# Do Not Call Exemptions by Country

Yes, in most countries you can call a lead who asked to hear from you, even if their number is on a do-not-call register. In the US, an enquiry creates an established business relationship for 90 days; in Canada, for 6 months. The UK lets a TPS-registered person tell a company they don't object to its calls, and Australia accepts consent, which expires after 3 months unless a longer period was agreed. The exemption ends as soon as they ask you to stop.

| Country | Can you call a lead who asked? | For how long |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | Allowed if they told you they don't object to your calls | Until they withdraw it |
| United States | Allowed if they enquired in the last 90 days | 90 days from an enquiry, 540 days from a purchase |
| Canada | Allowed if they enquired in the last 6 months | 6 months from an enquiry, 18 months from a purchase |
| Australia | Allowed with their consent | 3 months, unless they agreed to a longer period |
| Ireland | Allowed: a call they asked for isn't unsolicited | No time limit set |
| Singapore | Allowed with clear consent, no DNC check needed | No time limit we've found |
| United Arab Emirates | No exemption found: check the DNCR | Not applicable |
| South Africa | Allowed with consent, or for customers | Until they object |
| Sweden | Allowed for 3 months after explicit consent | 3 months from consent, 1 year after a customer relationship ends |
| Norway | Allowed if they asked your company to call | Until they withdraw the request |
| Denmark | Allowed if they asked for the call | No time limit set |
| Finland | Allowed: live calls are fine unless they refused | No time limit set |
| Switzerland | Allowed with a business relationship or consent | No time limit set |
| New Zealand | No legal register to check | Not applicable |
| Germany | Allowed with prior express consent, documented | Keep the record for 5 years |
| Japan | No register to check | Not applicable |

## Calling leads who asked to hear from you in the UK

- The TPS and CTPS rules apply to unsolicited marketing calls. If someone on the TPS has told your company that they don't, for the time being, object to your calls, you can call them (PECR, regulation 21(4)). They can withdraw that at any time.
- The ICO puts it as specific consent to calls from you, and says this applies even to existing customers on the TPS. Keep a record of when and how they asked.

Sources: [PECR, regulation 21](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2003/2426/regulation/21), [ICO: Telephone marketing](https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/direct-marketing-and-privacy-and-electronic-communications/guide-to-pecr/electronic-and-telephone-marketing/telephone-marketing/)

## Calling leads who asked to hear from you in the US

- An enquiry or application about your product creates an established business relationship for 90 days, and you can call someone in one even if their number is on the National Do Not Call Registry (16 CFR 310.2(q) and 310.4(b)(1)(iii)(B)).
- A purchase, rental or lease, or a financial transaction, extends it to 540 days. A written agreement to your calls, with their signature and number, also works.
- It ends as soon as they tell you not to call them again.

Sources: [16 CFR 310.2 (established business relationship)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/16/310.2), [16 CFR 310.4 (Do Not Call safe harbor)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/16/310.4)

## Calling leads who asked to hear from you in Canada

- An inquiry or application in the past 6 months is an existing business relationship, which is exempt from the National DNCL Rules. So is a purchase, lease or rental, or a written contract, in the past 18 months.
- Express consent also works: permission on a written, electronic or online form, or a recording of their spoken permission.
- Exempt callers must still keep their own do-not-call list, add requests within 14 days and keep them for three years.

Sources: [National DNCL: Exemptions](https://lnnte-dncl.gc.ca/en/Organization/Exemptions)

## Calling leads who asked to hear from you in Australia

- You can call a number on the Do Not Call Register if the account holder consented. Express consent means they specifically agreed to telemarketing calls; consent can also be inferred from an existing business relationship.
- Express consent given without a set period expires three months after it was given.
- Consent ends immediately when they say they no longer want calls from you.

Sources: [Do Not Call Register: Using the register](https://www.donotcall.gov.au/industry/industry-overview/using-the-register)

## Calling leads who asked to hear from you in Ireland

- The rules on NDD opt-outs and on marketing calls to mobiles apply to unsolicited calls, which the regulations define as calls not requested by the called party.
- So a call the person asked for falls outside them. Keep a record of the request.

Sources: [S.I. 336 of 2011, Regulation 13](https://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2011/si/336/made/en/print)

## Calling leads who asked to hear from you in Singapore

- You don't need to check the DNC Registry before calling someone who has given clear and unambiguous consent to your marketing, in written or other accessible form.
- Calls to an organisation about its own business are outside the DNC rules anyway.

