This article covers best practices for staying compliant when making marketing or sales calls to customers and leads, including Do Not Call Registry requirements, conduct standards, rules for auto-dialers and pre-recorded messages, and special rules for calling mobile phones. This article applies to all Thryv® and Keap™ users who make outbound marketing or sales calls as part of their business. This is not legal advice  see the disclaimer at the bottom of this article for full details.

Why telephone marketing compliance protects your business

Telephone marketing is regulated by two federal agencies  the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). If your business places calls to market, encourage, or offer to sell products or services to consumers, your business is classified as a telemarketer under federal law, and both the FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) and the FCC's Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) apply to you. Violations can result in fines of up to $40,000 per call. Understanding the rules before you dial is one of the most important steps you can take to protect your business from costly penalties.

Purely informational calls  such as notifying a customer about their account or order status are not subject to telemarketing regulations, as long as the call does not also promote the sale of any goods, property, or services.

Do Not Call Registry requirements

The National Do Not Call Registry, established by the FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule effective October 1, 2003, allows consumers to register phone numbers they do not want to receive marketing calls on. Telemarketers are required by law to search the Do Not Call Registry at least every 31 days and must not call any number listed on the registry. A telemarketer who disregards the National Do Not Call Registry can be fined up to $40,000 per call.

There are limited exceptions to the Do Not Call Registry requirement. If you are not using an auto-dialer or pre-recorded voice message and you have an established business relationship with a consumer, you may call that consumer for up to 18 months after their last purchase, payment, or delivery  even if their number is on the registry. If a consumer submits an inquiry or application to your business, you may call that consumer for up to three months after the inquiry was submitted.

Even if a consumer's number is on the Do Not Call Registry, you may still call that consumer for marketing purposes if the consumer has given you prior written permission to call them specifically for that purpose. However, even with written permission or an established business relationship, if a consumer asks your business to stop calling them, you must honor that request immediately and permanently  regardless of any prior permission they gave.

Conduct standards for marketing calls

The FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule prohibits deceptive and abusive telemarketing practices and establishes the following conduct standards that apply to all marketing calls:

• Marketing calls may not be placed before 8:00 AM or after 9:00 PM local time at the location of the person being called.
• Your telephone number must be transmitted to the recipient's caller ID service. Your name must also be transmitted if technically possible. Do not disable caller ID when placing marketing calls.
• If a call goes unanswered, you may not hang up before 15 seconds or four rings have elapsed, in order to give the consumer time to answer.
• When a consumer answers a marketing call, you must promptly identify the name of your business and state that the call is a sales call before discussing anything else.
• You must disclose all material information about the goods or services you are offering, including the terms of the sale. Misrepresenting any terms of your offer is prohibited.
• If an auto-dialer is used to place the call, the call must be connected to a live sales representative within two seconds of the consumer's greeting.

Auto-dialers and pre-recorded voice messages

The TCPA places strict restrictions on the use of auto-dialers and pre-recorded voice messages in marketing calls. An auto-dialer is an automatic telephone dialing system that can store, produce, and call telephone numbers using a random or sequential number generator.

Before using an auto-dialer or delivering a pre-recorded voice message to a customer or prospect, you must obtain prior, express, written consent from the recipient. The written consent must use specific language demonstrating that the consumer understood what they were consenting to, and that the consumer was not required to agree to receive future marketing calls as a condition of purchasing anything from your business.

Special rules for marketing calls to mobile phones

The TCPA applies special rules to marketing calls placed to mobile phone numbers that are stricter than the rules for landline calls. The following requirements apply to all marketing calls to mobile phones:

• All marketing calls to a mobile phone require prior, express consent from the recipient — even if you have an existing business relationship with that consumer. The established business relationship exception that applies to landline calls does not apply to mobile phones.
• Using an auto-dialer to call a mobile phone is not permitted without prior, express, written consent from the recipient. Verbal consent is not sufficient for auto-dialed calls to mobile phones.
• The TCPA applies to both voice calls and SMS text messages sent to mobile phones for marketing purposes. Written consent is required before sending marketing text messages to a mobile phone using an auto-dialer.
• Consent is not required for purely informational calls or texts to a mobile phone such as notifying a customer about their account or order as long as the call or message does not also promote the sale of any goods or services and does not use an auto-dialer.
• When calling a mobile phone for marketing purposes, confirm the time zone associated with the phone number before placing the call to ensure you are calling within permitted hours for the recipient's location.

Telephone marketing best practices checklist

Before placing marketing or sales calls to customers or leads, follow these best practices to reduce your risk of non-compliance:

• Check the National Do Not Call Registry before placing marketing calls to leads or existing customers.
• If a customer's number appears on the Do Not Call Registry, verify the date of their most recent purchase or inquiry before calling to confirm you are within the permitted timeframe.
• Maintain your own internal opt-out list for consumers who have asked your business specifically not to call them, and honor all opt-out requests immediately.
• Never disable caller ID when placing marketing calls from your business phone.
• Identify yourself and your business, and state that the call is a sales call at the start of every marketing call.
• Place telemarketing calls manually rather than using an auto-dialer wherever possible.
• Do not send pre-recorded voice messages to landline or mobile phones without prior written consent from the recipient.
• If you plan to use an auto-dialer, send pre-recorded messages, or send marketing text messages, obtain written consent from each recipient first and retain a record of that consent for at least four years.

Additional resources for telephone marketing compliance

For additional guidance on federal telemarketing regulations, see the following official government resources:

• FTC guidance for telemarketers and sellers on Do Not Call provisions of the Telemarketing Sales Rule 
• FCC guidance on telemarketing and robocall regulations 

Legal disclaimer

The best practices content in this article is provided for convenience and informational purposes only and is not intended as legal advice. Thryv and Keap do not claim that this information represents an accurate summary of the laws in this area, and this article will not necessarily be updated to reflect changes in applicable laws. Please consult a licensed attorney for questions about your compliance with applicable laws before placing marketing or sales calls to customers or leads.