Calling Homeowners Legally: DNC, TCPA and State Rules in Plain English

Calling homeowners can fill a contractor's calendar, but phone marketing is one of the most regulated things a small business can do. The good news: the core rules are understandable, and most problems come from skipping a few basic steps. This guide explains those steps in plain English.

The National Do Not Call Registry

The National Do Not Call Registry is run by the Federal Trade Commission. Consumers add their numbers at donotcall.gov. Businesses that make sales calls must check their call lists against the registry and remove registered numbers before calling.

To get access, sellers and telemarketers register at telemarketing.donotcall.gov and download the numbers for the area codes they call. The rules require you to use a version of the registry that is no more than 31 days old, so scrubbing is a monthly habit, not a one-time task.

There are limited exceptions, most notably an established business relationship: generally, a customer who bought from you in the last 18 months, or who asked you about your services in the last three months. If someone asks you to stop calling, you must stop, even if an exception applies.

Your internal do-not-call list

Separately from the national registry, you must keep your own company do-not-call list. When anyone says “don't call me again,” record the number and the date, and make sure nobody on your team calls it again. If you use a call center or an agency, make sure they honor your list and you honor theirs.

The TCPA: autodialers, prerecorded and AI voices

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) is the federal law behind most phone-marketing lawsuits. In plain terms:

• Marketing calls or texts to cell phones that use an autodialer, a prerecorded message or an artificial voice require the person's prior express written consent.
• The FCC has said that AI-generated voices count as artificial voices under the TCPA.
• Prerecorded marketing calls to landlines also require prior express written consent.
• Text messages are treated like calls under the TCPA.
• The law lets consumers sue. Damages are set by statute per call or text, which is why small mistakes repeated across a big list become expensive.

Calling hours and caller ID

Federal rules limit telemarketing calls to between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. in the homeowner's local time. Some states set narrower windows or limit how many times you may call the same person. Your caller ID must show a number that can be called back, and the caller should give their name, your company name and the purpose of the call early in the conversation.

State rules can be stricter

Federal law is the floor, not the ceiling. Several states keep their own do-not-call lists, require telemarketers to register or post a bond, or have their own versions of the TCPA. Florida and Oklahoma, for example, passed telemarketing laws that are often called “mini-TCPAs.” Before you call into a state, check that state's rules, and check again from time to time.

A simple compliance routine

• Scrub every list against the National Do Not Call Registry before calling, and refresh the scrub at least every 31 days.
• Scrub against your internal do-not-call list and any state list that applies.
• Dial manually unless you have prior express written consent for autodialed, prerecorded or AI-voice calls and texts.
• Call only during allowed hours in the homeowner's time zone.
• Identify yourself and your company, and honor every stop request right away.
• Keep records: which list you used, when you scrubbed it, and who asked not to be called.
• If you hire a call center, put these rules in your contract and check that they follow them.

What a list vendor can and cannot do

A list vendor supplies names, addresses and phone numbers. The vendor does not know which numbers you are allowed to call, because that depends on your relationship with each person and the rules in their state. At The Homeowner List, the buyer is responsible for Do Not Call, TCPA and CAN-SPAM compliance, and we say so on every order. Our data & compliance page lists the official links.