Illinois Do Not Call Registry
How to register, what it covers, and how to enforce — 2026
Illinois maintains its own Do Not Call list separate from the federal National DNC Registry. Consumers should register on both lists for full protection.
Telemarketers calling into Illinois must scrub their lists against the state registry AND the federal registry before each campaign. Scrubbing only the federal list is not enough.
How to register your number
Illinois State Registry
Illinois Restricted Call Registry
Administered by Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC); utilizes the federal FTC National DNC Registry as the Illinois Restricted Call Registry
https://www.icc.illinois.gov →Federal National DNC Registry
donotcall.gov
Administered by the Federal Trade Commission. Free, permanent, covers landlines and cell phones in every state.
How long it takes effect
Federal: 31 days for telemarketers to scrub against your number. State registries vary — most align with the federal 31-day window. Reputable telemarketers stop calling within a week. Bad actors keep calling and rack up violations.
What the registry covers
Landlines
Yes
Cell phones
Yes
Text messages
Restricted under TCPA
What it blocks: Telemarketing sales calls and texts. Calls trying to sell you something.
What it does NOT block: Political calls, charitable solicitations, calls from companies you have a current business relationship with (within 18 months of last purchase / 3 months of inquiry), debt collectors, surveys, and informational calls.
Robocalls and AI voice: Already restricted by TCPA regardless of registration. Adding your number to the DNC list adds an extra layer of liability for callers.
Illinois state list — details
Illinois established the Restricted Call Registry Act (815 ILCS 402/) which designates the federal FTC National DNC Registry as the Illinois Restricted Call Registry. The Illinois Commerce Commission administers the program. There is NO separate state telemarketer registration requirement or fee in Illinois. It is a violation to call any residential subscriber whose number has appeared on the registry for more than 45 days. Penalties: up to $1,000 for first violation, $2,500 for subsequent violations, assessed by the ICC. Permitted calling hours: 8am-9pm (autodialers: 9am-9pm). Exemptions include telecommunications carriers, banks, savings & loans, credit unions, licensed insurers, and real estate licensees. The Telephone Solicitations Act (815 ILCS 413/) provides additional operational requirements.
What to do when telemarketers call after you registered
- Tell the caller to put you on their internal do-not-call list. That triggers a separate 30-day cure obligation under federal law. If they call again after 30 days, that is an independent violation.
- File a federal complaint at donotcall.gov/report. The FTC tracks these and pursues serial offenders.
- Document the call. Date, time, number that called, company name, what they were selling. Screenshot or save voicemails. This is the evidence you need if you sue or file a state complaint.
- Sue the telemarketer in Illinois. Illinois has a private right of action — you can recover $50,000 per call without proving actual damages. Federal TCPA adds another $500–$1,500 per call. File a complaint here →
Recent Illinois DNC enforcement actions
Sumco Panama / Roy Cox Jr. / Michael Aaron Jones
automotive
Aug 2023
$299,997,000 penalty
Largest fine in FCC history. International auto warranty scam placed 5.19 billion calls to 550 million phones in just 3 months (Jan-Mar 2021), using 1.05 million spoofed caller IDs. Illinois was among the hardest-hit states. After FCC ordered carriers to stop carrying this traffic, illegal auto warranty calls dropped 99%. Demonstrates that carrier-level enforcement (blocking at the network) is the most effective tool against massive robocall operations.
Source →Yodel Technologies LLC
telecommunications
Jul 2023
$400,000 settlement
Part of FTC Operation Stop Scam Calls — largest crackdown on illegal telemarketing in FTC history (180+ actions). Yodel initiated 1.4 billion calls using leads from consent farms, with 500+ million to DNC numbers. $1M penalty (suspended to $400K after partial payment). Banned from telemarketing permanently. Key lesson: buying leads from "consent farm" websites does NOT constitute valid prior express written consent under the TSR.
Source →Michael D. Lansky LLC d/b/a Avid Telecom
telecommunications
May 2023
First legal action of the Anti-Robocall Multistate Litigation Task Force. Avid Telecom transmitted 24.5 billion calls (90%+ lasted under 15 seconds = robocalls), including 290 million to Illinois numbers and 7.5 billion to DNC-registered numbers. Used spoofed/invalid caller IDs including 8.4 million calls appearing to come from government agencies. VoIP providers that knowingly facilitate illegal traffic are now primary enforcement targets — not just the telemarketers themselves.
Source →Dish Network LLC
telecommunications
Dec 2020
$210,000,000 settlement
Largest telemarketing penalty in DOJ history at the time. Dish made 66+ million illegal calls via authorized dealers to DNC-registered numbers and delivered prerecorded messages without consent. 11-year case (filed 2009) involving DOJ, FTC, and AGs of CA, IL, NC, and OH. IL AG Raoul co-plaintiff. $126M federal penalty + $84M to the four states. Demonstrates that companies are liable for their vendors' telemarketing violations — vicarious liability is real and expensive.
Source →Running a telemarketing operation?
This page is for consumers and Illinois residents. If you operate outbound calls into Illinois, the compliance scrub workflow is documented separately.
Illinois DNC compliance for telemarketers →Compare DNC Registry across states
Federal TCPA is the floor. Each state can — and many do — go further.
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Telemarketers — need automated DNC scrubbing?
Catalyst Partners sets up automated DNC scrubbing across every state you operate in. Federal list, state lists, internal lists, on a schedule that keeps you legal.
Book a Compliance Call →This is a compliance reference tool, not legal advice. Data compiled from public statutes, LegiScan, CourtListener, state AG offices, and AI-assisted analysis. Verify all information with qualified counsel before relying on it. Full terms & data sources →