§64.1200. Delivery restrictions.
47 C.F.R. § 64.1200
No person or entity may—
Except as provided in paragraph (a)(2) of this section, initiate any telephone call (other than a call made for emergency purposes or is made with the prior express consent of the called party) using an automatic telephone dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice;
To any emergency telephone line, including any 911 line and any emergency line of a hospital, medical physician or service office, health care facility, poison control center, or fire protection or law enforcement agency;
To the telephone line of any guest room or patient room of a hospital, health care facility, elderly home, or similar establishment; or
To any telephone number assigned to a paging service, cellular telephone service, specialized mobile radio service, or other radio common carrier service, or any service for which the called party is charged for the call.
A person will not be liable for violating the prohibition in paragraph (a)(1)(iii) of this section when the call is placed to a wireless number that has been ported from wireline service and such call is a voice call; not knowingly made to a wireless number; and made within 15 days of the porting of the number from wireline to wireless service, provided the number is not already on the national do-not-call registry or caller's company-specific do-not-call list. A person will not be liable for violating the prohibition in paragraph (a)(1)(iii) of this section when making calls exempted by paragraph (a)(9) of this section.
Initiate, or cause to be initiated, any telephone call that includes or introduces an advertisement or constitutes telemarketing, using an automatic telephone dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice, to any of the lines or telephone numbers described in paragraphs (a)(1)(i) through (iii) of this section, other than a call made with the prior express written consent of the called party or the prior express consent of the called party when the call is made by or on behalf of a tax-exempt nonprofit organization, or a call that delivers a “health care” message made by, or on behalf of, a “covered entity” or its “business associate,” as those terms are defined in the HIPAA Privacy Rule, 45 CFR 160.103.
Initiate any telephone call to any residential line using an artificial or prerecorded voice to deliver a message that includes or introduces an advertisement or constitutes telemarketing without the prior express written consent of the called party, or that exceeds the applicable numerical limitation on calls identified in paragraphs (a)(3)(ii) through (v) of this section without the prior express consent of the called party. A telephone call to any residential line using an artificial or prerecorded voice to deliver a message requires no consent if the call:
Is made for emergency purposes;
Is not made for a commercial purpose and the caller makes no more than three calls within any consecutive 30-day period to the residential line and honors the called party's request to opt out of future calls as required in paragraphs (b) and (d) of this section;
Is made for a commercial purpose but does not include or introduce an advertisement or constitute telemarketing and the caller makes no more than three calls within any consecutive 30-day period to the residential line and honors the called party's request to opt out of future calls as required in paragraphs (b) and (d) of this section;
Is made by or on behalf of a tax-exempt nonprofit organization and the caller makes no more than three calls within any consecutive 30-day period to the residential line and honors the called party's request to opt out of future calls as required in paragraphs (b) and (d) of this section; or
Delivers a “health care” message made by, or on behalf of, a “covered entity” or its “business associate,” as those terms are defined in the HIPAA Privacy Rule, 45 CFR 160.103, and the caller makes no more than one call per day to each patient's residential line, up to a maximum of three calls combined per week to each patient's residential line and honors the called party's request to opt out of future calls as required in paragraphs (b) and (d) of this section.
Use a telephone facsimile machine, computer, or other device to send an unsolicited advertisement to a telephone facsimile machine, unless—
The unsolicited advertisement is from a sender with an established business relationship, as defined in paragraph (f)(6) of this section, with the recipient; and
The sender obtained the number of the telephone facsimile machine through—
The voluntary communication of such number by the recipient directly to the sender, within the context of such established business relationship; or
A directory, advertisement, or site on the Internet to which the recipient voluntarily agreed to make available its facsimile number for public distribution. If a sender obtains the facsimile number from the recipient's own directory, advertisement, or Internet site, it will be presumed that the number was voluntarily made available for public distribution, unless such materials explicitly note that unsolicited advertisements are not accepted at the specified facsimile number. If a sender obtains the facsimile number from other sources, the sender must take reasonable steps to verify that the recipient agreed to make the number available for public distribution.
This clause shall not apply in the case of an unsolicited advertisement that is sent based on an established business relationship with the recipient that was in existence before July 9, 2005 if the sender also possessed the facsimile machine number of the recipient before July 9, 2005. There shall be a rebuttable presumption that if a valid established business relationship was formed prior to July 9, 2005, the sender possessed the facsimile number prior to such date as well; and
The advertisement contains a notice that informs the recipient of the ability and means to avoid future unsolicited advertisements. A notice contained in an advertisement complies with the requirements under this paragraph only if—
The notice is clear and conspicuous and on the first page of the advertisement;
The notice states that the recipient may make a request to the sender of the advertisement not to send any future advertisements to a telephone facsimile machine or machines and that failure to comply, within 30 days, with such a request meeting the requirements under paragraph (a)(4)(v) of this section is unlawful;
The notice sets forth the requirements for an opt-out request under paragraph (a)(4)(v) of this section;
The notice includes— (1) A domestic contact telephone number and facsimile machine number for the recipient to transmit such a request to the sender; and
(2) If neither the required telephone number nor facsimile machine number is a toll-free number, a separate cost-free mechanism including a Web site address or email address, for a recipient to transmit a request pursuant to such notice to the sender of the advertisement. A local telephone number also shall constitute a cost-free mechanism so long as recipients are local and will not incur any long distance or other separate charges for calls made to such number; and
The telephone and facsimile numbers and cost-free mechanism identified in the notice must permit an individual or business to make an opt-out request 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
A request not to send future unsolicited advertisements to a telephone facsimile machine complies with the requirements under this subparagraph only if—
The request identifies the telephone number or numbers of the telephone facsimile machine or machines to which the request relates;
The request is made to the telephone number, facsimile number, Web site address or email address identified in the sender's facsimile advertisement; and
The person making the request has not, subsequent to such request, provided express invitation or permission to the sender, in writing or otherwise, to send such advertisements to such person at such telephone facsimile machine.
A sender that receives a request not to send future unsolicited advertisements that complies with paragraph (a)(4)(v) of this section must honor that request within the shortest reasonable time from the date of such request, not to exceed 30 days, and is prohibited from sending unsolicited advertisements to the recipient unless the recipient subsequently provides prior express invitation or permission to the sender. The recipient's opt-out request terminates the established business relationship exemption for purposes of sending future unsolicited advertisements. If such requests are recorded or maintained by a party other than the sender on whose behalf the unsolicited advertisement is sent, the sender will be liable for any failures to honor the opt-out request.
