The National Do Not Call Registry: what it does and how to sign up

The registry is a free list, run by the Federal Trade Commission, of numbers that telemarketers are legally required to leave alone. Signing up takes about two minutes and it never expires. It works on sales callers who follow the law — and it is honest to say it does very little about the ones who don't. Here is how to register, and what to do about the rest.

The registry by the numbers

From the FTC's own annual report on the registry.

• 258.5 million — Active registrations on the Do Not Call Registry as of September 30, 2025 — FTC
• 2.6 million — Do Not Call complaints the FTC received in fiscal year 2025 — FTC
• $3.5 billion — Reported lost to impostor scams in 2025 — the callers a registry cannot reach — FTC

Sources: FTC National Do Not Call Registry Data Book for Fiscal Year 2025; FTC press release on 2025 imposter scam losses, June 2026.

What is the National Do Not Call Registry?

It is a free list, kept by the Federal Trade Commission, of phone numbers that telemarketers are legally required to check and leave alone. Adding your number costs nothing, it covers cell phones, and the registration never expires.

It is one of the largest lists the federal government maintains. As of September 30, 2025 it held about 258.5 million active registrations, with more than 4.7 million numbers added during that fiscal year alone.

What it is not is a filter. The registry does not sit between a caller and your phone, and it does not block anything. It is a rulebook that legitimate sales callers have to follow, enforced after the fact through complaints and penalties. That distinction explains almost everything people find confusing about it.

Source: FTC, National Do Not Call Registry Data Book for Fiscal Year 2025 (ftc.gov/reports/national-do-not-call-registry-data-book-fiscal-year-2025). Gini Help is an independent company and is not affiliated with the FTC or any government agency.

Does the Do Not Call Registry work for cell phones?

Yes. The FTC treats a cell phone the same as a home phone — it is free to register either one, and the same rules apply to telemarketers once the number is on the list.

There is no separate cell phone registry, and no different "do not call list for cell phones" to find. It is the same list, and it has accepted mobile numbers since the registry's early days.

You also do not need to renew. The FTC's answer on this is one word — registrations never expire — so a message telling you to re-register your cell phone before some deadline is not something you need to act on. The FTC removes a number only if it is disconnected and reassigned, or if you ask for it to be taken off.

Source: FTC, National Do Not Call Registry FAQs (consumer.ftc.gov/articles/national-do-not-call-registry-faqs).

How do you sign up for the Do Not Call list?

Two ways, both free. Go to donotcall.gov and enter your number, or call 1-888-382-1222 from the phone you want to register. Your number appears on the registry the next day, and sales calls should stop within 31 days.

Steps verified on donotcall.gov and the FTC's Do Not Call FAQs, September 2026.

1. Type donotcall.gov into your browser yourself — Don't follow a link from an email or a text message about the registry. This is the official government site and it is free — there is nothing to buy and no fee at any point.
2. Enter your phone number and an email address — You can register up to three numbers at a time. The FTC says it stores your email address securely, separate from your phone number, and never shares it with telemarketers.
3. Open the confirmation email and click the link — You get one email for each number you registered, and you need to click the link in each one within 72 hours. Registration is not finished until you do — this is the step people most often miss.
4. Or skip the computer and register by phone — Call 1-888-382-1222, or 1-866-290-4236 for TTY, from the phone you want to register. No email address needed.
5. Give it up to 31 days — The FTC says your number should show up on the registry the next day, but it can take up to 31 days for sales calls to stop. If a sales call comes after that, it is reportable.
6. Then leave it alone — Registration never expires. If anyone contacts you claiming your registration is running out, or offers to renew it for a fee, that call is itself a scam.

What this takes care of

• Telemarketers who follow the law are required to check the registry and stop calling you
• It covers cell phones and home phones, and it is free on both
• It is a one-time job — registration does not expire
• After 31 days, a sales call to a registered number is something you can report

What it leaves behind

• The FTC is explicit: the registry doesn't block calls, so being on it won't stop calls from scammers making illegal calls
• Political calls, charitable calls, debt collection calls, purely informational calls and surveys are all still allowed, as long as there is no sales pitch
• Companies you have recently done business with, or given written permission, can still call you
• It does nothing about text messages

Source: FTC, National Do Not Call Registry FAQs (consumer.ftc.gov/articles/national-do-not-call-registry-faqs).

