DNC (Do Not Call)

A DNC ("do not call") registry lists people who no longer wish to receive prospecting calls. In the United States, the National Do Not Call Registry has been maintained by the FTC since 2003; in France, the equivalent is Bloctel since 2016. In both cases the principle is identical: before launching an outbound campaign, you screen your list against the registry and remove registrants — the so-called scrubbing step.

The sanctions set the tone: calling a US registrant can cost tens of thousands of dollars per call. The useful nuance: these registries target cold prospecting, not existing business relationships — a customer who bought from you or contacted you can be called back within reasonable bounds. For a local business answering inbound calls, the DNC is mostly a protection: it's what separates you from the spam that makes your customers distrustful.