The National Do Not Call Registry applies to any plan, program, or campaign to sell goods or services through interstate phone calls, including sellers who provide, offer to provide, or arrange to provide goods or services to consumers in exchange for payment. It does not apply, however, to calls from or on behalf of nonprofit organizations, political organizations and pollsters.
The National Do Not Call Registry was created by the FTC to offer consumers a choice regarding telemarketing calls. Once registered, a phone number will remain on the Do Not Call Registry for five years, unless the consumer chooses to take it off the registry or the phone number becomes disconnected. Telemarketers and sellers then have up to three months from the time a number was registered to remove it from their own lists.