Sources: [PDPC: Advisory Guidelines on the Do Not Call Provisions (PDF)](https://www.pdpc.gov.sg/-/media/Files/PDPC/PDF-Files/Advisory-Guidelines/Advisory-Guidelines-on-the-DNC-Provisions-1-Feb-2021.pdf)

## Calling leads who asked to hear from you in the UAE

- The sources we checked don't describe an exemption for people who asked to be called, so check every number against the TDRA's Do Not Call Registry.
- Marketing calls must still be made between 9am and 6pm, from local numbers registered under the company's commercial licence.

Sources: [Clyde & Co: UAE tightens telemarketing regulations](https://www.clydeco.com/en/insights/2024/07/uae-tightens-telemarketing-regulations-what-you-ne)

## Calling leads who asked to hear from you in South Africa

- Under POPIA section 69, direct marketing needs the person's consent, unless they're your customer. Keep a record of the enquiry or request in which they gave it.
- Customers can be marketed your own similar products if you got their details in a sale and they can object, free of charge, at that time and on every marketing contact.

Sources: [POPIA section 69](https://popia.co.za/section-69-direct-marketing-by-means-of-unsolicited-electronic-communications/), [Information Regulator: Guidance Note on Direct Marketing (PDF)](https://inforegulator.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/GUIDANCE-NOTE-ON-DIRECT-MARKETING-IN-TERMS-OF-THE-PROTECTION-OF-PERSONAL-INFORMATION-ACT-4-OF-2013-POPIA.pdf)

## Calling leads who asked to hear from you in Sweden

- Under the NIX rules, you can call someone on NIX for up to 3 months after they gave you explicit consent, or until they withdraw it.
- Existing customers can be called during the relationship and for up to one year after their contract ends.

Sources: [NIX-Telefon: Rules for the register (Swedish)](https://www.nixtelefon.org/regler/)

## Calling leads who asked to hear from you in Norway

- Someone on Reservasjonsregisteret can be called by a company they have explicitly asked to call them. They can withdraw the request at any time (Marketing Control Act, section 12).
- Existing customers can also be called about products like the ones they bought, if you got their details through the sale.

Sources: [Marketing Control Act, sections 12 to 15, 42 and 48 (Norwegian)](https://lovdata.no/dokument/NL/lov/2009-01-09-2)

## Calling leads who asked to hear from you in Denmark

- The ban on sales calls to consumers applies to calls they didn't ask for. Their request must be express and unambiguous.
- A sole trader on the Robinson list can always be called if they agreed to be called.

Sources: [Danish Consumer Ombudsman: Overview of the telephone sales rules (Danish, PDF)](https://forbrugerombudsmanden.dk/media/56664/oversigt-over-reglerne-for-telefonsalg.pdf), [Consumer Contracts Act, section 4 (Danish)](https://danskelove.dk/forbrugeraftaleloven/4)

## Calling leads who asked to hear from you in Finland

- Live calls to individuals are allowed unless they've expressly refused direct marketing, and ASML's Robinson service doesn't block contact closely related to an existing customer relationship.
- If a consumer asked you to call, the rule that phone sales need written acceptance after the call doesn't apply.

Sources: [Act on Electronic Communications Services (917/2014), sections 200 to 203 (Finnish)](https://www.finlex.fi/fi/lainsaadanto/2014/917), [Consumer Protection Act (38/1978), chapter 6 (Finnish)](https://www.finlex.fi/fi/lainsaadanto/1978/38)

## Calling leads who asked to hear from you in Switzerland

- The asterisk and unlisted-number rules cover advertising from companies the person has no business relationship with.
- SECO says companies you're a customer of, or that you've given consent to, may call you, even if your number has an asterisk.

Sources: [Unfair Competition Act, sections 3 and 23 (English, status 1 January 2025)](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/1988/223_223_223/en), [SECO: Unwanted advertising calls (German)](https://www.seco.admin.ch/de/unerbetene-werbeanrufe)

## Calling leads who asked to hear from you in New Zealand

- There's no government do-not-call register, and the Marketing Association's voluntary service covers personal numbers only.
- Keep your own do-not-call list, and stop calling anyone who asks.

Sources: [Marketing Association: Do Not Call](https://marketing.org.nz/do-not-call-do-not-mail)

## Calling leads who asked to hear from you in Germany

- A sales call to a consumer needs their prior express consent.
- Under section 7a, document that consent when it's given, such as the request in which they asked you to call, and keep the record for five years.

Sources: [UWG § 7 (German)](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/uwg_2004/__7.html), [UWG § 7a (German)](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/uwg_2004/__7a.html)

## Calling leads who asked to hear from you in Japan

- Japan has no do-not-call register. The telemarketing rules only ban soliciting someone again after they've said no.
- Sales to a business for its business are outside those rules.

Sources: [Act on Specified Commercial Transactions (English, tentative translation)](https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/4302/en)

Page: https://switchstack.io/do-not-call-exemptions