Guide: DND and consent
DND rules for telemarketing India: the choices every business caller must respect
NLCaller explains DND rules for telemarketing in India: people can block categories of commercial calls, and blocked numbers receive promotional calls only with explicit consent.
Call log
- Priya S.Lead · Interested10:41
- Gupta TradersPaid client · renews in 5 days10:12
- Rakesh M.Lead · Follow-up today9:58
- +91 80••• ••451Reported as spam by other users9:40
- Neha K.Lead · Quote sent9:21
- Arjun P.New lead · JustDial9:05
What are the DND rules for telemarketing in India?
DND, short for Do Not Disturb, is the everyday name for the customer preference system in TRAI's commercial communication regulations. A mobile user can stop all promotional calls and messages, stop only chosen categories such as real estate or education, or pick Fully Block, by calling or texting 1909 or dialling a USSD code. Businesses must live with those choices: a promotional call is delivered only to people who have not blocked that category or who have given consent, although explicit digital consent gets it through regardless. Transactional calls, service calls based on inferred consent and Government calls cannot be blocked this way. TRAI last amended these regulations on 12 February 2025. NLCaller, a phone-based call management tool for sales staff, rings customers through the SIM card each seller already carries, with someone on every call, and it does not look numbers up against these preferences; judging whether your calls are promotional, and honouring each customer's choice, remains your business's responsibility.
The tables below come from the regulation's own schedules and definitions, with the clause for each point.
Which DND choices can a customer register through 1909?
Each choice can be made three ways: call 1909 and press the number shown in the code at the prompt, send the SMS text to 1909, or dial the USSD code.
| Choice | SMS text to 1909 | USSD code | What it stops |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fully block | FULLY BLOCK | *1909*0# | Promotional communication and service communication that needs explicit consent, in every category, mode, time band and day. Transactional, inferred-consent service and Government communication still arrive. |
| Block promo | BLOCK PROMO | *1909*50# | Promotional communication only, in every category. Service, transactional and Government communication still arrive. |
| Banking, insurance, financial products, credit cards | BLOCK 1 | *1909*1# | Commercial communication in this content category |
| Real estate | BLOCK 2 | *1909*2# | Commercial communication in this content category |
| Education | BLOCK 3 | *1909*3# | Commercial communication in this content category |
| Health | BLOCK 4 | *1909*4# | Commercial communication in this content category |
| Consumer goods and automobiles | BLOCK 5 | *1909*5# | Commercial communication in this content category |
| Communication, broadcasting, entertainment, IT | BLOCK 6 | *1909*6# | Commercial communication in this content category |
| Tourism and leisure | BLOCK 7 | *1909*7# | Commercial communication in this content category |
| Food and beverages | BLOCK 8 | *1909*8# | Commercial communication in this content category |
From Schedule-II, item 1(1), as substituted in February 2025. Operators must confirm the choice to the customer and offer a way to unblock. TRAI may add or remove categories.
What must each party do about a customer's DND choice?
Who has to act on preferences and consent, and where the rule sits in the regulation.
| Entity | Rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Business making promotional calls | Its calls go only to subscribers who have not blocked the relevant category, or who have consented. Explicit digital consent overrides a block. | Regulation 2(av), explanation |
| Business sending promotional SMS | Must offer an opt-out inside the same message. | Regulation 2(au), first proviso |
| Business relying on an existing customer relationship | Inferred consent lasts only for the duration or discharge of the contract with that customer. | Regulation 2(ah), proviso |
| Business asking for consent | Consent-seeking messages go through short code 127xxx or another code TRAI prescribes, must name the brand and the scope, and the confirmation must explain how to revoke. | Schedule-I, item 4(2)(h), (j) and (k) |
| Business whose consent was withdrawn | May ask that customer for consent again only ninety days after the revocation or opt-out. The customer may opt back in whenever they like. | Schedule-I, item 4(2)(g) |
| Business that dials with an auto dialer or robo-calls | Must declare it to the originating operator in writing beforehand, which lets such calls be blocked for customers who chose to block them. | Regulation 4; memorandum paragraph 52 |
| Telecom operator | Must offer an SMS, IVR or online way for customers to refuse every consent-seeking message. | Schedule-I, item 4(2)(i) |
| Telecom operator | When a number is surrendered or closed, its preferences return to default and its consents are revoked. | Schedule-II, items 6 and 8, provisos |
How can a customer complain when a DND choice is ignored?