A facsimile broadcaster will be liable for violations of paragraph (a)(4) of this section, including the inclusion of opt-out notices on unsolicited advertisements, if it demonstrates a high degree of involvement in, or actual notice of, the unlawful activity and fails to take steps to prevent such facsimile transmissions.
Use an automatic telephone dialing system in such a way that two or more telephone lines of a multi-line business are engaged simultaneously.
Disconnect an unanswered telemarketing call prior to at least 15 seconds or four (4) rings.
Abandon more than three percent of all telemarketing calls that are answered live by a person, as measured over a 30-day period for a single calling campaign. If a single calling campaign exceeds a 30-day period, the abandonment rate shall be calculated separately for each successive 30-day period or portion thereof that such calling campaign continues. A call is “abandoned” if it is not connected to a live sales representative within two (2) seconds of the called person's completed greeting.
Whenever a live sales representative is not available to speak with the person answering the call, within two (2) seconds after the called person's completed greeting, the telemarketer or the seller must provide:
A prerecorded identification and opt-out message that is limited to disclosing that the call was for “telemarketing purposes” and states the name of the business, entity, or individual on whose behalf the call was placed, and a telephone number for such business, entity, or individual that permits the called person to make a do-not-call request during regular business hours for the duration of the telemarketing campaign; provided, that, such telephone number may not be a 900 number or any other number for which charges exceed local or long distance transmission charges, and
An automated, interactive voice- and/or key press-activated opt-out mechanism that enables the called person to make a do-not-call request prior to terminating the call, including brief explanatory instructions on how to use such mechanism. When the called person elects to opt-out using such mechanism, the mechanism must automatically record the called person's number to the seller's do-not-call list and immediately terminate the call.
A call for telemarketing purposes that delivers an artificial or prerecorded voice message to a residential telephone line or to any of the lines or telephone numbers described in paragraphs (a)(1)(i) through (iii) of this section after the subscriber to such line has granted prior express written consent for the call to be made shall not be considered an abandoned call if the message begins within two (2) seconds of the called person's completed greeting.
The seller or telemarketer must maintain records establishing compliance with paragraph (a)(7) of this section.
Calls made by or on behalf of tax-exempt nonprofit organizations are not covered by this paragraph (a)(7).
Use any technology to dial any telephone number for the purpose of determining whether the line is a facsimile or voice line.
A person will not be liable for violating the prohibition in paragraph (a)(1)(iii) of this section for making any call exempted in this paragraph (a)(9), provided that the call is not charged to the called person or counted against the called person's plan limits on minutes or texts. As used in this paragraph (a)(9), the term “call” includes a text message, including a short message service (SMS) call.
Calls made by a package delivery company to notify a consumer about a package delivery, provided that all of the following conditions are met:
The notification must be sent only to the telephone number for the package recipient;
The notification must identify the name of the package delivery company and include contact information for the package delivery company;
The notification must not include any telemarketing, solicitation, or advertising content;
The voice call or text message notification must be concise, generally one minute or less in length for voice calls or 160 characters or less in length for text messages;
The package delivery company shall send only one notification (whether by voice call or text message) per package, except that one additional notification may be sent for each attempt to deliver the package, up to two attempts, if the recipient's signature is required for the package and the recipient was not available to sign for the package on the previous delivery attempt;
The package delivery company must offer package recipients the ability to opt out of receiving future delivery notification calls and messages and must honor an opt-out request within a reasonable time from the date such request is made, not to exceed six business days; and,
Each notification must include information on how to opt out of future delivery notifications; voice call notifications that could be answered by a live person must include an automated, interactive voice- and/or key press-activated opt-out mechanism that enables the called person to make an opt-out request prior to terminating the call; voice call notifications that could be answered by an answering machine or voice mail service must include a toll-free number that the consumer can call to opt out of future package delivery notifications; text notifications must include the ability for the recipient to opt out by replying “STOP.”
Calls made by an inmate collect call service provider following an unsuccessful collect call to establish a billing arrangement with the called party to enable future collect calls, provided that all of the following conditions are met:
Notifications must identify the name of the inmate collect call service provider and include contact information;
Notifications must not include any telemarketing, solicitation, debt collection, or advertising content;
Notifications must be clear and concise, generally one minute or less;
Inmate collect call service providers shall send no more than three notifications following each inmate collect call that is unsuccessful due to the lack of an established billing arrangement, and shall not retain the called party's number after call completion or, in the alternative, after the third notification attempt; and
Each notification call must include information on how to opt out of future calls; voice calls that could be answered by a live person must include an automated, interactive voice- and/or key press-activated opt-out mechanism that enables the called person to make an opt-out request prior to terminating the call; voice calls that could be answered by an answering machine or voice mail service must include a toll-free number that the consumer can call to opt out of future notification calls; and,
The inmate collect call service provider must honor opt-out requests immediately.
Calls made by any financial institution as defined in section 4(k) of the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, 15 U.S.C. 6809(3)(A), provided that all of the following conditions are met:
Voice calls and text messages must be sent only to the wireless telephone number provided by the customer of the financial institution;
Voice calls and text messages must state the name and contact information of the financial institution (for voice calls, these disclosures must be made at the beginning of the call);
Voice calls and text messages are strictly limited to those for the following purposes— transactions and events that suggest a risk of fraud or identity theft; possible breaches of the security of customers' personal information; steps consumers can take to prevent or remedy harm caused by data security breaches; and actions needed to arrange for receipt of pending money transfers;
Voice calls and text messages must not include any telemarketing, cross-marketing, solicitation, debt collection, or advertising content;
Voice calls and text messages must be concise, generally one minute or less in length for voice calls (unless more time is needed to obtain customer responses or answer customer questions) or 160 characters or less in length for text messages;
A financial institution may initiate no more than three messages (whether by voice call or text message) per event over a three-day period for an affected account;
A financial institution must offer recipients within each message an easy means to opt out of future such messages; voice calls that could be answered by a live person must include an automated, interactive voice- and/or key press-activated opt-out mechanism that enables the call recipient to make an opt-out request prior to terminating the call; voice calls that could be answered by an answering machine or voice mail service must include a toll-free number that the consumer can call to opt out of future calls; text messages must inform recipients of the ability to opt out by replying “STOP,” which will be the exclusive means by which consumers may opt out of such messages; and,
A financial institution must honor opt-out requests immediately.
