Can a business be on the Do Not Call list? In the US, not as a business line. The FTC says that the National Do Not Call Registry “is for personal phone numbers. Business phone numbers and fax lines are not covered,” and most calls made to solicit sales from a business are exempt from its do-not-call rules. The catch is the owner’s cell phone: on 12 October 2022 the Ninth Circuit held, at the motion-to-dismiss stage, that the plaintiffs’ registered cell phones used for both personal and business purposes are presumptively residential.
My view: “business numbers are exempt” holds for a switchboard and can fail on a scraped list, like the one alleged in that case.
In my view, a scrub tells you a number is registered. It cannot tell you the number is a business line.
Key numbers
| Item | Number |
|---|---|
| Business numbers on the FTC Do Not Call Registry (FTC consumer FAQ, page dated September 2023) | Not covered |
| Time for a new registration to stop sales calls (FTC consumer FAQ, page dated September 2023) | Up to 31 days |
| FCC presumption that listed cell phones are residential (FCC 03-153, paragraph 36) | 2003 |
| Chennette v. Porch.com opinion filed (Ninth Circuit, at the motion-to-dismiss stage) | 12 October 2022 |
| Home improvement contractors who sued (Chennette v. Porch.com) | 51 |
| Contractors whose details GoSmith scraped, as alleged (between 2012 and 2019, from sites such as Yelp, YellowPages and BBB) | Over 10 million |
| Factors for rebutting the presumption (such as how the number is held out to the public and who pays the bill) | 5 |
| TSR ban on B2B misrepresentations in force (material misrepresentations and false or misleading statements) | 16 May 2024 |
| FCC ruling that covers AI-generated voices (FCC 24-17, release date) | 8 February 2024 |
| Statutory damages per violation, private suit (47 U.S.C. 227(c)(5); actual loss if greater; a court may treble for willful or knowing violations) | Up to $500 |
| Violating calls from one entity in 12 months to sue (47 U.S.C. 227(c)(5), by or on behalf of the same entity) | More than 1 |
| Canada: time to add a consumer to an internal list (National DNCL operator; applies even to exempt calls) | 14 days |
Read on 9 November 2026 from the FTC Do Not Call FAQ and TSR Q&A, the eCFR, the Federal Register, FCC orders, the Ninth Circuit opinion, 47 U.S.C. 227 via Cornell LII, the ICO, CRTC and DNCL operator pages, Australia’s register and Missouri’s attorney general.
Can a business number go on the Do Not Call list?
Not as a covered number. Its consumer FAQ (page dated September 2023) answers “Can I register my business phone number or a fax number?” by saying business phone numbers “are not covered.” Missouri’s attorney general says its state law “does not allow business phone numbers to be included on the No-Call list.” The FTC adds that a new listing can take “up to 31 days” to stop sales calls.
Why the FTC exempts most B2B sales calls
The FTC’s Q&A for telemarketers says: “Most phone calls to a business made with the intent to solicit sales from that business are exempt from the Do Not Call provisions.” The exemption, 16 CFR 310.6(b)(7), reaches calls “to induce the purchase of goods or services or a charitable contribution by the business.” It has two limits: calls to induce the retail sale of nondurable office or cleaning supplies lose it, though the TSR’s registry rule still does not apply to those sellers, and since 16 May 2024 the rule bars material misrepresentations and false or misleading statements in B2B calls. This is general information, not legal advice.
Where it breaks: the owner’s cell phone
The FCC’s rule, 47 CFR 64.1200(c)(2), protects a registered “residential telephone subscriber,” so on my reading a true business line sits outside it. When the FCC let cell phones onto the list in 2003, it wrote: “we will presume wireless subscribers who ask to be put on the national do-not-call list to be ‘residential subscribers’” (FCC 03-153, paragraph 36), adding that this “may require a complaining wireless subscriber to provide further proof” in enforcement. Rule 64.1200(e) applies the do-not-call rules to wireless numbers to the extent that order describes.
In Chennette v. Porch.com, 51 home improvement contractors sued GoSmith and its 2017 acquirer, Porch.com. Taking the allegations as true, the court said GoSmith “scraped websites such as Yelp.com, YellowPages.com, and BBB.org for contact information of over ten million home improvement contractors” between 2012 and 2019 and “sent automated text messages to contractors who had cell phone numbers.” Absent FCC guidance on the precise point, it held that “plaintiffs’ registered cell phones that are used for both personal and business purposes are presumptively ‘residential’ within the meaning of § 227(c).”
