Canada's National Do Not Call List (DNCL) lets people register home, mobile, fax or VoIP numbers for free to cut telemarketing calls. Telemarketers then have 31 days from the date someone registers to stop calling them. Some calls stay allowed, such as calls to existing customers within set time limits, and the rules don't apply to calls made to businesses.
If you run a small business that phones customers or prospects, the DNCL is only half the story. Every telemarketer, even one making exempt calls, must also keep its own internal do-not-call list and honour requests within 14 days.
Here's what the list covers, the exemptions in detail, and what that means for your calling.
How the list works for consumers
- Registration is free for home, mobile, fax and VoIP numbers.
- Telemarketers have 31 days after you register to stop contacting you.
- Registering reduces unsolicited calls but won't stop them all, because some calls are exempt.
- Business numbers shouldn't be registered, including personal lines that are also used for business.
The DNCL also points out something many people miss: entering a contest or filling in a warranty card, service contract or application form can give a company express consent to call you.
Which calls are exempt
The DNCL Rules don't apply to calls made by, or on behalf of:
- political parties, riding associations and candidates,
- people or organizations collecting information for a survey,
- newspapers of general circulation, when they're signing up readers,
- market research and polling firms, whose calls aren't counted as telemarketing at all.
The existing business relationship exemption
For most small businesses, this is the exemption that matters. You can call someone on the DNCL if they:
| Relationship | Time limit |
|---|---|
| Bought, leased or rented a product or service from you | Within the last 18 months |
| Have a written contract with you | Still in effect, or expired within the last 18 months |
| Asked about a product or service, or submitted an application | Within the last 6 months |
The exemption only covers your own customers. It doesn't pass to partners or another business you're working with.
Express consent
You can also call a registered number if the person has given express consent. The DNCL accepts:
- permission on a written, electronic or online form, or
- verbal permission captured in an audio recording, or verified by an independent third party.
Keep the form or recording. If someone complains, it's your proof, and a saved file is far easier to find than a record rebuilt from memory months later.
B2B calls are exempt
The National DNCL Rules don't apply to telemarketing calls made to businesses. That's good news for B2B firms, but it doesn't mean anything goes. You still need to respect anyone who asks you to stop, which is where the internal list comes in.
The internal do-not-call list rule
Every Canadian telemarketer, and every client of a telemarketer, must keep an internal do-not-call list, even if all its calls are exempt. When someone asks not to be called:
- Add their name and number to your internal list within 14 days of the request.
- If you're calling on behalf of a client, make sure the details are added to the client's internal list within 14 days too.
- Stop calling them, whatever exemption you'd otherwise rely on.
Market research, survey and polling calls are the only ones that don't need an internal list.
Identify yourself on every call
At the start of an exempt telemarketing call, you must say who you are calling for, the person or organization the call is made on behalf of. It's a simple rule that's easy to forget when a team is working from a script.
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Common mistakes
- Assuming a contact who enquired a year ago is still covered. Enquiries only count for 6 months.
- Treating a home-based business owner's personal mobile as a business line without checking how they gave you the number.
- Keeping the internal do-not-call list in one person's notebook or one tool, so other callers never see it.
- Forgetting that a contest entry or a form with the right wording may give consent, and a form without it doesn't.
What this means for your business
A practical setup for a small team:
- Tag every contact with how and when they became a customer or enquired, so you know whether the 18-month or 6-month window still applies.
- Keep one shared internal do-not-call list that every caller and every tool checks.
- Capture consent in writing on your forms, with clear wording about phone calls.
- If you hire a call centre, agree in writing who keeps the internal list and how updates reach you within 14 days.
If you're writing your call scripts, our cold call opening lines are a good starting point, and you'll find more on following up with customers in our guide to emails that get replies, though email has its own consent rules under CASL.
My advice: treat the internal list as the most important list you keep. One request ignored is all it takes for a complaint, and it's the easiest rule to follow.
The US runs its own do not call regime, and our TCPA guide covers how it applies to calls and texts.
Frequently asked questions
How long do telemarketers have to stop calling after I register?
31 days from the date you register your number on the National Do Not Call List.
Can a business call me if I'm on the Canada Do Not Call List?
Yes, if you've bought, leased or rented from them in the last 18 months, have a current or recent contract, asked about something in the last 6 months, or gave express consent.
Does the Do Not Call List apply to B2B calls?
No. The National DNCL Rules don't apply to telemarketing calls made to businesses.
What is an internal do-not-call list?
A list every telemarketer must keep of people who've asked not to be called. Requests must be added within 14 days, even for exempt calls.
Are survey calls covered by the Do Not Call List?
No. Market research, survey and polling calls are exempt and don't need an internal do-not-call list.
Can I register my business phone on the Do Not Call List?
No. Business numbers shouldn't be registered, including personal lines also used for business, because B2B calls are exempt.
What counts as express consent to be called?
Permission on a written, electronic or online form, or verbal permission captured in an audio recording or verified by an independent third party.