Calls made by, or on behalf of, healthcare providers, which include hospitals, emergency care centers, medical physician or service offices, poison control centers, and other healthcare professionals, provided that all of the following conditions are met:
Voice calls and text messages must be sent only to the wireless telephone number provided by the patient;
Voice calls and text messages must state the name and contact information of the healthcare provider (for voice calls, these disclosures would need to be made at the beginning of the call);
Voice calls and text messages are strictly limited to those for the following purposes— appointment and exam confirmations and reminders, wellness checkups, hospital pre-registration instructions, pre-operative instructions, lab results, post-discharge follow-up intended to prevent readmission, prescription notifications, and home healthcare instructions;
Voice calls and text messages must not include any telemarketing, solicitation, or advertising; may not include accounting, billing, debt-collection, or other financial content; and must comply with HIPAA privacy rules, 45 CFR 160.103;
Voice calls and text messages must be concise, generally one minute or less in length for voice calls or 160 characters or less in length for text messages;
A healthcare provider may initiate only one message (whether by voice call or text message) per day to each patient, up to a maximum of three voice calls or text messages combined per week to each patient;
A healthcare provider must offer recipients within each message an easy means to opt out of future such messages; voice calls that could be answered by a live person must include an automated, interactive voice- and/or key press-activated opt-out mechanism that enables the call recipient to make an opt-out request prior to terminating the call; voice calls that could be answered by an answering machine or voice mail service must include a toll-free number that the consumer can call to opt out of future healthcare calls; text messages must inform recipients of the ability to opt out by replying “STOP,” which will be the exclusive means by which consumers may opt out of such messages; and,
A healthcare provider must honor opt-out requests immediately.
A called party may revoke prior express consent, including prior express written consent, to receive calls or text messages made pursuant to paragraphs (a)(1) through (3) and (c)(2) of this section by using any reasonable method to clearly express a desire not to receive further calls or text messages from the caller or sender. Any revocation request made using an automated, interactive voice or key press-activated opt-out mechanism on a call; using the words “stop,” “quit,” “end,” “revoke,” “opt out,” “cancel,” or “unsubscribe” sent in reply to an incoming text message; or pursuant to a website or telephone number designated by the caller to process opt-out requests constitutes a reasonable means per se to revoke consent. If a called party uses any such method to revoke consent, that consent is considered definitively revoked and the caller may not send additional robocalls and robotexts. If a reply to an incoming text message uses words other than “stop,” “quit,” “end,” “revoke,” “opt out,” “cancel,” or “unsubscribe,” the caller must treat that reply text as a valid revocation request if a reasonable person would understand those words to have conveyed a request to revoke consent. Should the text initiator choose to use a texting protocol that does not allow reply texts, it must provide a clear and conspicuous disclosure on each text to the consumer that two-way texting is not available due to technical limitations of the texting protocol, and clearly and conspicuously provide on each text reasonable alternative ways to revoke consent. All requests to revoke prior express consent or prior express written consent made in any reasonable manner must be honored within a reasonable time not to exceed ten business days from receipt of such request. Callers or senders of text messages covered by paragraphs (a)(1) through (3) and (c)(2) of this section may not designate an exclusive means to request revocation of consent.
The use of any other means to revoke consent not listed in paragraph (a)(10) of this section, such as a voicemail or email to any telephone number or email address intended to reach the caller, creates a rebuttable presumption that the consumer has revoked consent when the called party satisfies their obligation to produce evidence that such a request has been made, absent evidence to the contrary. In those circumstances, a totality of circumstances analysis will determine whether the caller can demonstrate that a request to revoke consent has not been conveyed in a reasonable manner.
A one-time text message confirming a request to revoke consent from receiving any further calls or text messages does not violate paragraphs (a)(1) and (2) of this section as long as the confirmation text merely confirms the text recipient's revocation request and does not include any marketing or promotional information, and is the only additional message sent to the called party after receipt of the revocation request. If the confirmation text is sent within five minutes of receipt, it will be presumed to fall within the consumer's prior express consent. If it takes longer, however, the sender will have to make a showing that such delay was reasonable. To the extent that the text recipient has consented to several categories of text messages from the text sender, the confirmation message may request clarification as to whether the revocation request was meant to encompass all such messages; the sender must cease all further texts for which consent is required absent further clarification that the recipient wishes to continue to receive certain text messages.
All artificial or prerecorded voice telephone messages shall—
At the beginning of the message, state clearly the identity of the business, individual, or other entity that is responsible for initiating the call. If a business is responsible for initiating the call, the name under which the entity is registered to conduct business with the State Corporation Commission (or comparable regulatory authority) must be stated;
During or after the message, state clearly the telephone number (other than that of the autodialer or prerecorded message player that placed the call) of such business, other entity, or individual. The telephone number provided may not be a 900 number or any other number for which charges exceed local or long distance transmission charges. For telemarketing messages and messages made pursuant to an exemption under paragraphs (a)(3)(ii) through (v) of this section to residential telephone subscribers, such telephone number must permit any individual to make a do-not-call request during regular business hours; and
In every case where the artificial or prerecorded-voice telephone message is made pursuant to an exemption under paragraphs (a)(3)(ii) through (v) of this section or includes or introduces an advertisement or constitutes telemarketing and is delivered to a residential telephone line or any of the lines or telephone numbers described in paragraphs (a)(1)(i) through (iii) of this section, provide an automated, interactive voice- and/or key press-activated opt-out mechanism for the called person to make a do-not-call request, including brief explanatory instructions on how to use such mechanism, within two (2) seconds of providing the identification information required in paragraph (b)(1) of this section. When the called person elects to opt out using such mechanism, the mechanism must automatically record the called person's number to the caller's do-not-call list and immediately terminate the call. When the artificial or prerecorded-voice telephone message is left on an answering machine or a voice mail service, such message must also provide a toll free number that enables the called person to call back at a later time and connect directly to the automated, interactive voice- and/or key press-activated opt-out mechanism and automatically record the called person's number to the caller's do-not-call list.