How do you report a call after you have registered?

Use the short reporting form at DoNotCall.gov if you simply want to report an unwanted call. If you lost money, or you have information about who called, report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov instead.

Steps verified on FTC Do Not Call FAQs, September 2026.

1. Decide which form applies — The FTC's guidance: if you didn't lose money and just want to report a call, use the streamlined reporting form at DoNotCall.gov. If you've lost money to a phone scam, or you have information about the company or scammer who called, report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
2. Have the details ready — The number that called, the date, and what the caller said or was selling. You do not need to know who was really behind the call.
3. Report each call, not just the worst one — The FTC logged over 2.6 million Do Not Call complaints in fiscal year 2025. Volume is what points enforcement at the biggest operations.
4. Block the number on your phone as well — Reporting is for enforcement; blocking is what stops that particular number from reaching you again. They are separate actions and both are worth doing.

What this takes care of

• Reports feed the FTC's enforcement work and the data other blocking tools draw on
• Both forms are free and take a couple of minutes

What it leaves behind

• Reporting does not stop the next call, and you will not usually hear what came of it
• A spoofed number tells investigators less than it looks like it should

Source: FTC, National Do Not Call Registry FAQs; FTC National Do Not Call Registry Data Book for Fiscal Year 2025.

Where Gini fits in

The registry is aimed at callers who follow the rules. Gini is aimed at the ones who don't. Your calls are forwarded to Gini using the call forwarding your carrier already supports, so Gini picks up unknown callers before your phone rings, works out what they want, and passes through the ones that matter.

It answers the calls a list can't stop

A registry asks the caller to behave and a blocklist needs the number to have been reported already. Gini takes the call instead, so automated dialers and obvious scams are handled before your phone makes a sound.

It keeps listening after you answer

Some scammers are real people who sound legitimate and talk their way past any screen. When a connected call turns risky — a request for a verification code, pressure to act right now — Gini raises a warning while you are still on the line.

Texts and email get watched too

The registry does nothing about text messages. Gini scans your texts and your Gmail and flags the ones that look like scams, and leaves the decision with you — it does not write or send anything on your behalf.

Setup uses standard carrier call forwarding, so there is no new number and no switching carriers. What people tend to describe afterwards is a quieter phone: far fewer strangers getting through, and a voicemail box that stops filling up with junk. There is a 7-day free trial, and current plans are listed on the pricing page.

Why am I still getting calls after registering for the Do Not Call list?

Because the registry is a law, not a filter — and the callers who do the most damage are already breaking the law. The FTC says it plainly: the registry doesn't block calls, so being on it won't stop calls from scammers making illegal calls.

A scammer has no reason to check a list they are already ignoring. The number on your screen is often false anyway: the FCC describes spoofing as a caller deliberately falsifying the information sent to your caller ID, frequently to make a call look like it is coming from a local number or from a company you trust.

There is also a set of callers the law simply allows, which surprises people who expected silence after registering.

• Political calls
• Charitable calls
• Debt collection calls
• Purely informational calls — a delayed flight, a school closing, a prescription that is ready
• Surveys, as long as there is no sales pitch attached
• Companies you have recently done business with, or given written permission to call

For scale: the YouMail Robocall Index counted just under 3.9 billion robocalls placed to U.S. phones in August 2026, an average of about 125.4 million a day. Sources: FTC Do Not Call FAQs; FCC consumer guide on caller ID spoofing; YouMail Robocall Index, August 2026.

Does anyone need to register your number for you?

No. Registering is free and takes about two minutes at donotcall.gov, and no company — including this one — needs to do it on your behalf.

If someone calls offering to put you on the Do Not Call list for a fee, or warns you that your registration is about to expire, that call is the scam. The FTC's position is that registrations never expire, and the registry has never charged anyone.

Gini Help is an independent company. We are not affiliated with the FTC or any government agency, we do not operate the registry, and we do not register numbers for anyone. We wrote this page because the registry is the right first step and most people have not taken it.

