DNC registry
The National Do Not Call Registry is the US list, run by the Federal Trade Commission, of phone numbers whose owners have asked not to receive telemarketing calls. Sellers and telemarketers must check their calling lists against it.
Also called: National Do Not Call Registry, do-not-call list, DNC list
Anyone in the US can add a number to the registry at no cost and it stays listed until removed. Under the FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rule and the FCC’s parallel TCPA rules, telemarketers must scrub their lists against the registry at least every 31 days and must not call listed numbers to sell something.
The registry covers sales calls, not every call. The rules exempt calls the person asked for, calls from a business with which the person has an established business relationship (the FTC rule sets that at 18 months after a purchase or three months after an inquiry, unless the person asks the business to stop), and calls from charities and political campaigns. Several states also keep their own do-not-call lists with their own conditions.
For a business receiving calls the registry is irrelevant; it becomes relevant the moment the business, or software acting for it, dials out to sell. Consent given in writing overrides a registry listing for that seller, which is where prior express written consent comes in.