To verify if a phone number is on the National Do Not Call Registry:
- Website address is https://telemarketing.donotcall.gov/default.aspx
(NOTE: there is no www in the address.)
2. Click on ‘Register’ under New Users
3. Read All the Terms and Conditions then click ‘Continue to Create a Profile’
4. Organization Name will be your first and last name with Realtor at the end
a. Example: Tristan Velez Realtor
5. Enter your address
6. Enter your Social Security Number
7. Then proceed with the rest of the information the site needs.
8. Click on Manage/ Renew Subscriptions
a. Click on ‘Subscribe to area codes or add area codes to your current subscription’
9. Under Subscribe to Area Codes: Choose ‘Area Codes by Area Code Number’
a. NOTE: 5 and below area codes are FREE, any more than 5 cost $78 per Area Code
b. Most Common to subscribe to: 813 (Hillsborough) 863 (Polk County) 727 (Pinellas) 941 (Sarasota & Manatee County) 305 (Miami-Dade County)
c. Check the five Area Codes then hit Continue
10. Once completed on the side menu click on Download Phone Numbers
11. Click on Interactive Phone Number Search
12. Type in the phone numbers you would like to scrub then hit submit
a. If they are ‘Registered’ DO NOT CALL
b. If they are ‘Not Registered’ CALL CALL CALL
Get familiar with the federal Do-Not-Call Rules
Following are highlights of the law. NAR’s Realtor.org Web site is an excellent resource for additional info: https://www.nar.realtor/legal/complying-with-federal-regulations/faq-do-not-call-registry
A telemarketer may call a person whose number is on the Do-Not-Call if: (1) they have an existing business relationship with the individual. This exemption extends for up to 18 months after the end of a transaction; (2) they’ve contacted you. This exemption extends for up to three months after the initial inquiry; (3) they’ve given you “prior express permission” to call. This permission must be in writing.
An Open House sign-in sheet could constitute “written permission” if, says Erin Egan, an attorney with the Washington, D.C. firm Covington & Burling and a participant in a recent NAR Web cast on the topic, it states clearly at the top that by putting their name and contact info on the sheet, the consumer is consenting to receive a follow-up call.
The rules do not apply to conducting a telephone survey or poll.
FSBOs: There are two instances when a real estate professional would call a FSBO seller. The first would be a real estate professional seeking of a FSBO listing, and the second would be a buyer’s representative who believes his/her client might be interested in a FSBO property. A buyer’s representative can contact a FSBO owner whose number is listed in the Do-Not-Call registry about a client’s potential interest in the property, as this call is not a telephone solicitation by the buyer’s representative. Note that the buyer’s representative can only discuss his/her client’s interest in the property and not use a purported client’s interest as a way to also discuss the possibility of the FSBO owner listing his/her property with the buyer’s representative.
However, a real estate professional would be prohibited from initiating a telephone call to a FSBO seller whose number is listed in the Do-Not-Call registry in an attempt to obtain a listing. The rules prohibit anyone from making telephone solicitations to telephone numbers that are registered in the database, and a call initiated to obtain the listing falls within that definition.
Expired listings: The established business relationship exemption permits the listing agent as well as other agents from the same company to contact the seller for up to 18 months after the expiration date. For all other agents, the Registry must be consulted prior to calling. If the seller has placed their number in the Registry, you should refrain from calling them.
The federal rules only apply to call made to residences, not to businesses.
If a consumer asks you to stop calling – even if their number isn’t on the federal list – you must remove their number from your call sheet within 30 days.