Citation index · retrieved 2026-08-03
The FTC and FCC telemarketing rules, cross-walked row by row
Two federal rulebooks govern telemarketing -- the FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule (16 CFR 310) and the FCC's implementing rules for the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (47 CFR 64.1200) -- and they do not always say the same thing about the same obligation. 8 rows below, each with both rulebooks' operative text and an amendment date on both sides.
Amendments in the last 18 months
10
across the six sections this page cites, computed from the eCFR versioner API, not counted by eye
A gap this property already held half of
$41
the additional-area-code fee for the second six months of the year -- present in the live rule text, absent from this site until this page
Read this before you use anything below
This page states what each federal rulebook says. It does not, and cannot, tell you which agency has jurisdiction over your campaign -- that turns on facts about the campaign (how many states, how many calls, which technology) that a citation index cannot see. Read both columns, and take the question of which one binds you to counsel.
This is a citation index, not a compliance checklist. It reproduces public-domain federal regulatory text and states what each rule says. It does not evaluate, certify or assert anything about whether any particular campaign complies with either rule.
The crosswalk
Every row cites the FTC section on the left and the FCC section on the right, each with the operative text and the most recent eCFR amendment date on record for that section. Where the two rulebooks genuinely agree (calling hours, the abandonment-rate cap) that is stated plainly rather than only showing where they diverge.
Does a face-to-face sale exempt a campaign from federal telemarketing rules?
FTC · 16 CFR 310.6(b)(3)
It does not. 16 CFR 310.6(b)(3) exempts calls in which the sale is not completed, and payment is not required, until after a face-to-face sales presentation -- but that exemption expressly does not apply to the requirements of 310.4(a)(1), (a)(8), (b), and (c), which are the threats-and-intimidation, caller-ID-transmission, do-not-call and abandoned-call, and calling-hours provisions.
Amendment on record: 2025-01-10 · FTC Telemarketing Sales Rule, 16 CFR 310.6(b)(3), https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-310/section-310.6
FCC · 47 CFR 64.1200(c)-(d)
They do not. The FCC rule that carries the residential calling-hours restriction and the do-not-call-honoring duty, 47 CFR 64.1200(c) and (d), contains no face-to-face, in-person-sale or door-to-door carve-out of any kind. A campaign that qualifies for the FTC face-to-face exemption at 16 CFR 310.6(b)(3) is not thereby exempt from the FCC calling-hours or do-not-call provisions, which apply regardless of how the sale is closed.
Amendment on record: 2026-03-25 · FCC rules, 47 CFR 64.1200(c)-(d), https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-47/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-64/subpart-L/section-64.1200
What hours can a residential number be called?
FTC · 16 CFR 310.4(c)
8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. local time at the called person location
Amendment on record: 2024-05-16 · FTC Telemarketing Sales Rule, 16 CFR 310.4(c), https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-310/section-310.4
FCC · 47 CFR 64.1200(c)(1)
The FCC rule reads almost identically to the FTC's: no person or entity may initiate a telephone solicitation to a residential telephone subscriber before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m., local time at the called party's location.
Amendment on record: 2026-03-25 · FCC rules, 47 CFR 64.1200(c)(1), https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-47/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-64/subpart-L/section-64.1200
What counts as an abandoned call, and what rate is allowed?
FTC · 16 CFR 310.4(b)(4)
A call is abandoned if a person answers and is not connected to a live representative within 2 seconds of their completed greeting; the safe harbor caps abandonment at 3% of calls answered by a person and requires at least 15 seconds or 4 rings before disconnecting
Amendment on record: 2024-05-16 · FTC Telemarketing Sales Rule, 16 CFR 310.4(b)(1)(iv) and 310.4(b)(4), https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-310/section-310.4
FCC · 47 CFR 64.1200(a)(6)-(a)(7)
A call is abandoned under the FCC rule if it is not connected to a live sales representative within two seconds of the called person's completed greeting, the same two-second threshold the FTC uses. The FCC caps abandonment at three percent of all telemarketing calls answered live by a person, measured over a 30-day period for a single calling campaign, and separately bars disconnecting an unanswered telemarketing call before at least 15 seconds or four rings have passed -- the same 3%/15-second/4-ring shape as the FTC safe harbor.
Amendment on record: 2026-03-25 · FCC rules, 47 CFR 64.1200(a)(6)-(a)(7), https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-47/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-64/subpart-L/section-64.1200
How recent must a purchase or inquiry be to call without consent?
FTC · 16 CFR 310.2
They are not the same. The FTC Telemarketing Sales Rule (16 CFR 310.2) measures an established business relationship from a purchase, rental, lease or financial transaction within the 540 days before the call, or an inquiry or application within the 90 days before it. The FCC (47 CFR 64.1200(f)(5)) measures it from a purchase or transaction within the eighteen months before the call, or an inquiry or application within the three months before it.
