Do Not Call List Registration
Consumers: Take control of your phone number!
Effective June 27, 2003 consumers can now submit their phone numbers to the National Do Not Call Registry (www.donotcall.gov). Federal law will soon require that most telemarketers remove registered Do Not Call phone numbers from their call lists. The law will be enforced effective October 3, 2003. Telemarketers covered by the law must check the Do Nor Call Registry on a regular basis before calling your phone number with sales solicitations.
The National Do Not Call Registry will be managed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The FTC (www.ftc.gov) is the government agency which protects consumers in such matters. Complaints against telemarketers can be filed by consumers online at www.donotcall.gov.
Some organizations and businesses will be exempt from the law requiring them to check the National Do Not Call Registry, including:
• Long distance phone companies
• Airlines
• Banks and credit unions
• The business of insurance, to the extent it is regulated by state law
Also, the following may not be covered by the Do Not Call regulations:
• Political organizations
• Charities
• Telephone surveys (surveys which solicit sales for goods or services are not exempt from the law)
• Companies with which you have an existing relationship
To stop calls from the exempted organizations and businesses, you should request each specific exempt organization or business not to call you. If exempted organizations and businesses call you after you have requested that they not call you, they may be liable for fines and penalties.
To be placed in the Do Not Call Registry, you can register online at www.donotcall.gov.
More information about the Do Not Call regulations, registering, and filing complaints is available online at www.donotcall.gov.
At this time there are many states with regulations similar to the Federal Do Not Call law. Contact your state for more information about State Do Not Call legislation:
| State Information for Do Not Call Law | ||
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Louisiana | Ohio |
| Alaska | Maine | Oklahoma |
| Arizona | Maryland | Oregon |
| Arkansas | Massachusetts | Pennsylvania |
| California | Michigan | Rhode Island |
| Colorado | Minnesota | South Carolina |
| Connecticut | Mississippi | South Dakota |
| Delaware | Missouri | Tennessee |
| Florida | Montana | Texas |
| Georgia | Nebraska | Utah |
| Hawaii | Nevada | Vermont |
| Idaho | New Hampshire | Virginia |
| Illinois | New Jersey | Washington |
| Indiana | New Mexico | West Virginia |
| Iowa | New York | Wisconsin |
| Kansas | North Carolina | Wyoming |
| Kentucky | North Dakota | |
