How to Report a Do Not Call Violation

Reporting does not stop the next call on its own, but it is how regulators find and fine the companies behind them. Here is how to report well.

By Siddharth ShankarUpdated October 18, 2026

Your number is on the National Do Not Call Registry, more than 31 days have passed and the sales calls keep coming. That is a violation, unless the caller is one of the allowed types. Reporting it takes a few minutes.

First, check it is a violation

Before you file, make sure the call was a sales call from someone with no right to contact you. Calls from political groups, charities, surveys and debt collectors are not covered, and nor are businesses you have a recent relationship with. A pre-recorded sales pitch you never agreed to in writing is almost always illegal. Our guide to what the registry stops and what it does not has the full list.

Where to report

What to include

The FTC suggests including:

• Your phone number
• The number shown on caller ID, even if you think it was faked
• Any number the caller asked you to call back
• The date and time of the call
• The company name and what was offered, if you know

Keep a simple log. Notes made at the time are more useful than memories a week later.

What happens after you report

You will not usually get an individual reply. Reports go into a database used by the FTC and law enforcement to spot patterns, find the companies and phone carriers behind illegal calls and bring cases. Spoofed numbers make individual calls hard to trace, which is why many reports together matter.

Stop the calls meanwhile

• Turn on your carrier’s call blocking and labelling tools.
• Silence unknown callers in your phone settings.
• Do not answer unknown numbers. Let them go to voicemail.
• Reduce where your number appears. See how to check if your phone number is public.

Calls that look like your bank or the government

Many illegal calls use fake caller ID to look trustworthy. Hang up and call back on a known number. Read caller ID spoofing for why the number on your screen cannot be trusted.

Keep a simple call log

A short log makes every report stronger. For each call, note the date and time, the number shown, what the caller said, the company name if given and any callback number. Screenshots of your call history help too. Patterns, such as daily calls from changing numbers selling the same product, are especially useful to investigators.

Text messages count too

Unwanted marketing and scam texts can be reported as well. Forward spam texts to 7726 so your carrier can block the sender, and report scams at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

Common mistakes when reporting

• Reporting a charity or survey call, which is allowed.
• Leaving out the callback number, which is often the most traceable detail.
• Waiting weeks, when the details are no longer fresh.

Outside the US

Other countries have their own systems. In Canada, see the National Do Not Call List. In the UK, report to the ICO after registering with the Telephone Preference Service.