Amendment on record: 2025-01-10 · FTC Telemarketing Sales Rule, 16 CFR 310.2, https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-310/section-310.2; FCC rules, 47 CFR 64.1200(f)(5), https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-47/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-64/subpart-L/section-64.1200
FCC · 47 CFR 64.1200(f)(5)
They are not the same. The FTC Telemarketing Sales Rule (16 CFR 310.2) measures an established business relationship from a purchase, rental, lease or financial transaction within the 540 days before the call, or an inquiry or application within the 90 days before it. The FCC (47 CFR 64.1200(f)(5)) measures it from a purchase or transaction within the eighteen months before the call, or an inquiry or application within the three months before it.
Amendment on record: 2026-03-25 · FTC Telemarketing Sales Rule, 16 CFR 310.2, https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-310/section-310.2; FCC rules, 47 CFR 64.1200(f)(5), https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-47/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-64/subpart-L/section-64.1200
What happens once a person says do not call me again?
FTC · 16 CFR 310.4(b)(1)(iii)(A)
It is a per-seller prohibition rather than a fixed retention period: the FTC rule makes it an abusive practice to initiate an outbound call to a person who has previously stated that they do not wish to receive a call made by or on behalf of that seller, with no expiration written into the provision itself. This sits alongside, and is enforced independently of, the separate national-registry prohibition in the same subsection.
Amendment on record: 2024-05-16 · FTC Telemarketing Sales Rule, 16 CFR 310.4(b)(1)(iii)(A), https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-310/section-310.4
FCC · 47 CFR 64.1200(a)(10)
Split, and the two halves must not be stated as one. The core duty is in force: a called party may revoke consent using any reasonable method to clearly express a desire not to receive further calls or text messages, and the revocation must be honoured within ten business days from receipt. The broader "revoke-all" component -- which would make a revocation given on one topic apply to unrelated future calls and texts from that caller -- is WAIVED and not yet effective; the FCC extended its effective date to January 31, 2027 while it decides whether to change the rule.
Amendment on record: 2026-03-25 · FCC rules, 47 CFR 64.1200(a)(10), https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-47/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-64/subpart-L/section-64.1200; FCC waiver order released 2026-01-06, https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-26-12A1.pdf
What does it cost to access the national Do Not Call registry?
FTC · 16 CFR 310.8(c)
The annual fee is $82 for each area code of data accessed, up to a maximum of $22,626, and there is no charge for accessing the first five area codes of data.
Amendment on record: 2025-10-01 · FTC Telemarketing Sales Rule, 16 CFR 310.8(c), https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-310/section-310.8
FCC · 47 CFR 64.1200(g)(2)
They do not. 47 CFR 64.1200 sets no dollar fee anywhere in its text. Its only reference to the registry-access fee is a notice requirement: a common carrier providing service to a telemarketer must give a one-time notice of the national do-not-call requirements that cites both 47 CFR 64.1200 and 16 CFR 310, and the fee schedule that notice points to is entirely the FTC's, at 16 CFR 310.8(c).
Amendment on record: 2026-03-25 · FCC rules, 47 CFR 64.1200(g)(2), https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-47/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-64/subpart-L/section-64.1200
What does an additional area code of registry data cost after the first six months?
FTC · 16 CFR 310.8(c)
It is not a flat half-year rate -- it is the price of buying access to MORE area codes than were originally selected, and the price depends on which half of the annual period the buyer is in. To obtain access to additional area codes of data not initially selected, during the first six months of the annual period the fee is $82 per additional area code, the same as the initial rate; during the second six months of the annual period the fee drops to $41 per additional area code. Paying either fee licenses access to that additional data for the remainder of the annual period, not for another six months.
Amendment on record: 2025-10-01 · FTC Telemarketing Sales Rule, 16 CFR 310.8(c), https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-310/section-310.8
FCC · 47 CFR 64.1200(g)(2)
They do not. 47 CFR 64.1200 sets no dollar fee anywhere in its text. Its only reference to the registry-access fee is a notice requirement: a common carrier providing service to a telemarketer must give a one-time notice of the national do-not-call requirements that cites both 47 CFR 64.1200 and 16 CFR 310, and the fee schedule that notice points to is entirely the FTC's, at 16 CFR 310.8(c).
Amendment on record: 2026-03-25 · FCC rules, 47 CFR 64.1200(g)(2), https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-47/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-64/subpart-L/section-64.1200
How long must a record, or a do-not-call request, be kept?
FTC · 16 CFR 310.5(a)
Five years from the date the record is produced, under 16 CFR 310.5(a). The retained set includes a record of each telemarketing call covering the calling number, called number, date, time and duration, plus advertising and promotional material, telemarketing scripts, prerecorded messages, consent records and do-not-call requests; scripts and advertising are kept for five years from the date they are no longer used.
Amendment on record: 2024-05-16 · FTC Telemarketing Sales Rule, 16 CFR 310.5(a), https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-310/section-310.5
FCC · 47 CFR 64.1200(d)(3)
Five years from the time the request is made. This is a DIFFERENT clock from the FTC's five-year rule: the FTC period runs from when a telemarketing RECORD is produced and governs how long the record must be kept; this FCC period runs from when a consumer ASKS not to be called again and governs how long that request must be honored. The same number, five years, answers two different questions.