No person or entity shall initiate any telephone solicitation to:
Any residential telephone subscriber before the hour of 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. (local time at the called party's location), or
A residential telephone subscriber who has registered his or her telephone number on the national do-not-call registry of persons who do not wish to receive telephone solicitations that is maintained by the Federal Government. Such do-not-call registrations must be honored indefinitely, or until the registration is cancelled by the consumer or the telephone number is removed by the database administrator. Any person or entity making telephone solicitations (or on whose behalf telephone solicitations are made) will not be liable for violating this requirement if:
It can demonstrate that the violation is the result of error and that as part of its routine business practice, it meets the following standards:
Written procedures. It has established and implemented written procedures to comply with the national do-not-call rules;
Training of personnel. It has trained its personnel, and any entity assisting in its compliance, in procedures established pursuant to the national do-not-call rules;
Recording. It has maintained and recorded a list of telephone numbers that the seller may not contact;
Accessing the national do-not-call database. It uses a process to prevent telephone solicitations to any telephone number on any list established pursuant to the do-not-call rules, employing a version of the national do-not-call registry obtained from the administrator of the registry no more than 31 days prior to the date any call is made, and maintains records documenting this process.
Purchasing the national do-not-call database. It uses a process to ensure that it does not sell, rent, lease, purchase or use the national do-not-call database, or any part thereof, for any purpose except compliance with this section and any such state or federal law to prevent telephone solicitations to telephone numbers registered on the national database. It purchases access to the relevant do-not-call data from the administrator of the national database and does not participate in any arrangement to share the cost of accessing the national database, including any arrangement with telemarketers who may not divide the costs to access the national database among various client sellers; or
It has obtained the subscriber's prior express invitation or permission. Such permission must be evidenced by a signed, written agreement between the consumer and seller which states that the consumer agrees to be contacted by this seller and includes the telephone number to which the calls may be placed; or
The telemarketer making the call has a personal relationship with the recipient of the call.
No person or entity shall initiate any artificial or prerecorded-voice telephone call pursuant to an exemption under paragraphs (a)(3)(ii) through (v) of this section or any call for telemarketing purposes to a residential telephone subscriber unless such person or entity has instituted procedures for maintaining a list of persons who request not to receive such calls made by or on behalf of that person or entity. The procedures instituted must meet the following minimum standards:
Written policy. Persons or entities making artificial or prerecorded-voice telephone calls pursuant to an exemption under paragraphs (a)(3)(ii) through (v) of this section or calls for telemarketing purposes must have a written policy, available upon demand, for maintaining a do-not-call list.
Training of personnel. Personnel engaged in making artificial or prerecorded-voice telephone calls pursuant to an exemption under paragraphs (a)(3)(ii) through (v) of this section or who are engaged in any aspect of telemarketing must be informed and trained in the existence and use of the do-not-call list.
Recording, disclosure of do-not-call requests. If a person or entity making an artificial or prerecorded-voice telephone call pursuant to an exemption under paragraphs (a)(3)(ii) through (v) of this section or any call for telemarketing purposes (or on whose behalf such a call is made) receives a request from a residential telephone subscriber not to receive calls from that person or entity, the person or entity must record the request and place the subscriber's name, if provided, and telephone number on the do-not-call list at the time the request is made. Persons or entities making such calls (or on whose behalf such calls are made) must honor a residential subscriber's do-not-call request within a reasonable time from the date such request is made. This period may not exceed ten (10) business days from the receipt of such request. If such requests are recorded or maintained by a party other than the person or entity on whose behalf the call is made, the person or entity on whose behalf the call is made will be liable for any failures to honor the do-not-call request. A person or entity making an artificial or prerecorded-voice telephone call pursuant to an exemption under paragraphs (a)(3)(ii) through (v) or any call for telemarketing purposes must obtain a consumer's prior express permission to share or forward the consumer's request not to be called to a party other than the person or entity on whose behalf a call is made or an affiliated entity.
Identification of callers and telemarketers. A person or entity making an artificial or prerecorded-voice telephone call pursuant to an exemption under paragraphs (a)(3)(ii) through (v) of this section or any call for telemarketing purposes must provide the called party with the name of the individual caller, the name of the person or entity on whose behalf the call is being made, and a telephone number or address at which the person or entity may be contacted. The telephone number provided may not be a 900 number or any other number for which charges exceed local or long distance transmission charges.
Affiliated persons or entities. In the absence of a specific request by the subscriber to the contrary, a residential subscriber's do-not-call request shall apply to the particular entity making the call (or on whose behalf a call is made), and will not apply to affiliated entities unless the consumer reasonably would expect them to be included given the identification of the caller and (for telemarketing calls) the product being advertised.
Maintenance of do-not-call lists. A person or entity making artificial or prerecorded-voice telephone calls pursuant to an exemption under paragraphs (a)(3)(ii) through (v) of this section or any call for telemarketing purposes must maintain a record of a consumer's request not to receive further calls. A do-not-call request must be honored for 5 years from the time the request is made.
The rules set forth in paragraph (c) and (d) of this section are applicable to any person or entity making telephone solicitations or telemarketing calls or text messages to wireless telephone numbers to the extent described in the Commission's Report and Order, CG Docket No. 02-278, FCC 03-153, “Rules and Regulations Implementing the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991.”
As used in this section—
The term advertisement means any material advertising the commercial availability or quality of any property, goods, or services.
The terms automatic telephone dialing system and autodialer mean equipment which has the capacity to store or produce telephone numbers to be called using a random or sequential number generator and to dial such numbers.
The term clear and conspicuous means a notice that would be apparent to the reasonable consumer, separate and distinguishable from the advertising copy or other disclosures. With respect to facsimiles and for purposes of paragraph (a)(4)(iii)(A) of this section, the notice must be placed at either the top or bottom of the facsimile.
The term emergency purposes means calls made necessary in any situation affecting the health and safety of consumers.
The term established business relationship for purposes of telephone solicitations means a prior or existing relationship formed by a voluntary two-way communication between a person or entity and a residential subscriber with or without an exchange of consideration, on the basis of the subscriber's purchase or transaction with the entity within the eighteen (18) months immediately preceding the date of the telephone call or on the basis of the subscriber's inquiry or application regarding products or services offered by the entity within the three months immediately preceding the date of the call, which relationship has not been previously terminated by either party.
