§  64.1200   Delivery restrictions.

   Link to an amendment published at  86 FR 11448 , Feb. 25, 2021.

   Link to an amendment published at  86 FR 17735 , Apr. 6, 2021.

   Link to an amendment published at  86 FR 17735 , Apr. 6, 2021.

   (a) No person or entity may:

   (1) 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;

   (i) 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;

   (ii) To the telephone line of any guest room or patient room of a
   hospital, health care facility, elderly home, or similar establishment;
   or

   (iii) 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.

   (iv) 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.

   (2) 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.

   (3) Initiate any telephone call to any residential line using an
   artificial or prerecorded voice to deliver a message without the prior
   express written consent of the called party, unless the call;

   (i) Is made for emergency purposes;

   (ii) Is not made for a commercial purpose;

   (iii) Is made for a commercial purpose but does not include or
   introduce an advertisement or constitute telemarketing;

   (iv) Is made by or on behalf of a tax-exempt nonprofit organization; or

   (v) 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.

   (4) Use a telephone facsimile machine, computer, or other device to
   send an unsolicited advertisement to a telephone facsimile machine,
   unless—

   (i) 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

   (ii) The sender obtained the number of the telephone facsimile machine
   through—

   (A) The voluntary communication of such number by the recipient
   directly to the sender, within the context of such established business
   relationship; or

   (B) 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.

   (C) 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

   (iii) 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—

   (A) The notice is clear and conspicuous and on the first page of the
   advertisement;

   (B) 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;

   (C) The notice sets forth the requirements for an opt-out request under
   paragraph (a)(4)(v) of this section;

   (D) 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

   (E) 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.

   (iv) A request not to send future unsolicited advertisements to a
   telephone facsimile machine complies with the requirements under this
   subparagraph only if—

   (A) The request identifies the telephone number or numbers of the
   telephone facsimile machine or machines to which the request relates;

   (B) The request is made to the telephone number, facsimile number, Web
   site address or email address identified in the sender's facsimile
   advertisement; and

   (C) 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.

   (v) 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.

   (vi) 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.

   (5) Use an automatic telephone dialing system in such a way that two or
   more telephone lines of a multi-line business are engaged
   simultaneously.

   (6) Disconnect an unanswered telemarketing call prior to at least 15
   seconds or four (4) rings.

   (7) 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.

   (i) 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) 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

   (B) 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.

   (ii) 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.

   (iii) The seller or telemarketer must maintain records establishing
   compliance with paragraph (a)(7) of this section.

   (iv) Calls made by or on behalf of tax-exempt nonprofit organizations
   are not covered by this paragraph (a)(7).

   (8) Use any technology to dial any telephone number for the purpose of
   determining whether the line is a facsimile or voice line.

   (9) 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.

   (i) Calls made by a package delivery company to notify a consumer about
   a package delivery, provided that all of the following conditions are
   met:

   (A) The notification must be sent only to the telephone number for the
   package recipient;

   (B) The notification must identify the name of the package delivery
   company and include contact information for the package delivery
   company;

   (C) The notification must not include any telemarketing, solicitation,
   or advertising content;

   (D) 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;

   (E) 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;

   (F) 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 30 days; and,

   (G) 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.”

   (ii) 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:

   (A) Notifications must identify the name of the inmate collect call
   service provider and include contact information;

   (B) Notifications must not include any telemarketing, solicitation,
   debt collection, or advertising content;

   (C) Notifications must be clear and concise, generally one minute or
   less;

   (D) 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

   (E) 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,

   (F) The inmate collect call service provider must honor opt-out
   requests immediately.

   (iii) 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:

   (A) Voice calls and text messages must be sent only to the wireless
   telephone number provided by the customer of the financial institution;

   (B) 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);

   (C) 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;

   (D) Voice calls and text messages must not include any telemarketing,
   cross-marketing, solicitation, debt collection, or advertising content;

   (E) 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;

   (F) 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;

   (G) 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,

   (H) A financial institution must honor opt-out requests immediately.

   (iv) 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:

   (A) Voice calls and text messages must be sent only to the wireless
   telephone number provided by the patient;

   (B) 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);

   (C) 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;

   (D) 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;

   (E) 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;

   (F) 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;

   (G) 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,

   (H) A healthcare provider must honor opt-out requests immediately.

   (b) All artificial or prerecorded voice telephone messages shall:

   (1) 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;

   (2) 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 to residential telephone subscribers, such
   telephone number must permit any individual to make a do-not-call
   request during regular business hours for the duration of the
   telemarketing campaign; and

   (3) In every case where the artificial or prerecorded voice telephone
   message 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), 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 seller'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 seller's do-not-call list.

   (c) No person or entity shall initiate any telephone solicitation to:

   (1) 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

   (2) 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:

   (i) 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:

   (A) Written procedures. It has established and implemented written
   procedures to comply with the national do-not-call rules;

   (B) 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;

   (C) Recording. It has maintained and recorded a list of telephone
   numbers that the seller may not contact;

   (D) 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.

   Note to paragraph (c)(2)(i)(D): The requirement in paragraph
   64.1200(c)(2)(i)(D) for persons or entities to employ a version of the
   national do-not-call registry obtained from the administrator no more
   than 31 days prior to the date any call is made is effective January 1,
   2005. Until January 1, 2005, persons or entities must continue to
   employ a version of the registry obtained from the administrator of the
   registry no more than three months prior to the date any call is made.

