Do Not Call List for Cell Phones: Register, Block, and Report

To put your cell phone on the Do Not Call list, register it for free at donotcall.gov or call 1-888-382-1222 from the phone you want to protect. Once your number has been on the list for 31 days, most telemarketers are legally required to stop calling. The registry, run by the Federal Trade Commission, doesn’t physically block calls — it creates a legal duty that legitimate companies must follow, backed by civil penalties that now reach $53,088 per illegal call.¹

Register Your Cell Phone Online

Go to donotcall.gov, enter the number you want to register, and provide an email address. You can submit up to three numbers in one session. The system then sends you a verification email with a link that you must click within 72 hours. Miss that window and the registration never takes effect.²

Register by Phone

If you’d rather not use the website, dial 1-888-382-1222 (TTY: 1-866-290-4236). You have to call from the cell phone you’re registering, because the system identifies the line from the incoming caller ID.²

What Happens After You Sign Up

Your registration goes into the database right away, but telemarketers get up to 31 days to update their calling lists. The FTC requires companies to access the registry at least once every 31 days and scrub newly registered numbers.¹ A sales call on day 15 isn’t yet a violation. After the 31-day mark, unwanted telemarketing calls become reportable.

Registration is permanent. The FTC eliminated expiration dates years ago, so you never need to renew.¹ To confirm your number is still on the list, enter it at donotcall.gov/verify.html and the system will email you a confirmation.³

Calls That Can Still Come Through Legally

The registry covers unsolicited sales calls only. Several types of callers are exempt, which is where most confusion starts once people register and keep getting calls.

Political campaigns and political fundraising aren’t considered telemarketing under FTC rules.
Charities calling on their own behalf can still solicit donations. If a charity hires a for-profit telemarketer, that telemarketer must follow the registry.
Survey and polling organizations are collecting data rather than selling, so they’re permitted.
Debt collectors calling about a legitimate debt aren’t telemarketing.

Companies you’ve done business with also have a window to call. A business can contact you for up to 18 months after your last purchase, delivery, or payment, and for three months after you submit an inquiry or application like a quote request.⁴ If you ask the company to stop, it has to stop regardless of that window.

Written consent overrides the registry. If you signed a form or checked a box giving a company permission to contact you, it can call your registered number until you revoke that consent.⁴ Read the fine print before handing out your number, because a single checkbox can undo the protection.

Does the Registry Cover Text Messages?

Registering on the Do Not Call list is aimed at phone calls. Text messages are handled under a separate rule: federal law bans automated marketing texts to a cell phone unless you gave prior written consent. To stop texts you’ve been getting, reply “STOP” — companies must honor that request within ten business days. Words like “quit,” “cancel,” and “unsubscribe” also work. You can forward spam texts to 7726 (SPAM) through most carriers to report them.⁵

Why Scam Calls Keep Coming Anyway

The most common complaint about the registry is that it doesn’t seem to work. It’s a compliance tool aimed at legitimate businesses, not a call-blocking technology. Scammers making illegal calls ignore the list, and cheap technology lets them place calls from anywhere in the world while faking the number on your caller ID.² The registry works best when you pair it with call-blocking tools on the phone itself.

Add Call-Blocking to Cover the Gap

Most major wireless carriers offer spam-filtering services, sometimes free and sometimes for a monthly fee, that label suspected spam calls or block them before your phone rings. Ask your carrier what’s included with your plan.⁶

Third-party apps use databases of reported scam numbers and user feedback to filter incoming calls. Depending on the app, it can silence the ring, send calls to voicemail, or let you build allow and block lists, and some can block entire area codes known for spoofing. Your phone also has a built-in option to block individual numbers, and a “Do Not Disturb” mode can route unknown callers to voicemail during hours you choose.⁶

Report Violations After 31 Days

Once your number has been registered for at least 31 days, you can report illegal telemarketing calls at donotcall.gov/report.html. Have the date of the call, the name of the caller or company, and the number that appeared on your caller ID.⁷ The FTC won’t investigate every complaint individually, but it uses reports to identify patterns and build enforcement cases. Companies that violate the Telemarketing Sales Rule face civil penalties of up to $53,088 per call.¹

You Can Sue on Your Own

You don’t have to wait for the FTC. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act lets individuals sue in state court. If a company violates the autodialer or do-not-call rules, you can recover your actual damages or $500 per violation, whichever is greater. If the court finds the company acted willfully, damages can be tripled to $1,500 per violation.⁸

For do-not-call violations specifically, you have to have received more than one illegal call from the same company within a 12-month period before filing a private action. The company can defend itself by showing it had reasonable procedures in place to prevent the violation, but per-violation damages add up quickly when a caller has been dialing you repeatedly.⁸

1
Federal Trade Commission. Complying with the Telemarketing Sales Rule
2
Federal Trade Commission. National Do Not Call Registry FAQs
3
Federal Trade Commission. National Do Not Call Registry – Verify a Registration
4
Federal Trade Commission. Q&A for Telemarketers & Sellers About DNC Provisions in TSR
5
Federal Communications Commission. Stop Unwanted Robocalls and Texts
6
Federal Trade Commission. How To Block Unwanted Calls
7
Federal Trade Commission. National Do Not Call Registry – Report a Call
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 47 USC 227 – Restrictions on Use of Telephone Equipment