The subscriber's seller-specific do-not-call request, as set forth in paragraph (d)(3) of this section, terminates an established business relationship for purposes of telemarketing and telephone solicitation even if the subscriber continues to do business with the seller.
The subscriber's established business relationship with a particular business entity does not extend to affiliated entities unless the subscriber would reasonably expect them to be included given the nature and type of goods or services offered by the affiliate and the identity of the affiliate.
The term established business relationship for purposes of paragraph (a)(4) of this section on the sending of facsimile advertisements means a prior or existing relationship formed by a voluntary two-way communication between a person or entity and a business or residential subscriber with or without an exchange of consideration, on the basis of an inquiry, application, purchase or transaction by the business or residential subscriber regarding products or services offered by such person or entity, which relationship has not been previously terminated by either party.
The term facsimile broadcaster means a person or entity that transmits messages to telephone facsimile machines on behalf of another person or entity for a fee.
The term one-ring scam means a scam in which a caller makes a call and allows the call to ring the called party for a short duration, in order to prompt the called party to return the call, thereby subjecting the called party to charges.
The term prior express written consent means an agreement, in writing, bearing the signature of the person called that clearly authorizes the seller to deliver or cause to be delivered to the person called advertisements or telemarketing messages using an automatic telephone dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice, and the telephone number to which the signatory authorizes such advertisements or telemarketing messages to be delivered.
The written agreement shall include a clear and conspicuous disclosure informing the person signing that:
By executing the agreement, such person authorizes the seller to deliver or cause to be delivered to the signatory telemarketing calls using an automatic telephone dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice; and
The person is not required to sign the agreement (directly or indirectly), or agree to enter into such an agreement as a condition of purchasing any property, goods, or services.
The term “signature” shall include an electronic or digital form of signature, to the extent that such form of signature is recognized as a valid signature under applicable federal law or state contract law.
The term seller means the person or entity on whose behalf a telephone call or message is initiated for the purpose of encouraging the purchase or rental of, or investment in, property, goods, or services, which is transmitted to any person.
The term sender for purposes of paragraph (a)(4) of this section means the person or entity on whose behalf a facsimile unsolicited advertisement is sent or whose goods or services are advertised or promoted in the unsolicited advertisement.
The term telemarketer means the person or entity that initiates a telephone call or message for the purpose of encouraging the purchase or rental of, or investment in, property, goods, or services, which is transmitted to any person.
The term telemarketing means the initiation of a telephone call or message for the purpose of encouraging the purchase or rental of, or investment in, property, goods, or services, which is transmitted to any person.
The term telephone facsimile machine means equipment which has the capacity to transcribe text or images, or both, from paper into an electronic signal and to transmit that signal over a regular telephone line, or to transcribe text or images (or both) from an electronic signal received over a regular telephone line onto paper.
The term telephone solicitation means the initiation of a telephone call or message for the purpose of encouraging the purchase or rental of, or investment in, property, goods, or services, which is transmitted to any person, but such term does not include a call or message:
To any person with that person's prior express invitation or permission;
To any person with whom the caller has an established business relationship; or
By or on behalf of a tax-exempt nonprofit organization.
The term unsolicited advertisement means any material advertising the commercial availability or quality of any property, goods, or services which is transmitted to any person without that person's prior express invitation or permission, in writing or otherwise.
The term personal relationship means any family member, friend, or acquaintance of the telemarketer making the call.
The term effectively mitigate means identifying the source of the traffic and preventing that source from continuing to originate traffic of the same or similar nature.
The term gateway provider means a U.S.-based intermediate provider that receives a call directly from a foreign originating provider or foreign intermediate provider at its U.S.-based facilities before transmitting the call downstream to another U.S.-based provider. For purposes of this paragraph (f)(19):
U.S.-based means that the provider has facilities located in the United States, including a point of presence capable of processing the call; and
Receives a call directly— from a provider means the foreign provider directly upstream of the gateway provider in the call path sent the call to the gateway provider, with no providers in-between.
Beginning January 1, 2004, common carriers shall—
When providing local exchange service, provide an annual notice, via an insert in the subscriber's bill, of the right to give or revoke a notification of an objection to receiving telephone solicitations pursuant to the national do-not-call database maintained by the federal government and the methods by which such rights may be exercised by the subscriber. The notice must be clear and conspicuous and include, at a minimum, the Internet address and toll-free number that residential telephone subscribers may use to register on the national database.
When providing service to any person or entity for the purpose of making telephone solicitations, make a one-time notification to such person or entity of the national do-not-call requirements, including, at a minimum, citation to 47 CFR 64.1200 and 16 CFR 310. Failure to receive such notification will not serve as a defense to any person or entity making telephone solicitations from violations of this section.
The administrator of the national do-not-call registry that is maintained by the federal government shall make the telephone numbers in the database available to the States so that a State may use the telephone numbers that relate to such State as part of any database, list or listing system maintained by such State for the regulation of telephone solicitations.
-(j) [Reserved]
Voice service providers may block calls so that they do not reach a called party as follows:
A provider may block a voice call when the subscriber to which the originating number is assigned has requested that calls purporting to originate from that number be blocked because the number is used for inbound calls only.
A provider may block a voice call purporting to originate from any of the following:
A North American Numbering Plan number that is not valid;
A valid North American Numbering Plan number that is not allocated to a provider by the North American Numbering Plan Administrator or the Pooling Administrator; and
A valid North American Numbering Plan number that is allocated to a provider by the North American Numbering Plan Administrator or Pooling Administrator, but is unused, so long as the provider blocking the calls is the allocatee of the number and confirms that the number is unused or has obtained verification from the allocatee that the number is unused at the time of the blocking.
A telephone number that the provider identifies, based on reasonable analytics, as highly likely to be associated with a one-ring scam.
A terminating provider may block a voice call without liability under the Communications Act or the Commission's rules where:
Calls are blocked based on the use of reasonable analytics designed to identify unwanted calls;
Those analytics include consideration of caller ID authentication information where available;
A consumer may opt out of blocking and is provided with sufficient information to make an informed decision;
All analytics are applied in a non-discriminatory, competitively neutral manner;
Blocking services are provided with no additional line-item charge to consumers; and
The terminating provider provides, without charge to the caller, the redress requirements set forth in paragraph (k)(8) of this section.