What handles the callers the registry cannot reach?

Something that answers the call. A registry entry depends on the caller choosing to obey it, and a spam blocklist depends on somebody having reported the number before — so the call that gets through is, almost by definition, the one neither of those can see.

That is where the real losses happen. Impostor scams were the largest fraud category the FTC tracked in 2025: people reported losing $3.5 billion to them, and nearly one in three fraud reports that year was an impostor scam. Among older adults who reported losing $10,000 or more to a business or government impostor in 2024, 41% said a phone call was the first contact.

So after you register, the two things worth doing are turning on the free filters your phone and carrier already offer, and deciding who picks up when an unknown number calls anyway.

Sources: FTC press release on 2025 imposter scam losses, June 2026; FTC Data Spotlight, August 2025.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the National Do Not Call Registry free?

Yes. The FTC says it is free to register your home or cell phone number, and there is no charge at any stage. Anyone asking for money to add you to the list, or to renew your place on it, is running a scam.

Does Do Not Call registration expire?

No. The FTC's answer is that your registration will never expire. A number comes off the list only if it is disconnected and reassigned, or if you ask for it to be removed. So the warnings you may have seen about re-registering before a deadline are not something to act on.

How long does the Do Not Call list take to work?

Your number should show up on the registry the next day, but the FTC says it can take up to 31 days for sales calls to stop. After that window, a sales call to your registered number is something you can report at DoNotCall.gov.

Can I put my cell phone on the Do Not Call list?

Yes, and it is free. There is no separate cell phone registry — it is the same list, and mobile numbers have been accepted for years. Register online at donotcall.gov, or call 1-888-382-1222 from the phone itself.

Is donotcall.gov the real website?

Yes. DoNotCall.gov is the official site for the registry, operated by the Federal Trade Commission, and 1-888-382-1222 is the official phone line. Type the address in yourself rather than following a link in an email or a text, since the registry is a popular subject for imitation.

Who can still call me after I register?

The registry covers sales calls, so political calls, charitable calls, debt collection calls, purely informational calls and surveys are all still allowed, as long as there is no sales pitch. Companies you have recently done business with, or given written permission to call, can also keep calling. And scammers ignore the list entirely.

Does the Do Not Call Registry stop robocalls?

It stops the legal ones, which is a smaller share than people expect. The FTC's rule is that a robocall selling something is illegal unless the company has written permission, directly from you, to call you that way — so most sales robocalls are already breaking the law and the registry is not what is stopping them. Your carrier's free spam filter and your phone's own settings do more against robocalls day to day.

Can I register my mother's phone number for her?

Online, yes — you enter the number, so you can register a family member's phone from your own computer with their agreement, and you can do up to three numbers at a time. By phone it works differently: you have to call 1-888-382-1222 from the number you are registering. Either way, remember the confirmation email — one arrives for each number registered online, and the link has to be clicked within 72 hours.

What is the difference between the Do Not Call Registry and call blocking?

The registry is a legal obligation on the caller, enforced after the fact. Call blocking is technology on your phone or your carrier's network that stops a call from getting to you. They cover different callers, which is why doing both leaves you better off than doing either one. Neither of them finds out what an unknown caller actually wants — that takes screening.

Does the registry do anything about spam texts?

No. The registry is about phone calls. For texts, report the message — on most phones there is a report-junk or report-spam option in the messaging app — and forward unwanted commercial texts to 7726, which spells SPAM, to alert your carrier.

The rest of the guide

Register first — it is free. Then these are the steps that take out the callers the registry can't.

• How to stop spam calls — the full guide — All four layers, from free phone settings to the registry to screening.
• Block spam calls on iPhone — Screen Unknown Callers, call filtering, blocking a number — verified on iOS 26.
• Block spam calls on Android — Spam filtering in the Phone app, Samsung's settings, and Pixel Call Screen.
• Call forwarding by carrier — How forwarding works on AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon and their MVNOs.
• How AI call screening works — What happens to an unknown caller when something answers on your behalf.
• Do Not Call, in one place — Register free at donotcall.gov — the official FTC site, run by the government.

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