A complaint must be made within seven days of receiving the unwanted call or message (regulation 23(2)). It counts as valid if it contains the sender's number, the complainant's number, the date and a short description of the call or message (regulation 23(5)). Besides 1909 and the operator's app or website, a complaint can now be sent by email to the operator's designated address.
One detail matters for businesses. To complain about a registered sender, the customer should have registered a preference; against an unregistered sender, no prior preference is needed at all (regulation 23(1)(a)). In other words, a business that has not registered as a sender can be reported by anyone it calls with commercial content. The TRAI telemarketing rules page covers what happens after such complaints add up.
What does DND mean for a sales team using NLCaller?
NLCaller does not scrub lists against the preference register; that checking happens in the telecom operators' systems, not in a phone app. What it offers is a simple way to honour a person who tells your caller not to ring again: put the number on the excluded list, and the app keeps it out of backup and out of all its automation, such as automatic WhatsApp messages. Direct sellers who mainly ring friends and past buyers will find the same controls described on the network marketing CRM page.
Calls go out one by one from the salesperson's own SIM, with a human on the line. Whether a call to a particular person is promotional, and whether that person has consented, is for your business to work out before dialling. Teams planning promotional campaigns should read about the 140 series used for promotional calls and speak to their operator first. Practical advice on approaching strangers by phone is in our cold calling tips for India, and keeping a record of every attempt is covered by the cold calling CRM.
Where do these DND rules come from?
Everything above is taken from TRAI's 2025 Second Amendment to its 2018 customer preference regulations for commercial communication, including the schedules and the explanatory memorandum. The amendment notes that detailed procedures, such as how operators run registration and complaints, sit in each operator's Codes of Practice.
These rules are revised from time to time, and a further amendment was under consultation during 2026. Check trai.gov.in or your telecom operator for the version that applies today.
This is general information, not legal advice. Read on 3 October 2026: TRAI's Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference (Second Amendment) Regulations, 2025, dated 12 February 2025, available at trai.gov.in/sites/default/files/2025-02/Regulation_12022025.pdf
Questions people ask
How can I stop receiving telemarketing calls in India?
Register a preference with your operator: call 1909, send BLOCK PROMO to 1909, or dial *1909*50# to stop promotional calls and messages in every category. To stop one category only, use its own code, for example *1909*2# for real estate. If calls continue, complain within seven days.
Is the TRAI DND app safe in India?
The regulation text does not rate any app's safety. TRAI's memorandum notes that its DND App can capture call logs and SMS details for a complaint after the user gives permission, with manual entry if permission is refused. For current guidance, check trai.gov.in.
How do I activate DND to avoid spam calls?
For the strongest setting, dial *1909*0# or send FULLY BLOCK to 1909. This still lets through transactional messages, inferred-consent service messages and Government communication. Spam from unregistered senders is handled through complaints, which need no preference registration.
What are TRAI's rules for telemarketing calls?
In short: register as a sender, use registered headers or the special number series, declare any auto dialer to your operator in advance, and make promotional calls only where the person has not opted out of that category or has agreed to receive them.
What is the best app for a sales team that wants to respect customers' wishes?
For teams calling from their own phones, the best option is NLCaller, because a number added to its excluded list is kept out of all the app's automation and out of backup. Checking numbers against registered preferences is still done by telecom operators, not by any phone app.
Does NLCaller check numbers against DND?
It does not. NLCaller is a call management app that dials from the SIM in your phone and keeps your leads, calls and follow-ups together. It does not look up customers' registered preferences.
When should you not rely on NLCaller for DND compliance?
NLCaller helps your team call and keep track. It is not a compliance system. Look elsewhere if:
- You need every number checked against customers' registered preferences before it is dialled. NLCaller has no such lookup; ask your telecom operator.
- You want to run promotional calls from the 140 series or send registered commercial SMS. Those numbers and headers come through operators, not through NLCaller.
- You need a consent register with OTP-verified records. That is part of the operators' digital consent platforms, which NLCaller does not provide.
Business callers on living with customers' DND choices
“When someone tells us not to call again, the number goes onto the excluded list that same minute. Keeping that promise is now a team habit.”
Sales supervisor, solar rooftop installer, Ahmedabad
“We used to treat every unhappy caller as a lost sale. Now we treat a request to stop as a rule we have to keep.”
Owner, travel agency, Kozhikode
“Learning which messages count as service and which count as promotional changed how we wrote our follow-up scripts.”
Branch manager, health insurance agency, Mysuru
Related pages
How this page was made: drafted with AI assistance from NLCaller's documented features, Google search research and dated public sources.
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