A provider may block voice calls or cease to accept traffic from an originating or intermediate provider without liability under the Communications Act or the Commission's rules where the originating or intermediate provider, when notified by the Commission, fails to effectively mitigate illegal traffic within 48 hours or fails to implement effective measures to prevent new and renewing customers from using its network to originate illegal calls. Prior to initiating blocking, the provider shall provide the Commission with notice and a brief summary of the basis for its determination that the originating or intermediate provider meets one or more of these two conditions for blocking.
A provider may not block a voice call under paragraphs (k)(1) through (4), paragraph (k)(11), paragraphs (n)(2) and (3), paragraph (n)(5), or paragraph (o) of this section if the call is an emergency call placed to 911.
When blocking consistent with paragraphs (k)(1) through (4), paragraph (k)(11), paragraphs (n)(2) and (3), paragraph (n)(5), or paragraph (o) of this section, a provider must make all reasonable efforts to ensure that calls from public safety answering points and government emergency numbers are not blocked.
For purposes of this section, a provider may rely on Caller ID information to determine the purported originating number without regard to whether the call, in fact originated from that number.
Each terminating provider that blocks calls pursuant to this section or utilizes caller ID authentication information in determining how to deliver calls must provide a single point of contact, readily available on the terminating provider's public-facing website, for receiving call blocking error complaints and verifying the authenticity of the calls of a calling party that is adversely affected by information provided by caller ID authentication. The terminating provider must resolve disputes pertaining to caller ID authentication information within a reasonable time and, at a minimum, provide a status update within 24 hours. When a caller makes a credible claim of erroneous blocking and the terminating provider determines that the calls should not have been blocked, or the call delivery decision is not appropriate, the terminating provider must promptly cease the call treatment for that number unless circumstances change. The terminating provider may not impose any charge on callers for reporting, investigating, or resolving either category of complaints, so long as the complaint is made in good faith.
Any terminating provider that blocks calls based on any analytics program, either itself or through a third-party blocking service, must immediately return, and all voice service providers in the call path must transmit, an appropriate response code to the origination point of the call. For purposes of this rule, an appropriate response code is:
In the case of a call terminating on an IP network, the use of Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) code 603+, as defined in ATIS-1000099, adopted August 16, 2022;
In the case of a call terminating on a non-IP network, the use of ISDN User Part (ISUP) code 21 with the cause location “user”;
In the case of a code transmitting from an IP network to a non-IP network, SIP code 603+ must map to ISUP code 21; and
In the case of a code transmitting from a non-IP network to an IP network, ISUP code 21 must map to SIP code 603 or 603+ where the cause location is “user.”
Any terminating provider that blocks calls pursuant to an opt-out or opt-in analytics program, either itself or through a third-party blocking service, must provide, at the request of the subscriber to a number, at no additional charge and within 3 business days of such a request, a list of calls to that number, including the date and time of the call and the calling number, that the terminating provider or its designee blocked pursuant to such analytics program within the 28 days prior to the request.
A terminating provider may block calls without liability under the Communications Act and the Commission's rules, without giving consumers the opportunity to opt out of such blocking, so long as:
The provider reasonably determines, based on reasonable analytics that include consideration of caller ID authentication information where available, that calls are part of a particular call pattern that is highly likely to be illegal;
The provider manages its network-based blocking with human oversight and network monitoring sufficient to ensure that it blocks only calls that are highly likely to be illegal, which must include a process that reasonably determines that the particular call pattern is highly likely to be illegal before initiating blocking of calls that are part of that pattern;
The provider ceases blocking calls that are part of the call pattern as soon as the provider has actual knowledge that the blocked calls are likely lawful;
The provider discloses to consumers that it is engaging in such blocking;
All analytics are applied in a non-discriminatory, competitively neutral manner;
Blocking services are provided with no additional line-item charge to consumers; and
The terminating provider provides, without line item charge to the caller, the redress requirements set forth in subparagraphs 8 and 9.
A reporting carrier subject to § 52.15(f) of this title shall:
Maintain records of the most recent date each North American Numbering Plan (NANP) telephone number allocated or ported to the reporting carrier was permanently disconnected.
Beginning on the 15th day of the month after the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau announces that the Administrator is ready to begin accepting these reports and on the 15th day of each month thereafter, report to the Administrator the most recent date each NANP telephone number allocated to or ported to it was permanently disconnected.
For purposes of this paragraph (l), a NANP telephone number has been permanently disconnected when a subscriber permanently has relinquished the number, or the provider permanently has reversed its assignment of the number to the subscriber such that the number has been disassociated with the subscriber. A NANP telephone number that is ported to another provider is not permanently disconnected.
Reporting carriers serving 100,000 or fewer domestic retail subscriber lines as reported on their most recent Forms 477, aggregated over all the providers' affiliates, must begin keeping the records required by paragraph (l)(1) of this section six months after the effective date for large providers and must begin filing the reports required by paragraph (l)(2) of this section no later than the 15th day of the month that is six months after the date announced by the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau pursuant to paragraph (l)(2).
A person will not be liable for violating the prohibitions in paragraph (a)(1), (2), or (3) of this section by making a call to a number for which the person previously had obtained prior express consent of the called party as required in paragraph (a)(1), (2), or (3) but at the time of the call, the number is not assigned to the subscriber to whom it was assigned at the time such prior express consent was obtained if the person, bearing the burden of proof and persuasion, demonstrates that:
The person, based upon the most recent numbering information reported to the Administrator pursuant to paragraph (l) of this section, by querying the database operated by the Administrator and receiving a response of “no”, has verified that the number has not been permanently disconnected since the date prior express consent was obtained as required in paragraph (a)(1), (2), or (3) of this section; and
The person's call to the number was the result of the database erroneously returning a response of “no” to the person's query consisting of the number for which prior express consent was obtained as required in paragraph (a)(1), (2), or (3) of this section and the date on which such prior express consent was obtained.
