The Basics of DNC Scrubbing: What Is a Do Not Call (DNC) Scrubber and Why Do You Need It?

Type: Blog
Topic: Compliance

What Is the Do Not Call (DNC) Registry?

The Do Not Call Registry is a database of phone numbers and contact information maintained by the United States government’s Federal Trade Commission. The phone numbers on this registry have revoked consent to be contacted by companies for sales or telemarketing purposes.

In 1991 the United States government passed the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, known as the TCPA, in response to rising telemarketing calls. This act, along with the CAN-SPAM Act and the Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation, make it illegal for companies to contact anyone listed on the DNC registry. This legislation allows the FTC to level significant fines against any telemarketing companies circumventing the TCPA and associated laws.

What Is DNC Scrubbing?

DNC scrubbing is the crucial process of removing all name and contact information that appears on the DNC registry from your company calling lists and databases. Using a DNC scrubber keeps your business compliant with federal requirements and ensures there are no accidental violations from your company to numbers you do not have an established business relationship with. Because DNC-registered information will regularly make its way into your contact lists, it is essential to regularly check for violations.

How to Scrub the Do Not Call List

DNC scrubbing can be done by cross-checking your company’s call list with the Do Not Call phone numbers database. Any numbers and names that appear on both lists should be removed by a DNC scrubber, leaving you with a call list that is now in compliance with the DNC laws.

Procedures for DNC Scrubbing

Scrubbing your lists should be performed at least once a month. Federal regulations mandate that lists should be checked for DNC compliance a minimum of every 31 days to avoid fines. Proper DNC scrubbing should ensure no calls are sent to any phone numbers on the DNC list after 31 days of registering.

DNC List Registrations

DNC list registrations are constantly growing and changing, so staying on top of the most accurate information is vital. It is possible for your company to access the DNC list in order to scrub your call database. This costs a fee charged by area code, and data access can cost upwards of $18,000.

 DNC Scrubbing State Regulations

In addition to the national do not call registry, several states maintain their own DNC lists, which must also be cross-checked against company call databases for compliance. These states include:

• Colorado
• Florida
• Indiana
• Louisiana
• Massachusetts
• Mississippi
• Missouri
• Oklahoma
• Pennsylvania
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Wyoming 

Benefits of DNC Scrubbing

The benefits of DNC scrubbing and TCPA compliance are immense.

Firstly, consumers will have low trust in your business if they receive a call from you despite being on the registry. The last thing you want to do when contacting a potential customer is get off on the wrong foot before you’ve even dialed the phone. They may not see your company as a legitimate business if you try to skirt this law. Beyond the integrity and public relations damage your business faces, there are very concrete consequences to being out of compliance with registry rules.

The FTC is not lax when it comes to enforcing these regulations. Companies who call numbers on the DNC list can be fined up to $41,484 per call. This adds up to astronomical costs when rules are regularly violated. The FTC has reported over $1 billion in fines collected from out-of-compliance companies, and the number grows every day.

How PossibleNow Can Help You

PossibleNow offers DNC scrubbing software that makes staying TCPA compliant easy. We compare your company’s call list with current DNC registry data and scrub any registered numbers before they can cause a problem. You can be confident your company is always in compliance without having to cross-reference all of the national and state databases.

DNC Scrubbing for Your Business

As technology and communication methods constantly grow, we help you keep track of consent and contact regulations for phone, email, text, and other methods. PossibleNow also manages opt-in and opt-out information, prior express written consent, and information to make sure you aren’t losing any interested potential clients in your quest to stay compliant.

DNC Scrubbing Online

With a small monthly fee and a team of experts who understand how to make the most of your contacts and leads without risking noncompliance, PossibleNow is the ideal solution for your company’s DNC scrubbing needs. We offer easy online management that does the heavy lifting for you, so you are free to focus on your goals.

FAQs

How do you scrub a list against DNC?

In order to scrub a list against DNC, you must have access to all relevant area code data from the DNC registry. Once you have paid the national DNC registry and all pertinent state registries to access this data, you must cross-check the information against your company’s call list. Any numbers on your call list appearing in the DNC registry must be scrubbed so that you don’t contact any clients outside FTC law.

How often must you scrub files in the DNC scrubbing tool?

The FTC requires companies to scrub their call lists every 31 days minimum. This means if you don’t have a service managing your DNC scrubbing, you’ll need to pull all relevant data from the national and state registries and cross-check it against your call list once a month at minimum to avoid hefty fines.

When a telemarketer scrubs a phone list, what does he or she do?

When a telemarketer or other company scrubs their phone list, they delete any information that is registered with the DNC database. Pulling any numbers that have been registered in the national or state database keeps phone call lists compliant with FTC regulations.