Glossary
The Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR)
What is the Telemarketing Sales Rule?
Short answerThe Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) is the FTC regulation governing telemarketing. It creates the National Do Not Call Registry, requires sellers to scrub lists at least every 31 days, mandates specific disclosures, and prohibits deceptive practices. It sits alongside -- not inside -- the TCPA, which is enforced by the FCC and by private lawsuits.
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On this page
Outbound calling in the US is governed by two overlapping regimes that are routinely confused. Understanding which is which matters, because they carry very different risk profiles.
TCPA vs TSR at a glance
| TCPA | TSR | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Federal statute (47 U.S.C. § 227) | FTC regulation (16 C.F.R. Part 310) |
| Regulator | FCC | FTC |
| Private lawsuits | Yes -- $500–$1,500 per call | Rarely -- only over $50,000 in actual damages |
| Civil penalties | FCC forfeitures | Up to $53,088 per violation |
| Core focus | Autodialers, prerecorded voice, consent | DNC Registry, disclosures, deception |
| Where most risk sits | Class actions from serial filers | Regulatory enforcement sweeps |
The asymmetry in the "private lawsuits" row explains why practitioners talk about TCPA risk far more than TSR risk. A regulator has to choose to investigate you. Any recipient of a single text can file a TCPA claim tomorrow.
What the TSR requires
- DNC Registry scrubbing at least every 31 days, under your own Subscription Account Number.
- An internal do-not-call list, maintained and honoured.
- Calling hours of 8am to 9pm in the consumer's local time.
- Prompt disclosure of the seller's identity and the sales purpose of the call.
- Material terms -- total cost, restrictions, refund policy -- disclosed before payment.
- Caller ID transmitting a telephone number and, where the carrier makes it available, a name; a substituted seller number must be answered during regular business hours.
- Record retention for advertising, scripts, sales records and do-not-call requests.
- Abandonment limits -- a call is abandoned if no sales representative comes on within two seconds of the greeting; the safe harbor requires an abandonment rate of 3% or less per 30-day period, ringing at least 15 seconds or four rings, a recorded message naming the seller, and records proving it.
Quick check: the TSR beside the TCPA
Pick an answer to see whether it is right, and why.
Where teams get caught
Two patterns recur. The first is treating a DNC scrub as the whole of compliance -- it is one TSR requirement among many, and it does not touch the TCPA's consent rules at all. The second is assuming a vendor's scrubbing satisfies your obligation; the TSR makes both the seller and the telemarketer liable for a call to a registered number, and sharing your SAN with a provider does not move the seller's share onto them.
Where list hygiene helps
NumberBroom covers the data-quality side: carrier validation, line type, and a known-litigator check at $0.20 per number, with a $5 minimum per job. Registry scrubbing runs under your own SAN: link it, and a signed-in paid scrub adds a federal Do Not Call Registry check, included free on lists of up to 1,000 numbers. The 31-day obligation stays yours, and consent capture is a process you own. The full picture.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between the TCPA and the TSR?
Different statutes, different regulators, different enforcement. The TCPA is a federal statute enforced by the FCC and -- critically -- by private plaintiffs, who can sue for $500 to $1,500 per call. The TSR is an FTC regulation enforced by the FTC and state attorneys general, with civil penalties up to $53,088 per violation. A private suit is possible only for someone with more than $50,000 in actual damages, so consumers almost never bring one.
You must comply with both. Satisfying one says nothing about the other.
Does the TSR let consumers sue me?
Almost never. The Telemarketing Act lets a private person sue under the TSR only where the claim exceeds $50,000 in actual damages (15 U.S.C. § 6104(a)), which rules out an ordinary consumer who got an unwanted call; in practice the FTC and state AGs enforce it. The lawsuit risk in telemarketing comes from the TCPA, which does allow private suits. This is why TCPA exposure usually dominates practical risk planning even though TSR penalties are nominally larger per violation.
Who is exempt from the TSR?
Several categories sit partly or wholly outside it: banks, federal credit unions and federal savings and loans, common carriers acting as carriers, non-profits calling on their own behalf, and campaigns with no interstate calls. Most business-to-business calls are exempt too, except sales of nondurable office or cleaning supplies.
Exemption from the TSR does not exempt you from the TCPA, whose own company-specific do-not-call rule covers telemarketing calls to residential numbers whatever your TSR status.
What does the TSR require me to disclose?
Promptly identify the seller and state that the call is a sales call, disclose total cost and material terms before obtaining payment, and disclose material restrictions and refund policy terms. Misrepresenting any material aspect is a separate violation.