A caller can try to rebut that on five factors, such as how the number is held out to the public and who pays the bill. In my view that is an argument for court, not a pre-dial check. The published opinion cites Chevron for deferring to future FCC readings; I have not checked whether later rulings change how courts read it.
Under 47 U.S.C. 227(c)(5), a person who receives “more than one telephone call within any 12-month period by or on behalf of the same entity in violation of the regulations” can recover actual loss or “up to $500 in damages for each such violation,” whichever is greater, and a court may award up to 3 times that for willful or knowing violations. Hypothetically, two such calls to one registered, residential cell come to up to $1,000, or up to $3,000 if trebled. The caller has a defense if it “established and implemented, with due care, reasonable practices and procedures to effectively prevent” such calls. This is general information, not legal advice.
It is a business, so we skip the registry scrub.
In my view, a scraped “business” number can be a registered cell used for both work and personal calls, which the Ninth Circuit presumes residential.
My suggestion: scrub every number, cells first, and treat a listed cell phone as residential until you know otherwise.
The FCC presumes a registered wireless number belongs to a residential subscriber.
An AI voice needs consent on any cell phone
On my reading, for an AI voice on a cell phone the residential question drops out. 47 CFR 64.1200(a)(2) bars telemarketing calls made with “an automatic telephone dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice” to cell numbers without “the prior express written consent of the called party.” FCC 24-17, released 8 February 2024, confirmed that the TCPA’s artificial voice rules cover “current AI technologies that generate human voices.” This is general information, not legal advice.
Business numbers in the UK, Canada and Australia
Abroad, it depends on the register. The ICO says that before live B2B calls “you need to screen against both the CTPS and TPS registers, as well as your own ‘do not call’ list,” and that an automated marketing B2B call needs “consent from the business you intend to call.” Canada’s CRTC rules say the National DNCL Rules “do not apply to a telemarketing telecommunication made to a business consumer.” Australia’s register says “Business telephone numbers are not eligible for registration.” This is general information, not legal advice.
| Market | Business numbers and the register | Also note |
|---|---|---|
| US (National DNC Registry) | Not covered | Listed cells presumed residential; written consent for AI sales calls to cells |
| UK (TPS and CTPS) | Can be listed (CTPS; TPS for sole traders and some partnerships) | Live calls: screen both and your list; automated calls: consent |
| Canada (National DNCL) | Calls to business consumers are exempt from the DNCL Rules | Internal list, even for exempt calls; add requests within 14 days |
| Australia (Do Not Call Register) | Not eligible | Business numbers used primarily for faxes may be registered |
Four checks before the next B2B list
Flag every cell number on the list
My suggestion: mark mobile numbers before the first dial. Under the FCC’s 2003 presumption a registered wireless number is presumed residential, and in my view a directory listing does not prove otherwise.
Scrub every number, cells first
My suggestion: drop registered numbers unless an exception clearly applies, and check its conditions. Permission to call a registered number must be evidenced by a signed, written agreement that includes the number (64.1200(c)(2)(ii)); an established business relationship runs 18 months from a purchase or 3 months from an inquiry, and a do-not-call request to that seller ends it (64.1200(f)(5)).
Keep AI voices off cells without written consent
Under 64.1200(a)(2) and FCC 24-17, an AI voice telemarketing call to a cell phone needs prior express written consent; on my reading, work use does not change that. My suggestion: use a live caller there.
One internal do-not-call list for every call
My suggestion, even for B2B: 64.1200(d) requires one for telemarketing to residential subscribers, which is where mixed-use cells can land, and Canada requires one even for exempt calls. Keep scrub dates too: the 227(c)(5) defense turns on reasonable practices and procedures. If an outside team dials for you, my suggestion is to write the list into its contract; see what B2B telemarketing services cost.
My team’s record: 500+ projects delivered across 30 countries. We build the consent, DNC and opt-out layer under an AI dialer (AI calling built around TCPA consent), and separately AI call answering for home services companies. Which numbers you call is for you and your lawyer to decide. See also Do Not Call Registry cost, our TCPA compliance checklist and cold calling laws by country, with a separate South Africa guide.
The bottom line
Business numbers are not covered by the Do Not Call Registry, but the FCC presumes listed cells are residential. In my view, a “business” tag on a lead list is not a legal status: scrub every number, cells first, keep AI voices off cells without written consent, and keep one do-not-call list. This is general information, not legal advice.