A voice service provider must—
Upon receipt of a traceback request from the Commission, civil law enforcement, criminal law enforcement, or the industry traceback consortium, the provider must fully respond to the traceback request within 24 hours of receipt of the request. The 24-hour clock does not start outside of business hours, and requests received during that time are deemed received at 8 a.m. on the next business day. If the 24-hour response period would end on a non-business day, either a weekend or a Federal legal holiday, the 24-hour clock does not run for the weekend or holiday in question, and restarts at 12:01 a.m. on the next business day following when the request would otherwise be due. For example, a request received at 3 p.m. on a Friday will be due at 3 p.m. on the following Monday, assuming that Monday is not a Federal legal holiday. For purposes of this paragraph (n)(1), business day is defined as Monday through Friday, excluding Federal legal holidays, and business hours is defined as 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on a business day. For purposes of this paragraph (n)(1), all times are local time for the office that is required to respond to the request.
Upon receipt of a Notice of Suspected Illegal Traffic from the Commission through its Enforcement Bureau, take the applicable actions with respect to the identified traffic described in paragraphs (n)(2)(i) through (iii) of this section. The provider will not be held liable under the Communications Act or the Commission's rules in this chapter for providers that inadvertently block lawful traffic as part of the requirement to block substantially similar traffic so long as it is blocking consistent with the requirements of paragraphs (n)(2)(i) through (iii). For purposes of this paragraph (n)(2), identified traffic means the illegal traffic identified in the Notification of Suspected Illegal Traffic issued by the Enforcement Bureau. The following procedures shall apply:
The Enforcement Bureau will issue a Notification of Suspected Illegal Traffic that identifies with as much particularity as possible the suspected illegal traffic; provides the basis for the Enforcement Bureau's reasonable belief that the identified traffic is unlawful; cites the statutory or regulatory provisions the identified traffic appears to violate; and directs the provider receiving the notice that it must comply with this section. The Enforcement Bureau's Notification of Suspected Illegal Traffic shall give the identified provider a minimum of 14 days to comply with the notice. Each notified provider must promptly investigate the identified traffic and report the results of that investigation to the Enforcement Bureau within the timeframe specified in the Notification of Suspected Illegal Traffic. If the provider's investigation determines that it served as the gateway or originating provider for the identified traffic, it must block or cease accepting the identified traffic and substantially similar traffic on an ongoing basis within the timeframe specified in the Notification of Suspected Illegal Traffic. The provider must include in its report to the Enforcement Bureau:
(1) A certification that it is blocking the identified traffic and will continue to do so; and
(2) A description of its plan to identify and block or cease accepting substantially similar traffic on an ongoing basis.
If the provider's investigation determines that the identified traffic is not illegal, it shall provide an explanation as to why the provider reasonably concluded that the identified traffic is not illegal and what steps it took to reach that conclusion. Absent such a showing, or if the Enforcement Bureau determines based on the evidence that the traffic is illegal despite the provider's assertions, the identified traffic will be deemed illegal. If the notified provider determines during this investigation that it did not serve as the gateway provider or originating provider for any of the identified traffic, it shall provide an explanation as to how it reached that conclusion and, if it is a non-gateway intermediate or terminating provider for the identified traffic, it must identify the upstream provider(s) from which it received the identified traffic and, if possible, take lawful steps to mitigate this traffic. If the Enforcement Bureau finds that an approved plan is not blocking substantially similar traffic, the identified provider shall modify its plan to block such traffic. If the Enforcement Bureau finds that the identified provider continues to allow suspected illegal traffic onto the U.S. network, it may proceed under paragraph (n)(2)(ii) or (iii) of this section, as appropriate.
If the provider fails to respond to the Notification of Suspected Illegal Traffic, the Enforcement Bureau determines that the response is insufficient, the Enforcement Bureau determines that the provider is continuing to originate substantially similar traffic or allow substantially similar traffic onto the U.S. network after the timeframe specified in the Notification of Suspected Illegal Traffic, or the Enforcement Bureau determines based on the evidence that the traffic is illegal despite the provider's assertions, the Enforcement Bureau shall issue an Initial Determination Order to the provider stating the Bureau's initial determination that the provider is not in compliance with this section. The Initial Determination Order shall include the Enforcement Bureau's reasoning for its determination and give the provider a minimum of 14 days to provide a final response prior to the Enforcement Bureau making a final determination on whether the provider is in compliance with this section.
If the provider does not provide an adequate response to the Initial Determination Order within the timeframe permitted in that Order or continues to originate substantially similar traffic onto the U.S. network, the Enforcement Bureau shall issue a Final Determination Order finding that the provider is not in compliance with this section. The Final Determination Orders shall be published in EB Docket No. 22-174 at https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/search/search-filings. A Final Determination Order may be issued up to one year after the release date of the Initial Determination Order, and may be based on either an immediate failure to comply with this section or a determination that the provider has failed to meet its ongoing obligation under this section to block substantially similar traffic.
When notified by the Commission through its Enforcement Bureau that a Final Determination Order has been issued finding that an upstream provider has failed to comply with paragraph (n)(2) of this section, block and cease accepting all traffic received directly from the upstream provider beginning 30 days after the release date of the Final Determination Order. This paragraph (n)(3) applies to any provider immediately downstream from the upstream provider. The Enforcement Bureau shall provide notification by publishing the Final Determination Order in EB Docket No. 22-174 at https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/search/search-filings. Providers must monitor EB Docket No. 22-174 and initiate blocking no later than 30 days from the release date of the Final Determination Order. A provider that chooses to initiate blocking sooner than 30 days from the release date may do so consistent with paragraph (k)(4) of this section.
Take affirmative, effective measures to prevent new and renewing customers from using its network to originate illegal calls, including knowing its customers and exercising due diligence in ensuring that its services are not used to originate illegal traffic.
Take reasonable and effective steps to ensure that any originating provider or intermediate provider, foreign or domestic, from which it directly receives traffic is not using the provider to carry or process a high volume of illegal traffic onto the U.S. network.
A voice service provider must block any calls purporting to originate from a number on a reasonable do-not-originate list. A list so limited in scope that it leaves out obvious numbers that could be included with little effort may be deemed unreasonable. The do-not-originate list may include only:
Numbers for which the subscriber to the number has requested that calls purporting to originate from that number be blocked because the number is used for inbound calls only;
North American Numbering Plan numbers that are not valid;
Valid North American Numbering Plan Numbers that are not allocated to a provider by the North American Numbering Plan Administrator; and
Valid North American Numbering Plan numbers that are allocated to a provider by the North American Numbering Plan Administrator, but are unused, so long as the provider blocking the calls is the allocatee of the number and confirms that the number is unused or has obtained verification from the allocatee that the number is unused at the time of blocking.
