Guide

DNC Checker: Check Numbers Against the Do Not Call List

· Founder, NumberBroom

How do I check if a number is on the Do Not Call list?

Short answer

It depends whose number it is. To check your own number, the registry's site, donotcall.gov, verifies whether and when it was registered, three numbers at a time, free. To check a calling list, the seller needs its own paid registry access, a Subscription Account Number (SAN): the first five area codes are free and each one after that is $85 a year. NumberBroom checks a list against the federal registry under your own SAN, at no extra charge, on a signed-in paid scrub of a list of up to 1,000 numbers.

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On this page

"DNC checker" means two different things, depending on whose number it is. Someone checking their own phone wants to know whether their registration took. A business checking a calling list needs to know which numbers it may not call, and the rules for doing that are stricter than a search box suggests. This page covers both, and where NumberBroom fits.

How do I check my own number?

On the registry's own site. The verify page at donotcall.gov tells you whether and when a number was registered: enter up to three phone numbers and your email address, confirm them, and the answer arrives by email. It costs nothing. Registering on the National Do Not Call Registry is free too, and a registration does not expire.

How does a business check a calling list?

Through its own registry subscription. A seller that calls consumers needs paid access to the registry for every area code it calls, with a narrow exception (16 CFR 310.8), and gets an account number for it, the Subscription Account Number or SAN. The first five area codes are free. Since October 1, 2026, each additional area code is $85 a year, or $43 when added in the second half of the subscription year, up to $23,425 for every area code nationwide. With access, the seller downloads the registered numbers for its area codes, or has a service provider check its lists under its SAN, and removes the matches before calling. Do I need a SAN? covers who needs one and what it costs.

Two parts of that rule matter for anyone looking for a quick lookup. Access is per seller: the regulation bars sharing the cost of access, and a service provider has to name each seller it checks for and use that seller's own account number. And the check goes stale: lists are to be scrubbed at least every 31 days, because new registrations keep arriving.

How NumberBroom checks a list

  1. Link your SAN once, in Settings. We verify the link before any check runs.
  2. Upload the list while signed in. The upload card says before you pay whether this list will be checked against the registry.
  3. The federal check is included at no extra charge on a list of up to 1,000 numbers. You pay the FTC for your own area codes; we never charge for registry access and never share its cost.
  4. Matches are removed and counted on the results screen, the completion email and the record of compliance screening.

What it does not cover: state lists, guest checkout, the free preview and lookup, and the one-number API. Your own internal do-not-call list is separate: add up to 20,000 numbers in Settings and a signed-in scrub removes them from every list before anything else.

Quick check: checking a calling list

Pick an answer to see whether it is right, and why.

1. A seller's calling list covers three area codes. What does it need before calling those numbers?

Not quite. They cost nothing, but they are still registry access: the seller needs its own subscription, the SAN, to get them. A seller calling only within its first five area codes pays no registry fee at all.

Right. A seller needs paid access to the registry for every area code it calls, with a narrow exception (16 CFR 310.8). The first five area codes are free, so this list carries no registry fee, but the access is still the seller's own.

Not quite. The rule is about who paid for access, not where you looked. A lookup that is not tied to your own subscription is not access you paid for.

2. How often are calling lists to be checked against the registry again?

Not quite. A number registered after your last scrub is protected from then on, so a list checked two months ago is out of date.

Right. Lists are to be scrubbed at least every 31 days, because new registrations keep arriving.

Not quite. The registry fee is yearly, but the scrub is not: lists are to be scrubbed at least every 31 days.

3. Which of these lists gets the federal Do Not Call check at NumberBroom?

Not quite. Guest checkout is not covered. The check runs under your own SAN, on a signed-in paid scrub of a list of up to 1,000 numbers.

Right. That is what it covers: the federal registry, under your own SAN, on a signed-in paid scrub of a list of up to 1,000 numbers, at no extra charge. The upload card says before you pay whether the list will be checked.

Not quite. The federal check is included under your own SAN on a list of up to 1,000 numbers. The upload card says before you pay whether a list will be checked.

Not quite. The free preview and lookup are not covered, and neither is the one-number API.

4. A list passes a Do Not Call check. Has it also been screened for TCPA litigators?

Not quite. A registry check finds numbers whose owners asked not to be called. It does not find the people who sue for a living, whose numbers are often valid, active and not registered at all.