   (E) 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

   (ii) 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

   (iii) The telemarketer making the call has a personal relationship with
   the recipient of the call.

   (d) No person or entity shall initiate 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 telemarketing calls made by or on behalf of that
   person or entity. The procedures instituted must meet the following
   minimum standards:

   (1) Written policy. Persons or entities making calls for telemarketing
   purposes must have a written policy, available upon demand, for
   maintaining a do-not-call list.

   (2) Training of personnel engaged in telemarketing. Personnel engaged
   in any aspect of telemarketing must be informed and trained in the
   existence and use of the do-not-call list.

   (3) Recording, disclosure of do-not-call requests. If a person or
   entity making a 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 calls for telemarketing
   purposes (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 thirty
   days from the date of such request. If such requests are recorded or
   maintained by a party other than the person or entity on whose behalf
   the telemarketing call is made, the person or entity on whose behalf
   the telemarketing call is made will be liable for any failures to honor
   the do-not-call request. A person or entity making a 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
   telemarketing call is made or an affiliated entity.

   (4) Identification of sellers and telemarketers. A person or entity
   making a 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.

   (5) 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 business 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 the product
   being advertised.

   (6) Maintenance of do-not-call lists. A person or entity making calls
   for telemarketing purposes must maintain a record of a consumer's
   request not to receive further telemarketing calls. A do-not-call
   request must be honored for 5 years from the time the request is made.

   (7) Tax-exempt nonprofit organizations are not required to comply with
   64.1200(d).

   (e) 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 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.”

   (f) As used in this section:

   (1) The term advertisement means any material advertising the
   commercial availability or quality of any property, goods, or services.

   (2) 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.

   (3) 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.

   (4) The term emergency purposes means calls made necessary in any
   situation affecting the health and safety of consumers.

   (5) 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.

   (i) 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.

   (ii) 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.

   (6) 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.

   (7) 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.

   (8) 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.

   (9) 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.

   (i) The written agreement shall include a clear and conspicuous
   disclosure informing the person signing that:

   (A) 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

   (B) 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.

   (ii) 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.

   (10) 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.

   (11) 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.

   (12) 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.

   (13) 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.

   (14) 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.

   (15) 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:

   (i) To any person with that person's prior express invitation or
   permission;

   (ii) To any person with whom the caller has an established business
   relationship; or

   (iii) By or on behalf of a tax-exempt nonprofit organization.

   (16) 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.

   (17) The term personal relationship means any family member, friend, or
   acquaintance of the telemarketer making the call.

   (18) 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.

   (g) Beginning January 1, 2004, common carriers shall:

   (1) 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.

   (2) 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.

   (h) 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.

   (i)-(j) [Reserved]

   (k) Voice service providers may block calls so that they do not reach a
   called party as follows:

   (1) 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.

   (2) A provider may block a voice call purporting to originate from any
   of the following:

   (i) A North American Numbering Plan number that is not valid;

   (ii) 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

   (iii) 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.

   (iv) A telephone number that the provider identifies, based on
   reasonable analytics, as highly likely to be associated with a one-ring
   scam.

   (3) A terminating provider may block a voice call without liability
   under the Communications Act or the Commission's rules where:

   (i) Calls are blocked based on the use of reasonable analytics designed
   to identify unwanted calls;

   (ii) Those analytics include consideration of caller ID authentication
   information where available;

   (iii) A consumer may opt out of blocking and is provided with
   sufficient information to make an informed decision;

   (iv) All analytics are applied in a non-discriminatory, competitively
   neutral manner;

   (v) Blocking services are provided with no additional line-item charge
   to consumers; and

   (vi) The terminating provider provides, without charge to the caller,
   the redress requirements set forth in paragraph (k)(8) of this section.

   (4) 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.

   (5) A provider may not block a voice call under paragraph (k)(1)
   through (4) or (11) of this section if the call is an emergency call
   placed to 911.

   (6) A provider may not block a voice call under paragraph (k)(1)
   through (4) or (11) of this section unless that provider makes all
   reasonable efforts to ensure that calls from public safety answering
   points and government emergency numbers are not blocked.

   (7) 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.

   (8) 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.

   (9)-(10) [Reserved]

   (11) 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:

   (i) 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;

   (ii) 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;

   (iii) 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;

   (iv) The provider discloses to consumers that it is engaging in such
   blocking;

   (v) All analytics are applied in a non-discriminatory, competitively
   neutral manner;

   (vi) Blocking services are provided with no additional line-item charge
   to consumers; and

   (vii) The terminating provider provides, without line item charge to
   the caller, the redress requirements set forth in subparagraphs 8 and
   9.

   (l) A reporting carrier subject to § 52.15(f) of this title shall:

   (1) 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.

   (2) 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.

   (3) 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.

   (4) 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).

   (m) 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:

   (1) 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

   (2) 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.

   (n) A voice service provider must:

   (1) Respond fully and in a timely matter to all traceback requests from
   the Commission, civil law enforcement, criminal law enforcement, and
   the industry traceback consortium;

   (2) [Reserved]

   (3) 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.

   [ 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 , Feb. 25,
   2021;  86 FR 17734 , Apr. 6, 2021]