A mobile wireless provider must block a text message purporting to originate from a North American Numbering Plan number on a reasonable do-not-originate list. A list so limited in scope that it leaves out obvious North American Numbering Plan numbers that could be included with little effort may be deemed unreasonable. The do-not-originate list may include only:
North American Numbering Plan Numbers for which the subscriber to the number has requested that texts purporting to originate from that number be blocked;
North American Numbering Plan numbers that are not valid;
Valid North American Numbering Plan numbers that are not allocated to a provider by the North American Numbering Plan Administrator; and
Valid North American Numbering Plan numbers that are allocated to a provider by the North American Numbering Plan Administrator, but are unused, so long as the provider blocking the message is the allocatee of the number and confirms that the number is unused or has obtained verification from the allocatee that the number is unused at the time of blocking.
[Reserved]
A mobile wireless provider must provide a point of contact or ensure its aggregator partners or blocking contractors that block text messages on its network provide a point of contact to resolve complaints about erroneous blocking from message senders that can document that their messages have been blocked. Such point of contact may be the same point of contact for voice call blocking error complaints.
A terminating mobile wireless provider must, upon receipt of a Notification of Illegal Texts from the Commission through its Enforcement Bureau, take the actions described in this paragraph (s), including, when required, blocking all texts from the identified number or numbers. The Enforcement Bureau will issue a Notification of Illegal Texts that identifies the number(s) used and the date(s) the texts were sent or received; provides the basis for the Enforcement Bureau's determination that the identified texts are unlawful; cites the statutory or regulatory provisions the identified texts violate; directs the provider receiving the notice that it must comply with this section; and provide a point of contact to be used by a subscriber to a listed number to dispute blocking. The Enforcement Bureau's Notification of Illegal Texts shall give the identified provider a reasonable amount of time to comply with the notice. The Enforcement Bureau shall make the Notification of Illegal Texts available in EB Docket No. 23-418 at https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/search/search-filings. The provider must include a certification that it is blocking all texts from the number or numbers and will continue to do so unless the provider learns that the number has been reassigned, in which case the provider shall promptly notify the Enforcement Bureau of this fact and include any information it has obtained that demonstrates that the number has been reassigned. If, at any time in the future, the provider determines that the number has been reassigned, it shall notify the Enforcement Bureau and cease blocking. The provider is not required to monitor for number reassignments.
Notes, amendments, and revision history
Amendments
[68 FR 44177, July 25, 2003, as amended at 68 FR 59131, Oct. 14, 2003; 69 FR 60316, Oct. 8, 2004; 70 FR 19337, Apr. 13, 2005; 71 FR 25977, May 3, 2006; 71 FR 56893, Sept. 28, 2006; 71 FR 75122, Dec. 14, 2006; 73 FR 40185, July 14, 2008; 77 FR 34246, June 11, 2012; 83 FR 1577, Jan. 12, 2018; 84 FR 10267, Mar. 20, 2019; 84 FR 11232, Mar. 26, 2019; 85 FR 56534, Sept. 14, 2020; 86 FR 2563, Jan. 13, 2021; 86 FR 11447, 11448, Feb. 25, 2021; 86 FR 17734,17735, Apr. 6, 2021; 86 FR 74375, Dec. 30, 2021; 87 FR 7044, Feb. 8, 2022; 87 FR 42944, July 18, 2022; 87 FR 51921, Aug. 24, 2022; 87 FR 69207, Nov. 18, 2022; 88 FR 3677, Jan. 20, 2023; 88 FR 21500, Apr. 11, 2023; 88 FR 43458, July 10, 2023; 89 FR 5104, Jan. 26, 2024; 89 FR 15062, Mar. 1, 2024; 89 FR 15762, Mar. 5, 2024; 89 FR 5104, Jan. 26, 2024; 89 FR 87983, Nov. 6, 2024; 89 FR 5105, Jan. 26, 2024; 89 FR 15762, Mar. 5, 2024; 89 FR 17762, Mar. 12, 2024; 90 FR 13425, Mar. 24, 2025; 90 FR 42138, Aug. 29, 2025]
Authority
Authority: 47 U.S.C. 151, 152, 154, 201, 202, 217, 218, 220, 222, 225, 226, 227, 227b, 228, 251(a), 251(e), 254(k), 255, 262, 276, 403(b)(2)(B), (c), 616, 620, 716, 1401-1473, unless otherwise noted; Pub. L. 115-141, Div. P, sec. 503, 132 Stat. 348, 1091; Pub. L. 117-338, 136 Stat. 6156.
Source
Source: 28 FR 13239, Dec. 5, 1963, unless otherwise noted.
Amendments
[68 FR 44177, July 25, 2003, as amended at 68 FR 59131, Oct. 14, 2003; 69 FR 60316, Oct. 8, 2004; 70 FR 19337, Apr. 13, 2005; 71 FR 25977, May 3, 2006; 71 FR 56893, Sept. 28, 2006; 71 FR 75122, Dec. 14, 2006; 73 FR 40185, July 14, 2008; 77 FR 34246, June 11, 2012; 83 FR 1577, Jan. 12, 2018; 84 FR 10267, Mar. 20, 2019; 84 FR 11232, Mar. 26, 2019; 85 FR 56534, Sept. 14, 2020; 86 FR 2563, Jan. 13, 2021; 86 FR 11447, 11448, Feb. 25, 2021; 86 FR 17734,17735, Apr. 6, 2021; 86 FR 74375, Dec. 30, 2021; 87 FR 7044, Feb. 8, 2022; 87 FR 42944, July 18, 2022; 87 FR 51921, Aug. 24, 2022; 87 FR 69207, Nov. 18, 2022; 88 FR 3677, Jan. 20, 2023; 88 FR 21500, Apr. 11, 2023; 88 FR 43458, July 10, 2023; 89 FR 5104, Jan. 26, 2024; 89 FR 15062, Mar. 1, 2024; 89 FR 15762, Mar. 5, 2024; 89 FR 5104, Jan. 26, 2024; 89 FR 87983, Nov. 6, 2024; 89 FR 5105, Jan. 26, 2024; 89 FR 15762, Mar. 5, 2024; 89 FR 17762, Mar. 12, 2024; 90 FR 13425, Mar. 24, 2025; 90 FR 42138, Aug. 29, 2025]