national database authority, private right of action ($500, up to triple).
• Stop Unwanted Robocalls and Texts (FCC consumer guide): prior written consent for prerecorded telemarketing calls.
• National Do Not Call Registry for telemarketers (FTC): business registration and access site.