Caller ID rules for campaign numbers: what the FCC requires

The ban on misleading caller ID

64.1604(a): “No person or entity in the United States, nor any person or entity outside the United States if the recipient is within the United States, shall, with the intent to defraud, cause harm, or wrongfully obtain anything of value, knowingly cause, directly, or indirectly, any caller identification service to transmit or display misleading or inaccurate caller identification information in connection with any voice service or text messaging service.”

Intent is the test: “with the intent to defraud, cause harm, or wrongfully obtain anything of value”. It covers texts as well as calls, and it reaches callers outside the United States when the recipient is here.

What telemarketers must send

64.1601(e) says “Any person or entity that engages in telemarketing” “must transmit caller identification information.” Under (e)(1), that information “must include either CPN or ANI, and, when available by the telemarketer’s carrier, the name of the telemarketer.”

The rule allows one substitution: “It shall not be a violation of this paragraph to substitute (for the name and phone number used in, or billed for, making the call) the name of the seller on behalf of which the telemarketing call is placed and the seller’s customer service telephone number.” Whatever number is shown, “The telephone number so provided must permit any individual to make a do-not-call request during regular business hours.”

And (e)(2): “Any person or entity that engages in telemarketing is prohibited from blocking the transmission of caller identification information.”

What to check on your outbound numbers

• Know whose number is displayed on each outbound call, and whose name.
• If you show the seller’s customer service number, make sure someone there can take a do-not-call request during regular business hours.
• Don’t block caller ID on telemarketing calls.
• Keep a record of which number was assigned to which campaign, so you can answer questions later.

Where STIR/SHAKEN fits

STIR/SHAKEN duties fall on voice service providers. A business that only places calls through its carrier isn’t the one implementing it, but a business that provides voice service itself may be. 64.6301(a) says “a voice service provider shall fully implement the STIR/SHAKEN authentication framework in its internet Protocol networks”, including to “Authenticate caller identification information for all SIP calls it originates”. Ask your carrier how it authenticates calls from your numbers.

What this page does not decide

This guide doesn’t decide whether a particular number setup is lawful, and it doesn’t cover the TCPA’s consent rules, the national Do-Not-Call registry, or state caller ID laws. For a specific campaign, ask counsel.