Not quite. Re-checking every 31 days catches new registrations. It still finds only numbers whose owners asked not to be called, not the people who sue for a living.

Right. The people most likely to sue are often not registered at all. That takes a litigator scrub, which NumberBroom runs on every valid US number in the same job.

What a DNC check does not cover

  • Litigators. The people most likely to sue are often not registered at all. The litigator scrub runs on every valid US number.
  • Consent. A registry check does not tell you whether someone agreed to be called. Prior express written consent is a record you keep yourself.
  • Reassigned numbers. A number that changed hands since you got consent is a separate check, against the FCC's Reassigned Numbers Database.
  • Line type. Whether a number is a cell phone changes which consent rules apply. A bulk phone number validator answers that for a whole list.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a free DNC checker?

For your own number, yes: donotcall.gov verifies whether and when it was registered, three numbers at a time, with an email address. For a list you plan to call, the free part is your own registry subscription: the first five area codes cost nothing, and a seller calling only within them pays no registry fee at all. NumberBroom then checks the list against the federal registry under that SAN at no extra charge, on a signed-in paid scrub of a list of up to 1,000 numbers. The scrub itself is $0.20 per number.

Can I check my calling list with any online DNC lookup?

The rule is about who paid for access, not where you looked. Under 16 CFR 310.8, a seller may not call a number in an area code unless the seller, directly or through someone acting for it, has paid for access to that area code's registry data, apart from a narrow exception. The same section bars sharing the cost of access, and a service provider that accesses the registry for a seller has to name that seller and give the seller's own account number. A lookup that is not tied to your own subscription is not access you paid for.

How often do I have to re-check a list?

At least every 31 days. A number registered after your last scrub is protected from then on, so a list checked two months ago is out of date. See what a DNC SAN is for how the subscription and the 31-day cycle fit together.

Does a DNC check cover state do-not-call lists?

Not the federal one. Several states keep their own lists with their own rules, such as the Florida Do Not Call list. NumberBroom's check covers the federal registry only, under your own SAN, on a list of up to 1,000 numbers, so state lists stay your responsibility.

Does a DNC check catch TCPA litigators?

No. A registry check finds numbers whose owners asked not to be called. It does not find the people who sue for a living, whose numbers are often valid, active and not registered at all. That takes a litigator scrub, which NumberBroom runs on every valid US number in the same job.

Sources
  1. National Do Not Call Registry -- Verify a registration
  2. 16 CFR 310.8 -- Fee for access to the National Do Not Call Registry (eCFR)
  3. Federal Register -- Telemarketing Sales Rule Fees (91 FR 54947, effective October 1, 2026)
  4. FTC -- Q&A for Telemarketers & Sellers About DNC Provisions in the TSR
  5. FTC -- Telemarketers Required to Scrub Call Lists Every 31 Days
Not legal advice. NumberBroom is a phone data and list hygiene tool, not a law firm. This page summarises publicly available federal rules as of October 10, 2026 and is provided for general information only. TCPA and state telemarketing law change frequently and apply differently depending on your business, your consent records, and the states you call. Consult qualified counsel before relying on any of it.
Screen a list before you dial
Upload a CSV, Excel or PDF list. Every valid US number gets carrier-level validation and the TCPA litigator check, and a signed-in customer with a verified SAN gets the federal Do Not Call check at no extra charge on a list of up to 1,000 numbers. $0.20 per number for the first 2,000, $5 minimum.
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Founder, NumberBroom · 10 years in telecommunications and marketing

Cameron Hoffman is the founder of NumberBroom and has spent 10 years working in telecommunications and marketing. He built NumberBroom after repeatedly watching outbound teams dial purchased lists that were full of dead numbers, landlines and TCPA litigators.

Related reading
Do I Need a SAN?What a Subscription Account Number actually gates -- and what it doesn't. Do Not Call RegistryWhat the national registry covers, who must scrub it, and what it never protects you from. DNC SANThe account number you need to access the Do Not Call Registry. DNC Scrubbing Services ComparedTen vendors side by side: who publishes a price, who scrubs the registry, who screens litigators. Batch Litigator ScrubScreen a whole CSV against court-sourced serial filers in one job, $0.20 a number.