Amendment on record: 2026-03-25 · FCC rules, 47 CFR 64.1200(d)(3), https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-47/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-64/subpart-L/section-64.1200
The $41 fee, quoted rather than summarised
16 CFR 310.8(c) sets two different marginal fees for an area code of Do Not Call registry data that was not part of a buyer's original selection: $82 per additional area code during the first six months of the annual period, and $41 per additional area code during the second six months. Calling the $41 figure "the half-year rate" reads as a discounted flat price for the same access already paid for. It is neither -- it is the marginal price of MORE data than was originally bought, and the only thing that changes at the six-month mark is which of two marginal prices applies.
This is a real gap this property is closing rather than a restatement: the existing registry-fee entry on this site carried the $82 initial rate and the $22,626 annual cap, and not the $41 figure, until this page.
This overlaps with our vendor due-diligence sheet, on purpose
Our call center vendor questions sheet already publishes most of the substance of these rows, in prose, for a buyer evaluating an outsourced calling floor. What this page adds is the amendment date on every row, the FCC-side text for the rows that sheet carries only the FTC side of, the FTC-side text for the one row it carries only the FCC side of, and a machine-readable copy. Read the vendor sheet for the buyer-facing questions; read this page for the underlying rule text side by side. Its own caveat already asks for this page to exist: "the status of both federal consent rules has moved more than once -- re-read them before relying on this sheet a year from now."
How this was built
- The source
- Every row's text is quoted from the eCFR versioner API, the same public API the Office of the Federal Register publishes eCFR through. CFR text is a US Government work and is in the public domain.
- The amendment dates
- Read from the versioner API's own content_versions data for each section this page cites, transcribed once and recomputed at build time.
- Why there is no "last checked, still current" date
- This site does not fetch data at build time, so a live currency claim on a static page would either make the build depend on an outside API staying up, or would print a date that quietly stops being true. This page states its retrieval date once, as a snapshot, rather than claiming a currency it has no mechanism to keep honest. Re-read the cited sections directly if you are relying on this a year from now.
Questions about this crosswalk
- How many times have these two rulebooks changed in the last eighteen months?
- 10 distinct amendment dates, counted across the six sections this page actually cites (16 CFR 310.2, 310.4, 310.5, 310.6, 310.8 and 47 CFR 64.1200), on or after 2025-01-30 -- 18 months before this page's 2026-07-30 retrieval date. That figure is computed from the eCFR versioner API's own amendment-history data, not counted by eye. It is deliberately not a round number quoted from memory: a hand count of the same underlying data, done for an earlier draft of this page, arrived at seven dates and called it eight, and both were wrong.
- Which agency has jurisdiction over my campaign?
- This page states what each federal rulebook says. It does not, and cannot, tell you which agency has jurisdiction over your campaign -- that turns on facts about the campaign (how many states, how many calls, which technology) that a citation index cannot see. Read both columns, and take the question of which one binds you to counsel.
- Is the $41 fee a discounted rate for the second half of the year?
- No. 16 CFR 310.8(c) sets it as the price of accessing area codes of Do Not Call registry data that were not part of the original selection, and the price depends on which half of the fiscal year the buyer is in: $82 per additional area code in the first six months, $41 per additional area code in the second six months. It is a marginal per-area-code fee, not a discounted flat rate for the same access already paid for -- see the registry-fee row below, which quotes 16 CFR 310.8(c) directly rather than summarising it.
- Does this page tell me whether I need to comply with the FTC, the FCC, or both?
- No, and it is built not to. This page states what each published rule says; it does not, and structurally cannot, resolve which agency has jurisdiction over a specific campaign. That question turns on facts this page has no way to see -- how many states a campaign calls into, how many calls, which calling technology -- and getting it wrong is exactly the failure mode a citation index exists to avoid creating. Take the question to counsel.
- Is this the same as the compliance checklist elsewhere on this site?
- No. /templates/call-center-vendor-questions/ already publishes most of the substance of these rows in reader-facing prose, and links here and back for exactly that reason -- read both. Neither page is a compliance checklist: this one is a citation index reproducing public-domain CFR text with an amendment date attached, and it asserts nothing about any reader's own obligations.
- Can I cite or reuse this data?
- Yes. It is a citation index built from public-domain federal regulatory text (CFR sections are US Government works) plus the eCFR versioner API's own amendment-date metadata, published under CC BY 4.0 with a link back to this page. The machine-readable version is at /telemarketing-rule-crosswalk.json.
Cite it, or check it
Published under CC BY 4.0 with a link back to this page. The machine-readable version -- every row, both rulebooks' text, both amendment dates and the churn count -- is at /telemarketing-rule-crosswalk.json.
For the buyer-facing version of these same questions, see our call center vendor questions sheet.
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