TL;DR: The National Do Not Call Registry is a free FTC list that tells legitimate companies not to call you with sales pitches. Register at DoNotCall.gov or call 1-888-382-1222; sales calls should stop within 31 days and the registration never expires. It does not stop scammers, who ignore the law, and it does not cover political, charity, survey or debt-collection calls. If scam calls keep coming, your number is probably already sitting in leaked databases.
What the National Do Not Call Registry is
The National Do Not Call Registry is a list of personal phone numbers run by the Federal Trade Commission. Telemarketers selling something are required to check it and stop calling numbers on it. It covers home landlines and personal cell phones.
It is popular. The FTC's December 2025 Data Book release put active registrations at about 258.5 million numbers at the end of September 2025, up around 1.9% on the year before.
How to register your number (free)
- Online: go to DoNotCall.gov, enter your number and an email address, then click the confirmation link the FTC emails you within 72 hours. If you miss the link, the registration does not go through.
- By phone: call 1-888-382-1222 (TTY 1-866-290-4236) from the phone you want to register.
According to the FTC's registry FAQ, registration is free, your number usually shows up on the list the next day, and it can take up to 31 days for sales calls to stop. Your registration never expires, so you only do this once per number. Anyone offering to register you “for a fee” is running a scam.
To check a number is on the list, use the verify option on the same site or call the same number from that phone.
Which calls the registry does not stop
This is where most people get confused. Being on the list legally blocks sales calls from real companies. These can still call you:
- Political campaigns and groups
- Charities
- Survey and polling calls (with no sales pitch)
- Debt collectors
- Purely informational calls, like a flight change or a pharmacy reminder
- Companies you recently did business with, or ones you gave written permission to call
Business numbers and fax lines can't be registered. The list is for personal numbers only.
Why you still get scam calls after registering
The FTC is blunt about it: the registry won't stop scammers, because people running illegal calls don't check the list in the first place. Most robocalls selling something are already illegal unless you gave written permission, whether or not you are registered. Our robocall statistics for 2026 show how large that problem still is.
Scammers also fake the number they call from, which is why a call can look local or even look like your own bank. We explain how that works in what caller ID spoofing is.
The bigger reason is that your number is usually already out there. Phone numbers leak in data breaches, get sold by data brokers and get scraped from public profiles. Once a number is on a scammer's list, the registry can't pull it back. That is why spam calls often spike after a data breach.
How to report a call that ignores the list
- No money lost: use the short complaint form on DoNotCall.gov. Note the date, time, number shown and company name if one was given.
- You lost money or shared details: report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and call your bank straight away.
Complaints feed FTC and law enforcement investigations. They won't stop the next call by themselves, so pair reporting with blocking. Our guide to blocking spam calls and reporting scam texts covers the carrier and phone settings that help.
Other lists worth joining while you're at it
- Prescreened credit offers: stop “you're pre-approved” mail with OptOutPrescreen.
- Data brokers: removing your number from people-search sites cuts off one of the main sources scammers buy from. Start with our US data broker opt-out guide.
- Numbers abroad: other countries run similar lists. See Canada's National Do Not Call List, Australia's Do Not Call Register and the UK Telephone Preference Service.
- Older relatives: register their numbers too. Seniors are a top target, see how to protect elderly parents from phone scams.
If you want to know whether your number and email are already in leaked data, a free email exposure check takes about 30 seconds, and the full Scan My Shadow report adds your phone number.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the National Do Not Call Registry free?
Yes. Registering at DoNotCall.gov or by calling 1-888-382-1222 is free. Anyone charging a fee to add you is a scam.
Does my Do Not Call registration expire?
No. The FTC says your registration will never expire, so you only need to register each number once.
How long until sales calls stop?
Your number usually appears on the list the next day, but the FTC says it can take up to 31 days for sales calls to stop.
Why am I still getting calls after registering?
The list only binds legitimate telemarketers. Scammers ignore it, and political, charity, survey and debt-collection calls are allowed. Report violations at DoNotCall.gov and block repeat numbers.
Can I register my cell phone?
Yes. Personal cell phones and landlines can be registered. Business numbers and fax lines are not covered.
Sources
- FTC: National Do Not Call Registry (DoNotCall.gov)
- FTC: National Do Not Call Registry FAQs
- FTC: Annual Do Not Call Registry Data Book release (Dec 2025)
- FTC: ReportFraud